"Close your mouth" Neha's voice brought a pause to my thoughts.

I turned to her in surprise when she whispered with a look of sympathy "My condolences"

I gave a confused look and she nudged me to look at Vamsi who seemed delirious at the announcement.

What is he more excited of? I wondered.

"You look disappointed" Vamsi observed.

I cleared my throat "Not really"

"Scared to meet a new girl?" He replied, biting back a smile.

"Girls are stupid" I decided.

"Hey!" Neha punched me at my side.

"Fine! All girls are stupid except you and me. Happy?" I grumbled biting back a groan.

"Better" she mumbled.

"She's an awesome person, you don't worry" Vamsi added cheerily.

"How do you know that? As far as I know, you never met her" I asked doubtfully.

"I saw her a number of times in college"

"I meant personally"

"I didn't" he stressed "Apart from smiling awkwardly every time we see each other in corridors, there was this one time I ran into her at our last IT fest when we participated in the workshop---"

"Where was I then?"

"Remember when you disappeared from the lecture, after I said I won't sneak out with you and then you had a fist fight with Abhi?"

"Ahh" I remembered, pleased with myself for giving him a broken nose "That bastard got what he deserved"

"You got a bruised cheek" he reminded with a glare.

"Totally worth it!"

"Yeah whatever" With his tone of disapproval apparent, he continued "So we ran into each other during snacks break"

"And?"

"We stared and smiled at each other; awkwardly, like every time"

"And?" I pressed on, trying to understand if I should read something between the lines.

"And what? We exchanged pleasantries and went our separate ways"

"So you stared into her eyes for like ten seconds and you know her? Just like that? What are you? Some kind of Jedi?" I said sarcastically.

Neha snickered making him scowl "Believe what you want to. I heard from many that she's a good girl"

I pouted "Is she your new best friend then?"

He smiled, putting a hand over my shoulder and pulled me closer "No one can replace you"

I grinned and he slanted his head across mine "Besides, if not me, then who will bear you?"

I slapped his shoulder making him chuckle "Idiot!"

Half an hour later, Neha and I dispersed out of the auditorium, bid bye to Vamsi and walked to the ladies' where Anila is powdering her perfection, also called as 'her face'.

Seeing her earned a groan from Neha "I hate the sight of her. How am I going to work with her? For an entire project!"

"There's nothing we can do, babe. Ms Sunitha already told us the groups are final"

She sighed "I'm sorry for you too"

"Why?"

"You have Nisha in your group"

"It has to be somebody. Might as well be her" I said, feigning nonchalance.

I still haven't figured out how I feel about her. Unlike Vamsi, I'm pretty sure my reaction isn't exactly positive.

There's something about her that always made me feel wary. Her innocence and her sweet voice attracted a lot of male attention in the college; including that of Vamsi.

However, it never made me feel threatened because I was sure his infatuation could go nowhere. She is a diva and is used to being appreciated. But knowing that Vamsi is like no one else, there's a tiny twinge of fear that she will see right through him and want him for herself.

Being used to his attention 24/7, I can't imagine how it'd be like to share him with someone else.

"So, you are not worried that Vamsi might like her?"

"He likes her already"

"That doesn't bother you?"

"We have been best friends for more than a decade" I deadpanned.

When she looked confused, I added in a firm tone "Just because a new person comes into his life doesn't mean I'm insecure of our friendship"

"Liar" She repeated the words in my mind.

I rolled my eyes to avoid answering her when Anila swayed towards us, putting her compact back in her bag "Hi partner"

Neha flinched "Hi"

"So. When are we meeting the other team mates?" she asked, looking at me.

"No idea" I shrugged.

"Sunitha mam said we can use our Microprocessors lab after classes today" Neha replied tensely, then looked at me "Guess your mind was on other things"

Nisha, she meant.

As if understanding who we are talking of, Anila said "So what about you? I heard Nisha will be in your project"

"Yeah. So?" I asked, as a matter of factly.

"Nothing" she replied, a naughty smile playing on her face "Just anxious what will happen now that Vamsi will be around a girl. Everyone's starting to wonder if he's gay, what with him hanging around you all the time"

My hands tightened into fists and I heard Neha swear something under her breath. The only reason I stop myself from punching her perfect face is the fact that she's a girl.

Boys, I can deal. I can kick their guts, slap their face and punch their nose. I can fight dirty because it will stay between us which is a privilege I don't have with my kind.

The only time I hit a girl was during my fourth standard. After the principal called Nanna, he made me promise never to hit a girl again.

Which I kept. Til now.

However, every time I meet this girl, I feel myself getting close to breaking it.

"Okay then, I gotta go. My boyfriend David might be worrying about me" she grinned, leaving us to glare at her retreating back.

"Why did she say my boyfriend, David? Everyone knows who her boyfriend is" I said.

"Someone might have gotten confused with the names before; what with the number"

We looked at each other and laughed.

"I am this close to kicking her this time" I said, walking towards our department.

"I know. I hope I will be around the time to see it"

"Why? You going somewhere?"

"Not really. But I'm not sure what my psychological status will be after a few days with Queen B"

"Don't worry too much. We will do something if she gets out of hand"

"Forever the optimist" she said, raising her hand to mock salute "So are we going to talk about your dream?"

I groaned "Not again!"

"Oh come on. You say you don't feel anything for Vamsi but you dream of kissing him"

"Shush lady!" I rebuked, looking around to make sure no one's nearby "A little quieter please!"

"I mean why does it feel real if it never happened?" She continued not bothering me.

I clenched my teeth "Because that's how dreams seem. Real! To f**k with our heads"

"You better mind your language. You are lucky Vamsi is not here. Besides, why don't you tell him about the kiss"

"Because he's my best friend"

"Duh! He will probably have an explanation why you dream of it every few days"

"Weeks, not days. If I'm lucky, months. Every time I don't get it for few weeks, I become hopeful that it won't be back. But ta-da, it always does"

"Also you feel guilty that you actually like when it happens" She completed the thoughts in my head.

"I can't help what I feel in a dream" I said bleakly.

"I still think you should talk to him"

"And what do I tell him? Hey Vamsi, I dream of kissing you and happen to like it. You have any idea why?" I said sarcastically, glaring at her.

"So you have been dreaming that, for like what? Six years?"

"Almost" I grumbled, annoyed at myself for confessing to her few months ago.

"Do you remember exactly when it first started? So we can guess what triggered it"

"I can't believe it. Who are you? ACP Pradyuman? Patha karo Daya, ye dream kab, kaise aur kaha start huwa?" I said, imitating the last part in Pradyuman's voice from CID.

She laughed "You nailed it. And perfectly"

Rolling my eyes, I said "So this is between us, right? You haven't told anyone"

"Of course I didn't. I'm not like other girls. I can keep a secret" she muttered with a scowl, bothered by my question.

"Good" I said, taking the last steps to our class room when I noticed Prof. Srinivas addressing the class already "Exactly how late are we?"

"I didn't know we have Advanced Computer Architecture today"

I checked the time in my Fastrack Sports watch and realized we are seven minutes late "We don't. We have networks today"

"Are you going to stand there whole period and talk to each other?" Professor's voice made us turn our attention back at him.

"Sorry" We mumbled together.

"Are you?" He asked, looking annoyed "So tell me girls, what register is used to store data temporarily to be transmitted to or from peripheral devices?"

Bastard! We had Basic CA almost 2 years ago and I don't remember anything from then. He's purposefully asking us what he's teaching the class now.

I looked at the black board and found MBR, MDR, DR, PC, AR scribbled in his dirty handwriting.

Ok, so R stands for Registers. What does M, B, D, A and all that stand for! Remember, brain. Remember!

"We can't waste full period to hear your answers. What's the register used to store Data---"

"DR" I answered, interrupting him. D must stand for Data. It's only logical!

Holding my breath, I prayed I am right until I heard him "Get in. You won't be allowed next time if you are late"

Biting back a swear, I made my way to the back of the class room with Neha tagging along.

"God, that's close" Vamsi muttered behind me as we took our seats.

"I swear I hate him more" I told him, mentally planning a murder sketch for the professor.

"Good thing you got it right" He sounded proud.

"Good thing you have a brain" Neha whispered beside me.

"One day I'm going to------"

"Be a vigilante and attack him?" Vamsi interfered, a lazy drawl in his voice "Ya, that's not going to happen"

"Yeah, we will see about that" I said through clenched teeth.

When classes ended, I am more than ready to go home but had to stay when Neha reminded about meeting our partners in the MP lab after class hours.

"Hello"

It's not the first time I heard her voice but it still surprised me how sweet she sounded.

Nisha participated in singing competitions while Vamsi and I took part in Dancing every year during annual day celebrations.

If dancing MJ songs is our thing, singing melodies is hers.

It was on one of those rare occasions when I ran into her while she was practicing in an unused class room. Of course I left before one of us opened our mouths.

"Hi. I'm Anjali" I replied awkwardly.

She smiled "I know. You are a legend in the college. Nice to finally meet you"

"Really?" I grinned "Am I famous here or what?"

She laughed, her angelic voice sounding like honey as she said "Of course"

"Okay. Good to know. So, now about the project" I began on a serious note, directly going to the point "We have three half days every week and two holidays. We have to be productive and discuss everything during this time"

"As you say. So who will be the team leader?"

"Of course, Anju" Vamsi joined along with another boy "This is Vineet by the way. Anything we missed?"

Before I can answer, Nisha replied "Nothing important"

"Okay. Cool"

A look of delight filled his face and I wondered if he's deliberately trying to look stupid. Somehow, it didn't seem to faze her as she said, looking equally interested "So when do we begin?"

"The project, right?" I had to ask, little bothered by the way they looked at each other.

Vamsi coughed, intentionally I'm sure as he said "Of course"

Half an hour later, we parted our ways having discussed our time tables and how many free hours we shared.

"Do you like her?" Vamsi asked as we strolled towards the parking lot.

"She seemed fine to me" I replied, placing my hands in my pockets.

"You will like her better as you get to know her" There's a skip in his voice I never heard before.

I paused my walk, staring up at him "Why do you talk like you know her?"

"I don't. But like I told you, I heard about her. A lot"

"And what did you hear exactly?" I said, continuing my lazy stroll.

"A bunch of stuff. She's serious about her studies, helps her parents at home, rejected too many boys in our college and very clear about what she wants"

"First of all, most of us here are serious about their education which is how they got seats at the best engineering college in Vizag. Second, most people help their parents----"

"I'm not talking about helping in making their lives miserable" He sniggered, implying me.

I glared at him, crossing my hands against my chest "What did you just say?"

He bit his lip "Nothing. Why are you bent on disliking her?"

"No" I said instantly "I don't dislike her. She's fine. Sweet and all that"

"But?"

"She's still a stranger. A girl" I muttered pettishly.

He spoke after a while "Neha is a girl"

"She's different and you know it"

"Fine! It's not my mistake I wished you had more girlfriends"

"I have Ananya and Madhu"

"I meant friends, not cousins. Neha is the one & only girl friend you had since we are friends"

"It's a miracle I have one" I pointed out.

He laughed "True"

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- JANAKI