As Jay was a few feet away from us Akshath called out "Jay I am here". "Hey Buddy, are you alright? Is everything okay? Sorry I left you alone. Please don't look outside. Now take deep breaths", said Jay but was soon cut off by Akshath.
"Jay, I am fine. Sanjana took Care of me. Everything is alright", he replied. Jay looked at him intently and dropped the topic indicating that they would have this conversation later.
I know how to handle Panic attacks as I used to get them quite often when meeting new people, if I am the center of attention, or if I am alone in the dark. There was an incident in the past that still gives me shivers down my spine. But later on, I eased into such situations with the help of my family and friends, and altogether my panic attacks stopped.
Eventually, the rain stopped and I asked Jay where Rahul and Isha were. "Oh, I left them in the car as it was pouring outside. I gave the car keys to Rahul and came running towards Akshath. They will join us now as it stopped raining", replied Jay.
We started walking towards the shop and we saw Rahul and Isha joining us.
"They made out", muttered Jay in a low voice to Akshath. But I heard him as I was walking right behind him.
I don't think so because a red face and dishevelled hair can be indications of weather as well right? And I would not judge them even if they did something.
We entered the shop and purchased all the raw materials. As we went to our cars, my stomach growled loudly indicating my hunger. "Okay let's go for lunch to the nearest restaurant", announced Akshath.
I gave him a grateful smile and we started to the restaurant with the same seating arrangement as earlier.
After reaching the restaurant, Akshath, Jay, and me sat on one side of the table With Rahul and Isha sitting right across from us.
I ordered a whole set of dishes for myself as I was quite hungry. I am a foodie and I always want to try different varieties. But today I went ahead with safer options as I am already on the verge.
Soon the dishes arrived and I stuffed myself with food. I never shied away from food since childhood. Food always brightens my mood and gives me a sense of satisfaction.


"Sanjana will you be able to complete all these dishes", asked Rahul. As I was about to answer Isha replied "I would die of cholesterol if I eat these dishes". I glared at her as she commented on my food. I ignored her and went on munching off everything.
As I am halfway through, I am full. I blame god for giving me such a small stomach. I am not the kind of person who wastes food. So I did my best in completing it.
"Umm, I am full, can you please eat it", I said as I forwarded chicken tikka towards Akshath.
"You can eat this", I told Jay and forwarded him the Biryani and did the same to Rahul forwarding garlic naan and curry
Everyone gave me a pointed look and I looked down embarrassed.
"Sanjana, I can't eat anymore I think my stomach would burst out", exclaimed Jay after eating half of it. "Please Jay just a few more bites and it will be done", I requested him.
All the guys stuffed themselves with the food that I ordered and did not complain much.
We left for campus and found an empty room to start our project. "I feel sleepy with the amount of food I ate", said Rahul looking at me.
"Okay, let's focus and we should complete at least 70% of project by today so that we can work only half a day tomorrow", announced Akshath.
We started working on the project and it started to rain again. I immediately rushed towards the doors and closed them and switched on a few extra lights in the classroom. Jay was right beside Akshath. I went towards him and reminded him that rain is just a fin whale Urine.
He looked at me with a small smile and nodded. Jay looked at our interaction and he seemed shocked?
After a few hours, we completed the software version and successfully got the output but we are still halfway through the physical functional circuit. Surprisingly, Isha was helpful and did not try to flirt with Akshath anymore but gave a few glances at Rahul.
By 5:00 pm we were done with the software version, 5 pages of written documentation and 50% of the physical design. We decided to complete the remaining on Monday as Rahul said that his travel time is almost 2 hours and he doesn't want to spend so much time traveling when we can complete the project within an hour or 2.
We headed out and it already become dark considering the weather conditions.
I do not fear the dark but I fear what lies beyond it and the essence of unwanted memories that it carriers. The campus felt creepy as I was unable to spot a single member outside except us. "Sanjana, Akshath is waiting for you in the car. He will drop you at the dorm", said Jay bringing me out of my thoughts. I gave him a grateful smile and went towards Akshath's car.
We stopped at the dorms and as I was about to get off he stopped me. "Hey, this is a small gift for you, for what you did back there in the rain", he said forwarding me a package. "I did not do it expecting something from you", I replied frowning.
"I know, just take it and get off", he replied shoving the package in my hands and driving off. "How rude, he did not even allow me to thank him for dropping me", I muttered to myself and went to my room.
"Hello my dear favourite people, I am back", I said walking into the room. Piggy giggled and Sam just smiled at me. "Hey where is Tara?", I asked them. "Oh she did not return from the project meet up", replied Piggy.
"Okay, so how was your day?", asked Piggy. I narrated my whole day omitting Akshath's panic attack part. "Wow, so you sat in his car? like the supercar?", Sam asked and I nodded.
"You know as per the information from the sources, he did not entertain even a single girl in the campus", said Piggy filling me with the gossip. "Yeah, he did not entertain me exactly. He just gave me a lift to a shop". I said looking at them. "Then what about lunch?", asked asked Sam. "Oh come on Sam, it's not like he ate with just me. Jay, Rahul, and Isha were also there for lunch", I replied.
"Fine, you are no fun", said Piggy and started working on her assignment. I asked Sam about the current status of her project and she said that they completed only 20%. She will be working on the project tomorrow as well and their team rented a private room in the coffee shop for a day as the campus will be closed on Sundays for dusting and cleaning purposes.
"I am done with this life", came Tara barging into the room and falling dramatically on the bed. "What happened Tara", I asked her softly. "That idiot forgot everything, I don't even know what I would do tomorrow. I want to run him over with a fucking bulldozer", exclaimed Tara.
"Calm down and tell us what happened", asked Sam. "That idiot Pranay, he said that he fucking forgot the raw materials that we purchased at the shop once we reached the campus. So we had to take a detour and when we reached there, the shopkeeper said that there were no items left behind. One of our team members searched Pranay's car and found the items. The items were in his car all along. We wasted a lot of time and then this rain acted as an added advantage. We fucking had our meal just an hour ago and we did not even start the project for fucks sake", explained Tara.
"Oh, I have a friend named Pranay. By any chance is he the same Pranay from ECE?", I asked Tara and she replied with a yes. "If he continues this shit again, I will throw that asshole under the bus", said Tara.
"I think we will not have enough buses tomorrow Tara", said Piggy playfully. Tara threw a pillow at her and soon enough we were all fighting with pillows.
After a long bath, I came back and changed into my PJ set and my gaze fell on the gift.
I opened it and it was a box filled with all kinds of sweets. I did not have dessert at the restaurant as I was full but I did give a longing gaze at the sweets while we passed by. I smiled knowing very well that it was his way of saying thank you. I ate some of them and video-called my family.
"Sanju beta, how are you? are you eating well? Is everything okay at the dorm?", asked my dad. "Papa, you ask the same questions every day", I said and giggled at him. "Yeah yeah, I know. So do you need any money?", he asked. "No papa, I do not need anything", I replied. "What kind of a teenager are you? I saw my workers at the office complaining about their teenagers demanding pocket money from their parents but here you are not bothering to ask anything. I do not have anything to complain about you to them. You can buy some clothes you know?", asked my dad.
"Papa, you give me 15k every month for pocket money which is a lot and Mama is a fashion designer so why do I need to buy clothes when I can get everything for free and she always shops for me whenever she goes out", I replied.
"Okay, you can use the money to try different food items", Papa said knowing my weakness. Food is life and I would not reject anything related to food and its undebatable. "Okay papa, I will do that", I said thoughtfully and talked to the rest of the family.
As I was about to sleep my phone pinged and I checked that it was a message from Jay saying Thank you. I replied with a smiley emoji and went to sleep.
I tossed and turned but the only scene that kept popping up in front of me is the time that I spent with Akshath. It may be because he is the only boy that I sat close to or may be he is the only boy that showed his weakness to me in our second meet. I found him different as he seems to have a hard exterior which screams rude and arrogant but his insides are filled with distress and vulnerability.
I told my self that he is so handsome and that is why my thoughts keep drifting back to him.
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