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Chapter 11 - Aarthy

The week following 'Spandan', Fiza spent a lot of time in the library, catching up on lectures and making notes.

Her circle had widened to include Shahana, Varsha, Priya, Vineet, Srinivas and Prajit

Vineet, Srinivas, and Prajit were day scholars, while the girls were hostelites. They would hang out between lessons and gather at the cafeteria for lunch. Prajit had a reputation for making crude jokes, but Fiza found him funny nonetheless. Vineet shared her interest in music and would often share his playlist with her. Srinivas, on the other hand, seemed a little immature, and she tried to avoid him for the most part.

Fiza didn't have much time to spend with Alan and naturally distanced herself from him. When she saw him, she would wave in acknowledgment, but she consciously limited their interactions as a courtesy to Varsha, not wanting to hurt her friend's feelings.

She couldn't help but wonder, especially when lying in bed at night, if he ever thought about her. Did he miss their conversations? Would he try to initiate contact if she didn't?

Fiza was surprised when her phone buzzed with a text from Alan on Friday. The message simply read "Sup?" She had been studying from her Guyton's textbook of Physiology, carefully highlighting the text that she planned to revise.

"Not much," she replied. "Just catching up on the classes we missed." Guilt crept into her thoughts as she remembered how she had promised to keep spending time with him after the competition.

"K," he replied after a brief pause.

"Wru?" She typed.

"Lib," he responded.

"SYT," she quickly texted back.

As her heart pounded in her chest, Fiza couldn't comprehend why she felt such a rush of excitement. She had only considered a friendship with Alan because she believed he was a good person. Yet, a good person wouldn't cheat on their girlfriend or dump someone over text.

She couldn't quite fathom why she felt obligated to meet him now. Regardless, she swiftly packed her textbooks, notebooks, and pens into her bag, applied a hasty swipe of lip gloss, and made her way to the library.

Alan stared at his phone, his heart pounding in his chest. He had mustered up all his courage to send that text, and now he couldn't believe that Fiza had agreed to meet him. His mind raced as he recalled the moments they had shared during their practice sessions, singing songs about love and locking eyes with each other. Those memories filled him with both excitement and apprehension.

His hands shook slightly as he set his phone aside. He couldn't help but notice Fiza spending time with Varsha lately. He worried that Varsha might have shared her version of events, casting him in a negative light. The thought of Fiza seeing him differently now weighed heavily on his mind.

Alan had at the time been in a year-long physical relationship with Aarthy, someone who was 4 years older than him but it had been far from fulfilling. She constantly berated him, making him feel small and inadequate. Despite the toxic dynamic, he had found himself going back to her time and again.

Varsha had been a breath of fresh air, bringing happiness into his life and boosting his confidence. But when she had confessed her love for him, he had panicked. He had reached out to Aarthy, intending to break things off. Aarthy had told him that if he truly cared for Varsha, he should stay away from her. "You destroy everything you touch. Look at yourself in the mirror, you drug addict. You think your Varsha would still love you if she knew that you were cheating on her all this while?"

Believing her words, Alan had made the painful decision to end things with Varsha. He had blocked her number and avoided her, even being cruel when she had approached him at tuition with tears welled up in her eyes. In his mind, he was horrible person, unworthy of love and had thought he had done the right thing by pushing Varsha away.