This was so irritating! I had been standing in this queue for over an hour and it seemed to be getting longer by each passing second. Why were there so many people in this world?

The first thing I wanted to do when I returned from college was to gather some more information about Mahek. I was planning on meeting her ex-boyfriends to cross-check my facts, but the moment I stepped outside the house, mom stopped me and handed me a cheque and some cash to deposit in the bank

I couldn't refuse her because she said it was urgent and I had to do it today. So, I dropped my plan and came here against my will. I hated this place. Why was my life like this?

"Excuse me, beta. Can you please fill up my form too?" an old aunty asked and handed me her deposit slip. Before I could reply, she handed me a pen too. She gave me a bright smile and motioned for me to complete her request.

Within one hour, this was the tenth time that someone had asked me to help them. I glanced at the customer help desk and saw it vacant. I became so angry that I almost crushed that aunty's form in my hand.

I huffed and began filling up the piece of paper after asking that aunty for details. After thanking me, she took the form from me and went ahead in line. She gave it to a girl who was talking on the phone. That girl turned and gave me a huge smile.

I didn't smile back. I thought I would explode. Couldn't she have done it herself? Moreover, why did she get in line without filling up her form first? What the hell?

I started cursing in my mind and wished for my turn to arrive soon. I so despised coming to bank because everyone was a slowpoke here. They didn't care whether someone was in a hurry or not. They worked in their own leisurely paces.

After waiting for twenty minutes more, my turn came and I deposited the cheque and the cash. Some serious changes were required here or else everyone would stop coming to the bank altogether.

I relaxed when I completed the task and went to the market to buy groceries. I called up mom and informed her about the same. She told me she would be there within fifteen minutes. So, I decided to wait for her and went to a showroom to check out some scooters and enquire about their prices.

I was planning on gifting one of the latest model of scooter to dad on his birthday. That old metal junk he was currently using was beyond repair now. Once, the new two-wheeler would arrive, I would tell dad to throw that old piece in scrap.

"Sandhya?"

I turned my head when I heard the familiar voice and saw Nikhil's mom smiling at me. I greeted her and she asked me what I was doing here all alone. I informed her that I was just doing some timepass while waiting for mom.

"What about you, aunty? Are you planning on buying something too?" I asked.

"Yes, beta. We are looking for a new four-wheeler. The one we have has gotten quite old," she replied.

"That's so great, aunty. Did you like any car?"

"I liked one but Nikhil is still checking his favourites. He is really picky, just like his dad." She pointed to her right and I saw Nikhil discussing about a car with one of the employees.

"You should buy a scooty for yourself too, beta. I know how hectic it is to travel through buses," she adviced and I nodded my head.

She suggested that she would call Nikhil to help me choose one. Since he had a lot of knowledge about this topic, he would be able to suggest me a nice two-wheeler.

But I refused her, and told her that mom would be here soon and I should get going. She tried to stop me but I politely refused her once more and bolted out of there.

I didn't want to make situation awkward for Nikhil. I knew if aunty had told him to help me, he wouldn't have refused but he wouldn't have been happy about it too. That thought made me kind of sad.

Damn, man. I wasn't liking this situation at all. Going by aunty's behaviour, it looked like Nikhil hadn't told her about our fight yet. It was better that way. If our parents got to know about it, they would be really disappointed.

I just wanted to clear his misunderstanding but he wasn't willing to talk to me. I knew I made matters worse for him but shouldn't he give me a chance to properly explain my stand? We were friends, right? Didn't he trust me a single bit?

My train of thoughts was broken by mom's arrival. She gave me a huge list of things we had to buy and we quickly got in action. Meanwhile, she asked me about college and I told her everything that came to mind. She also told me all the gossips she heard from her friends and I adviced her not to believe everything they said.

Many times, things were not what we thought them to be. In Parth's words, Don't judge a book by its cover.

After roaming around for what seemed like hours, we decided to take a break. We went to a Panipuri stall and ordered two plates. We were laughing about a joke on dad when Nikhil's mom joined us and started chatting with mom.

She nudged Nikhil to go and talk to me when she noticed that he was standing in just one spot. He did as aunty said and came to stand beside me but didn't say anything. I felt bad for him. He had no choice but to follow his mom's order.

I paid the shopkeeper after I was done eating and took out my phone from my jeans pocket to keep myself busy. Now that mom and aunty had united, they wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. Better play some games till then.

There was no use striking a conversation with Nikhil since he would just ignore me. What were we supposed to talk about? I didn't know what exactly was going on in his life except the fact that he was mad at me, and I was sure he didn't want to do anything with my life.

"Sandhya."

I looked beside me when I heard Nikhil's voice. Did he just say my name or was I imagining it?

"Are you talking to me?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied and I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

"Why?"

"What why?"

"Why are you talking to me, you idiot?"

Oops! It just slipped out of my tongue. Old habit. But I wasn't lying. He was an idiot.

"Don't call me that," he retorted.

"Whatever." I shook my head and looked back at my phone.

"Notes," he said.

"What notes?" I asked in confusion. Why was he talking in monosyllables?

"Were you really awake the whole night to write them?" he asked in a low voice.

Oh! So he was talking about those notes. The ones he and Ved ripped. How did he got to know? Hm... I think Mom must have mentioned about it to Aunty and Nikhil must have have gotten to know through her.

"Doesn't matter now," I replied and cursed when my game character got killed by the opponent.

I heard him sigh and glanced at him. He was staring at his feet and mumbling to himself. I thought about asking him but decided against it. I wasn't his friend anymore. He didn't consider me one. And, I highly doubted that he would appreciate my concern.

Ved had told him to be wary of me. To not become my friend. That I would hurt him. Who knew he would be so right? I knew Nikhil was regretting his decision about the same. Because, if he had done so, his dreams wouldn't have gotten crushed because of me.

Nikhil looked up at me and furrowed his eyebrows. I quickly turned my head and scrouched down. A tear rolled down my cheek and I wiped it away as I pretended to tie my shoelaces. I rubbed my eyes to avoid more tears from falling down and got up.

I avoided looking at him and went towards mom. I told her that it was getting late and we should go home before dad arrived. She told me to wait for sometime but I didn't listen to her and forced her to come with me. We bid our goodbyes to aunty and reached home.

Once there, mom asked me why I was in such a hurry. She was talking on a serious topic with Nikhil's mom but had to leave the conversation mid-way because of me.

She gave me a dead look when I lied that I couldn't control my hunger and she should cook me something before I fainted. She began to scold me for my childishness but I ran upstairs and locked my room.

You are a jerk, Sandhya. You really thought mom would believe you? You just ate three plates of Panipuri ten minutes ago!

I changed into a loose t-shirt and shorts as my inner voice kept hurling curses at me. It kept telling me to work on my excuses or keep my mouth shut.

Stop crying already!

I plopped down on my bed and buried my head in the pillow to cry. But soon, I got suffocated and my head started aching. I threw the pillow away and got up. I hated myself for crying over the same topic again and again.

I was a strong girl so why was I crying? I wasn't weak. Remember what Shreyas said?

"Those who want to stay, will stay and those who don't want to, they will find any excuse to push you away."

But was there no way I could fix up my mistake? Whenever I looked at Nikhil, I felt like I was responsible for everything. Only if I wasn't his friend, he wouldn't be suffering so much. I knew how much he loved basketball and wanted to make a career in it.

It was his dream to become a professional player and represent India globally. But, in order to prove myself a hero, I ruined everything he wanted. Even if his family had agreed on him to play again for college's team, he had to follow their wishes and get into Air Force.

There must be something I could do for him, right? I didn't know if my idea would work or not but I had to try.

Don't mess it up this time, Sandhya.