One day before a trip to Udaipur, exactly 2 weeks left from today for achieving her biggest goal; getting into KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON.
She had mixed feelings which she cannot even herself understand.
She was overwhelmed.
She was overthinking.
She was over-excited.
She was utterly missing someone.
Her mind was swirling back to the memories of class 9th and 10th, when suddenly Mumma's footsteps echoed upstairs. Mumma entered and already understood from the silent expression Yuwakshi had on her face.
"Yannu?"
"Yes mumma?"
"Why overthinking again?? I believe in you and love you, meri jaan." Mumma said, caressing Yuwakshi's hair.
Yuwakshi hesitated before finally speaking
"Mumma, can I ask you a question? Just be honest."
A slight amused expression spread across Mumma's face before she quickly eased it with a low exhale
"Yes, I promise I will be honest"
She mumbled " What if I fail again, what if I broke your trust and the irony is I still have that guilt baggage that has been with me for 3-4 years now mumma. I still feel so bad that I could I even accuse-
Mumma held the grip of her hand and whispered
"Listen to me carefully, Firstly we believe you and you are not going to fail. And about trust don't worry about that it's strong enough i know my upbringings wont be a mess" and she winked.
" And talking about that accusation, I know since 10th class board after knowing the truth you are in a guilt and we tried everything but nothing happened but baccha don't forget that something definitely good is waiting for you, okay ??"
She reassured her and hugged her very tightly.
Suddenly Yuwakshi's phone alarm rang and she snoozed it and declared "PACKING TIME!!"
Mumma was flabbergasted by her sudden wave of energy but anyways smirked and went downstairs to get her clothes while upstairs Yuwakshi was vibing on
Sabrina Carpenter while sorting out her outfits.
Soon her Mumma returned with her outfits and footwears while Yuwakshi was currently sorting out makeup and skincare. They both didn't even notice when the time passed and it was already evening and the whole packing was done and the trip energy was soo HIGH..
After packing our suitcase, Mumma went downstairs to prepare dinner while upstairs Yuwakshi sorted out the study materials ; already planning for London before even completing her trip to Udaipur. Suddenly a message popped up on her phone, it was none other than MYRA; her bestie since childhood.
They both have been together since their-
DIAPER ERA
COOL GIRL ERA
TOMBOY ERA
JUSTIN BIEBER ERA
and lastly their
HELLO KITTY ERA
But when they found out their aesthetics and real personality all of these eras were somewhere forgotten already.
Myra texted: ALL PACKED??
She quickly replied back: YES and what about you ? Going anywhere or just straight boarding to London with me, well actually with Krish too..
For the last two minutes Myra has been typing when finally she hit the send button: Thanks to our school for providing scholarship for the 5 top students and 3 of them are us. The aura we have..
Yuwakshi quickly texted back: Bas kar naraz lag jayegi aur waise bhi 2 of the students are from the branches across India. One is from Bangalore and one is from Andhra Pradesh so I am very curious to know who scored the exact percentage as me.
Myra replied: Maybe destiny?? Anyways enjoy your trip and see you soon bye love ya
Yuwakshi stared at Myra's message and quickly reacted with "👍" emoji and sprawled across her bed when suddenly Papaji's voice echoed from downstairs " Yannu?"
Within a second she closed the room lights, grabbed her phone and reached downstairs.
She was panting while she managed to speak "Hi papaji."
He was amused why she had run; maybe high on electrolyte or emotions.
Anyways.
Papaji speaks up "All packing done for Udaipur? When will you guys head to the airport?"
She replied instantly "Early morning 5 am because flight is at 8 am, so we have decided to reach early because you know my fate always comes with a bag of chaos."
Papaji chuckled and soon they sat on the dining table and Yuwakshi noticed her favourite RAJMA CHAWAL.
She was too happy to express or say anything so ignoring everything she ate; because food is always her first priority but she is still so thin.
God.
Help her.
Dinner ended on a good note and she helped Mumma with dishes while Papaji was watching a crime documentary on TV.
After doing the dishes, Yuwakshi headed upstairs and locked her room then she plopped on her bed and was staring at the ceiling like it personally offended her and suddenly Mumma said "Let's go for a walk."
I instantly replied "Coming just two mins."
They stepped out of their house and cold air hit their faces. Both of them noticed that beside their apartment someone had shifted and the items were still being bought and arranged.
Yuwakshi weirdly had a feeling she couldn't even understand but suddenly her mind snapped back to Myra's chat where she mentioned a word..
Destiny.
She felt a bit strange but brushed it off her mind and they walked silently, and soon gossiping about toxic relatives; obviously the word "GOSSIP" was invented for them.
After half an hour they came back and Yuwakshi headed upstairs and dozed off to sleep, losing herself in the world where at least she is not guilty.
Exactly at 3 AM, Mumma banged the door "Yannu uth jaana hai get freshen up gadhi uth"
"Mumma please 2 mins" she mumbled but soon she processed everything again and suddenly stood and squealed "TRIP IS ON!!!"
Mumma chuckled and went downstairs to prepare breakfast. She was already two-steps ahead from her.
She went inside the washroom, did the usual routine and took a bath and came out all freshen up and excited.
She sat and did her skincare and applied her favourite cherry lipgloss and her handbag already ready. She was remembering and muttering to herself checking twice just in case "Headphones? Done. Kindle? Done. Chewing gums? Done. Charger and Power Bank? Done. Ipad? Done."
She applied a bit of her signature fragrance and dragged the suitcase out of her room. She went inside again and turned off the lights and took the suitcase along with her handbag downstairs.
She entered the kitchen and saw Mumma making chai for herself so without bothering her she made herself hot coffee.
Rare.
Because she always opts for cold coffee but due to allergy she has a cold and a blocked nose so to ease down the irritation she prepared her coffee and sat on the kitchen counter and ate it with some chocolate cookies while talking about their itinerary for Udaipur. It was 4:30 AM in the morning and Yuwakshi and Mumma were sitting like it's a full fledged afternoon.
Suddenly Yuwakshi said "Mumma you know it's early morning and I don't want to bother Papaji so let's go from uber what's your take?"
Mumma replied instantly "Hmm seems nice do it let me just check our IDs one last time" then she went through the handbag once again
It was 5 AM, and she dragged the suitcase out of the house and stood there while talking to the cab driver and soon he arrived.
Mumma came out with papaji. He pecked mumma's forehead and then Yuwakshi's too.
She kept the suitcase in the car and Yuwakshi noticed that the apartment next to them was also waiting for a cab and then out came a woman the same as her Mumma's age and a boy the same as Yuwakshi 's age.
Yuwakshi didn't know what she was feeling; it was unusual.
One word popped to her mind without any context
REUNION.
Her gut feeling said she is going to meet someone.She felt like she is missing something she deliberately needed but it was time to go so she snapped out of her thoughts sat in the car, waved bye to Papaji and They both high fived and speak in unison "WE ARE SLAYYING IN UDAIPUR".
It was a 1 hour drive so Mumma got busy with her phone while Yuwakshi connected her phone to her headphones and turned on the music and everything around blurred she was just lost in the rhythm of her most favourite thing. Just than her playlist played-
SOMEBODY TO YOU by THE VAMPS
Shit.
Not Today.
All that she wanted today was just living in the moment, not travelling back to that day when during the music class during their school, guitar was being played and this song was being sung and she was just sitting and looking at her sworn rival like he had hung the stars..
She quickly snapped back out of her memories and changed the song and soon they reached INDIRA GANDHI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
The airport was buzzing and had too many emotions floating in the air. Some were crying with the tears of sorrow while some with the tears of happiness. It was a rollercoaster watching this all because she had experienced this a long before when she was too small to know all this.
They both got check-in and security done and the flight was delayed by 3 hours so both of them were just walking and suddenly Yuwakshi remembered she had to film a fit check of her and her mom for Instagram, so she and her mom did a fit check and her mom went and sat in the boarding area because she was done roaming and a woman of her age sat beside her.
Yuwakshi was sitting opposite her Mumma and that woman was sitting. Yuwakshi was engrossed into something when she heard a slight laughter; Her mother and aunty were laughing too freely and guess what they were childhood besties but unfortunately lost their contact with each other.
Yuwakshi removed her headphones and now it was slung around her neck and she firstly said "Aunty namaste" and She replied "Namaste beta and Seema she totally has your facial features."
They both got engrossed catching up everything and turns out to be she is also heading to Udaipur with her son and they were the one who shifted next to us.
Coincidence?? Well....
Yuwakshi was genuinely happy to see them and she stood and said " Mumma I am going to grab some coffee. Do you ladies want anything??"
umma replied "No beta, Tu jaa and wear your hoodie okay or we might have to roam around hospitals in Udaipur."
Yuwakshi made an annoyingly calm expression and went towards the coffee counter near the boarding area.
Yuwakshi' POV
I ordered "One Iced Cappuccino" and then I did the payment and waited till the order was ready.
My name was called out and I went and grabbed my cappuccino. I turned around just to collide with something, maybe like a pillar?? or someone...
Definitely not a pillar because a pillar would never ever smell like Emporia Armani.
I muttered "Watch out-" and looked up and the first thing I noticed was that this was familiar and my mind went blank, my body went numb, and my gaze fixed solely on one thing.
Those eyes.
God.
I was doomed.
Those brown eyes.
For which I had once prayed to look at me the same way I did.
The one in which I drowned completely.
It was HIM.
Yug Oberoi.
My Rival.
My Academic Rival.
He was the reason I have been carrying the guilt baggage for like all these years..
Both of us didn't even realise we were having eye contact.
And guess what? I have always hated eye contacts, so why am I even doing one??
The people, the announcements that were being made, all were forgotten like it was just us.
I wanted the time to stop.
He spoke first "Well, well, well, guess who decided to collide within me after all these years?? Hey Yuwi all good??
I noticed something different that his voice was not the old Yug's voice anymore. It was a bit heavier, a bit deeper, but why am I even noticing all these things. When he spoke my throat went dry words were not even being processed in my mind because it was only occupied with one thing right now none other than
HIM.
He smirked "Yuwakshi??'
I finally gained by my composure and took a deep breathe finally chirped "Hi Mr. ALL-OVER-CONFIDENCE"
He retorted "Get over it Yuwakshi it was all back in 9 and 10 class.."
At the mention of 10th class my mind went black and travelled back straight to that day that made me feel guilty in my own eyes.
That day, I lowered my standards so much that I couldn't even raise myself in my own eyes till today. I said things I should not and If I would have not said those things, today it would be different.
Suddenly I saw my Mumma and Asmita aunty walking towards us and I was too numb to sense anything and stood there in complete silence.
Mumma exchanged an amused glance with me but I excused myself and left towards the restroom. As soon as I entered I wore my sweatshirt and removed my contact lenses and wore my specs and stood there in complete shock and a weird sensation in my chest. I took out my phone and messaged Myra about all the tea and drama spilling. She was asleep but she would be spamming opinions when she will read this incredible reunion.
I then took my medicine and took a deep breath and went out to see three of them talking like they have known each other since ages like they just have not met today. It was obvious that Mumma and her were and are best friends but with Yug it was unexpected but a small smile was tugging at my face.
I walked towards them and sat beside Mumma and she told me the flight was delayed again.
DAMN 2 HOURS.
I saw Mumma's and aunty's face and they had very mischievously calm look i couldn't proceed I was thinking when suddenly Mumma told "Asmita and I have an idea why don't we just roam Udaipur together like we can follow half and half itinerary and cancel the hotel bookings and book an Airbnb".
My eyes went wide and I choked on my cappuccino and just then enters him probably he had freshen up so his hair was a bit damp and god it was hot and i started to cough violently and he instinctively came and patted my back and I calmed myself down and said quietly "Okay as we still have 2 hours I am cancelling the hotel bookings and will book an Airbnb and aunty please tell him to cancel the hotel bookings that you did for you".
Asmita aunty nodded towards Yug and he took out his phone and did the work. Meanwhile I had already booked a beautiful Airbnb and both of our mom's divided the itinerary. It was 3 nights and 4 morning trips so accordingly they divided the itinerary.
After completing the booking I was too sleepy because of the medicine and dozed off to sleep. My face was propped on my elbow resting on the chairs present there.
Unaware that Yug was busy telling Mumma about our rivalry.
During my 9th and 10th class, Mumma had to shift to America as she got the biggest opportunity of her life to work with the biggest clothing brand. So during that time I stayed with Papaji in Gurgaon and during that period of time someday I was sad whereas someday I was happy but I didn't let that hamper my studies and my teacher and friends were always there for me and I am so grateful for that.
After sleeping for an hour I woke up to see Mumma and Aunty talking and my eyes searched for him and I was shocked as he was sitting next to me and my head was about to fall on his shoulder when I sat straight and stretched my neck a bit . I tried to look towards him but he was already looking at me.
AAHHHH..
God help me.
I scoffed, "Is there something on my face??"
He whispered so only I could hear it "No but currently you are looking like a beautiful mess.."
Did he just..
I rolled my eyes "Are you really complimenting me?"
He nodded while smiling sweetly , making me more furious and then went back to solving physics problems like he didn't just make me flustered.
Soon it was time for boarding and both of our mums had completely forgotten that their kids were with them but at least I am happy to see them smile..
Inside the flight, our moms exchanged seats and sat with each other and I was sitting next to none other than Mr ALL-OVER-CONFIDENCE..
I sighed and fastened our seatbelts and now the real issue popped.
During take off and landing time I always held either Papaji's hand or Mumma's hand but does it look like I will hold that chamkadar's hand??
Absolutely not. So I did the best thing I could do. I played Taylor Swift and wore my headphones and just closed my eyes, clutching my phone tightly and I could sense something....
TO BE CONTINUED ...
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