STRINGS and STANDOFFS

2: Plot Twist - Same College, Same Chaos

Radha98%:Thanks. Really.I feel so reassured knowing I'll be co-writing songs with satan in sneakers.

Rizzball:This is gonna be SO fun.

*

Scene: Outside NCU Basketball Court | Late Afternoon

Radha hadn't meant to walk past the basketball court.

Okay maybe she had. A little. But in her defence, it was on the way to the admin building. Probably. Maybe. Technically.

Still, the last thing she expected or wanted was to see him. There. Again. Like a particularly persistent rash that had followed her from childhood into adulthood.

Anirudh Shah, dressed in his ridiculous sports hoodie and bouncing a basketball like he was auditioning for Dil Dhadakne Do: Varsity Edition.

Of course, he noticed her instantly. Because God forbid the universe give her one peaceful hour.

He smirked. That annoying, lopsided, 'I've already won' smirk.

"Deshpande," he called, flipping the ball between his hands with all the drama of a Bollywood villain. "You stalking me again, or are we calling it fate this time too?"

Radha didn't break stride. "If this is fate, it needs better hobbies."

Anirudh jogged up to match her pace, his sneakers squeaking against the court tiles. "Still mad about the project pairing? I'm touched. You've been thinking about me."

"Oh please," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I've been thinking about what sort of mildly illegal paperwork I need to drop this major."

He feigned offense. "That hurts. And here I thought we were going to make sweet music together."

She stopped in her tracks and stared at him. "The only music you've ever made me feel is the sound of internal screaming."

Anirudh leaned on his basketball like it was a mic stand. "That's almost poetic. You should write that down for our song."

Radha pressed her fingers to her temples. "You're not even trying to be tolerable anymore, are you?"

"Where's the fun in that?" he grinned, taking a step back toward the court. "See you at rehearsal, partner."

"I'd rather be paired with a rusty harmonium," she muttered, loud enough for him to hear.

He winked. WINKED.

And then he jogged off to practice, the actual human embodiment of chaos in high-tops.

Radha pulled out her phone and texted the group chat.

Radha98%:He lives. He breathes. He bounces. WHY does the man bounce everywhere???

No_shit_kavya: Let me guess. Track pants? Arrogant smirk? Sweat glistening like movie lighting?

Rizzball:Please. My strawberry smoothie just curdled.

Radha98%:I hate everyone. Especially that stupid tall boy .

She hit send and kept walking, chin high, pride intact. She wasn't losing. Not yet.

*

(Setting: NCU Admin Office )

Radha stormed into the admin building like a girl on a mission. Hair in perfect rage-waves, eyebrows furrowed in academic betrayal, and sneakers squeaking indignantly with every step.

She marched straight to the glass window labelled COURSE CHANGES & WITHDRAWALS and knocked twice like she meant business.

The lady behind the desk, a kind-looking woman in her late forties with a sunflower pin on her kurta, looked up from her chai and smiled.