Inquest (Completed)

One step at a time

'Right so this way up...' Krupa gestured up the stairs of the bridge. Dhruv walked alongside her thinking, 'I'll follow you anywhere...' [So cheesy!].

'Did your lectures get cancelled?' She asked, curiously.

'No,' smiling out of guilt, 'Teachers weren't going to start teaching anything new, so I left...'

'Oh, you mean like bunking?'

Dhruv laughed even more guiltily, pushing his specs up his nose, out of nervousness,  'It was no use sitting...'

Krupa laughed too, she knew Dhruv. She had known how he was since school, but now, something was different.

The bridge over the station was crowding, and the two couldn't continue their conversation owing to the need to dodge and weave through the crowd. Dhruv was attempting (and mostly succeeding in) following her. They finally reached down, stopped for breath and laughed at how they had maneuvered through. Then they resumed the journey, taking the first right.

'Have you visited Matunga before?' she asked.
'Only to visit SJTI college [One of the top engineering colleges in Mumbai area]'
'Oh yeah'
___

'There are many types of flavours of Samosas there, haven't you heard of the place? It's called Ace Samosas, but the more famous place is the restaurant opposite, called Dakshina. Where would you eat?'

'I don't know, I have heard of Dakshina, but I haven't tried before...'

'Okay, when we reach, then decide...'

Dhruv felt nervous whenever someone (especially a girl and among those, especially Krupa), asked him to take a decision for them both... He readjusted his hair.

'Where would you eat?' he asked diplomatically.

'Me? I have eaten at both... You only get Samosas and puffs like eatables in Ace Samosas, but Dakshina is a proper restaurant... If you want to try both, we can do that... It is quite affordable'

'Oh okay...'

'You know, we - us college friends, three of us - we've eaten at Ace Samosas so often, once I was hungry, alone, and went to buy one samosa,  and  the guy who gave me the Samosa put in one more samosa in my pack! Turns out the owner had asked him to! I thanked them...'

'Whoa! They do that!?!' Dhruv couldn't believe it! He didn't think something like that happened in real lives; according to him it only happened in movies, or stories. [He said to himself, "That probably happened because you're so cute!"]

K:'Yes! Even I was surprised... How long does it take for you to walk from college to station?'

D: 'Around seven minutes... You?'

K:'Only like three minutes...but we've taken a longer route, you'll see...'

They finally reached Ace Samosas and Dakshina hotel, and stopped outside Dakshina hotel. Krupa looked at Dhruv, and Dhruv looked at both places, and decided Ace Samosas [because of that extra-samosa-gift Krupa had received].

Now Dhruv again had to choose samosas [he wasn't willing to spend too much, because he had a tiffin prepared by mum inside his backpack: two parathas {Indian word for baked bread with vegetables like potatoes or radish added to the dough}].
Krupa: 'Which Samosa do you want to try?'
D:'I'm thinking wait...'
K:'Okay, take your time...'

Dhruv looked at the menu and saw names of types of Samosas he couldn't even imagine. Considering it'll be very difficult for him to choose one or two among those, he tried to find a shortcut:
'How about, I'll buy whatever you're buying?'
K: 'What?' (She laughed) 'You know, you're not making a life-changing-decision here...'
D: 'Okay... Um...Then...Would you suggest me few of your favorites?'
Krupa sighed, then said, 'Let's see... I like Corn Samosa... and Paneer Puff - not a samosa, it's a puff, as the name suggests - yeah, most of the flavours are tasty, try whichever you like...'
D: 'Okay...'
K:'I'd like to try the new American Puff, so I'll have that one, I'll order after you, okay?'
D:'Okay... How much does the Paneer puff cost?'
K:'Fifteen.'