Kuch Toh Hai

Part 10

It was a lazy Saturday evening, and Karishma's family mansion — a beautiful, sprawling place with high ceilings and rain-drenched windows — echoed with laughter for once.

Karishma was lounging on the living room floor with a soda can in hand, Mishri had claimed the entire couch like a queen, and Santu, ever the fidgety one, was bouncing between a bean bag and the floor, half-eating, half-talking.

"So, bata na phir," Mishri said, nudging Karishma with her foot. "Tu bheeg gayi thi aur fir Haseena Ma'am aayi white horse pe?"

Karishma rolled her eyes. "Auto pe."

Santu gasped dramatically. "Wahi toh! Auto mein tum dono?! Ekdum romantic Bollywood scene!"

"Romantic kuch nahi tha," Karishma muttered, sipping her soda.

Mishri smirked. "Aur kuch toh tha... warna tu itni chupke se blush nahi karti."

"I'm not blushing!" Karishma snapped — though, in fact, a faint red had crept up her ears.

Santu clapped excitedly. "Arre toh phir kya baat hui auto mein? Ma'am ne haath pakda? Shoulder touch hua kya?!"

Karishma gave her a flat look. "Santu, tu zyada hi fan filmein dekhne lagi hai."

Mishri leaned in, eyes glittering with curiosity. "But seriously, what did she say?"

Karishma hesitated. Then, almost shyly, she replied, "She said... ki main unhe unki chhoti wali Haseena yaad dilati hoon."

Santu's jaw dropped. "Personal share?! Matlab... ye toh clearly crush-zone ki shuruaat hai!"

"From whose side, Santu?" Karishma laughed. "Mujhe toh unka number bhi nahi pata."

Mishri's eyes widened with mock offense. "Tu humse kyun keh rahi hai? Phone uthaa. Faculty group mein toh number hoga hi!"

Karishma blinked. "Tu pagal hai kya?!"

But Mishri was already reaching for Karishma's phone.

Santu chimed in, completely missing the point, "Mujhe toh lagta hai Ma'am ka profile pic black-and-white wala hoga... aur status mein likha hoga: 'Discipline is power'."

Mishri and Karishma burst out laughing.

Within moments, Mishri had pulled up the faculty list on the university portal. "Mil gaya! Dr. Haseena Malik. Number bhi diya hua hai. Tadaaa!"

Karishma snatched the phone. "Tu stalker hai sach mein."

Mishri winked. "Tumhare pyaar ke liye kuch bhi."

"Stop it, dono!" Karishma shook her head but couldn't hide her smile.

Santu suddenly gasped. "Idea! Usse message bhej! Koi academic excuse se! Jaise... project ke notes... ya thank you bolne ke liye!"

Karishma narrowed her eyes. "Tum dono chahte kya ho?"

Mishri and Santu, in perfect sync, replied: "Progress."

Sighing, Karishma opened WhatsApp, heart racing slightly as she added the number. The profile picture was, in fact, black-and-white — a distant shot of Haseena reading a book under a lamp. Status: "Still learning."

"God, it's so like her," Karishma mumbled.

Mishri leaned over her shoulder. "Perfect. Now type... 'Good afternoon, ma'am. Thank you for the lift the other day. Really helped.' Simple. Decent. Not flirty."

Karishma typed slowly.

Good afternoon, ma'am. Thank you for the lift the other day. It really helped me out.

Santu squealed softly. "Press send! Jaldi! Before you overthink!"

Karishma groaned, thumb hovering.

Mishri grabbed her wrist. Tap.

Message sent.

Karishma froze. "Tum dono ne mujhe emotional blackmail kiya!"

"Correction," Mishri said smugly. "Humne tujhe romantically motivate kiya."

They collapsed into giggles, unaware that on the other side of the city, Professor Haseena Malik had just received the message — and smiled, just a little.

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