Page 188 - The World's Best Boyfriend

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It was one in the night and Ritika was still on the other side of the phone, now

talking about some girl in her school who was dating someone important,
someone who drove a big car and was friends with quite a few club owners.
‘She was such a slut in school. Always at the far end of the football ground
with her skirt in a bunch around her waist,’ Ritika grumbled.

The first hour wasn’t a problem. It’s the boyfriend’s duty to keep his girlfriend
entertained, to listen to mind-numbing stories about people he didn’t know and

didn’t care about. He spent the second hour watching an episode of Breaking
Bad, the phone on loudspeaker and earphone plugged in one of his ears.
‘Are you even listening to what I am saying? Hello? Hello, Dhruv?’
‘. . .’

‘Hello?’
‘Yes, yes, I’m there. I’m just a little tired,’ said Dhruv. Ritika didn’t get the

hint and went on and on about another story about another girl in her
neighbourhood who had been caught making out on her parents’ bed and it
became a big deal.
Dhruv was now sitting on the ledge of the roof. He didn’t love her, he was

sure of it now. At a distance he could see the flickering light from Aranya’s
laptop.

‘I think I should sleep now,’ said Ritika.
‘Are you sure? I really wanted to talk to you through the night,’ Dhruv said.
Aranya wouldn’t have missed the sarcasm.

‘Aww, that’s sweet. Tomorrow, baby. For sure. We will talk the entire night.
Muah! Goodnight,’ she said.
He sat there staring at the tiny light of the laptop on the next roof. Aranya

never slept before four in the morning, Dhruv knew that by now. He had spent
the last few weeks being awake with her, darkness and a few hundred feet
separating them. She was making amends, trying to get her life back on track.

Back on the projects for Prof. Mitra and Prof. Tripathi, she spent every waking
minute trying to crawl back into their good books. The path was as hard and
futile as Frodo’s.

‘Day twenty-three,’ said Sanchit as he placed a small bottle of Vodka and two