"Hey, you coming to the library?" Minakshi asked, flinging a hand over Zaara's shoulder.
"Nope. I'm starving. Need to get a bite. You coming?" Zaara asked, rubbing her eyes and yawning.
"No, you carry on. I have two assignments for tomorrow. I'll crash if I even look at my bed. So, I thought I'll sit in the library to finish those."
"Right. I'll see you at dinner, then." Zaara said, yawning again and making her way towards the canteen.
She decided to eat something light, as she needed to get back to her room quickly. Kite and Bird had said that they would be waiting for her.
Her shoulders drooped, seeing the long queue to order refreshments. It would take forever to reach halfway through the queue and even if she did reach within five minutes, the food would have gotten over by then.
She turned and was about to walk out of the canteen door, when she heard someone call her.
"Zaara! Over here!"
It was Dev. Next to him sat Jacob.
She didn't know why, but the temperature in the room suddenly seemed to have gone up. After what Gayatri and Anakha had said, she had begun to watch Jacob more closely. He didn't do anything out of the ordinary but she couldn't help but feel that there was something "fishy" about his behavior.
She smiled awkwardly at Dev and made her way to their table.
There was a plate full of fried bananas, potato crisps, vadas and onion pakoras in front of them. Seeing it made Zaara's already rumbling stomach, rumble more.
"Have some." said Dev, pushing the plate towards Zaara. She realised that she had been staring at the food and looked away from it.
"No, thanks. I was about to go back to the hostel." she said.
Dev rolled his eyes.
"Come on! You don't need to be so formal with us. The look in your eyes says you're hungry. Have some!" He said, gesturing towards the food.
Zaara felt herself going red with embarrassment. Nevertheless, she muttered a "thanks" and took a fried banana from the pile.
She sat down opposite them and noticed that the boys looked relieved when she took a bite.
"You guys look happy about something. Hope you haven't laced this with poison." She said jokingly, nodding towards the fry in her hand.
"Alby and his friends asked us to order these for them and us. But, by the time we finished ordering, Paul had called them for a rehearsal. And they wont be back until dinner. So we thought it better to give these to somebody, than waste it." said Dev, giving her a lopsided grin.
"I thought so. I knew you wouldn't offer me anything wholeheartedly." Zaara joked.
"Great to know that you know." Dev said, sticking out his tongue.
"Real mature, Dev." Jacob said, rolling his eyes. Turning to Zaara, he asked, "You're coming with us on Sunday, right? Any change in plan?"
"Yeah, I'll be coming with you guys." Zaara said, popping the last piece of the fry into her mouth and wiping her hands on a tissue paper. "Atleast, that's the plan for now."
"We'll be leaving at 7. Need us to pick you up from your hostel?" Dev asked, looking at a curly-haired girl, who was talking animatedly to her friends.
"No, I'll meet you at the bus station." Zaara said.
Suddenly, someone slapped her hard on her back, just below her shoulder, and she cried out.
YOU ARE READING
Love At Last
FantasíaZaara, fresh from heartbreak, is about to attend college for her post grad studies. Keeping in mind her past experiences, she decides not to give away too much of herself and to not trust anyone fully. But little does she know that she wouldn't be a...
