His Dusk, Her Dawn

Chapter 15. Feel the same

Damn, the ground is so big. How are we supposed to get the work done in one day? Even though we all woke up early, the task seems really tough considering that most of us haven't ever used a shovel in our lives. Thankfully, I am not the leader of my team. My team members wouldn't have survived under my captaincy. Still, would we be able to dig up so much land today?

Well, we will have to see. Just don't need any distractions, that's it. I wanna perform well as it is the first college trip and Mayank bhaiyya has arranged everything for such a good cause. And... where the hell is that idiot? I haven't seen her for the last ten minutes. Where did she go?

"What happened, Ved? You looking for someone?" Karthik asked while doing stunts with his shovel.

"First of all, stop doing that," I scolded him. "You will hurt someone. And no, I am not looking for anyone."

"Then why don't we start the work?" he asked.

I glanced at my teammates, and they had already begun shoveling the soil. I decided to stop wondering about where Sandhya was and joined my team. Mayank bhaiyya and Sarpanch were supervising us and helping whenever we got stuck. I was happy for the experience; it wasn't every time that we got to work so closely with nature.

I was lost in my world, totally engrossed in what I was doing, but when I heard a very familiar voice - a giggling sound - I snapped my eyes in the direction of that voice and gripped the handle of my tool tightly.

What the hell? What's going on there? How come I didn't notice when Sandhya came back? And what the fuck was she doing?

I narrowed my eyes at her and then at the guy standing beside her. I didn't know who he was. I was sure he wasn't from our department - maybe a commerce or arts guy. I tried to remember if I had seen him before but concluded that I hadn't. And going by my memory, I also hadn't seen Sandy Pandy with him either.

So, why is she acting like a goof with him? What exactly is he telling her to make her laugh so much? Is he flirting with her?! Or is it the other way around? Who is he?!

Calm down, Ved. Stop overthinking. And by the way, why are you getting so worried? He is her teammate; they are supposed to get along. Do you want them to fight each other instead of working together?

But they are standing too close. Doesn't Sandhya know how to spade? Mayank bhaiyya showed us how to do it just a few minutes ago. Then why is that guy helping her?

Are you jealous?

Jealous? Me? What the hell are you saying? I just want to know why is that monkey giving googly eyes to that guy. She looks like she has never seen a guy before.

Definitely jealous.

Shut up!

"Ved?"

"What is it?" I seethed.

Karthik took a step back and raised his eyebrows. "Wanna take a loo break?"

"You disturbed me because you wanted to pee?"

"Well, it is a natural process, and I felt like asking you since you are my friend. What the heck is wrong with you? You aren't even working!"

I blinked rapidly. He was right. I had no arguments for what he said, so I agreed to go with him to the washroom to avoid getting in trouble. I was sure Karthik would have complained to Mayank bhaiyya that I was lacking off. I was too busy observing Sandy Pandy that I forgot I had an important task at hand.

I shook my head vigorously and focused on the way. Karthik kept stealing glances at me but didn't say anything. We did our business in silence, but I could feel my friend's stare on me. I brushed it off, and we came back to the ground. Before starting the work, I took a deep breath, drank some water and exchanged my place with a girl so that my back was towards Sandhya.