The Wrong Number

48

Alankrita flopped onto her bed, face first, and grumbled into the pillow. "Aw, beti," Anu said, patting Alankrita's back, "it's alright."

Alankrita rolled onto her back, clutching the pillow to her face. After yelling at Ruhan in the middle of the street, she'd caught an auto home and had been subjected to the icy wind and rain, resulting in her getting a cold. She even had to miss school because she had been running a fever that morning, and Anu, being the worried overthinking best friend that she was, had shown up at Alankrita's house after school. Naturally, Alankrita had unloaded her problems onto her.

Alankrita mumbled into the sheets. "What?" Anu said, and Alankrita lifted her head up.

"It's not okay. I yelled at him, da, I got so mad."
"Yeah, but he did push Farhaan."
"That's not what I was mad about."

Anu raised an eyebrow, to which Alankrita sighed and said, "I was mad.... Because he hadn't confessed yet."

Anu rolled her eyes and was about to say something back when Alankrita's phone vibrated. Their eyes moved to it simultaneously.

One unread message from Ruhan

In a flash they two of them were grappling for the phone, and Anu succeeding in wrenching the phone from Alankrita's grasp. "Anu!" Alankrita gasped through Anu's fingers, which were clamped around her face, "let me read it!"

"NO! In this feverish state you're in you could say something stupid. I'm not letting you sabotage your potential relationship with Ruhan. Nothing doing," Anu said, stretching the arm holding the phone far from Alankrita's reach, "I'll read it out to you."

"What about privacy?" Alankrita tried, pulling at Anu's T shirt.

"It is not something you deserve after yelling at that sweet boy."

"Argh!" Alankrita gave up and sat back onto the bed with a huff, an angry, sniveling red eyed mess. She crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at Anu, who, after giving her a satisfied smirk, turned her attention to the phone. Her eyes widened. "Ooooh!" she said in a sing-song voice. "What? What is it?" Alankrita asked, trying to read the phone screen. Anu turned the phone to face Alankrita and she read the message.

5: 58 pm, Ruhan: I'm smitten

"He's probably just messing with me. You know he thinks he's texting Crazy Stalker, right?"
"You still haven't told him? Boy, you're really taking your time."

"Yeah, because I'm waiting for the right time!"Alankrita said, fuming. Anu gave her a sceptical look and said, "I'm just going to play dumb with him, okay?"

Shouldn't be too difficult,Alankrita thought but just nodded her head.

5:59 pm, Ally: ?

It seemed like an eternity before her phone vibrated again. Anu squealed as soon as she read the message, and dangled the phone in front of Alankrita's face. "It's you!"

Alankrita frowned and looked at the screen.

6:02 pm, Ruhan: with Alankrita

Alankrita's heart began furiously doing a set of jumping jacks. She felt a sneeze coming and reached for a tissue. "Anu, this sounds- ACHEOOO- nice and everything," she paused to wipe her runny nose,"But if he wants me to know he has feelings for me he'll have to chin up and tell me himself in person. Like, right now I can't take anything he says seriously."

Anu clutched the phone to her chest and said, "What, you don't believe him?" When Alankrita shook her head (and regretted immediately it as it felt like her brain was being put in a blender),Anu pursed her lips and said, "Fine. I'm going to keep talking to this guy and give him a chance because I think he deserves to explain himself."