Chapter 122: Abhirami's troubles

Abhirami sighed. "I'm getting stalked." She said a really low voice.

"Hmm, by whom?" Taro asked.

"Multiple people. Like, there's two or three guys waiting for me at the bus stop. Like, they say unsavory comments about me and stuff. I mean, if someone from them likes me, then they should ask me out rather than stalking like this. Of course, if they ask me out now, I'm gonna reject them because I came to know about their stalking practices." Abhirami replied.

"Ok, it's not like I don't believe you. But, are you a hundred percent sure that these guys are stalking you and talking about you?" Taro asked.

"Of course! They even talked about how—no, I'm not gonna tell that. But, yea. They do know my name and stuff." She answered.

"And do you know them?" He asked.

"Other than these stalking sessions, no. I did hear that they were from somewhere nearby though." She replied.

"So, do you know about why they're stalking you?" He continued with his questionnaire.

"Because they like me? Because I'm attractive?" She replied.

"Hmm, can't deny that." Taro mumbled, which caused Abhirami to suddenly blush. She did say that she was attractive, but never thought that Taro would agree with it as well. "Don't blush like that. You're attractive; that's a fact. I don't have any hidden intentions behind that. So, calm down. I'm still one with a fiancé." He replied.

"Don't blush? It's a natural phenomenon. I can't stop that! Rather, stop telling things unexpectedly like that!" She was about to shout before keeping it down.

"I see.I won't repeat the same mistake then." Taro replied. "So, how long has this stalking been going on?" He asked.

"About a month or two now." She replied.

"Damn, I got more questions now than before. One, why didn't you speak of it to anyone before? Two, what happened today in particular?" He asked.

"Well, even if I had told anyone about it, they would just find a way to blame it on me. Like, you know how I act, right? Some people straight-up call me a s*ut just because I behave the way I wanna behave. So, even if they come to know that I'm being stalked, they would give out a reply somewhere in the lines of me deserving it. So, I kept quiet, hoping that it would someday subside normally." She sighed yet again. "And today, those people followed me to the school. It made my journey really awkward. Like, I couldn't do anything at that point. I didn't want to involve my friends into this, you know? These people are crazy. I don't want my friends to deal with crazy people." She replied.

"Hmm, I know this might sound like you're taking the simple way out, but how about you come by the school bus or your father's car for a few days until all these events just subside, for the time being?" Taro suggested.

"No." It was a firm denial from her part. "They'd still stalk me. I don't want my classmates or parents getting involved in this." She replied.

"Well, parent's involvement is better for you, don't you think? I mean, they could complain about it to the police or something." He spoke.

"These guys are dangerous, you see. They'd come for revenge if I do something like that." She answered.

"Ha. Then what are you planning to do?" Taro asked, since he had no idea himself.

"I don't know. Maybe I should just continue with it like normal. I mean, they have to bugger off someday, right?" She sounded hopeful, but the grimace on her face was clear.

"That's a stupid way to think. You did nothing until now, and they followed you to your school. If you continue on that, what do you think they'll do?" Taro asked, slightly raising his voice before going back to normal.

"What am I supposed to do then? Get into a fistfight with them? Like, I really don't know! So, why don't you suggest something if you don't want me to just go on with it?" She sounded frail at that point. The usual Abhirami was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it. Fine. You know what we're gonna do today? I'm gonna walk with you to your bus stop. I gotta see them as well. Like, how dangerous are these guys you're talking about." Taro spoke.

"Wait a minute, is that a date?" Abhirami shouted. The teachers who gave up on eavesdropping before instantaneously got back to it now that they heard such sensational news.

"Date? What the hell are you talking about? You wanted me to think of a solution, so I did." Taro replied, frustrated about how she raised her voice on just that particular occasion.

"And that solution is us going on a date!" She went back to being her usual self at this point.

Noticing the change, Taro decided to be lenient about it one more time. "Well, if you wanna consider a normal walk with some person as a date, might as well. Who am I to judge you on that concept?" He spoke. This brought a bright smile on Abhirami's face as she hopped up and headed towards the staff room door.

"Then see you on the date!" She said as she ran back to the class, leaving Taro all alone in the wilderness. The stares were even more fierce at this point, but Taro bore it all.

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Evening that day. Usually Shivani was the only one waiting for him, but this time around Abhirami was there as well. She had already told her best friend about the "date" but didn't reveal the stalkers part. Although Shivani felt that something was awry, she didn't poke her head into it, since she believed that her teacher had some sort of plan in his mind for him to do this.

They reached the Holy Land much faster than they usually do. On their way there, Taro had already explained to his friends about what was going on, so they sped up their pace. Once they reached the place, they were about to go their separate ways, when Abhirami stopped him.

"Wait!"

"Hmm?"

"You look like a teacher in this costume. We're going on a date, you know? Change your clothes!" She basically ordered him.

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