March 16th 2024

"Uthale re baba, uthale re deva. Mujhe nahi Ritu ma'am ko. Kitna kaam deti hain yaar." I cried marking the guest list. It was the last work and after that I can have my lunch peacefully. Few of the volunteers who had also been tortured by 'Female Hitler' were so done that they left early for the canteen.

"Oh hey Aarohi~" 'Aa gayi chudel.' "Hey Ronika~" I reciprocated the tone. "Ritu ma'am has asked you to check these as well." She said in an overly sweet tone, handing me a box of decor. "Haeinn? Abhi?" and she answered it with a nod.

'Iska sar phod dena hai maine.' I thought while I gave her a tight smile. Meanwhile Yukti joined us to take me to the canteen.

(I could literally smash her head right now.)

"I won't be able to make it Yuku, but get me some samosa after you are done with your lunch okay." Yuku tried to defend me but I suggested her not to. She left, giving me an apologetic look and Ronika a death stare.

After they both left I continued with my work. Obviously thinking about Akshit in between.

'Such a gentleman he is yarr. He also dropped my scooty at home that day. Hayee mein marjaavan~'

Few minutes later, I heard my stomach grumble, so out of hunger I headed towards the canteen.

There I saw Ronika holding Akshit's hand.

'Heyy Radha rani, aaj toh ek paap ho he jaye mere haatho! Mere bande ka haath kaise pakda isne!' I fasten my pace towards their direction.

"Aarohi Govind, come here!" a shrill voice shouted and the owner of that voice, Ritu ma'am stood at the canteen's entrance. I tried dodging her call as at the moment all I wanted to do was lay a sweet punch on her daughter's face.

"Aarohi, is that how you respect your elders? I said come here!" She shouted again.

'Iss baar toh bach gayi. Agar yeh galti dubara hui, fir bataungi isse ki Aarohi Govind ka gussa kya hota hai.' I turned and went near Ritu ma'am.

"Aarohi didn't I mention you to check the box and hand it to me before the recess ends?" She asked with an irritated face.

"No ma'am you didn't." I replied simply with a smile which was pretty enough to annoy her as she walked away not before asking me to come with her.

Did I ever mention how witch of a lady Ritu ma'am is? Bro she literally asked me to show the assignments that she has given a few days back.

'Kahan se lau? Itne dino se saans lene ki bhi fursat toh chordi nahi hai aapne.' I thought while trying to find my notebook in which I've jotted my 'assignment'.

(From where will I bring it? Since so many days you haven't even let me breathe properly.)

"Ma'am, I actually forgot to bring that notebook today, sorry." I apologized while she just sighed. "I'm letting it slide just this time." She said walking past me.

I breathed out and saw Yuku with a plate of samosa coming towards me.

"Yukuuu!" I cried hugging her while she patted my back with her free hand. We went inside our classroom where she fed me the samosa and told me how Ronika was trying to befriend Akshit but he didn't even spare a look at her. My man.

After the school.

"Main toh thak gayi bhai sahab." I put my bag on my study table and plopped on my bed. I was soon embraced by sleep.

7:30 pm

I woke up hearing my phone's ringtone. "Hello, kon bol rahe hain?" I answered it without reading the caller name. "Aree hum bol rahe hain." A familiar voice replied. "Yukti baat rahi behen! Uthi ya nahi?" She asked.

"Hey Yuku, wait, I'll get ready in just 5 minutes. Then we'll go to class." I said sleepily. "It's already 7:30 bro, haven't you checked the time? I've already come back home from classes." She replied.

"Heinnn???" I jumped from my bed checking the time and it was indeed 7:30pm.

She then told me how she dialed me many times and even came home but looking at my state, she suggested to mumma that I was already very tired and needed sleep. That's why nobody woke me up.

I got freshen up and went straight to my study table as I've a huge load of backlogs to complete. The time passed by and it was already 1:30 am when I checked my phone after a good 2 hours long study session.

Choudhary ji
+91 xxxxxxxxxx

Choudhary ji
Hey :)
3:30 pm

'Oh god how did I miss his text.' I thought, typing a long 'apology paragraph' but before I could tap on send, my phone switched off. "Mere saath hai aisa kyun hota hai." I cried searching for the charger.

"Aarohi Why haven't you slept yet? It's late beta go and sleep." Mumma said entering my room and turning off the lights. I gave her a quick nod and sighed as I didn't found the charger.

'Guess I'll have to apologize in person now.' I thought, diving into the dreamland.

But that eventually never happened as...

Time skips to a week~

It's been a week since I saw Akshit properly. Not to mention it's also been a week since Ritu ma'am has been overly sweet towards me while handing me all the duties which she was asked to do.

But finally I got the chance to see him when Miss Madhu, our art teacher, asked me to gather some volunteers for tomorrow for help. And I obviously went towards his class first.

"Ma'am I have a small announcement to make, so may I?" I continued after receiving a small nod from Miss Joshi. "Can we have some volunteers who can help us tomorrow as we still have some little things which aren't finished yet?" I asked and instantly a few students including him and Manav raised their hands.

"Great! Please reach the school by 10 am tomorrow. Thank you ma'am" I said leaving the room, glancing a small look at him which he thankfully didn't notice.

March 24th 2024

It's already afternoon and the sun is shining brightly in the sky. So bright that it was enough to make us all take a small break. I acknowledged the ground from afar, all the decorations have been placed, beautiful rangolis and posters have been drawn by the students and all the colorful drapes have increased the beauty of our school ground.

And suddenly I heard a 'thud' and noticed students gathering near the water tap. When I reached there my heart sank when I saw Ms. Govind lying unconscious. Out of impulse I lifted her and took her to the nurse room.

"Excuse me ma'am, we found her unconscious near the water tap. Can you please check her?" I said laying her on the bed. Nurse ma'am checked her.

"Ma'am will she be alright?" Yukti asked joining me with Manav, sobbing slightly. "Yes she'll wake up in a few minutes. She fainted due to exhaustion and dehydration. Don't worry." Nitya ma'am said with an assuring smile.

"Bas ek baar Aaru uth jaye fir uss budhia ki khair nahi." I heard Yukti murmur. "Seriously, itna kaam kon karwata hai yarr!" added Manav.

(I will take care of that oldie once Aaru wakes up.

Seriously dude who gives so much work!)

And really at this moment, apart from being worried about Ms. Govind's condition, I was more angry at that old lady. It's all because of the amount of work she has been additionally giving to Ms. Govind.

"Guys, she woke up." Never knew Yukti bhabhi's words could make me this happy. I rushed towards her and asked if she was alright? To which she replied with just a nod.

"Dhyaan hai apna? Nahi matlab din bhar Yukti ko daant ti rehti hai par itne dino se khudka dhyaan nahi hai." Manav scolded her like an elder brother. "Sorry bro." She said with a weak smile. Yukti patted her head and we all went back home after completion of all the work and informed Ritu ma'am as well.

(Do you even care about your health? No I mean you scold Yukti to take care of herself, and now look at yourself.)

On the drive back home, I noticed some sort of chemical reaction going inside my body that I was unaware of. In these few days I've noticed how my heart has missed her presence, how I care about her safety the most when she is in trouble, even my mother has noticed and addressed a few changes within me.

'You are just overthinking Akshit, don't let anyone distract you from your goal.' said a voice within me.

'You are on the right path Akshit. Connect the dots.' another voice spoke in contrary to the first.

'Just stop it guys, give me a break.' I thought looking out the window being done with whatever has been happening these past few days.

♡

Sushi's note: Hey readers, hope you liked and enjoyed this chapter!

What do you think, will Akshit be able to learn his feelings about Aarohi?

Also, suggest a good song for this chapter.

Keep on voting and commenting. And don't forget to take care of yourself and drink loads of water. Stay protected from this hot hot garmi.

With love
《Radhe Radhe》