Love,Unlocked!

Chapter 3: 71

After a long day, I was exhausted.

All I wanted was a cup of tea.So, I headed to the cafeteria.

That day's menu was sweet bun and tea.

As I slowly sipped my tea, my roommates started talking about the upcoming daily tests.I joined the conversation, but halfway through, I noticed a notification on my phone.

The message had arrived around 2 p.m.

It was already 5 p.m.I hadn't even opened it yet.

I simply read it from my notifications.

"Hi."

It was from an unknown number.

I noticed that the phone number ended with 71.

Could it be him? I wondered.

After thinking for a moment, I finally replied.

"Hi?"

A few minutes later, my phone buzzed again.

"I'm Thiru Vickram from your class."

So it really was him.

"Oh... the guy from earlier?" I replied.

He replied with a simple,

"Yeah."

He then explained why he had texted me.Apparently, one of his friends was looking for a girl named Anki, who was in our class. He remembered seeing her with me earlier that day, so he thought I'd know where she was.

Well... that's quiet a reason to text someone, I thought.

I replied,

"Yeah, she was with me earlier this afternoon. But after class, I wasn't with her."

He took a few minutes to reply.

In the meantime, I closed the chat.

When his next message came in, I read it from the notification tab instead of opening it immediately.

For some reason...

I took my time before replying.

He must have had some reason for texting me.

It's better not to get myself involved, I thought.

A few moments later, another message popped up.

"I'm sorry."

That caught me completely off guard.

I stared at the screen for a few seconds before replying,Why are you apologizing?"

A few moments later, he replied,

"Earlier today, when I borrowed your notebook, I called your name from where I was sitting, but you didn't hear me.That's why I came closer and asked you. You looked a little startled, so... I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

Well...

That wasn't the response I was expecting.

I just stared at the screen for a moment.Why would he apologize for something so small? I wondered.

I didn't really know what to say.

So I simply replied,

"It's not a big deal."

He then replied,

"Glad to hear that. See you in class."

That was the end of our conversation.

The next morning, we had our daily test.

As everyone settled into their seats, I reached into my bag to grab my pen.

For the first time...

I turned around...

I wanted to catch a glimpse of him.

But sitting in first row has it's advantages, I ended up meeting everyone else's gaze except his.

Yeah what was i thinking...

Suddenly, one of our professors walked into the classroom.

She made an announcement that, From that day onwards, our phones would be confiscated every morning and returned only after classes ended.

In simple words...

No phones inside the campus for the rest of the academic year.

Apparently, a few students had been recording lectures and making fun of the professors.

Immature, I thought to myself.

I'm someone who's almost always glued to my phone.

It's not that I'm addicted to it.

I just find it easier to avoid people that way.

Some students started protesting, saying the college was taking away their rights.

I knew there was no point in arguing.

The decision had come directly from the Head of the Department, and once they made up their mind, there was no changing it.

I let out a sigh.

As I looked to my left, I saw him.

Did he change his seat? I wondered.

Our eyes met.

He smiled.

Without even realizing it, I smiled back.

Wait... that was so out of character, I thought to myself.

From that day on, he started texting me more often.

Sometimes he'd ask me doubts about our subjects.

Sometimes he'd ask how my day was going.

Nothing extraordinary.

Just small conversations...

that slowly became a part of my everyday routine.

One day, while we were texting, he asked for my Instagram.

That's when I realized...

We weren't even following each other on social media.

Come to think of it, that was a little unusual.

These days, most people exchange their Instagram accounts before they even start having proper conversations

But somehow...

We had skipped all of that and gone straight to talking.

I would've shared my Instagram with anyone from my class without thinking twice.

Yet, for some reason, when he asked, I found myself replying,

"Why do we have to follow each other on social media? It's fine the way it is."

He seemed a little taken aback.

A few moments later, he replied,

"I'm sorry if I crossed a line."

That did something to me.

I wanted to explain myself.

I wanted to tell him that it wasn't about Instagram.

But deep down, I had already convinced myself that I wasn't going to let anyone get close to me.

So...

I let the conversation end there.

The next day, when I saw him in class, our eyes met for a brief moment.

He looked away almost immediately.

For some reason...

That hurt.

I found myself looking for him during the break.

I even tried to find him after class.

That was so unlike me, I thought.

But I couldn't find him anywhere.

Maybe he skipped class, I wondered.

When I finally sat down, I couldn't focus on anything the professor was teaching.

My mind kept replaying our conversation.

He had only asked for my Instagram.

I could've given it to him.

He was just a classmate...

Wasn't he?

Maybe I had overreacted.

Everything had come out the wrong way.

He probably thought I was rude.

Or worse...

That I was completely crazy.