Royally yours

17. Exams

Chaitra

We reached the restaurant where others were already waiting for us. We took our seats. I am sitting in between Mr. Chauhan and Seema. My friends are sitting on Seema's side and his family is sitting beside him. We placed our orders.

"So, Daksh sir do you have any girlfriend?" Seema asked out of the blue which made me choke on the water I was drinking. Mr. Chauhan started patting my head and passed me some tissues. I wiped my face with the tissues. He stopped patting me after he made sure I was fine.

"Sir! Do you?" Seema asked again making me glare at her. If looks could kill she will be burnt into ashes by now.

"I do!" He said smirking at me. Seema huffed in disappointment. Don't tell me this idiot is planning to cheat on our innocent Karthik. Yeah, they are lovers.

"Why are you so disappointed if he has a girlfriend?" Karthik asked in a possessive tone which went unnoticed by this stupid friend of mine.

"I wanted to set him up with someone if he was not taken!" She said grinning. I tried to control my anger by fidgeting the hem of my dress. Wait a minute! Why am I angry if she wants to set him up with someone? Maybe because he is my fiance! My cheeks turned red as soon as I thought of that word.

"Your friend is talking about setting up your fiance with someone else and you are blushing?" Daksh asked amusement dancing in his eyes. My cheeks turned a deeper shade of red hearing his 'fiance' word. 

"With whom did you want to set up bha... I mean Mr. Chauhan?" Abhishek asked earing a glare from Mr. Chauhan.

"Leave it! It's not possible anyways. Why make it embarrassing!" Seema shrugged her shoulders. She can't just leave me on a cliffhanger! With whom did she want to set him up? Before anyone could speak further our food arrived and we had our lunch.

"I'll be back!" Mr.Chauhan excused himself when his phone went off. We had our desserts and I quickly grabbed the bill and kept my card in it and handed it over to the waiter before any of the boys could react. I raised my imaginary collar smirking at them at my victory.

"You won because bhai was not here. He would have won if he was here!" Rakshith said raising his hands.

"But he is not! When he is not around I am the boss!" I said smirking. When I turned around I saw him walking towards us. We got up and met him midway.

"Let me pay the bill." He was about to go but Abhi stopped him.

"Someone has already paid!" he said pointing towards me as if accusing me. I dusted my shoulders looking here and there. He gave me a look asking why.

"It's my treat for writing the exam well!" I said and walked out before anyone can ask further. Daksh said he will drop us at the hostel and we gladly agreed.

After returning to the hostel we had a nap as I couldn't sleep well the past few days. By the time we woke up, it was already 3:30. I studied for some time but a notification caught my attention. It was from vadina. I called Annayya and Nanna after I completed the exam. I spoke with Maa sa through Dad's mobile but Vadina didn't answer my call as she was in court.

She texted me asking how did I write my exam. I replied to her with an excellent and we chatted for some time. After that, I got freshened up and had some snacks. Then I thought to watch something on my mobile for 10 min and started scrolling Instagram. The next time I saw the clock it showed 7:13 p.m. I wasted almost an hour watching Insta. I decided to start reading at 7:15 sharp and started watching reels again. Next time the clock showed 8 p.m. I had my dinner and threw my phone away knowing that I would never be able to concentrate when it is around and started reading. 

I decided to sleep at 11 and went to bed after setting the alarm for 4 a.m. My alarm rang every 5 minutes from 4 to 5 until I finally decided to wake up. I completed a few portions and referred to youtube and Google for a few portions which I didn't understand.  By 10 p.m. I completed all the topics once and started revising them. I explained a few topics to Seema and she explained a few to me. 

At 11 we had a group video call where I, Seema, Karthik, and Mayank discussed the questions which may appear in the exam. At 2 a.m. we ended the call and slept. I got ready the next morning and checked all the topics and headings once again. I got messages from my family and Daksh wishing me all the best for my exam. I replied to all of them with a thank you.

I informed them about my exam after completion. I called my family and left a message for Daksh. I don't know his schedule so, I didn't want to disturb him with my calls. 

The same continued for the rest of my exams. Finally, when we are done with our exams the college announced holidays for 10 days. I started packing for going home. I can't wait to spend time with everyone.  Chauhan family is also coming to Hyderabad for discussing our marriage. I just hope they all will give me time to prepare myself as Annayya promised.

I slept for the entire afternoon and my mobile was on silent. After getting up I started packing and didn't even take a glance at my mobile. After I had my dinner I came to my room and opened my mobile. There are missed calls from Maa sa, Annayya, Vadina, Nanna, and Daksh too! Why did these people call me? Daksh's call was just 10 min ago!

I called Nanna first. He answered after 3 rings.

"Hello, Nanna! I was sleeping!" I said as soon as I answered the call.

"That's okay bangaram(endearment)! I called you to say that Daksh will pick you up from the hostel." He informed.  My breath suddenly hitched upon hearing his name.

"I can come on my own like always Nanna! Why trouble him?" I tried my luck. I want to travel alone. Not because I hate company but because I was planning to sleep on the whole journey! I could not sleep well due to exams.

"No Chaithu! He might have already started!" He said and cut the call before I could speak further. He know he would end up agreeing with me if we talk further. I huffed and called my brother.

"Hey, Chaithu! Completed your beauty sleep?" He asked as soon as he answered the call. He knows me well.

"I can sleep longer!" I said sighing dreamily at which he chuckled.

"You can sleep after coming here, my dear sleepy sister!" He said and paused before continuing.

"We called to ask if you need anything for the day Daksh's parents visit. Do you need any clothes or jewelry? We are out shopping! Me, maa sa, and Bindu called you but thought not to disturb you as you  didn't sleep well the last few days." He completed. I thought for some time and answered no. I already have a lot of clothes and jewelry. Why do I need more?

"Okay then bye!" He was about to cut the call but I yelled before he could.

"Annayya! Chocolates for me!" I said smiling sheepishly and he cut the call after saying an okay.