SECRETs (Not edited)

Past 1

I groaned as the sharp sun rays made its way to my eyes while the phone danced like crazy beside me. I slide across the screen, placing it to my ear.

"Seriously? Are you invisible or something? Where the hell are you?" I jumped upright on my bed as soon as Avni's booming voice struck me.

"Hmm... Mm... Traffic! You know right... It's crazy! I will be there in a minute." I mumbled groggily disconnecting the phone and stretching myself on the bed.

Come on! Lying is fair in my situation. I was then still in bed, drowsy with drool running down the corner of my mouth; while, it was her 10th call that morning. Before you jump to any sort of conclusion. No, she wasn't a crazy stalker or a clingy girlfriend. She was my best buddy, which might be the reason why she was crazy.

And me! I was a total moron! I was halfway out of my bed, in my boxer, trying hard to keep my eyes open; while she was already there in college waiting for me.

Wait! WHAT!!! Damn... Avni was already in college? And I was there talking to myself?

As the realization hit me hard, I jumped down from my bed, almost stumbling to the washroom. There was no time for shaving, bathing or shitting. She would painlessly kill me if she knew. I scooted across my room, towards the huge pile of smelly clothes and pulled out my jeans and T-shirt, which I would be wearing probably for the third time in a row and rushed out to the garage.

15 seconds later, I again rushed back to my flat- forgot the bike keys.

---------------

"Sorry, I am extremely sorry... really. Believe me, I am. I was ready when you called." I tried explaining to her, failing miserably. I should have just stayed in the college hostel instead of my apartment. But that damn cricket match. It was India vs. Pakistan, you need a home theatre to watch that.

I made myself comfortable beside her on the cemented slab and turned to face her.

She looked furious. That angry red emoji could be named after her. "I thought you were stuck in traffic?"

Shit! Learn your scripts. "Yeah! I was ready and study in traffic." Innovation is the key, always.

"Shut up. For the first, like, 8 times you didn't even pick up my calls." She rolled her eyes, glaring at me.

"10 times. And, I was bathing so..." I gulped.

"Oh please! You smell like an ownerless pig-neither did you bathed nor shave, I hope you at least brushed your teeth?" She cringed up her nose, shifting from her position.

"Ya, I did... with mouth fresher. I am sorry. I won't be late ever again- Promise." I apologized while trying to comb back my messy hair with my hand, making it even messier. She looked at me weirdly, probably thinking how I landed up as her best friend.

"Let me see." she fake counted. "That's the hundredth time you are making that so-called promise of yours..." she slapped my hand away from my hair and ruffled it herself, I loved the sensation of her long fingers.

"Okay, leave it. Here, this is your presentation." she pulled back her hand from my hair-I already missed the touch- and handed me a pen drive with a skull key ring. She was manly. "...and for god's sake, take a look at it and please read it, so that for once you can actually answer what's in it instead of inventing your own theory."

"Please not again - I have to open the chain of my bag...take out the laptop... lift the screen... click the switch to start it up... wait... touch the mouse... refresh it... then put the pen drive... scan it... wait again... then scroll through slides after slides... and also read those stupid links that you have attached along. I am a busy man, I have got loads of work to do." I grumbled in a monotonous tone, desperately picking out all the task, making it seem as if they were the toughest jobs of the universe and took decades to accomplish.