Chapter 126: A promise to herself

"But, why though?" Taro asked.

"Why?" Abhirami looked at him as if he just said the most ridiculous thing in the world. "You know the school rules, right? No electronics to school! They'll confiscate my phone if I brought it to school." She replied.

"But who asked you to bring that to school?" He asked, looking as if it was Abhirami, not him, who said the most ridiculous thing.

"You did! You just did. Like, literally seconds ago! How can you deny something like that?" She asked, as she went crazy trying to understand why he denied something he said right then.

"Ah, you should notice what I said more clearly from now on. I asked you to bring your phone. I never asked you to bring it to the school." He spoke as if he just made a revelation.

"Well, if you're not gonna elaborate stuff, a person would always think the more convenient point." She replied.

"Hmm, I guess you're right about that. My bad!" He was aware of his mistake, thus apologized.

"As long as you get it. So, where is my gift for correcting you?" She asked.

"When did I ever say that I was gonna gift you something?" Taro tilted his head as if he didn't get what she meant.

"But-"

"Never in my life am I gonna allow you to kiss me again. That's my promise." He replied bluntly.

Abhirami sighed. "Very well. So, how am I going to keep my phone in my hand but not in school?" She asked.

"Well, come to the Holy Land before you head to school. I'll keep your phone over there. Or, I'll just keep your phone in my hand. Like, no one's gonna search my desk for your phone, right?" He asked.

"Hmm, not a bad idea! I'll hand it to you tomorrow morning and decide what to do with it by yourself." She replied.

"Cool, bye then." He waved her goodbye as she prepared for another battle.

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Next day, Abhirami headed to the Holy Land and handed her super expensive phone to Taro. She expected him to get flustered by this, but that's when she realized his one was super expensive as well. Anyhow, the phone was perfectly safe in Taro's hands.

Taro was afraid. He didn't know what kinda ringtone she had on her phone and stuff, so he switched it off as soon as he got it, so that he wouldn't get screwed. This turned out to be the right decision since Abhirami's ringtone was her voice saying 'I love you, Sadu', which she deliberately changed yesterday knowing that he'd take the phone to school.

Abhirami hadn't realized that Taro switched the phone off, so she frequently asked if someone called for her and Taro would repeatedly deny it, which she found weird because she had asked someone to call her on the phone right at ten in the morning.

Taro found it weird as well since the frequency at which she started visiting the staff room asking if he got a phone call increased. It didn't take him much to realize that she had planned something for him on the phone and in no way was it gonna be something helpful to him.

Once the classes ended, both walked towards the Holy Land with the rest of the squad who had little to talk about between the heated conversation they were having.

"Here's your phone." Taro handed it over to Abhirami once they exited the school premises.

"Ah, thanks. You sure there weren't any—wait, you switched it off?" She looked shocked as she said that.

"Well, it's not like you were gonna receive that call of yours if the phone was at home. So, I switched it off." Taro replied honestly.

"But, you lied to me." Abhirami looked as if she was gonna tear up at any given time, while she switched on her phone.

"Hmm, was the call that important for you?" He asked.

"Yes?" She replied, not really knowing what to say, since it wasn't the call but the ringtone that was important to her.

"Really? It wasn't the ringtone, then?" He asked.

"Huh?"

"Wait." He dialled her number, which she received in their game chat and rang it up.

"Ahhh… Sadu… I lub you! I really lub you! Ahhh…" was what everyone heard coming from Abhirami's phone. They all had stoic looks on their faces, not knowing what expression to give out after hearing such a thing.

"So, what would've happened if someone had called your phone while I had turned it on? My colleagues would have heard it. You really enjoy doing this, huh? Thankfully, I wasn't that big of an idiot to just put it on like that. I really don't like you sometimes when you do stupid stuff like this." He didn't mince his words as he expressed his emotions.

"But that was a harmless prank-" Abhirami tried arguing, but she wasn't given the chance to do so.

"It might be for you. But, you must think about the consequences when you do shit like this. Like, I don't particularly care if you did something like that to me. However, have you thought about what would happen if it was someone else. This harmless prank of yours might've even ruined his life." He explained.

"I wouldn't go that far…" She spoke.

"Yea, I know that the last part is a bit exaggerated, but his colleagues will surely isolate him." He replied.

"Hmm... So, it's fine as long as the person is you?" She asked with a smile on her face.

Taro sighed. "I'll never understand why I spent my time and effort explaining this stuff to you. I look like an idiot now." He spoke as he sped towards the Holy Land without waiting for any of them.

"You okay?" Shivani, who was there to witness the spat between the two, asked.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood." She spoke in a disappointed tone.

"I know. But not everyone's gonna get that. So, don't feel bad." Shivani replied.

Abhirami clutched her hand in frustration. "Maybe I should stop doing that, eh?" She asked.

"Yea. At least, pick the right moment." Shivani didn't even deny it.

"Okay, I'll do that!" She made a promise to herself that day not to tell lame jokes at inappropriate times.

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