Hello Fam :)

So, last couple of months were tough but somehow I could restart writing again. It's sloppy and took some effort but the familiarity of Harry Potter motivated me to write. After which I tried writing this chapter. 

Thank you for being patient as I took time from everything. 

Happy Reading...

Nandini was tired by the time Abhimanyu dropped her at her building. She declined Abhimanyu's offer to help her unpack saying she might probably go to sleep straight but going up she found her apartment was still locked which meant, her roommate hasn't returned yet. Hence, she unlocked the apartment, went in, and started unpacking. Her initial plan was to clear the bed enough to sleep comfortably until her roommate came home. Once she started, she was caught in the flow, unpacked her things, and arranged her cupboard before showering. She had her dinner, instant cuppa noodles, with the TV as her company, and then went to discard the empty packets.

She was in the kitchen when she heard the door click open and felt happy about finally meeting her roommate. She checked her watch and find it was close to half past seven in the evening. Her happiness was short-lived when instead of finding her mysterious roommate, she found the idiot Malhotra in her house. "What the hell are you doing here? Are you stalking me?"

"Yeah, yeah", said the idiot laughing somewhat sarcastically. "You break into my house and then accuse me of stalking. Is this a reverse strategy of the great Nandini Murthy?"

Nandini crossed her arms. "Your house?", she said and smirked. "Poor kid. Have you lost your eyesight so early in life?"

Manik scoffed. "Kid? Look who's talking? Have you seen yourself? You are like half of my height. Unfortunately, your brain is stuck there too."

"How original, Malhotra", she said. She refused to lose to this guy. "It's not my fault that you stole every packet of Complan from the supermarket during your childhood."

"I don't even want to argue with you. Just get the hell out of my house, Murthy", said Manik.

"Isn't your brain working too?", she told. "This is my house. That's my room. Go outside and check the door number. Are you sure your eyes are working properly?"

Manik crossed his arms and actually went outside to check the door. Nandini decided to get the timings written down of when the idiot would go to the office so as to avoid bumping into him ever again. Her house was supposed to be her safe haven. Not free access to every other idiotic person to barge in. Speaking of barging in, when Manik barged in this time, he had a smirk on his face.

"Checked the door with my two working eyes. Still my apartment. Would you mind leaving now or do you want me to call the police?"

"Police? Are you serious right now? Where the hell were you yesterday when I stayed in this apartment?", asked Nandini.

"Oh, so you have started occupying my apartment since yesterday? Great. What did you steal from my room?"

Nandini huffed before going into her room to grab her mobile. Once she came out, she stared down at Manik while dialing her housemate's number. It rang and her heart ached to see the mobile was actually ringing in Manik's hand. "You are my housemate? What the hell?"

"News flash. I told you using brain for the first time hurts a lot."

Nandini stopped her urge to punch the guy and dialed the house-owner's number next. "You idiot. You said my housemate's name is Manika. What is Manik Malhotra doing in my apartment."

"Madam, it's just an extra letter. If you don't want to stay, leave the house. I have so many things to buy right now. Don't irritate me", said the owner and he kept the phone.

"An extra letter", exclaimed Nandini, looking at her phone. "He says an extra letter as if I feel safe enough to share an apartment with a giant as my housemate."

Manik scoffed. "It's me who should be worried about getting murdered in my sleep. Look, I am tired after dealing with you at the office. I don't want to continue that at home too. Also, I came here first and I am not leaving this apartment. If you don't want to stay, I would be really happy if you could find the new one."

Nandini's hands balled up into fists. "Fine. I not dying to stay with you. It's late in the night and I am tired too. I leave first thing in the morning. I am barely tolerating you in the office. I don't want to see you again at the end of the day too."

"Glad, we could agree upon something together", said Manik and left towards the kitchen. He returned back with a bottle of water, went to his room, and shut the door without any more words.

Nandini screamed into the empty hall before stalking towards her bedroom and shutting the door. 

Kudos to people who already guessed Manik as her housemate. :P