BLUNDERS

BLUNDERS

It was 12:30 AM. The silence between us had stretched long enough to make it awkward. We had run out of topics to talk about, and neither of us wanted to admit it. Then, my phone buzzed.

Priya: "Should we sleep now? It's already 12:30, and we have to wake up early in the morning."

I stared at the message for a few seconds, realizing that this would probably be our last conversation of the day. A part of me wanted to keep talking, to find some random topic and extend the moment, but another part knew that dragging it unnecessarily would just be annoying. So, I typed a reply.

Me: "Yeah, you're right. We don't have anything left to talk about anyway. We should sleep now."

She saw the message and quickly responded.

Priya: "Okay then, good night."

Good night. I read the words and paused. When was the last time someone had wished me a good night? I couldn't even remember. A strange warmth spread inside me. Without overthinking, I reacted to her message with a hug emoji.

And just like that, our conversation for the day ended.

---

The Next Morning

I woke up at 7 AM, still thinking about last night's conversation. Today, I decided, I would text first. So, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I grabbed my phone and sent:

Me: "Good morning!"

Without waiting for a reply, I put the phone aside and got out of bed. A quick shower, dressed up, and soon I was ready for college.

But there was something else lingering in my mind. Ganpat.

This guy was unbelievable. He had been pestering me for days, asking me to introduce him to Pooja. And today, I had to talk to Pooja about him. The problem was, I wasn't even sure if she knew he existed. I mean, it's not like Priya and I were dating or anything—no matter how much we talked, we weren't officially together. And here was Ganpat, already dreaming of a love story that hadn't even begun.

I sighed. Talking to Pooja on his behalf was a bad idea. The best I could do was introduce them and let him handle the rest. No unnecessary interference from my side. I wasn't about to create a mess that I'd have to clean up later.

---

Canteen

The break bell rang, and as usual, we all headed toward the canteen. Priya walked in with Pooja, and I knew this was my moment. I took a deep breath and approached them.

"Hey, Pooja!" I tried to sound casual, but my nervousness betrayed me.

She looked up and smiled. "Oh, hi Raghav! How's everything going?"

"Uh… yeah, good. All good."

"That's nice."

Alright. Now or never. I cleared my throat. "Uh, actually, Ganpat is with me. He keeps asking why I haven't introduced him to you yet. Since we're all friends, I thought… why not today?"

I turned around to look for Ganpat. And there he was—hiding behind a group of students. Mind you, these weren't even his friends. He was just awkwardly standing there, peeking like a spy on a top-secret mission.

I waved at him. He hesitated, took a deep breath, and then walked towards us like he was making a royal entry in a Bollywood movie.

The way he greeted Pooja—calm, composed, almost too serious—was unlike anything I had ever seen before. This was not the Ganpat I knew. Usually, he was loud, clumsy, and borderline insane. But today? Today, he was behaving like a well-trained gentleman.

Inside, I was laughing like a demon. On the outside, I was smiling like a saint.

I had already made up my mind—I was going to tease him mercilessly once we got back to the hostel. But right now, I decided to let him have his moment.

Unfortunately, my devilish smirk didn't go unnoticed. Ganpat shot me a warning glance, as if silently begging me not to ruin this for him. I tried to hold back my laughter. I really did. But the more I looked at him, the harder it became.

And then I lost it.

I burst out laughing—loud, uncontrollable, evil. Everyone turned to stare at me, confused. I quickly tried to cover up.

"Uh… I just remembered something funny. Not related to you guys. Please, carry on."

Ganpat's eyes promised revenge. If looks could kill, I'd be dead by now.

Sensing danger, I made a swift exit. Priya was still looking at me like I had lost my mind, but she didn't press for details. Thank God for that.

---

I walked over to another group of friends—Prakash, Mehul, and Jawan. They were sitting together, chatting casually.

"Hey Prakash! Long time no see, man." I greeted him enthusiastically, looking at the others as well.

Their response was unexpected.

"Yeah, because we see each other every day, but you? You're always busy with your girlfriend and your 'best friend' Ganpat. You forgot about us."

I froze. Girlfriend?

"Wait, what? Girlfriend? What are you guys talking about?" I asked, playing dumb.

Prakash smirked. "Priya. She's your girlfriend, right?"

I panicked. "No, no! We're just friends. We're NOT a couple."

They all stared at me, their expressions skeptical—like police officers interrogating a suspect who was clearly lying.

I could feel the walls closing in. I had to escape.

And just then, the bell rang. Lunch break was over. For the first time in my life, I was genuinely happy to go back to class.

As I walked away, I could still feel their eyes on me, and I knew this wasn't the end of it. They weren't going to let it go that easily.

And Ganpat? Oh, I was definitely in for some serious payback tonight.