The return to campus after their trip was both relieving and exhausting. After two days of nothing but fun, the reality of classes and assignments came crashing back. The group spent the morning dragging themselves to their respective lectures, barely surviving the first day back.
By lunchtime, they all gathered at the benches in the university grounds. The sun was warm, and the atmosphere was light as they casually chatted about random things, from upcoming assignments to how they wished they could still be on vacation.
Akansha had to go with the professor, so she couldn't join them.
Komal and Siddarth, as usual, were flirting shamelessly in their own bubble. Shumaila, who was watching their antics, shook her head. "Do you guys even realise we're sitting here?" she asked dryly.
Siddarth smirked. "We do, but you guys are just background characters in our love story."
Sneha made a gagging noise, and Rudra dramatically clutched his heart. "The audacity. We suffer while they romance."
Aarav, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly spoke. "Actually… I wanted to talk to you guys about something."
Everyone focused their attention on him, eager to hear what he had to say.
Aarav took a deep breath and said, "I'm planning to propose to Akansha."
For a moment, there was complete silence.
Then, chaos erupted.
"WAIT WHAT?!" Sneha practically screamed.
"OH MY GOD!" Komal jumped in excitement.
"FINALLY!" Siddarth exclaimed.
"Dude, this is HUGE!" Rudra clapped his hands, grinning widely.
Shumaila, who had remained silent, finally chimed in. "Took you long enough."
Aarav chuckled at their reactions. "I need your help. I want to make it special. I need a solid plan."
The moment those words left his mouth, the group turned into an event management team.
Sneha and Rudra immediately started throwing out wild ideas. "Fireworks! Get her name in the sky!" Rudra suggested.
"Oh, oh! Get a flash mob to dance before you propose!" Sneha added.
Shumaila rolled her eyes. "This is a proposal, not a Bollywood movie."
Komal nodded. "It should be personal, something meaningful."
Hamza tapped his chin. "First, we need a location. Somewhere beautiful but private."
"And most importantly," Sneha interjected, "we need to get her ring size without making her suspect anything."
Everyone nodded, acknowledging the challenge. But suddenly, their eyes all turned toward one person.
Shumaila, who had been sipping her drink, froze when she noticed their collective gaze on her. She narrowed her eyes. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Siddarth smirked. "Because you, dear Shumaila, are the only one who can pull this off without making Akansha suspicious."
Shumaila's face fell. "Oh, hell no! I'm not doing that!"
"Come on, you're best when it comes to these things! It has to be you!" Komal pleaded.
"Nope. Not happening."
Rudra sighed dramatically. "If only we had a friend who was charismatic, persuasive, and incredibly intelligent to pull off this mission."
Sneha joined in, sighing. "A shame, really. We believed in her."
Aarav gave her puppy eyes. "Please, Shumaila. You're my only hope."
Shumaila groaned, rubbing her temples. "Fine! But if this goes wrong, I am haunting all of you in the afterlife."
...
Mission: Get Akansha's Ring Size
The next day, Shumaila walked into the university wearing an unbothered expression, but there was one standout detail—she had ten rings on her fingers.
Akansha, who was sitting next to her in the canteen, raised an eyebrow. "Shumaila… what on earth is this?"
Shumaila flipped her hair dramatically. "Oh, this? Just a little obsession with rings lately. Do you like any?" She stretched out her hands for Akansha to see.
Akansha looked at her quizzically. "Since when are you into rings?"
Shumaila waved her off. "You know me, always unpredictable. You should try some too! I have more in my pouch!" She pulled out a small bag filled with rings of various sizes.
Akansha blinked in surprise. "Shumaila, are you okay?"
"Absolutely! Now, here! Try these!" Shumaila grabbed Akansha's hand and began slipping rings onto her fingers, acting as if this was completely normal. Akansha, aware of her best friend's dramatic nature, sighed and played along.
One by one, Shumaila adorned each of Akansha's fingers with rings, chatting casually to keep the moment lighthearted. However, when she slid a particular ring onto Akansha's left ring finger and it fit perfectly, she paused for a brief moment.
That's the size!
Quickly recovering, Shumaila slipped another ring on top of the first one, seamlessly continuing her chat like a pro. Akansha, mildly entertained, shook her head with a smirk. "You're so weird."
Shumaila shot her a grin. "You love me, though!"
From the corner of her eye, she spotted Sneha lurking behind a wall like a ninja on a top-secret mission, quietly observing the chaos. Deciding to spice things up, Shumaila dramatically stretched her arms and yawned, then yanked off the perfectly fitting ring like she was on a game show and tossed it over her shoulder like confetti.
Caught completely off guard, Sneha dove forward in a heroic attempt to catch the ring but ended up flailing and wobbling, almost taking a nosedive into the ground. She scrambled back up, snatched the ring, and sprinted away as if it were a golden ticket to Wonka's factory.
Shumaila bit her lip to suppress her laughter, imagining Sneha's dramatic "ring rescue" would go viral if only there were a hidden camera.
...
That evening, Aarav and Akansha were walking out of class together when Aarav turned to her. "Are you free tomorrow after class?"
Akansha thought for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I don't have any plans. Why?"
Aarav smiled. "I wanted to take you out. Just us."
Akansha raised a brow, intrigued. "A date?"
"A date."
She gave him a soft smile. "Alright then."
Aarav felt a mix of excitement and nerves as they parted ways, both bidding each other goodnight. As he walked away, he exhaled deeply, mentally preparing himself.
Tomorrow, he would finally ask Akansha to be his girlfriend.