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~eleven~

The following morning, Vedant found himself in a fresh white Tshirt and jeans with Meera's Nike backpack at his usual bus stop.

He knew what he was doing was utterly stupid.

The Babulnath stop was a central halt for buses; and so many went to and from there. She could board any of them at any time of the day.

And yet; the desire to meet her; to at least see her; tossed his rationality to the wind. He seated himself at the stop; his palm gripping the strap of the backpack tight out of sheer nervousness as he stared out at the main road with a hawk's eye.

An hour passed.

Another passed.

And another followed.

Slowly and steadily; his alertness and patience both snapped.

The only thought that had kept him from opening her diary and reading more was the fear of actually bumping into her that day. What impression would she form of him if she'd find him reading her personal diary like that?

A creep?

He couldn't afford to let that happen.

But now, he felt this nagging sensation which compelled him to retrieve the diary from the backpack. Angling it strategically in the bag such that it wasn't visible to anyone but him; he resorted to peeking further more into the diary of this awfully interesting stranger named Meera.

ENTRY 32

Rhea Di decided to pay us a visit today.

She kept nodding at whatever questions the elders asked her and if not for the glow on her face, I'd have thought things were actually pretty NORMAL in her life.

So I did the best thing I could to quench my curiosity.

I confronted her when alone.

The redness that marred her features suddenly took me off guard. And my eyes only widened further when she pushed the pallu* of her sari* gently to reveal this fairly...er...INTENSE love bite.

*traditional Indianwear. Generally worn by married ladies.

*the part of the sari that covers the front

I tried to control okay?

But ended up groaning anyway.

God she could've just TOLD me she was having a good sex life and I wouldn't have pried for more.

As of today; I'm officially scarred and can never look at Somil er...Jiju* the same way. And I am NEVER asking Rhea Di ANY questions about the glow on her face!

*brother in law

~Meera

Vedant guffawed; and almost instantly recoiled at his spot to notice over a twenty pairs of eyes eying him sceptically. A bus stop didn't seem like the best place to be having a wild laugh from reading an entertaining diary.

Well, this was all Meera's fault!

Damn her for her excellent sense of humour!

ENTRY 35

I'm not much of a religious person; but I do visit temples a couple of times. The Babulnath Temple to be specific.

He looked up from the book and stared straight ahead at an ancient Hindu structure. The Babulnath Mandir.

It being a Tuesday, it bustled with devotees wanting to offer their prayers.

Could she be here right now?

Not that I have any fondness for Shrinath Ji *specifically or the deity there. It's just this nice and warm feeling I feel in around the temple premises.

*the name of a God

Vedant rose up from his spot with finality; but sat back almost instantly when his eyes caught;

So I visit that Temple. Except on Tuesdays.

God Tuesdays are so crowded! I wonder why Tuesdays are so crowded.

Vedant smiled. How nice of her to let him know.

But I DO plan on going there a day before the exam. I haven't told any of my friends about this. I'm pretty sure people will judge.

Why can't I be like those people who don't give a shit about others' views?

I need to learn to stop caring.

~Meera

ENTRY 38

Hot guy's friend's name is Archit.

Vedant groaned as a silly blush made its way onto his features.

How vain am I? Thanks Meera.

And Aashni is totally fangirling about him.

Yeah he's hot. But my eyes are still set on his friend.

CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HIS NAME SO THAT I CAN STOP CALLING HIM 'THE HOT' GUY PLEASE?

~Meera

My name's Vedant; Meera.

Vedant Shah.

He was grinning at the last line of the entry when his phone rang abruptly. The screen flashed 'Archit', and it was upon seeing that, that an idea struck him.

"Archit!" He exclaimed.

"Whoa. What's with you?"

"Need your help man."

"O-okay. What do I get for it?"

Vedant rolled his eyes.

Typical Archit!

"I don't know. What do you want?"

"Hmm. Let me think about it. Oh yeah! So there's this girl I'm taking out for coffee, and like you must've expected I'm kinda er...broke. So..."

"Haan done done! Now listen...."