Diana Penty as Roshni Kabra^^
Fawad Khan as Neel Kabra^^
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《Short Recap》

Roshni texted back immediately, 'Neel and I can hang out till four. What are you thinking of doing?'

We finally decide to go to the mall because window shopping and raiding the game arcade there were or all time favorites.

Finishing my coffee in a single gulp, I shuffled hurriedly to my room to get ready. My body still hurt because of my weightlifting session yesterday but the pain was more bearable now.

After a quick shower, I pulled on the first hoodie I could find and paired it with the pair of jeans at the top of my clothes pile.

Hastily, I penned down a short note for Vinay.

'Will be out the entire day. Might come back late. ~Akira'

I stuck the note on the fridge and headed out.

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"So Akira, you're officially a part of the hostel gang. About time you joined though," Roshni gushes, as we exited the bowling alley, "You have absolutely no clue what you've been missing out on."

I shake my head at her childish glee.

"It's actually not the college hostel. I'm staying in a small flat that I share with my roommate." I explain, as the three of us find a table in the crowded food court of the mall.

I didn't have a vehicle, so Roshni and Neel had picked me up on the way and we'd driven up to the mall a couple of blocks away. We'd spent the entire afternoon in the bowling place.

Honestly, my bowling aptitude was close to nil but the two of them had been going at it like pros and their competitiveness made it rather to fun to watch as they constantly bickered with each other.

"It's pretty much the same thing. All the flats in that building have been rented out to students of our college. You only need a warden to convert that place into a full fledged hostel." Neel shrugged.

"Yes, and I'm so happy," squealed Roshni, "Wait, I think I already mentioned that didn't I?"

"I guess that was like the millionth time." Neel replied.

Ignoring him, Roshni continued excitedly, "Now you can join us on our late night ice cream escapades and while breaking into that skyscraper near college."

"That is one thing I am not doing, so don't even try to drag me along." I raised my finger, " You're lucky they haven't checked their CCTV footage recently, you dumbass."

"You remind of my grandmother, Akira. Someone really needs to teach you to go with the flow." She said, rolling her eyes.

Roshni and Neel lived in the actual college hostel although their parents lived in the city. They wanted their freedom and the idea of living without any attached strings appealed to them. They would go home on alternate weekends and that worked out perfectly for the family so who was I to say anything about their arrangement.

I on the other hand, would never have thought of staying in a hostel if my parents were still in the city. People thought I wasn't independent. But I honestly just reveled in the idea of the security and wellbeing that home offered.

Talking about the marvelous wonders of hostel life, I wondered how I was going to break the news of staying with Vinay. I stared at my fingers nervously.

Girls and boys lived together in co-ed dorms, the concept wasn't unheard of, but staying with a boy was a big deal for me.

Studying in an all girls' convent school had made me accustomed to the company of girls. And although I was one year through college now, the working of the opposite sex was still foreign to me.

Obviously exceptions persisted, like Neel. But that was because he was Roshni's twin brother and the two of them kind of came like a package deal. Besides, he was also one of the measly few guys that had actually put in some amount of effort to look past my differences and genuinely respect my choices. And for that I loved him.

Taking a sip of my iced tea, I looked up to face my friends. "Aren't you uh...curious to know who my roommate is?" I asked, unsure of how to start.

"Yeah tell us about her." Neel said between bites, "Is she hot?"

Roshni punched her brother's shoulder and gave him a pointed glare. "Can you not be a desperate moron for just once in your life?" she hissed, before turning her attention back to me.

"Uh..." I paused, "My roommate is a boy and yes I think he is quite handsome."

My face flushed uncontrollably. I hadn't meant to say that last part aloud but the words had slipped off my tongue before I knew it.

Roshni giggled, slapping her hand to her lips, controlling her cheeky grin. "Oh my God! Neel do you see our girl blushing?!"

"Whoah there, I never thought I'd live to see this day." Neel laughed, leaning closer to listen to me, "So who's this handsome fellow we're talking about?"

Sucking my lips inwards, I stated, "Well, both of you know him. My roommate is Vinay."

Their jaws dropped simultaneously and for a moment neither of them said anything.

"You mean Vinay Karthik?" Neel finally breathed out, the awe evident on his face.

I nodded in response, eyeing him weirdly.

Suddenly Roshni punched on me, "Shit Akira! Are you freaking serious? The motherly part of me is screaming for you to pack your bags right this instant and get out of that flat, but on the other hand the college girl part of me is dancing samba!"

Raising my brow, I all but shouted, "Seriously?! Here I'm shitting my pants because of how scared I am and thinking of how I'm going to break this news to my parents, and the college girl part of you is dancing samba?"

"Ok guys calm down. And on a serious note, Akira, if he ever does anything out of line you can always come and stay in the dorms. I've seen how volatile he is and it certainly isn't a pretty sight." Neel said earnestly, place a hand reassuringly on my shoulder.

Neel was part of the basketball team and had encountered Vinay's angry outbursts many a time. But despite that, he idolized Vinay. Most of the boys in our college did.

Roshni nodded in agreement.

I smiled brightly, the sudden stillness in the air was weighing me down. "Eh come on guys, I'm sure everything will be perfectly fine. He probably won't even be home most of the time with all the basketball practice and stuff." I said, "And didn't you two have to help your father with painting the garage?"

"Shit yeah, we should probably get going." Roshni glanced at her watch, "You try getting me a shirtless picture of your hotshot, ok."

I hit her arm and she flashed me a cheeky grin in response.

"If that's all you wanted, you could have just asked me," Neel laughed, "I've seen him shirtless at least a million times."

Roshni stuck her tongue about at her brother, as she stood up to leave.

"Bye Akira. Take care." The two of them chimed together.

My phone vibrated. It was a message from my father.

'How was your day Akira?'

'Pretty good. Went out with my friends.' I typed.

'Did you meet your roommate?'

'Yeah about that, I think you...' I started typing, before changing my mind.

I'll tell him later. I'll call and explain everything to them when I had my stuff sorted out.

Instead I sent a smiley emoji, to avoid answering that question. That would have to do for now.

'Kinda busy right now. Will call later.' I finally messaged and stuffed my phone into my pocket.

I had grocery shopping to do.

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