Juvenile glee bubbled in my stomach as I switched off my alarm. You know, like the times in school when you can't sleep because you are going on a picnic the next day. 

This was like that but better because we were all going to Goa! 

The past week had been so chaotic with the preparation for the upcoming vacation. We had to get so much done. I had spent it all with Deepani going from one mall to the other. The girl was insatiable when it came to shopping. At least Shreyas was secretly relieved at not having to accompany her. Deepani much preferred my company to Shreyas because he would only 'grunt unhelpfully' in her own words. 

Angad still hadn't acknowledged what had happened in the parking lot on the second day of Melisma. I hadn't bothered him for a couple of days true to Yug's advice but even after that, I found it difficult to broach the subject. I just hoped he wasn't still upset about whatever had happened. 

Smriti had steered clear of me ever since Melisma and I was giving her all the space she needed. No hurry there. 

Vahni had left a week early to visit her family since she would be spending her mid-sem break with us in Goa so classes had been extremely boring. Smriti only sat with Nirav and the gossip-mongers in our class were having a field day with this new couple. At least they had moved on from me. 

The only time Nirav and I had interacted was when the seniors had called a meeting to tell us that our cultural event had been pushed back further and would take place after the mid-sem break. There was coldness on both our parts but it was civil. 

I had also managed to convince Sarah and Matt to join us for at least half the duration of our Goa trip after which they could leave for their national conference. Sarah was ecstatic after hearing that their project had been selected for the conference so I used this window of opportunity to get her to say yes. 

The last-minute ticket scoring, the shopping, the itineraries and other nitty-gritty of planning a trip took their toll but it was all worth it. We were on the other side. We could all enjoy this trip at last. 

It was 6:00 am by the time I was dressed in my comfortable joggers and t-shirt for the aeroplane ride. Siddharth, ever the sweetheart, had volunteered to pick me up. The others would meet us at the airport. 

Goa here we come. 

***

We all stood in lines with our boarding passes in hand. The wait at the airport had passed in the blink of an eye with coffee and conversation.

I was glad to see all my friends gelling with each other. Vahni had finally gotten over her awkwardness and Sarah seemed to be on better terms with Angad than I could have imagined. It didn't take long for Deepani to warm up to them as well.   

"Wish we were sitting together," Vahni said glancing at her pass.

We knew we would be sitting apart what with the last minute booking. Sarah and Matt had got their tickets together so they were in the same row. 

"We could always ask the people near us to exchange seats with us," I offered.

"You have a seat near everyone else, do not give that up on my account. It is only for a couple of hours."

I planned on asking the person next to me to move so Vahni could sit with all of us. We were on one single aisle. Shreyas and Deepani on the furthest row, Yug, Angad and Siddharth in the middle row on three-seat clumps and finally my aisle seat. Had I known Vahni would end up on this trip I would've booked the seat next to mine but it was gone by the time that was decided. It would've been perfect. 

I hoped the person sitting next to me was nice. 

As we walked onto the plane I discovered that the person next to me was not just nice but also drop-dead gorgeous. It was a tall, bronze-skinned boy who looked like he had just stepped off a magazine cover he was reading.

Vahni startled me as she gripped onto my elbow and whispered, 

"Don't you dare change your seat."

I just nodded trying not to stare at him as I stuffed my carry-on overhead. He glanced up from his magazine and smiled at me with a perfect gleaming set of teeth. I managed to smile back. 

Vahni gave me a not so subtle thumbs up from her seat. 

Everyone else had, by this point, noticed my handsome companion. I ignored their stares and sat down.

There was nothing to be said till the flight took off. The air hostess did her announcements and with some relish, I noticed they lingered at our row. They paid extra attention to my gorgeous seatmate.

 Once we were in the air I flicked through the selection of movies on the in-flight entertainment system. It was abysmal. I gave up after a few minutes and just rooted around for the book in my bag. 

"Disappointing right?"

My head whipped up and my eyes met with the Vogue model's. 

"Sorry?" I said somewhat awkwardly.

He motioned in the direction of the screen.

"The collection," he clarified, "they don't have any good movies. They never do."

"Yeah," I chuckled and cringed internally. 

What was happening to my conversation skills? 

"This is my first time with this airline. Are you a frequent traveller?" 

"Yes. My agency has a deal of some kind with them." 

"Agency?"

"Yes. Anhilio Inc."

Oh, so he was actually a model. I nodded in appreciation. 

"What agency have signed with?" he asked. 

It took me a second to realize what he was alluding to.

"Oh no, I am not," I chuckled again, "I am a regular old student."

"Wait, you aren't going to Soul Threads?" 

"No, it's a vacation for me. Those are my friends over there," I tilted my head in their direction, "What is Soul Threads?"

"Oh, it is a fashion event that happens in Goa every year. I just thought you were going there," he said and then smiled, "you looked the part so I just assumed there would be one other person on this flight going for the event." 

"I am flattered truly but no. I am Meera, by the way." 

He smiled and extended his hand for me to shake,

"Neel."

I shook his hand. Siddharth who was on my right cleared his throat presumably to catch my attention. 

"Do you want some?" he asked offering me a pack of chips they had opened. All three were staring at me expectantly. 

"No, thank you," I told him.

"Would your friend like some?" he asked, his tone arching at the 'friend' part. 

"Oh, uh, Neel?" I turned to him. He shook his head and thanked Siddharth. Siddharth retracted his hand back and stared a beat too long until Yug tapped on his shoulder to ask for the packet to be passed to him. 

***

The flight passed in a blink thanks to Neel. He was an incredibly witty and interesting person. We spent the rest of the two hours chatting about our lives. We exchanged numbers during our descent. 

Once we landed I could finally introduce my friends to Neel. He was very gracious and invited us all to Soul Threads. He told us where we could get tickets and promised a fun party after the show. 

Since we didn't have a strict itinerary and the show sounded really fun I told him I would be there. 

None of the boys seemed too excited about the prospect of going except maybe Yug but they didn't say no to Neel's face which was a relief. Matt seemed unbothered since he and Sarah had to leave before the event for their national conference. 

We parted ways shortly after and set off to our hotel. Sarah, Matt, Vahni and I ended up in one taxi and the rest in the other. 

Sarah leaned in a little after a few minutes and whispered,

"Was I the only one who noticed the jealous faces of your friends?" 

I frowned. 

"Oh don't tell me you didn't see Angad and Siddharth glaring at your new beau."

"Okay, one, he's not my new beau and two, it was only Angad first but now Siddharth is supposedly in love with me. Quit playing matchmaker."

"What are you two whispering about?" Vahni called out from the front seat. 

"Uh, nothing important. Sarah really needs to pee."

Sarah looked at me scandalized.

"Should we stop somewhere?" Matt piped up.

I smiled. Matt was a good boyfriend. 

"No, I am fine. It's not that urgent." Sarah said still staring at me with narrowed eyes. 

We reached our hotel shortly and checked in. Vahni and I were sharing a room so Vahni was getting the bed situation sorted. I leaned against my luggage. 

"Let's all meet back up here in a couple of hours. We will head out to the beach in the evening." Angad said to everybody and there was general agreement. 

I finally collapsed on the bed with a dramatic sigh as Vahni dragged her huge suitcase in. 

"We're here!" she exclaimed.

"Goa, Goa, Goa," I chanted and then laughed. 

This was going to be a fun week.

A/N

 So sorry for the short chapter and the long wait. This is the second time I had to type this chapter out because it got deleted the first time around. 

Also, I have been having the worst spell of no motivation. 

Hopefully, upcoming updates will be regular. Thank you for sticking around and reading. 

Stay safe.

X