Hues Of Dusk

Chapter 37. Perfectly Imperfect

Today was one of the perfect days with perfect sunshine, perfect clouds, perfect noise level and most importantly, the perfect cup of chai (tea). The only thing that ruined my perfect picture was all so 'perfect' Ved.

Why was he here with us? Why did Tanya had to bring him along for our tea break? I nudged her and she gave me a pitiful look. I glared at Ved when he gave me an arrogant smirk.

No one minded his presence except me. Why was life so unfair? As I sulked about my misery, everyone else showered Ved with all their attention. That bastard must be on cloud nine right now. Surbhi asked him about his upcoming match while Divya and Rashi kept asking him if he was dating someone or not.

He chuckled at their silly questions which encouraged them more. I could literally see stars in their eyes as they talked to him. Yeah, I know he was kind of a celebrity but he was a human being in the end. What was so great about him? Just look at that jerk smiling like he had no care in the world.

Since no one was paying any attention to me, thanks to the mighty Ved's unwanted presence, I began chatting with chaiwale bhaiyya (tea seller). Atleast he wasn't affected by that idiot. Or so I thought.

Tanya and Ved had grown more close after Tanya's confession. She let us all know about it one day when we were having a sleepover at her house. Everyone was shocked to hear it except me. I knew it already and was happy that she finally let the cat out of the bag.

It was one of the most emotional nights of my life. No, Tanya wasn't crying nor was I. It was our other three friends who acted like it was the end of the world. They were crying rivers when they got to know that Ved rejected her.

Oh, no no no. It wasn't just that. They were singing praises of him; of how it was so polite of him to reject her without hurting her feelings and not making a big fuss about it.

When would they stop fangirling?!

"Hello everyone!"

Thank goodness, Parth was here. I quickly grabbed his wrist before he got involved with the mini Ved fanclub. I needed another soul to talk to. The chaiwale bhaiyya had gotten tired of my rambling too.

"Oh, hey Sandhya. Looks like you got sidetracked again," he joked and I slapped his shoulder.

"Why does he get all the attention?" I complained.

"He has worked hard for it."

"Yeah right. Being born good-looking is so much hard work."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"Yup."

"I wasn't talking about that. I meant he took a lot of efforts to reach where he is. You know that he is the youngest-"

"No! I don't want to listen to it. Why are we even talking about him? Let's discuss about something else. Tell me about your girlfriend. You said she was planning on coming for your birthday, right?"

"Yeah. I talked to her just now."

"Aw. So cute."

He blushed and I teased him more. Like that, Parth and I conversed about random topics while sipping tea. I was really thankful for his company and glad that he didn't abandon me. We were arguing over something when I noticed Nikhil and Karthik leaving the school gates.

Those two. I had been seeing them together a lot. And I wasn't happy about it. Nikhil was still ignoring me, no matter how hard I tried to break the walls he had built around him.

He had no issue sharing his problems with Ved, so why was I any different? Weren't we close enough to share our secrets?

This morning, I had called him up and asked if he could give me a ride to the college. I was waiting for the bus for nearly one hour and no auto was willing to accept my fare since they didn't get a return ride that easily.