Deewaniyat (Story of love, broken hearts and silent wars)

2

Hey tulipsssss
This is the second chapter
As i already you that I merge first and second chapter in first since the chapter was quite short, so yeah.
Suggest it to more people

Ladke o re ladke kaha se aaya hai re tu pyara hai Shakal se akal ka mara hai re tu

"Common toh kaafi kuch nikal raha hai," she muttered to herself
(Looks like they have quite a lot in common)

The bell rang soon after, cutting the moment short.
Siddharth stepped back. "Kal continue kar lenge," he said calmly.
(We will continue tomorrow)

Aakriti nodded, a little smile forming before she could stop it.
She didn't know much about him yet.
But for the first time, finding something in common didn't feel scary at all

The classroom buzzed the moment the teacher left
___________________________________________________________^_^
"Okay students, I have news for you all, the annual sports day is coming up. Anyone interested in participating in games, volunteering in even anchoring, please introduce yourself to the sports teacher or team members"

The word sports day was enough to light up half the class

Dhriti turned toward Aakriti the moment the announcement ended.
"Aaku, chal mam ke pass chalte hain tu anchoring ker rhi hain"
(Aaku, let's go to mam, you are doing anchoring)

Aakriti didn't look up from her notebook

"Nhi yrr Aaru already boht hectic chal rha hain, chapters backlog mein h, extra classes hain, boht pending work hain... ese mein anchoring? Nhi yrr, mein nhi aa rhi."

(No yaar, everything is already so hectic. Chapters are in backlog, there are extra classes, so much pending work... and now anchoring? No, I'm not coming.)

Dhriti crossed her arms, dramatic as always.
"Isiliye toh bol rhi hu. Itne pressure mein rhi na toh gayab ho jayegi. Kuch aur cheez pe dhyan degi toh better lagega. Aur waise bhi kuch sikhne jaisa thodi h, tu already kitni achi anchoring karti h. Chal na, masti krenge. Pichle saal bhi toh ki thi"

(That's exactly why I'm telling you. If you stay under so much pressure, you will disappear. If you focus on something else, you will feel better. And it's not like you have to learn anything new, you are already so good at anchoring. Come on, we will have fun. You did it last year too.)

Aakriti's voice softened.
"Tab ki baat alag thi"
(That was different)

Dhriti didn't ask how.
She simply took her wrist and pulled her toward the sports room.
The sports room was quieter than the corridor. Dust floated lazily through narrow streaks of sunlight. Old medals hung slightly crooked on the walls, their shine fading with time.
"Mam, she is here for anchoring," Dhriti announced with confidence that Aakriti did not feel.
The teacher looked up. "Good. There aren't many students for anchoring. Come, read this."

That was when Aakriti noticed them.
Siddharth and Karan stood near the cupboard. Karan was tossing a cricket ball lightly in the air. Siddharth leaned back against the wall, arms folded.
"Anchoring?" Siddharth asked, mildly surprised.
Karan smirked. "Some of us are volunteering for actual sports."
Dhriti shot him a look.

Siddharth's eyes returned to Aakriti. "You are anchoring?"
She nodded.
A small smile appeared on his face. "You will be good at it."
It was not damatic
It was not teasing
It was simple

And somehow, that made it matter more.
When she began reading, her hands trembled slightly, but her voice didn't. It carried clearly across the room ,calm, balanced, controlled.
When she finished, the teacher nodded. "You're selected"
Dhriti almost cheered. Karan clapped once, impressed.