Bargaining

She had maths exam in the next two days. But she had been listening to music at full volume.... She hated maths so much.. Everything felt bitter to her right now. Her eyes became moist. The words of the song seemed to match with her real life.....
She reiterated the memories from last year's Diwali...
On Facebook, she had seen his profile picture, he was smiling brightly as always, his gaze down at the lighted diya.. Her father took her and her cousin to a pandal to see goddess kali. Members from college had also gathered there for the festival...
She remembered that turning back, she had seen him the first - sitting in the front seat of the white Scorpio. After some time, she could see him sitting far away but his face was clearly visible to her.
Nothing special happened that day....but she was just happy to see him. And she did know why...
Maybe she remembered their conversations, how they laughed a little louder and found everything funny, argued over cricket and ate cheap burgers...
ONE YEAR EARLIER
The Diwali event ended and she rushed to the backstage. The red curtains blinded her.. She could see him at the corner of the room, checking his phone promptly, away from others.
She called him, "Vikram, we need to talk... Please give me five minutes, It won't take long, I promise"... People around her glanced at them briefly, some shocked, some curious... They were witnessing a friendship or something more, falling apart, right in front of them..
Vikram did not want to create a scene in front of their classmates. He urged her to take the conversation outside. The moment the cool November air hit them, they were surrounded by silence. None of them could form a sentence or even look at each other. She asked with tears in her eyes, "What did I do for you to hate me this much? "... He replied, " Oh! You don't know anything right? You know what? Everyone is talking behind your back, how nasty of you Santana! I could never imagine you speaking such rubbish about Priya...
I thought we were cool, I really liked you... I still have the jhumkas I bought for you in my bag...But..Just go away... I don't wanna talk to you.. Just go"
She was shocked.. What was he even talking about? She couldn't stand there for a second... She rushed home and opened their college email... And then she knew...