Love at First Swipe ✓

Tandoori Chicken Momos.

I browse through the internet to find a few interesting leads to work on my new story, for this week's Celebrity gossip article, as I listen to Ayesha rant about how she wants to leave this job but can't. I look up a few Bollywood affairs, drama on sets, TV soap controversy telecasts, as she keeps on ranting. I'd happily listen to anything she says because she's the most loyal and mature friend I could ever ask for, irrespective of our four-year age gap.

"- I want to be a real journalist chasing political and social stories. I'm twenty-six, young and have so much potential to thrive and I can't allow myself to work under a sexist boss who thinks women are better at chasing stories on ceLeBriTy gOsSip. I mean... I deserve better! Are you even listening to me?" she snaps her fingers in front of me as I'm engrossed in the computer screen.

"Ayesha, listen to me.. You're right, absolutely right. But, I'm going to remind you once again that we need money to pay off bills and our firm pays the best. So, let me focus, okay? I have to get this done by the end of the day."

She rolls her eyes at me and shows me her middle finger, dramatically banging her head on the pile of papers lying in front of her. She picks them up and walks to the adjacent desk, commanding the new intern to proofread all the pages. She weakly walks back to her desk to continue with her work.

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I step out of the office after a long day of work, walking on the street and looking for an auto. A cool breeze hits my face, sending a slight shiver down my body and goosebumps start to appear on my skin. My lips start to quiver and my legs are already shaking. Delhi winters are all good until it's past 6pm. The weather here sometimes feels amazing but most of the time, it's a pain in the ass. It's always extreme- too hot in summer, too cool in winter.

I finally find an auto, reach home and comfortably order a plate of Tandoori chicken momos and grab a beer from the fridge.

Since the day mom and dad got divorced, I couldn't help but notice how mom had to take care of me, earn money by doing two jobs, pay all my bills and make sure I got the best education. 'Don't ever depend on a man', she used to tell me, 'be independent, earn a lot, save up, have fun!'. And here I am- clumsy, underconfident, not talented enough and just so stressed all the time.

I turn on the TV, quickly flipping through the news channels only to let out a loud groan and turn the TV off in frustration. I need a distraction. I can't keep worrying about all this, all the time. It only messes with my head even more.

I need to calm down.
Distraction.
Distraction.
Picking up my phone, I finally decide to install Tinder as per Ayesha's advice.

Add a picture? I quickly browse my gallery and add my best pictures.
Bio? 'Hi, I'm Trisha Mehra, a journalist in making'? Ew, no.
I should probably call Ayesha and take some advice.

"You're doing... What?" she says as soon as I tell her that I need a good bio for my new Tinder profile.

"Yeah, just something fun, something nice, something you'd write about me, but in your own words?"

"Uhm okay, let me think.. you're very clumsy, but we can't write that you're clumsy, we gotta make it creative. So how would I describe it? Maybe you could write- Need no drugs 'cause I'm capable of naturally tripping on flat ground?" she says and laughs, praising her own creativity, "You're very observant, so why don't you swipe on a few profiles and tell me what's something very common that you observed?"

"Alright, give me a minute", I say and swipe on a few profiles.
Left. Left. Right. Left. Right. Right.
"Everyone just wrote that they like travelling and food, I mean, who doesn't.. right?" I remark casually as I continue swiping.

"That's it. That's your bio. Just write- Need no drugs 'cause I'm capable of naturally tripping on flat ground. By the way, do you know who else likes travelling and food? Everyone!" she could definitely be a professional bio-writer for all Tinder profiles.

"Not bad, huh?"

"Good luck, then. Don't upload those boring pictures in formals. Go sexyyyy", she says cheekily and hangs up.

I edit my bio and sit back, swiping on profiles left and right.

Suddenly, an account catches my eye. It's not the first time that I've seen a face so handsome, but what caught my attention, is how every picture he posted has a story- A picture at a protest, a picture hugging an elephant's trunk, a picture with a guitar while sitting on a tree top!

I smile, shaking my head and tap the screen to open his profile.

'Call me a musician. Call me a socialist. Call me extremely addicted to coffee. Call me an elephant hugger. Or just call me Arjun', his bio reads.

Wow. Arjun Roy. The charm, the wit, the uniqueness! An involuntary smile appears on my face. He has this charming face, wheat-ish skin tone, small bright eyes, long nose, soft hair with a piece of it falling on his face, his lips semi-wide and pink, his body a little muscular. I immediately swipe right, crossing my fingers and hoping to match with him.

I place the phone on the table in front of me, while stuffing the momos into my mouth and emptying the beer bottle, and toss over on my couch.

'It's a Match!', my screen suddenly flashes and I bend over to reach for the phone. I hold the phone in my hand and lose balance, to trip and fall down from my couch. I land on the ground, with the phone tightly gripped in my hand and a strong sense of pain rushing through my back. Agh, when is there ever a day when I'm not clumsy and hurting myself? I unlock the screen as I groan in pain, to reveal my first match- Arjun Roy!

Should I text him first or should I not?

One more notification appears on my screen- 'It's a Match!'

I open to see one of the hot guys I swiped on a few minutes ago.
I screenshot all their pictures and forward them to Ayesha.

<Ayesha: finally! Welcome to dating apps >

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(A/N: please do vote if you liked this chapter)