Next day
Nishant got up a little late as the classes did not start until 10am that day. He slowly got ready and came out for breakfast. Sheela was doing something in the kitchen when Nishant entered.
"Amma, you did not wake me up today! You always bang on my door when I sleep till 8. But what happened today?"
Sheela continued her work as though she did not hear Nishant.
"Are you still angry?" Nishant asked her as he hugged her. "My darling amma, you can't stay angry with your only son you know!"
Sheela struggled out of his hug and gave him a nasty look.
"Don't try to play nice. You are an adult now and you don't need your mother anymore. Why don't you ask your Shradha to wake you up in the morning. "
"Oh come on amma. Not again! Won't you give some nice food for your hungry son. I am late for college. "
"There is upma on the dining table. Take and eat." Sheela ignored Nishant again.
"Upma!!?? Why amma.. you know I hate upma." Nishant started complaining.
"This is what you are getting. Eat if you want or feel free to go out for breakfast. After all you can take decisions on your own." Sheela did not leave any chance to use Nishant's own words against him.
"You know you are acting like a child right now. Fine, I tried my best. You do whatever you want and I will also do the same."
Nishant ate breakfast with great difficulty and left for college, leaving irritated mother behind.
In the Evening:
Shradha was waiting for Nishant at their usual place in the campus. She had been thinking about their relationship since yesterday and she felt the need to speak to Nishant about her thoughts. He was at Lit club meeting and it was almost time for the meeting to get over. Soon Nishant walked towards Shradha with a big smile.
"Have you been waiting for a long time? I thought you will take time to finish your work in the lab."
"No. I came only few minutes back. How was the meeting? "
"Oh ok. Meeting was good. They give me some more articles to write. The seniors were planning to host a short story writing competition and they wanted me to participate. They said next year I will be organizing most of these events and I wont get a chance to participate. So they told me to register for all the events this year. And also they told me that my writing has gotten so much better in just a few months. So they want me to try fiction writing. I think I need to start thinking about story ideas now."
"Wow, that's great. You seem really happy."
"I am really excited! I never thought I would be the writer type of guy, but here I am enjoying writing and thinking of inspirations and ideas!"
"Yea. I also never thought I would be one of those students who use lab after classes and work on personal projects! But here I am, thinking about learning more about coding !"
"I know right! We both changed a lot! A lot of people believe that it's because of our friendship, including my mom."
Shradha was surprised to hear that. "Your mom?"
"Yea. But she thinks we are more than friends and your influence on me is quite strong. Hahaha I don't know what to tell her! She was even saying that she doesn't want you as daughter-in-law." Nishant started laughing thinking about his mother's words. He explained what had happened at home yesterday.
Shradha felt that this was the right time to bring up the topic that had been bothering her.