It was 4:00 PM when Ria woke up from a knock on her door. It was Palak, asking her to join for tea. Ria asked her to wait for 2 minutes, quickly washed her face, and joined her.
Palak shared more information about the last few days and handed Ria the list of books they needed for the year.
Palak said, "Some of these we should buy, or maybe we can borrow them from the seniors. The rest we can refer to in the library as needed."
Ria asked, "Did you get yours?"
Palak replied, "Yes, I asked a senior girl, and she gave me most of them."
Ria considered asking Nishant about the books. She was hoping to find him in the cafeteria, as calling him on the first day might not be appropriate. However, to her disappointment, Nishant was not there.
Ria thought to herself, "Maybe I'll see him during dinner time."
As she finished her coffee, she noticed Aniket calling her again. She excused herself to take the call.
Aniket and Ria had been good friends since their first day working together in Delhi a year ago. Aniket had always harbored feelings for Ria, but she didn't share the same romantic feelings. Although Ria was aware of Aniket's feelings, she chose to ignore them, not wanting to complicate their friendship. Now that she was in Mumbai, she hoped Aniket would move on as well.
Ria greeted Aniket, "Hi, Aniket! How are you? Don't you have work in the office?"
Aniket responded, "Hey, first of all, you never called after reaching Mumbai. I was just worried about you."
Ria replied, "I'm good, actually better than ever. I'm really enjoying the campus. I'm already making friends!" Ria sounded genuinely excited.
Aniket fell silent for a moment, slightly disappointed that she seemed to be doing well without him. He asked, "That's nice. How's the weather in Mumbai? I heard it has already started raining there."
Ria replied, "Yes, it's cloudy here, and it rains every now and then. I forgot to carry my umbrella this morning, and it started raining heavily on my way back from class. Fortunately, I found my savior," she said, laughing.
Aniket changed the topic, "Good to hear. So, are you coming on Friday? Akshat will be leaving Saturday night for New York."
Ria responded, "Yes, I haven't booked my flight yet, but I'll book it tonight. Either I'll leave on Friday night or Saturday morning."
Aniket insisted, "Why Saturday morning? We were planning a farewell party for him on Friday night. You have to come on Friday night."
Ria said, "Okay, let me see. I'll book tonight."
Ria realized she had to end the call and said, "Hey, got to go. I'll talk to you later."
Aniket replied, "Okay, bye," sounding a bit disappointed.
Ria said goodbye and disconnected the call. She noticed Palak leaving the cafeteria, so she quickly caught up with her.
Palak informed Ria, "We have to go to the auditorium. Some vendors are coming in to showcase laptops. Samar is leading the negotiation, but they will present the options, and then we will choose which one we want."
Ria exclaimed, "Oh, okay. I had no idea. How did you find out about all this?"
Palak replied, "We receive messages on our phones. I think you haven't been added to the distribution list yet. Talk to Arpan, he will add you."
Ria immediately messaged Arpan and they both started walking towards the auditorium.
After the vendor presentations, everyone agreed to get a Lenovo 15-inch laptop. The vendor promised delivery within 10 days.
YOU ARE READING
This is not the End
Romance"In their 20s, Ria and Samar fell deeply in love, but at such a young age, they didn't yet understand the depth of their feelings. Drifting apart, they went their separate ways, unaware that fate would eventually bring them back together. As the wor...
