Listening to Yash explain it in detail, Mriga held back her questions regarding the girl which she had intended to ask him about the previous day. She was very sure that Yash wouldn't lie about meeting his mother or the party. He could have met the girl at the party or at the gate of the Gurukul. It wasn't a big deal. She wasn't going to be petty minded about him meeting others.
"So why were you looking for me yesterday? Did you want my help in solving some love problems?" he asked her with a wink.
She looked at him in confusion and wondered how did he know about what she had been thinking. And why was he at so much ease while talking about the topic?
"Did Ishani speak with you this morning?" she enquired, wondering if her friend had confronted him about the girl from last night, already.
He shook his head and replied with a scowl, "No, your err… friend was looking for you earlier, that guy, Abhirath. I am assuming that you went looking for his help because you couldn't find me. I understand that you wanted to resolve the matter between the new love birds but you could have just waited for me. There is no need to trouble outsiders for the same all the time."
Mriga thought that they were on two different planes. She didn't have a clue about what he was saying but what registered was the fact that Abhirath had been looking for her. Was everything alright back at the Admin building?
"You said Abhirath came looking for me? When was this?" she asked.
Yash frowned a little and said, "I said a lot of other things as well. Anyways, he was here waiting for you when I reached but then left asking me to pass on the message to you about him being here."
Mriga grew restless and said, "Oh! I guess I need to go see him now. Why don't we meet later for a walk?"
"What is so urgent about Ishani's love life that you and he need to see each other so early in the morning to solve it? I understand that she is your best friend but we haven't got much time before the Gurukul shuts for a long break. Is it too unreasonable for me to expect for your time as well?" he complained.
Mriga finally understood that Abhirath must have mentioned something like this as an excuse to Yash, earlier.
"Ah… you are not wrong. It's just that Ishani has been distraught and I don't want her to go back before helping her sort things out with Vandit. Also it is better that I finish with the matter now before the assigned duties start rather than waste any of our free time later in the evening for this," she tried to persuade him.
"Are you going to the hostel then? I will take you there," he replied sullenly.
She grabbed his hand in gratitude and nodded.
Yash turned to look at her once they reached the boys' dorm.
"I'll go and look for him. You wait here. Don't take too long to chat with him though. You have a habit of getting carried away. I don't want you reaching late for your duty," he chided her gently.
Mriga smiled and nodded her head dutifully. She could see that he was feeling a bit jealous and she loved it.
"Hey you! You are the girl from last night, right? Is all well at your home now?" a voice spoke from the steps.
Mriga looked up to see the boys' dorm head standing there. She quickly replied that everything was fine now and bowed to him, hoping that he wouldn't say anything more. She could feel Yash standing next to her and frowning in confusion.
"Good. You looked so worried last evening that I had wondered. Are you here looking for your fiancé? Do you need me to call for him?" he offered graciously.
Mriga groaned silently. This is what she had been worried about for the past few seconds. She thanked him politely and told him that she was here for some other work at the moment. The man looked as if he wanted to say something else but then thankfully stopped at the last moment.
Sighing internally, she braced herself for Yash's questions. She had no idea how to explain this now.
"Fiancé? I didn't know that you were engaged to be married," Yash's testy voice made Mriga want to poke her eyes with her own fingers.
She hadn't thought last night that such a situation may occur due to her hastily spoken white lie.
"I was in a hurry last night and it was already late. The warden wouldn't have let me send a message to Abhirath had I not said this," she told him, sticking as close as possible to the truth.
"As a result, you referred to him as your fiancé? It is apparently not that big a deal for you. Makes me wonder how well do I know you?" Yash snarled.
She knew that she was in the wrong here but there was no way to allay Yash's allegations without giving away the truth which she could not do.
"Oh look, you guys must have telepathic connection. Here comes your fiancé," sarcasm dripped from his tongue as Abhirath walked towards them from the other direction.
As he reached them, Yash said in anger, "I will leave you both to solve the crucial love problems of your dear friends. Mriga, I have just remembered that I have a few pending assignments which need to be submitted urgently. I guess I will see you post the semester break. Enjoy your conversation."