'Cause You Said I Can!' : PrAnushka SS: Update- Part 24 |Pg 72 |Nov 03 - Page 2

Very good start !! Go ahead...

Thank you all for your wonderful responses. Here's chapter two!🤗

CHAPTER 2

An exasperated Madhumita switched her phone off and tossed it angrily into her bag. It was the sixteenth time that Sayali was calling her.

Her eyes were brimming with tears already. Her anger knew no bounds. She wanted to hurl away the equipment in front of her and run. But unfortunately she couldn't tune her hands way her heart wanted.

Had things happened the way she planned, she would have been in her PG accommodation an hour back,all freshened up and doing a final round of check of her luggage. But no!Life is not that perfectly algorithmic.Her professor decided to surprise her by getting in to his beast mode today. Yes. TODAY, of all the days! He would not leave them until the simulation is done.

She cursed herself for not letting him know in advance that she had to leave early. He was in no mood to buy any reasons now. It was her first long leave, little did she know that leaving early would be a big deal.

And hence, Madhumita is still in her sweaty cotton kurti, debugging the project code in the lab of research centre she was currently interning with. And not enroute to the airport with Sayali, in her fresh comfy travel wear.

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Kempegowda International Airport Bangalore, Domestic Terminal

"We're extremely sorry Ma'am. The check in is closed." said the Air Asia attendant at the counter , who genuinely seemed sad at her plight.

"We did try calling you but your phone was switched off. 15 mins back we were ordered to accept a standby passenger on board. Seats are filled now!"

Madhumita felt that she might faint any moment. If only she could debug the code 15 mins earlier! If only she had listened to Sayali who had asked her to take her luggage along to research center ! And above all, if only she was assertive enough to tell her professor that she had a flight to catch- a rather important one!

Being way too submissive and not reacting adequately have always been her weak points. But right now, she did not want to to regret or cry. She wanted to fix this. She was informed that an Indigo flight that departs in 3 hrs, would take her to Jaipur after one hour halt in Delhi.

"Rs.17,834." Madhumita read again, biting the life out of her lips. The camp registration has left her account balance a very humble four digit number.

She knew that none of her friends, given the spendthrifts that they are, would be able help her. Harshit is snoring away to glory with his phone switched off and Medha, her cousin has shamelessly forgotten her credit card password.

"Why don't you ask your Mom ! I'll call Athai(aunt) and ask, if you're scared."

"Hell no! You've no clue how I even made her say yes to this. And I know how scary it's gonna be. She will tell Appa and I'll be dead meat. I'm not taking anymore taunt for the day. You just find the password soon. Pleeease."

It was while sitting with her head dug deep into her hands, as helpless as could be, that she received the best text message of her life.

PNR number for the booking of your Indigo flight 6E 684 from Bangalore to Jaipur is N754Q.

She wanted to scream loud.

"Thank God for refreshing the girl's memory!" And she opened her Whatsapp to thank Medha. However there was a message from someone else.

Being independent is a good thing. But if you thought that you're smart enough to survive without all of us, then you're wrong. You came into the world because of me and I'm still alive.

"Appaaa !!! " 😲She cried . How in the world did he??

Soon came Medha's message.

You being older doesn't imply that I have to listen to you. You can thank me later. Now pls go board the flight!

She smiled through tears. Her dad could be a little on to the strict side, but there have been instances when he had transformed into Daddy Cool.That too in direst of situations. She wished she had trusted him better.

I love you! ❤️

Madhumita sent, to both her father and her cousin.

She chose to leave Sayali's 31 messages unopened.

Responses came in almost together .

Dad : Miss one more flight and you're out of the family.

Medha : Oh please stop being so obsessed with me.

" What crazy family I belong to. Wish I had saved this I love you for someone else! "

Someone else!

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Her rescheduled flight gave her enough time to freshen up before the check in opened. She was glad that she is no longer in her sweaty kurti. After changing into a pastel pink tee, she washed her face and poured mild perfume all over her. Mostly, she carried her face sans any make up. Not that she needed any.

What she needed now, however was a glass of Mojito, to quench her thirst and to lift her spirits. She just survived an extremely chaotic day after all!

As she approached the cafeteria, the familiar navy blue backpack carrying the camp logo caught her attention first, followed by the side profile of a young man dressed in khaki denims and a casual black shirt. Not just any young man. But a tall man with enviably cut physique, a nice stubble and unkempt wavy hair.

He was scanning his wallet with his long, chiseled,slender fingers, as she reached the counter. And she heard his baritone voice.

"I'm really sorry I do not have change, you will have to excuse me till I get it from someone!"

The shopkeeper did not look very appreciative of the idea.

"Excuse me, ehh...are you by any chance taking the flight to Jaipur?" She asked him, the fact that she knew the answer anyway, not withstanding.

He turned in the direction of the calm voice. The very simple yet strikingly beautiful girl, who stood almost as tall as him, continued:

"Sorry for jumping in out of nowhere. But I see we're both part of the RRA camp. I can help you with the change if you want. You can return anytime later... " She was surprised how effortlessly the words flowed out of her mouth, to a stranger.

"Ohh...That's great, thank you!" He smiled.

Madhumita paid for both their drinks.This was their first meeting,but she had recognized him the moment she set her eyes on him. She knew his name too. Maybe that's the reason why she found it easy to talk to him.But she could not reveal all that. Codiality had to be exchanged anyway.

" I'm Madhumita!" She extended her hand.

" Hi Madhumita...I'm Siddhant! He said, taking her soft hand and shaking it with a smile. He had instantly developed a liking for her name. He found it filmy.

Way more handsome than I assumed.She thought...

-End of Chapter-

Feedbacks appreciated 😊

Ohhh my god!!

This is such a great update Subha. Absolutely stunning ! In fact, one of the best that I have read recently.

Thanks again Kaushi, Rachna and Aaradhya! You guys encourage me a lot!

I'm so happy you came here Priya 😳
Hoping to see you around !

And yes he is known to her. Let's hope next part tells us how! 😉

Shuba akka , thanks for the PM😛

CHAPTER 3

Madhumita collected her boarding pass at the counter. Receiving this after all the drama, gave her a sense of accomplishment that even her Engineering convocation hadn't.

"And your name sir?" The attendant asked him.

"Siddhant Johnson"

For reasons totally unknown,hearing his second name kinda made her heart skip a beat. Before she could ponder much over it, he got his pass and cut in.

"Shall we go?"

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Boarding Gate No. 1, Domestic Departures

"Oh! So you're a techie as well. Do you like the job?" She asked, as she watched him re pack his camera and associated accessories into the bag after security check.

"You're generalizing that all IT employees hate the job? Like you?" He smiled.

" I did not even say that!" She widened her eyes and sat up straight.

"Hehe. Just kidding. You're kinda right though. This is not what I like. But what it does to me, I like!"

"I bet you're talking about the pay!"

"Smart!" 😉 He winked.

A very casual conversation ensued. Siddhant was from Hyderabad and had mixed roots. He is the only son of a Telugu Christian father and a Tamil Hindu mother.

The mention of her mother tongue Tamil, excited her.

He got up to head towards the washroom. She got back to her phone, and sent a text message to Sayali summarizing the events and informed she'd be reaching Jaipur on the next flight. Luckily, Sayali is now mid air, and wouldn't be able to respond immediately.

Madhumita(thinks) "Poor girl. I hope she doesn't kill me tomorrow. Or maybe she will. Knowing that I actually travelled with her Siddhu!"😃

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A week back, all of the campers had received a courier from the organizers. It had the backpack, two t- shirts, a hat,a sipper, some stationary and a general camp guide booklet. It told them of a private group on Facebook which the campers could join by providing their registration ID. A few over enthusiastic ones had already got famous there, while most of them were silent readers who joined to stay updated. Sayali was one of the firsts to join. Madhumita, did not even bother to join.

Sayali had scanned the profile of every guy, with a hope of finding a prospective boyfriend at the camp. Among the 6 guys who caught her attention, was Siddhant, whom she had decided to refer to as Siddhu.

" He lives in Bangalore woah! See this photo Madhu. His muscles are so toned. I hope this guy is single!"

She remembered her words with a giggle. Sayali lived her life to hit on guys. Her excitement to be in their company was a funny thing to look at . As long as Madhumita wasn't dragged into the business, she did not mind that.

For Sayali was that easy going, funny addition her stressful Bangalore life needed.

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The two campers are now adjacently seated on the aircraft that is queued near the runway for take off. He even let her take his window seat. Before toggling her phone to flight mode, she opened a message from Poonam. "Have a blast babe. Get me earrings. And hope you'll meet someone who'll soon call you sexy!" 😉

" Hello Sexy!"

Madhumita's jaw dropped at the coincidence and she looked at him.

"Err.. WHATTT??" 😲

He raised the Indigo in flight magazine he was holding in his hand and pointed to the title. It read : "Hello 6E"

Siddhant laughed jokingly, instantly getting the reason for her shock.

"Ooohhh...my bad!"😆. She smiled sheepishly. Even in the midst of her embarrassment, she noticed how charming his smiling face was. His eyes seemed to smile a lot more than his lips.

This guy should smile more often. She thought.

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"MADHOOO ! WHAT A SURPRISE MANNN!" 😲

Madhumita sat dumbfounded. She was shocked to see Naveen come out of the lavatory few seconds ago. She had prayed that it shouldn't be him. But it was! He walked up to her seat, with great audacity bent over Siddhant to hold Madhumita's shoulders, shook them vigorously and then took the vacant aisle seat next to him. Evidently irritated but wanting to stay calm, Siddhant offered to exchange seats with him. Naveen rejected the offer,much to her relief and went back to his seat. Siddhant did not bother to ask her who it was.

While he was showing her a page from the magazine and talking,Naveen returned, this time with his jacket and posh headphones to settle in the aisle seat again. She felt like banging her head against something hard.

"So you guys are traveling together?"

" No. Err. Actually we met at the airport and got to know that both of us are heading for this RRA camp in Jaipur so... we just got talking."

At this, Naveen's face lit up.

Naveen(in his wanna be western accent) " "Heyyy Mann! That's awwwesomee! Even I'm heading for the camp,with two of my friends. This is friggin' cool!" 😎

He took a clueless Siddhant's hand in his and shook it vigorously, sending his "Hello 6E" sliding off his lap, onto the floor. As he picked it up, he looked at Madhumita sympathetically. She could only decipher it as 'How come you have this hyper active clown in your life?'

She wished if she could send Harsh an 'I don't want to live' text, right now! 😭

" You know Sid, she was my girlfriend in 12th grade. What good times right Madhoo?! I'm meeting her after like 10 years, Woah !"

That moment, that very moment, if Madhumita could pump all her emotions to into her clenched fist, she would have hit Naveen with a momentum that could possibly break the aircraft, and send him flying into outer space.

Siddhant was taken aback by this spontaneous, unwanted revelation. He threw a glance at Madhumita and stifled a giggle, rubbing his beard. Oh !That heart winning smile again!

But she was in no mood to enjoy it. She felt way too ashamed to face a guy who knew that she was once associated with the overexcited ape sitting next to him.

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It was almost time for landing in Delhi, when Mr. Naveen decided to ignore the seat belt sign and use the lavatory again.

"Good that he's only your EX, Madhumitaaa! " The way he said her name, with that stress in the end was very soothing.

"His neon orange tee shirt is giving me headache."

"Okay, your Colour bomb is coming back." He said smiling.

This guy should smile more often. She thought again.

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" Sir could you please quickly get seate..." Before the cabin attendant could finish her sentence, the aircraft was caught in a sudden wave of turbulence and people heard a loud thud . After few seconds of silence, soft giggles were heard.

Mr Color Bomb was lying flat like a sticker on the floor, before he got on all fours to look up and glee at the attendant who was trying hard not to laugh. Getting up with a shameless smile,he told her "Aaam fine!!"

Naveen was taken aback further as he found the origin of one weird laughter that did not subside, even after seconds. Madhumita's day was made. Siddhant found her reaction to her ex sweetheart's fall,funnier than the fall itself!

"Madam, stop!" He whispered, nudging her elbow with his and trying hard to suppress his own giggle.

" I never thought I could laugh this hard even after missing a flight!" She said and smiled openly with all her heart , for the very first time in the day.

This time, for a change, it was he who decided to admire his fellow passenger's smile. Her entire face turned pink and her eyes sparkled. What a huge difference it made to her already cute face!

This girl should smile more often.He thought.

-End of Chapter-

Feedbacks Appreciated!😊

Awe Subha that's a very cute update...

They both should smile more often 😉 😉

Way to go girl... 👏 👏 👏

Thanks for the pm and quick update.. 😊