Coincidences and Dinner Invitations
842 Words
The afternoon classes eventually ended, and the relentless buzz of the lecture halls faded into the background. Rim and Mike packed up their notebooks and started exiting the university premises, joining the steady stream of students heading toward the main gates. As they walked out, Mike chatted away animatedly about his plans for the week, his voice booming over the ambient noise of the crowd.
Suddenly, a realization struck Rim. He remembered his empty double-door refrigerator back at the apartment; he absolutely had to take some groceries home if he wanted to survive the week. He interrupted Mike's monologue and led his friend towards a nearby grocery store where he regularly shopped.
They entered the brightly lit store, grabbed a shopping basket, and started to buy some groceries, picking up fresh produce and daily essentials. While he was navigating the crowded aisles with his hands full of items, Rim unexpectedly bumped into someone turning the corner.
He quickly looked at the person who had bumped into him. By complete coincidence, he found himself staring at Maku. Their eyes met in mutual surprise.
Rim spoke first, a smile breaking across his face. "Are you also here to buy groceries?"
Maku nodded, adjusting her hold on her basket. "Yeah, I was finding a grocery store nearest to our apartment and stumbled upon this," she said.
Before they could exchange another word, Iris suddenly materialized from the adjacent aisle and stepped beside Maku, her eyes instantly scanning the two boys.
"Oh! You're also here to buy some groceries, handsome," Iris said, her voice dripping with amusement as she looked directly at Rim.
Hearing the word handsome directed at him so boldly, Rim chuckled a bit nervously and shrugged. "Yeah!"
Suddenly, a heavy set of hands wrapped directly around Rim's shoulders from behind.
"Wassup, genis," Mike said loudly, stepping up to join the conversation.
Iris's eyes lit up as she took in Mike's sudden appearance. "Another hottie came!" she said in pure amusement.
Mike didn't miss a beat. He flashed a charming, confident grin and bowed slightly. "Thanks, my lady!" he said playfully.
The sheer absurdity of the encounter broke the tension. They all laughed a bit together, creating a lively scene in the middle of the aisle, before they finally went to the billing counter with their respective groceries.
After paying for their items, they left the store and started heading towards home. The two yappers, Mike and Iris, yapped as usual, filling the entire walk with loud arguments and laughter. Meanwhile, Rim and Maku walked slightly behind, just observing them with quiet, amused smiles.
Eventually, the proper moment came when they reached the major intersection where they had to part ways with the yappers.
"See ya!" Rim said to Mike.
"Bye," Maku said to Iris.
They took a few steps down their street when Rim suddenly realized something about their friends' departure route. He stopped, turned back, and spoke loudly: "Wait a minute, you two have the same routes to go home!"
Both yappers stopped in their tracks and looked towards each other in total surprise. They both blinked, and then shouted simultaneously, "Man!! You're absolutely right, we didn't know that we came from the same route!"
Maku watched them walk away together and shook her head. "My god! That's kinda surprising," she said, her voice full of genuine wonder. "There's a lot of coincidences happening recently."
"Same here," Rim said, matching her stride.
With the loud duo gone, they parted ways with the yappers and started walking towards their respective apartments. Each carried a handful of groceries in their bags as they entered the familiar residential building.
As they climbed the stairs to the second floor, Rim let out a weary breath. "Oh man! I'm kinda exhausted today," he said.
Maku smiled sympathetically. "You should be! Today's day was kinda hectic and full of surprises," she said.
"Yep," Rim agreed, shifting the grocery bag to his other hand. "So, how did you liked the university?" he asked, wanting to know her first impressions.
Maku thought for a moment as they reached the landing. "I mean, it has a lot of great things, but there are some disappointing things also," she said to him.
Rim looked over with curiosity. "Oh, so what did you find disappointing?"
"Well, it was the gossips," Maku said, wrinkling her nose slightly.
"Hmm, well it is kinda annoying," Rim said, understanding exactly what she meant.
They chatted about various campus events until they finally reached the doors of their adjacent apartments. Rim stood outside his grand 2 BHK entry, while Maku stood outside unit 2B.
Remembering her kindness from the night before, Rim turned to her and said, "Hey, wanna come to my home for dinner?"
Maku paused, a soft smile appearing on her face. "If you're not troubled with it, then sure," she said.
- Writer
