Abhirath could literally see the confused gears working in Mriga's mind as she tried to make sense of what was happening around her. He decided to intervene before she bungled up the whole thing.
"So, its decided then. Mriga and I will go back to the dorms now to sleep. You both must eat enough today to make up for our share, as well. We shall do the next celebrations real soon," said Abhirath and nearly dragged Mriga out of there.
"Can you explain it to me exactly what just happened? And why are you pulling me away in such a hurry? My arm nearly popped out of its socket," Mriga said in irritation as she removed his hand from her forearm.
He flicked his knuckles at her forehead and said, "How can you be so obtuse all the time? Don't tell me that you were blind to the admiring looks which both of them kept exchanging during the quiz. They were so keen to spend some more time together and you nearly spoiled it for them. Poor Vandit. He looked despondent when you refused to even entertain the idea of celebrating. I mean, even my heart hurt on his behalf but you…"
Though his words were stern, his voice was warm and indulgent. He couldn't help but find her obtuseness also endearing.
"Huh? What? You mean Ishani and Vandit? My Ishani and Vandit? Didn't they just meet?" she looked at him cluelessly.
Abhirath thought that she was really really cute in that moment and had the strongest urge to drop a kiss on the frown which was marring her forehead. He controlled himself though and settled for ruffling her hair instead.
"Thanks to your long-drawn chess tournament, they spent some quality time together. I guess that's where they bonded," he shrugged his shoulders.
"Now if I have answered all your questions, can we go back? I am dying of hunger and want to find something to eat at the foodhall before sleeping. I suggest you do the same," he said.
"This sure looks cozy. Brother, if you are done with your post quiz discussion, can I get my girlfriend back?" a cold voice interrupted their conversation.
Mriga turned around to see a scowling Yash in front of her. The girls from his team were nowhere in sight, though.
Abhirath knew that he had been on borrowed time till now with Mriga. Realising that he had no right to hold her back, he quietly moved away from her. Steeling his heart, he raised his hand to bid her farewell.
But his hand stopped midair and his lips curved upwards at her next set of words.
"I am sorry, Yash. The 'post quiz' discussion is still on. I guess you and I will see each other later. Abhirath, shall we go to the foodhall? I just realised that I am damn hungry as well," she didn't give either of the guys the time to react and walked off.
Abhirath was surprised but happy to follow her without a word. At the moment, he couldn't be bothered about the reason for her behaving like this with the boyfriend as long as he was getting to spend some time with her, alone.
Yash stood there for an uncertain moment before walking away on a sulk.
"Why should I be the one who has to make amends every single time? Who does she think she is – the Queen? If she can throw a fit, so can I," with that thought, he turned to go back to his dorm.
Vindhya, who had been on tenterhooks ever since Yash had said bye to her and walked towards that bumpkin, allowed herself a triumphant smile. Prior to the human pyramid game, Yash had casually informed her about his participation in the quiz show with Mriga. He had even invited her to join their team as they were a member short. As if she would ever…
Irritation had eventually given way to resentment. How dare he even think of putting that girl on the same team as her. An inspiration had struck her when the pyramid contest had been announced. She had told Gauri to ask one of their mates to withdraw her name from their team for the quiz and register Yash's instead. Post that, she had gone and bumped into the falling teammates deliberately, and then pretended to faint. She knew that she would have to come up with an explanation later for Gauri but she was sure that the girl would follow her instructions to the hilt for now. The strategy had paid off. Vindhya was proud of her ability to foresee and predict human behavior. Her psychology teacher had always praised her for having that acumen.
A misunderstanding had cropped up between the new love birds already and Vindhya intended to keep the fire going.
Same evening
Mriga was trying to balance the heavy load of books in her hand, which she needed to return to the library. She was carrying both Ishani's and her books at the same time since her best friend had not returned up till now from the 'celebratory lunch'.
It was still tough for her to digest about Ishani and Vandit being together. In fact, till an hour ago she had held out the belief that maybe Abhirath had overread the situation. But now when it seemed that their lunch was going to stretch till dinner, she had no choice but to accept the fact.
"But instead of feeling happy for my friend, I am actually slightly depressed. Am I am feeling jealous of Vandit for taking away my bestie? No no… not possible," she muttered to herself while walking out of the hostel.
The next moment half of the books were taken away from her hands.
"Wh… what are you doing?" Yash had scooped the books out of her hand.
"Helping you," with that, he fell into step with her.