'Well, you are the best' Aradhana got back to Rudra on call. 'I just gave him back. That's it' Rudra justified. 'No. Not that.' Before Aradhana could continue, Rudra put forth quick question 'Then? What's it?' 'Woah! This such sudden change of mood. Rudra, what's wrong?' Aradhana was quick in reading between his lines.
'Don't you know what's wrong? The semester came to an end. You will soon be starting a new phase of your life. I discourage the idea of sharing you with Shailesh. He didn't exist for you when you need his emotional support. People around you has their self motive. With every chance you give, no matter how tiny it be, they get close to their pre-defined goals. Maybe it will harm you might not be physically but emotionally. Are you even getting my point?' Rudra paused his monologue when he got no reply from other end.
'Hey. Aradhana. You there?' Rudra tried reassuring the presence of Aradhana at other end. 'You left me dumbstruck' Aradhana exclaimed. 'I just spoke what came in my mind' Rudra spoke up. 'This is your insecurity speaking loudly' Aradhana provoked Rudra. 'Damn Rudra. You screwed your own goddamn chance. Cover it up before it turns into a mess' Rudra spoke to himself mentally.
'Hello. Are you still on the line?' Aradhana was figuring out where was Rudra lost. 'I'm.' Rudra assured Aradhana. 'Listen. I'm going to bathe. I'll talk to you later' 'Aradhana. I might not be available on chat or call for rest of the day. Got some important work' Rudra spoke before Aradhana could disconnect the call. 'Okay. Anything else you want to say?' Aradhana asked. 'I don't have boss you around. Don't let Shailesh cling to you tomorrow' Rudar maintained a straight face. 'Rudra. There's nothing between me and Shailesh anymore. You can trust on me' Aradhana assured Rudra and hang up his call.
'He is possessive to me as a friend. He always have best of his interest for me at his heart. That's the reason for having an inclination for Rudra. I know, he will stand by me whatsoever it takes' Aradhana thought. Grabbing her dress, Aradhana dashed into the restroom.
'You are right, Aradhana. When you trust someone hard, you just let your insecurities speak aloud. There's no denial to it. Have someone just like you in my life has it's own worth. Getting along with you is more of exploring my own self. Maybe you are soon to occupy an important place in my life. All I know, we are definitely more than friends' Rudra's thoughts ran across his mind.
After bathe, Aradhana quickly grabbed her brunch cooked by Akriti. She immediately called her father not caring about the timezones. 'Bacha(loving way of addressing kids by Indian parents), it's 1.45 early morning here. All good there?' Aradhana's father picked the call in one ring. That's beauty of Indian parents. When kids stay miles apart from them, they don't care about time, money. All they care is about wellbeing of their kid. 'Daddy. I have this awesome news for you' Aradhana shrieked in joy.
'Yes, bacha. I'm all ears' Aradhana's father sat on his arm rest of his dimly lit living room. 'Daddy, I had mentioned you about my interest of securing an internship a month back. You remember?' Aradhana's father recollected their Skype argument over internship. 'I want you to complete your Master's first. You can work later. No more discussion' This line echoed back in Harshavardhan's mind as well as hers. 'So, what about it? I thought we had a closure over this topic' Harshavardhan made his point.
'Daddy, I secured a summer internship in California. I have been offered a job role of Software Product Developer Intern at Juniper Networks. It's just for three months.' Aradhana paused, hoping to get reply from her father. Harshavardhan choose to be silent. Getting no reply, Aradhana continued 'This internship will add a value to my resume. After graduation, it would be helpful in finding a full-time job' Aradhana reasoned out. Probably, after weighing pros and cons, Harshavardhan decided to let Aradhana opt for internship. Aradhana is relieved when her father agreed with her view. The support you get from your parents for the thing you longing to do, the feeling is immense.
Aradhana shared this awesome news with her bestie - Sonal. Sonal behaved like a jumping jack on learning her best friend will be working for top company based in Silicon Valley. Out of excitement and enthusiasm, Sonal booked her flights tickets to California without informing Aradhana.
Within next two weeks, Aradhana winded up her formalities at International Student Center in order to fly to California for her internship. Shailesh tagged along with her throughout the process, for very reason he was clueless about formalities while Aradhana took guidance from Sonal and Rudra.
Right now, Aradhana's feels be like
I'd like thank all readers, supporters and well-wishers. Hadn't it been y'all, this work haven't been ranked. Loads and lots of love. *flying kisses to y'all*