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Chapter 42 - I found you

Alan received another message from the resort in Gokarna, inquiring if they were interested in staying with them and posting about their experience. Excited about the possibility of going on a trip with Fiza, he forwarded the message to her.

Fiza only occasionally posted on their shared Instagram account, which was usually managed by Alan. She was required to log out of hers to check it and usually left it to Alan, not wanting to be distracted by the constant notifications on their social media.

"Shahana, Vineet, Priya, and Chandran want to come too," Fiza responded. The girls in the hostel had been talking about going on a trip for a while, and now with four days of holidays coming up for Diwali, they wanted to make the most of it.

Considering their limited time and budget, the group narrowed down their options to local places. Alan had initially thought of going to Gokarna alone with Fiza, but the idea of going with the group also appealed to him.

Alan wrote back to the resort, inquiring if they could accommodate a group of six. To their surprise, the resort offered a beach villa for all of them, but with a catch. They needed to visit the main resort and post videos about the place since the villa was not open to the public.

"I dunno, it seems kind of shady to review the resort if we are staying at the Villa," said Fiza, sounding a bit wary.

"I don't think so. We could visit the resort, have some food there, and spend some time in the gardens," suggested Alan. "If that's not okay, we could just record songs at different locations at the resort and include video clips to post."

Fiza found this compromise agreeable, and Alan relayed the plan to the resort owners, who agreed to it as long as they were mentioned in thr captions and tagged.

"Yay!" exclaimed Fiza, unable to contain her excitement. She couldn't wait to share the news with her friends and embark on this adventure with them.

With the trip now official, the group began to plan the logistics. Shahana blushed a little as she said, "I'd like to stay with Vineet."

Fiza and Priya couldn't resist teasing her and exclaimed together, "Oooooh! Are things getting a little heated with you two?"

Shahana laughed, not denying it but not divulging too much either. "I don't kiss and tell," she said, winking playfully.

Priya and Fiza giggled, knowing that Shahana and Vineet had been together on multiple occasions. Vineet's parents being doctors, were often busy with work, which meant he had the house to himself, and Fiza had covered for Shahana on several occasions.

Priya then confided in the group, "Chandran and I haven't made much progress. We only just talked about being exclusive. We've been a little naughty, but not really intimate. I actually haven't talked to him about this trip yet."

"Why not?" asked Fiza, curious about her friend's hesitation.

"What if he says no?" Priya looked a bit vulnerable, worried about the possibility of rejection.

Fiza hugged her reassuringly. "You really like him, don't you?" Priya nodded with a smile. Chandran was a senior and was very popular.

"I'll ask Alan to talk to him," Fiza said enthusiastically. "They're both in the basketball team and are friends. With both Alan and Vineet there, he should be happy to join us."

Priya felt relieved and grateful for Fiza's support. "Thank you. That would be great."

As the room arrangements were discussed, Priya turned to Fiza and said, "So you and I share a room?"

Fiza's smile flickered a bit, as she had been secretly hoping to stay with Alan. However, she knew Priya needed to be comfortable too. "Sure! Alan and I aren't a couple anyway, so that's fine," she replied, trying to hide any disappointment.