Part 11: So, You Say That to Everyone?
"Some words mean nothing until someone special remembers them."
The next morning, Vedha logged into Zozo, still carrying fragments of the previous night's conversation in her mind. She was determined to act normal. Sarang, however, seemed determined to make that difficult.
The room was buzzing with familiar faces. Rahul was teasing Anu, while Neha was busy flirting with Sarang.
Vedha has joined the room.
Vedha settled into the familiar stream of messages, typing a casual greeting before getting pulled into Sarang's and Anu’s ongoing argument about who flirted better.
Sarang: "Anu, you argue with me every day. Just admit you enjoy my attention."
Anu: "I'd rather argue with a wall. At least it wouldn't flirt back."
Sarang: "But you'd miss me if I stopped."
Anu: "Keep dreaming, Romeo."
Vedha send a laughing emoji. But frowned her face in real...
Then another notification appeared.
Sarang noticed Vedha's message almost immediately. A smile tugged at his lips before he could stop it.
Neha: "Sarang, tell me something sweet. I'm having a terrible morning."
Sarang: "You're talking to me. Your morning has already improved."
Neha: "That confidence! Are you always this dangerous?"
Sarang: "Only when the audience appreciates the performance."
Vedha snorted.
Vedha: "The performance? Should we start collecting tickets for your daily show?"
Sarang leaned back, grinning at his phone.
Sarang: "Ah, my favourite critic!"
Vedha: "Critic? I'm just concerned about the quality of your dialogue."
Sarang: "Funny. You seemed to enjoy my conversation last night."
Vedha froze for half a second.
Then she typed.
Vedha: "Don't confuse private reviews with public ratings."
Rahul: "WAIT. What happened last night?"
Vedha: "Nothing that concerns you, Rahul."
Sarang: "She's shy. I'll explain later."
Vedha: "SARANG."
He laughed aloud, thoroughly pleased with himself. On her screen, Vedha's furious little message sat among a flood of laughing emojis.
A few minutes later, his private message arrived.
Sarang: "Hey Veduuu..."
Vedha: "Oh are you free from roaming behing other girls?"
Sarang: "Tell me something, Vedu. Were you jealous of Neha?"
Vedha: "Of your recycled flirting? Please."
Sarang: "You remembered every word."
Vedha: "Unfortunately, nonsense is memorable."
He stared at her reply, smiling to himself. She could tease him all she wanted; he knew she remembered more than she admitted.
That evening, their usual call stretched longer than either had planned.
Sarang: "Vedu, I wish you were here."
Vedha: "Why? Ran out of people to flirt with?"
He chuckled.
Sarang: "No. Just realised there's one person I'd rather talk to."
For once, she had no immediate comeback.
Then her phone pinged with a voice message from him.
Vedha: "You idiot!"
Sarang: "What? It was just a kiss."
Vedha: "At least warn me!"
His grin softened as he typed his next message.
Sarang: "Fine. Next time, I'll ask."
Vedha stared at the screen, smiling despite herself.
It was ridiculous how one person could spend the entire day flirting with half the room and still make a single message feel different.
And perhaps that was exactly what frightened her.
To be continued…
"Some words mean nothing until someone special remembers them."
The next morning, Vedha logged into Zozo, still carrying fragments of the previous night's conversation in her mind. She was determined to act normal. Sarang, however, seemed determined to make that difficult.
The room was buzzing with familiar faces. Rahul was teasing Anu, while Neha was busy flirting with Sarang.
Vedha has joined the room.
Vedha settled into the familiar stream of messages, typing a casual greeting before getting pulled into Sarang's and Anu’s ongoing argument about who flirted better.
Sarang: "Anu, you argue with me every day. Just admit you enjoy my attention."
Anu: "I'd rather argue with a wall. At least it wouldn't flirt back."
Sarang: "But you'd miss me if I stopped."
Anu: "Keep dreaming, Romeo."
Vedha send a laughing emoji. But frowned her face in real...
Then another notification appeared.
Sarang noticed Vedha's message almost immediately. A smile tugged at his lips before he could stop it.
Neha: "Sarang, tell me something sweet. I'm having a terrible morning."
Sarang: "You're talking to me. Your morning has already improved."
Neha: "That confidence! Are you always this dangerous?"
Sarang: "Only when the audience appreciates the performance."
Vedha snorted.
Vedha: "The performance? Should we start collecting tickets for your daily show?"
Sarang leaned back, grinning at his phone.
Sarang: "Ah, my favourite critic!"
Vedha: "Critic? I'm just concerned about the quality of your dialogue."
Sarang: "Funny. You seemed to enjoy my conversation last night."
Vedha froze for half a second.
Then she typed.
Vedha: "Don't confuse private reviews with public ratings."
Rahul: "WAIT. What happened last night?"
Vedha: "Nothing that concerns you, Rahul."
Sarang: "She's shy. I'll explain later."
Vedha: "SARANG."
He laughed aloud, thoroughly pleased with himself. On her screen, Vedha's furious little message sat among a flood of laughing emojis.
A few minutes later, his private message arrived.
Sarang: "Hey Veduuu..."
Vedha: "Oh are you free from roaming behing other girls?"
Sarang: "Tell me something, Vedu. Were you jealous of Neha?"
Vedha: "Of your recycled flirting? Please."
Sarang: "You remembered every word."
Vedha: "Unfortunately, nonsense is memorable."
He stared at her reply, smiling to himself. She could tease him all she wanted; he knew she remembered more than she admitted.
That evening, their usual call stretched longer than either had planned.
Sarang: "Vedu, I wish you were here."
Vedha: "Why? Ran out of people to flirt with?"
He chuckled.
Sarang: "No. Just realised there's one person I'd rather talk to."
For once, she had no immediate comeback.
Then her phone pinged with a voice message from him.
A kiss...!!
Vedha: "You idiot!"
Sarang: "What? It was just a kiss."
Vedha: "At least warn me!"
His grin softened as he typed his next message.
Sarang: "Fine. Next time, I'll ask."
Vedha stared at the screen, smiling despite herself.
It was ridiculous how one person could spend the entire day flirting with half the room and still make a single message feel different.
And perhaps that was exactly what frightened her.
To be continued…
