Chapter XLI
The Surprise: The Lunch Box Journal

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Story so far: What did Aryan have in store for? How was Neil after marriage? Did Srestha finally go to the airport?
Read on…

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…. Little did Aryan knew what had in store for him later that night.

Aryan had known that they both were good friends and neither Akhil nor Srestha had told him that they were actually seeing each other. Perhaps his single status all his life was to blame or as his friends tell him that he is emotionless, maybe the latter or the former. But after what had happened between them which was told to him, there was no indication that they were in love with each other.

Srestha wanted to surprise Akhil by visiting him at the Airport. It was a nice gesture, that was what Aryan had thought. She realized that Aryan was going to send him off and she also wanted to go. It was her plan all along. Since he was already going to the airport he said that could also come to the airport. So, the plan was made. The flight was scheduled at 7AM in the morning. So Akhil had to be inside the Airport by 4AM at least. But since there was no knowing the city traffic and the unavailability of the cabs so early in the morning, Aryan thought they could go there by the last bus which was at 11:30 PM. But then they decided to book a cab which felt much safer since Srestha was also traveling along with him. Meanwhile, Akhil messaged Aryan to tag along with him since they will be booking a cab anyway. Aryan thought that since his whole family would have to go to the airport it would be better if didn’t bother them. They would already be having way too much to carry along with them. And also he had to protect a surprise. He insisted that he could come on his own. He would take the last bus that was available.

Aryan and Srestha met at the meeting point where they boarded the cab. It was only after they had gotten into the cab did Aryan realize how much he didn’t know. It was very obvious and it was right in front of his eyes, but he thought of giving them the benefit of the doubt. Apparently, Srestha liked Akhil very much and she didn’t want him to leave. She had then told about the incidents that have happened and how he said he has a crush on her. But that marriage is an impossibility. And then the girl Likitha, how she was ruining their time together. The last couple of weeks have been horrible for her. Akhil was sad because of all that was happening and yet he was unable to do anything about it. He didn’t want to leave anyone apparently, but then again at one point, he did decide to let Srestha go on being pressured by Likhita. But the last day when they met, she knew that how much he liked her and his not letting go off her was something she could never forget. She insisted that she didn’t want him to leave at all. She was very sad on the whole him going away. Aryan was a bit taken aback by this new development that has happened. “Wait.. What is happening now?” was his perfect response. While he was contemplating and catching up on what was actually happening and questioning himself how he even got into the middle of all of this. Thankfully, they reached the airport in time while Srestha had told him about Akhil being angry at him for not telling about the Coffee hangout among many other things.

They reached airport a little over midnight and they still had 3 hours to kill, which was when Akhil said he would come. Srestha was at a sleepover the previous night and she didn’t have proper sleep. Aryan had asked her if she wanted to sleep after they sat down at the airport. She said that she didn’t want to sleep as she wasn’t feeling sleepy. After a little awkward silence and “I miss Akhil” and “I don’t want him to go”, Aryan thought it would be a good idea to pass the time by walking. Maybe that could have changed the topic to something else. He was still a bit taken aback. He still thought that it was the attraction that she had for him in the time that they had spent together they might have gotten a bit closer to each other. By the time they came after a walk around the Airport which lasted for like 5 minutes, their earlier place was taken by someone else. So, they went to the next available spot that was in an open food place and they hoped that no one asked them any questions. Well, no one did. But someone did come and put two menus on the table. None of them were hungry at the moment and in order to not look awkward, they ordered hot chocolate and mojito. Apparently, they were out of fresh coffee beans and hence there was no coffee. The name of the place as Fresh Menu. And it makes sense that they only use fresh coffee beans. And when their order was finally served, they were informed that they were out of ice. Well, they freshly ran out of fresh ice as well.

Meanwhile Aryan realized that he had the camera and he could take some photos. But the airport was covered and there were no flights visible. And to add to that it was dark all around. So, after taking a few photos of the girl in front of him and the empty cups and glasses he decided to pack that up and check the time. They still had a long time to go. Srestha was getting more and more emotional at the time.

“I wanted to spend more time with him”.
“I miss him”.
“I wanted to talk to him”
“I wish he comes early, I want to spend more time with him”.
“We couldn’t spend more time at the office yesterday.”
“He pinged me last night and we talked all night. I felt so happy.”
“Why is he doing this?”

While she was expressing herself intently, the call from Akhil came. They were 30 minutes away. And he had no clue about Srestha being at the airport. So he made a plan that he will meet Akhil at the entrance and inform about his surprise and he would be excited as usual and would take him to her without his parents. And then if he wanted to introduce her to his parents then he could, else the other two would leave without meeting them. Because there was a big problem in him introducing to his parents and the problem had a name which was Likhita. She was already so hell-bent on keeping Akhil and Srestha away from each other, and Akhil introducing her to his parents would be the last thing she wanted. While Aryan was standing at the entrance planning his roose, he was roaming up and down to catch hold of Akhil. Because Srestha was the surprise package he would be getting and in no circumstance should she be seen by the family or Likhita before Akhil does and talks to her. This was supposed to make him happy. Well, surprise. But Akhil came from the other side. Apparently, there were two entrances and Akhil chose the other one where Aryan wasn’t there. He saw Aryan talking to a girl a few feet away from him and realized who she was when Aryan noticed that he was seen.

Akhil’s next steps were a little bit bizarre which put Aryan in an awkward position.

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(To be Continued …)
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The Lunch Box Journal

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