Before the sun rose, we had to get up and reach the parking lot and board the buses which would take us to the village. So, even though I had set up the alarm and asked Surbhi and my other roommate to wake me up on time, I myself got up first thing in the morning.

I didn't want to repeat the same mistake I did which made me miss my bus for the trip. As I woke up two hours early from the departure time, I took a long, nice hot shower and got ready without worrying about the time.

I woke up my roommates too, and while they were carrying out their morning routine, I called my parents and chatted with them for a while. After that, I went outside to take a look at the breakfast. My mouth watered as the fragrance of tea and samosas traveled to my nose.

I followed it and reached the dining area. I went to the counter and asked the kitchen staff if anything was prepared. One of them, an old man with a long white beard and small forehead replied positively.

After getting my plate filled with two samosas and one cup of tea, I sat down on an empty table and started eating. I glanced around me, and I could see some other students strolling around while yawning and talking on their phones.

Some came and ordered something to eat. One of them was Shree. And no, he was not with Mahek, but with his guy friends. He got his order and turned around. But when his eyes met mine, I looked away. I saw him go and sit on a table a few rows away from me, but I felt like he was looking at me.

I ignored him and continued with my breakfast. I was sipping my tea when I felt someone beside me. I looked up and saw Karthik sitting on the chair on my right. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he didn't seem to notice it.

Instead of thinking about it too much, I just let him be and finished drinking my tea. I picked up my plate and put it back on the counter. We didn't have to pay for the food as it was all inclusive as Mayank had informed us.

I decided to stroll around till the time we were told to leave. As I started to walk away from the diner, I felt two pairs of eyes on me. I snapped my head at the table I was sitting on earlier and found Karthik looking at me with an intense look.

I returned the gesture with a stern expression, but he didn't avert his gaze. He was just staring at my face, and I felt a weird sensation in the pit of my stomach. Honestly, I didn't like it, and it gave me chill vibes. I shook my head and went outside.

I pulled my jacket closer and went into the garden. I walked in a leisurely pace as I observed the beautiful flowers which had managed to bloom even in the cold weather. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder, and it was none other than my best friend.

Surbhi linked her right arm with my left and pulled me closer. She was shivering. Even though she had a lot of fat as compared to me, her immune system was not that healthy. Mine also wasn't, but I didn't fall sick easily.

We took a stroll together and gossiped. We were so lost in our talk that we didn't realise that it was time to leave when one of our classmates came to inform us. We thanked her and left for the parking lot.

Since the village was just fifteen kilometres away, we reached there within twenty minutes. We all got in our respective groups and my team leader stood in front of us. After a few minutes, Mayank also arrived with the Sarpanch.

After briefing us about the work, we were given a short demonstration about how we were supposed to complete the given task before the deadline. Sarpanch showed us how to use a shovel and a spade effectively and to avoid the dangers while using it.

He gave us some tips and tricks, and then we were ready for the action. We reached a big vacant ground made of black soil and gravel and were given the required equipment.

Each team was allotted an area, and as I belonged to the group number 8, my team had the small square plot in the far right corner of the ground.

Our team leader introduced himself as Priyaank Gupta from the Arts department. Everyone from our team greeted each other except me and Mahek. Mahek was ogling at Priyaank who was oblivious to it.

Priyaank was a nice guy, soft-spoken, and he treated everyone with respect. He proved his leadership qualities too when we started our work, and he helped anyone who was struggling with the shoveling. He always smiled and didn't get frustrated when one or the other team member asked for his help.

I really admired him as he seemed so down to earth. He was quite good looking with a broad forehead and a straight nose. He had wavy black hair which were set in a Caesar cut. His small sharp black eyes and thin red lips added to the charms.

He was handsome, but he didn't seem to know that himself. One of the girls playfully flirted with him and told him that he had a nice build. He got all shy and tried to change the topic which reminded me of Rajeev.

Priyaank also helped me when I almost banged the guy beside me with my spade. He showed me how to make a firm grip on the handle, and when he smiled at me, I couldn't help but notice his dimples which popped up.

He gave me my tool back and patted my shoulder lightly. "You are doing great, Sandhya. Just twist your wrist a little more to the right, and you will get the work done in half the time," he praised, and I was sure my ears turned red.

I shot him a grateful smile, and he went back to do his own share of work. Everyone seemed to be working hard with passion. But after about an hour, we had to remove our warm clothes as we were drenched in sweat. Soon, we were left in just our t-shirts and jeans or trousers.

Some students took small breaks in between and worked in rotations. But unlike other teams, we had a very big-no, a very small problem. And the name of that problem was Mahek Rathi. She was throwing tantrums and refused to get in the mud.

While everyone, whether girl or boy was working tirelessly to complete the task before the clock struck 6 pm, she was busy complaining about how her designer dress would get spoiled and that all the heavy work should be done by guys only; she was too fragile for all of it.

Thankfully, Priyaank was not having her shit. He scolded her, but she tried to act all weak and tried to seduce him. Yup, in front of everyone. Some girls even called her names, but that girl was on a whole nother level.

And I didn't know why, but I did not like it when she tried to get too close to our team leader. He was trying to push her off of him, but she continued pestering him. After a few minutes, I couldn't take it anymore.

I went to her and told her that she had a boyfriend. She sneered at me, but left Priyaank alone when I told her that Shree was looking in our direction all this time. Priyaank thanked me, and then we worked side-by-side.

We kept chatting while doing our work, and I didn't realise that I was smiling throughout our conversation. It was so easy to talk to him. He cracked a lot of dad jokes too, and even though I didn't find those funny, I still laughed to not discourage him.

What the hell was I doing exactly? Was I infatuated with him, or what?

Just as that thought rammed me, I stepped away from him. He didn't notice it, but I kept stealing glances at him. I wondered how I never noticed him before in the college. He was such a cool guy, hidden in plain sight.

Thought I knew I had no chance with him as I had a bad reputation now, I could at least have a tiny crush on him. I smiled to myself and continued spading the soil. I tried to show off a little, but ended up hitting my leg during the process.

"Fuck!" I cursed, and Priyaank's eyes widened in surprise.

"I... I hu-hurt my leg...." I told him, and he nodded a little.

After that, whenever I cursed, he seemed to be shifting a little away from me. I didn't understand why he was reacting like that. So, I asked him what was the matter, and he was kind enough to let me know that he didn't like swearing, or cursing-especially from girls.

I looked at him in confusion, and he just smiled in return. I pursed my lips and didn't disturb him again. Without thinking about it too much, I tried to keep my sharp tongue in check and avoided letting out beautiful curse words in front of him.

I was trying my best, and frankly, it was really difficult. I was used to yelling and cussing, and no one was ever bothered by it. Moreover, Rajeev encouraged me to let out my anger by using words instead of ending up murdering someone because of my temper issues.

I hoped Priyaank wasn't bothered by that, but who was I to complain? Everyone had different perspectives.

Soon, I got tired and took a short break. I sat down on the ground and regained my breath. Few of my teammates also relaxed and went to drink some water. I opened my mouth to tell them to bring some for me too, but I got hit behind my head by something which made a crunching sound at the impact.

"What the fu-" I began, but bit back when I saw Priyaank looking at me.

I swallowed the rest of the words and noticed a water bottle lying on the ground a few centimetres away from me. I picked it up and glanced around. Priyaank was working, so there was no way he would have thrown it towards me. Moreover, he had good manners, he wouldn't do that.

When I couldn't see anyone, I turned my head to the front and received a very strong flick on my forehead.

"Motherfucker!" I yelled.

"That suits you well, Sandy Pandy." Ved's mocking voice landed in my ears.

I huffed and looked up at him. He was staring down at me with narrowed eyes. He was smirking, but he was giving off angry vibes.

Was he angry because I hadn't given him the money yet?

He was all red and glistening with sweat. His thin white t-shirt had become translucent, revealing his toned skin and tracing his abs. His black three-fourths hung low on his hips as he stood with his hands in its pockets. He looked hot-I mean cool. Yeah, cool. I tore my gaze away from him and drank the water.

I should stop checking out guys. What the fuck was I doing? Priyaank was okay, but Ved? Seriously? Maybe my mind was malfunctioning. It must have frozen due to the cold weather.

"Are you here to collect the money?" I asked and got up to retrieve my wallet.

I took out a ₹500 note since I didn't know the exact amount. I pushed my hand towards Ved, and he gave me a flat look. I told him to take it and give me the change later if he didn't have it at the moment.

He pinched his nose bridge and sighed. He glanced between me and my hand which had the money. I furrowed my eyebrows. "Is it not enough? Did I eat too much?" I was shocked at myself.

Just how much food did I gobbled?

"Keep it. I don't need it," Ved refused and shrugged.

"No. You have to take it," I insisted and pushed the money forward.

"I said I don't need it."

"Take it."

"No."

"Why not? I am giving it to you. Why are you refusing?"

"Because I don't want to take the money from you!" he snapped and started walking away.

"Why not? Because you are a rich brat? You think you took pity on me, don't you?" I fired back.

Shut your mouth, Sandhya! Do you want to get killed?

"What the fuck did you say?!" Ved halted his steps and turned around. He shot me a murderous glare, and I gulped nervously.

"Just.... take the money," I replied in a low voice, hoping he wouldn't go berserk.

He took the ₹500 note from me and waved it in front of my face. "You want me to have it?" he questioned, and I nodded.

"Give me the change late-"

Rip!

Ved ripped the note in two pieces and threw them away. My jaw was touching the ground and shock crossed my face. He curled his hands into fists as he fixed me with his cold stare. I blinked rapidly at him, still unable to register what happened.

Did he just tore the money I gave him? This idiot!

"Wh-why..... Why did you do that?!" I asked.

Ved didn't reply and walked away after throwing me a glare. I was flabbergasted. I picked up the torn pieces and frowned. He could have just given it back to me.

You didn't let him, Sandhya. He clearly refused, but you were still pestering him. If you hadn't forced him that much, maybe you wouldn't have lost that money.

But why did he rip it though? Why was he so angry? What did I do now?

I threw the torn pieces away and got back to my work. Fortunately, my teammates and other students who witnessed the exchange didn't comment on it or made fun of me. Mahek however was laughing her ass off, and I could only curse at her in my mind as Priyaank was around.

I noticed him looking at me with curious eyes, and I smiled inwardly. I knew I was being unrealistic, but I enjoyed the small moments. I knew I was kind of attracted towards my team leader because he was so kind, but I had no expectations.

At least, I finally felt like that for a guy, or I had begun to doubt my hormones. Since the college started, I met so many guys, but never felt like that. Maybe it could be because I was fooling around and messing my friends' lives.

But now I have all the time on my hands.

And though I was sure I had an arranged marriage in the future, or I was going to die single, I could at least tell my kids that I was not just a hopeless romantic.

With all the weird thoughts running in my mind, I kept digging reservoirs with my teammates, and soon forgot about the incident with Ved. Meanwhile, Mahek was trying to get others to join her in bullying me, but everyone had brains. Even the guys who were earlier impressed by her beauty were now getting frustrated with her.

She was trying to get her work done by others, but Priyaank handled her really well. All of us worked tirelessly, and though we were lagging behind other teams, we still managed to do a lot of work before the lunch break.

Our team leader instructed everyone to stop and wash ourselves before going to the diner. Everyone agreed, and I told him that I would leave after a few minutes. He nodded and left too. I decided to complete a little bit more work before joining others.

The moment I was left alone, my mind changed gears, and I found myself living all the moments from the past. And though I was grateful for my good memory, sometimes it was tiresome as a lot of unnecessary thoughts stormed my mind, no matter how much I shook them off.

It had been over six months, but Mahek was still with Shree. Was she actually serious about him, and I had misjudged her? What if just like I didn't like her, she also didn't like me too, apart from the Shree's issue? I didn't imagine all of those things, right?

And Karthik? I wanted to not overthink, but the way he was looking at me in the morning set me off. Not that he was looking at me in a bad way or something, but it felt like he was trying to say something. Was I again overreacting and worrying unnecessarily?

What about Faiyaz then? He was alright, and I didn't notice anything bad even after that threat from Rashi's elder brother. But.... why was Faiyaz doing a job when he should be studying? I never saw him in his house and only talked to him on the phone.

What was going on? Was he hiding something from me so that I wouldn't worry? But then Zoya also never mentioned anything about it too. She was always happy and cheery, and would just ask about Rashi and how she was doing.

Man, I had so many doubts. I had promised myself that I would stop doing it, but it was like I was controlled by my mind-and my emotions. Only if I hadn't acted so stubborn....

"You like to show off that much?"

Ved snatched the shovel from me and threw it aside.

"Wh-what?" I stuttered.

He scowled at me and poked my shoulder. "You think you are Wonder Woman?"

I wanted to reply with a boastful 'Yes', but I bit my tongue after seeing his enraged face. He poked me again, and I asked him why he was getting angry on me for no reason.

"Are you planning on digging the whole ground by yourself? Are you that overconfident, Sandhya?" he complained.

"What exactly are you talking about?" I asked embarrassingly.

He gave me a dead look and shook his head. It was like he was having a conversation with himself. He told me that everyone had left to have lunch, and I was still fooling around here alone.

My mind picked up what he was talking about, and to make matters worse, my stomach growled at the same time. I pursed my lips, and Ved looked at me pointedly.

"Move your feet, Sandhya, or else you will be left alone. Do you want to die of hunger?"

"Of course not!" I replied.

"Then what are you waiting for, dimwit? Go already. You haven't even washed yourself!"

I quickly nodded and before he could scold me more, I ran towards my room to get myself cleaned. I looked over my shoulder, and he was shooting daggers at me.

What the hell was his problem?

He would get angry one moment, and then show his concern the next second. He didn't take the money I was giving him for the food I ate at the dhaba, but he was worried if I would miss my lunch break? What the fu-

Don't curse, Sandhya. Remember, Priyaank doesn't like it.

Yeah, I forgot about that. But as long as Ved was around me, I highly doubted if I would be able to act like a sweet girl. Maybe I could try it for at least once. It wouldn't hurt anyone.