The Love Algorithm - AdiYa FF

Chapter 5

He muttered to himself, "Rain these days is like Madhu Aunty—comes and goes whenever it feels like it." He shook his head, as the water from his hair splashed out. He looked at his new denim shirt all drenched, "Perfect!!"

He turned and looked inside the building through the window and noticed some chairs inside the building.

"O re piya... haaye... o re piya..."

Aditya heard music faintly, along with the sound of anklets jingling. He perked up and looked around, noticing a sign outside that read "Kalalaya Dance School."

He glanced at the rain, which showed no signs of letting up, and then back at his dead bike.

"Well... might as well kill some time inside and take shelter," Aditya muttered, smirking. "I could always pretend I'm here to enquire about dance classes for Mahi. Perks of having siblings!"

With that, he wandered further into the building. He passed a deserted reception area and followed the sound of anklets down a long corridor. As he stepped into a large hall with an open roof, he saw a girl dancing around the rain, her anklets chiming in time with the music.

"O re piya... o re piya..."

Aditya's breath caught in his throat. He leaned against a pillar, watching her twirl gracefully in the rain. When she spun around, he froze, eyes widening in surprise.

"Zoya?!"

Aditya quickly ducked behind the pillar, avoiding her gaze. He peeked out just enough to watch her, a small smile playing on his lips as he admired her carefree joy. He couldn't help but be impressed by the passion in her dance.

"Does anyone love what they do as much as Zoya loves dancing?" He thought to himself, shaking his head with a soft chuckle.

Not just the dance, he started admiring her too  - her red anarkali suit and her curly bouncy hair swaying perfectly to the rhythm. He didn't know if she was adding beauty to the rain, or if the rain provided as a perfect filter to her photogenic face.

As the song was almost about to end, suddenly, the lights flickered and went out in sync with a lightning, plunging the hall into darkness. The music cut off, and Zoya stopped dancing, looking around in confusion.

"Ya Allah... what just happened?" Zoya muttered, her voice shaky.

Aditya, now just a silhouette in the dark, tried to find his way toward her, while the watchman arrived at the dance school entrance, drying his umbrella and looked at the door open and lights off.

"These kids! Heights of irresponsibility!" The watchman grumbled to himself. "If they are done with the class, can't they at least close the door and go?"

Without bothering to check inside, the watchman locked the door and left the place with his umbrella.

Inside, Zoya stumbled around, and walked through the open roof cluelessly, drenching herself, trying to reach the mains, as she bumped into Aditya in the dark. She let out a piercing scream.

"Ssshhh! Relax, it's just me! Aditya!"

A flash of lightning illuminated Aditya's face, drenched with rainwater. Zoya blinked in surprise, momentarily speechless.

"A-Aditya?!" she stammered, incredulously, as the rain poured over them.

Aditya raised a hand. "Before you start jumping to conclusions or accusing me of anything, can we get out of here first? It's about to rain, and I don't want you to lose your voice again. I have already had a really bad experience with that!"