After a long day of lectures, I packed my bag and looked around to be sure of the fact that Ishaan had skipped the third day of college too. Disappointed, I exited the classroom with a hope that I would get to see him the next day.
"Aasma! Hey, Aasma!", called Kriti.
I looked back to find her talking on the phone, signalling at me to wait. The call went on for another 10 minutes after which she finally joined me for the long walk towards the college gate.
"You don't like dogs?", asked Kriti in her sweet voice.
"I like dogs, but I'm afraid of them." I answered, trying to hide the embarrassment.
"Don't worry. Hang out with me for a few days and I promise you'll fall in love with these creatures.", laughed Kriti.
Not knowing what to say next, I smiled at her to express my gratefulness for being so nice all day.
"The campus sucks.", complained Kriti.
"True that. Don't know how we're going to survive here for 3 years."
"Well, I'm sure you have found your reason for survival. I'm yet to find one."
I looked at her in surprise. How the hell did she know that I had been crushing on Ishaan?
"Dude, you know, the way you look at him? Anyone would guess. Add to that the restlessness that shows up on your face when he's on leave. You're in love, baby!"
"It's not love, to be honest. But I would like to know him a bit more. And, of course, I like spending time with him. That's about it.", I said, trying to shoot down the butterflies in my stomach that I used to get when someone talked about Ishaan.
"Fair enough.", uttered Kriti, trying to make me feel comfortable.
"Why do you need a reason to survive here? I mean, you must have an army of boys running behind you, trying their best to win you over.", I asked.
"Why? Just because I look good? You know, my life isn't as good as you think it is. Amongst the army of boys that you are talking about, it's hard to find someone who would love me for how funny I am or how intelligent I am or how loving I am."
"Do these things really matter in front of a pretty face?"
"Aasma! I have been ghosted before, more than once, by guys who weren't brave enough to tell me why they didn't like me anymore after chasing me for months. I've been taken for granted. I've been ignored, insulted. Hasn't been an easy road for me, the pretty girl."
"Were all of them the same? I mean, wasn't there anybody who loved you the way you deserve to be loved?"
"Of course, there were. In fact, there are many who still love me like crazy. But I don't like them enough to be able to see a future with them. They're too good for me."
"Oh! So you're single now?"
"Yeah. For the last 3 months. And I'm happy.", smiled Kriti.
I smiled back at her as we both parted at the college gate, she heading towards the metro station and I to the bus stand.