━━━━━━━━━ ⋆✦ Shreya

It's definitely not a surprise to see Ayaan at the hackathon. After all he’s called the tech-king in his college. I randomly once stumbled upon their college’s confession page and one girl confessed her crush on Ayaan, saying she fell for his eyes, that he was the tech-king and bullshit. The idea of calling him the tech-king makes me nauseous. By the way, I didn't mean to stalk his profile. It… it just happened.

Last year, it was our bad luck. But this time, the championship trophy is going to be ours and I would make Ayaan humble his ass. Mark the words!

“Shreya!”

The voice made me come out of my deep desire to bury Ayaan. It was Vikranth, my best friend. Our team consisted of three members, Vikranth, Adhitya, and myself. Adhitya is a mutual friend. Vikranth and Adhitya became good friends by taking the same metro route to the college.

“Where are you so lost, Shrey?”

“Umm. I’m sorry. Just wondering which weapon I should use to assassinate someone” I joked.

“Pretty sure, you are. With that kind of a look on your eyes” Adhi commented.

“Alright, participants. The 48 hours begins now.” The coordinator announced on the mic as the countdown began. The problem set was displayed on the screen as well as a soft copy was sent to our email id.

The auditorium ruffled with whispering as the teams started discussing their ideas. As I was looking around, I caught the person I despise the most, in the entire freaking world, looking at me. He mouthed an ‘all the best, loser', to which I calmly responded by adjusting my glasses with my middle finger. Sure, I’m cool as an ice cream.

But what frustrated me was the way he laughed when I showed the finger. Trying to play cool, huh? Douchebag.

⋆✦

An hour passed with us brainstorming ideas.

“Alright! So, let's finalize,” Vikranth said, tapping the pen against the laptop. “We have three options—AI based resume scanner, an expense tracker app, an automated note-taking app.”

“The plagiarism one is too basic,” Adhi stated, not satisfied with the idea.

“I’d like to go with the expense tracker. What do you think?” I suggested.

“Cool.” Vikranth replied.

“Yep. But we need an edge,” I said, my eyes flickering at Ayaan’s table. He was in a deep discussion with his team members and he had his usual smug smile plastered on his lips. Oh, how I wish to tear that smug smile from that face!

As though he sensed my gaze on him, he tilted his head in my direction, catching me in the act. His lips twisted into a grin. He took his phone and started typing something. My phone pinged with a notification. It was an email. Email from Ayaan.

From: ayaan28xx@gmail.com
To: shreya06xx@gmail.com

Subject: Focus!

Hey loser!

I know I’m handsome and I don't blame you for checking me out. But at least be professional in the hackathon.

P.S. That finger thing earlier was hot, ngl.

Yours,
The TechTonic Champion.

Heat crept up to my neck and into my cheeks. I’m not sure whether it was because of how furious his email made me or because of that last line in the mail. I composed myself before writing a reply.

From: shreya06xx@gmail.com
To: ayaan28xx@gmail.com

Subject: Re: Focus!

Hey Douchebag!

I’m pretty sure no one has ever told you the truth. It's time you finally know the truth. The truth of how ridiculous you and your face are. Sorry to break it to you.

P.S. Are you stalking me? How did you get my email id?

Never Yours,
Not someone who is childish like you.

I breathed out after hitting the send button. I gave a final glance at him before turning my focus back.

Focus, Shrey!

“So, what I was saying was, umm…” I stuttered and gave my teammates an apologetic smile.

“Girl, I know you are interested in Ayaan. But, can we please focus now?” Vikranth said, shaking his head in disappointment. I just mumbled a little sorry.

“You were saying that we needed an edge,” Adhi said.

“Yes! Right! So, what if we integrate predictive analysis? Like, the app could suggest saving habits based on spending patterns.”

“I like that. It makes it different from the regular ones.” Vikranth agreed.

“Alright then, we’ll split up the work,” Adhi said. “I’ll handle the database structuring.”

“I’ll take care of the UI and design,”  Vikranth added.

“That leaves me with the backend logic,” I said, stretching my arms to loosen the muscles. “C’mon guys! Let's win this.”

I was about to get into work when my phone pinged. It was him. Again.

From: ayaan28xx@gmail.com
To: shreya06xx@gmail.com

Subject: Re: Focus!

Hey Silly!

Ouch. That hurts. I like how you talk bullshit but with the entire world’s confidence. Makes you look crazier than you already are.

P.S. I have my ways to find everything.

Yours,
Someone who knows the format for an email.

He is really on a mission to get on my nerves, ain't he? If that's what he wants, I won't give in. I didn't want to proceed with the conversation further and decided not to reply. I didn't even want to spare a glance at him.

Douchebag.

I took a toffee from my bag and ate it. Toffee really helps me calm down. I guess I’m going to need a lot of toffees in the next 47 hours.

🎓🎖️🍬🩶

a/n: i know i said this one will have quick updates. but guess what, it doesn't always go as per the plan. i really don't want to make y'all wait. but i can't guarantee regular updates on this one. it's going to have sporadic updates as of now.

p.s. don't know whether you guys noticed or not, but adhi is the same adhi from flat fiasco. and vikranth, umm, you'll have to wait <3