Chapter 11
The Unexpected Proposal
The cultural festival was over.
For the first time in weeks, the college felt almost normal again.
No posters covering the walls.
No students running around with decorations.
No rehearsals continuing until evening.
No endless meetings.
Just classes.
Assignments.
Lunch breaks.
And the familiar noise of college life.
Nila thought she would miss the excitement.
Instead, she found herself enjoying the quiet.
She walked through the corridor with Kavya and Keerthi, holding a notebook against her chest.
“Finally,” Keerthi said dramatically.
“No more rehearsals.”
Nila smiled.
“I don’t know whether to be happy or sad.”
“Happy.”
“Definitely happy,” Kavya added.
Nila laughed.
“I actually enjoyed it.”
“You enjoyed dancing.”
“That’s different.”
Keerthi suddenly stopped walking.
“Wait.”
Nila turned around.
“What?”
Keerthi pointed toward the notice board.
A new announcement had been pinned there.
INTER-DEPARTMENT STUDENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Kavya stepped closer.
“What’s this?”
Nila read the notice.
“It looks like some kind of student leadership program.”
Keerthi shrugged.
“Sounds boring.”
“Everything sounds boring to you.”
“Because most things are.”
Nila smiled and continued walking.
She didn’t think about the notice again.
At least, not then.
Meanwhile, in the engineering block, Adhavan was sitting in a meeting with two faculty coordinators.
The cultural festival had ended successfully, and because he had handled most of the coordination, the faculty had started trusting him with more responsibilities.
“We’re planning another student program next month,” one professor explained.
Adhavan nodded.
“It will involve students from multiple departments.”
“Yes.”
“We want someone reliable to coordinate the student volunteers.”
Adhavan looked at the papers.
“How many students?”
“About twenty.”
He read through the details.
“Okay.”
“You’ll need to choose representatives from different departments.”
Adhavan nodded.
“I’ll find them.”
One of the professors smiled.
“We’re counting on you.”
Adhavan smiled politely.
“I’ll handle it.”
That afternoon, the group met for lunch.
Arjun was already complaining.
“I hate Mondays.”
“It’s Tuesday,” Kavya said.
Arjun stared at her.
“That makes it worse.”
Keerthi laughed.
“How?”
“I’ve already wasted one day.”
Nila shook her head.
“You make no sense.”
“I make perfect sense.”
Adhavan arrived with his lunch and sat down.
Arjun immediately looked at him.
“You look serious.”
“I’m thinking.”
“That’s dangerous.”
Adhavan ignored him.
He looked at Nila.
“Did you see the notice about the student development program?”
Nila nodded.
“Yes.”
“Are you interested?”
She shook her head.
“Not really.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
She shrugged.
“I just don’t think I’m good at that kind of thing.”
Keerthi immediately interrupted.
“She’s lying.”
Nila looked at her.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“What?”
“You were the best coordinator for our dance team.”
“I didn’t coordinate anything.”
“You kept everyone organised.”
Kavya nodded.
“She’s right.”
Nila looked at both of them.
“That was different.”
“How?”
“Because it was dancing.”
Adhavan listened quietly.
“You don’t have to decide now.”
Nila nodded.
“Okay.”
The conversation moved on.
But Adhavan remembered her answer.
The next morning, Adhavan received the final list of students selected for the program.
He looked through the names.
Engineering.
Commerce.
Computer Science.
Arts.
Management.
Different departments.
Different personalities.
He needed someone from commerce.
Someone responsible.
Someone who could work well with others.
His eyes moved down the list.
Then stopped.
Nila Aravind.
He stared at the name for a moment.
He remembered how she had handled the dance rehearsals.
How she had helped organise things without asking for attention.
How she always noticed when someone needed help.
He added her name to the volunteer list.
Then he hesitated.
Maybe he should ask her first.
That afternoon, Nila was sitting in the library.
She had barely finished two pages when someone placed a sheet of paper on her desk.
She looked up.
Adhavan.
“What is this?”
“Read it.”
She looked at the paper.
Her eyes widened.
“Me?”
He nodded.
“You’ve been selected as one of the student coordinators.”
Nila immediately shook her head.
“No.”
He blinked.
“No?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
He pulled out the chair opposite her.
“Why?”
“I already told you. I’m not good at these things.”
“You haven’t even tried.”
“I don’t need to try to know.”
Adhavan smiled slightly.
“You said the same thing before the dance.”
Nila looked at him.
“That’s different.”
“You were nervous.”
“Very.”
“But you still did it.”
She looked down at the paper.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to decide right now.”
Nila looked at him.
“Then why did you choose me?”
He answered honestly.
“Because I think you’d be good at it.”
She stared at him for a moment.
There was no teasing in his voice.
No pressure.
He genuinely believed it.
“Give me one day,” she said.
“Okay.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“That’s all I’m asking.”
He stood up.
Then he added,
“And don’t tell Keerthi yet.”
Nila smiled.
“Why?”
“She’ll convince you before you can think.”
Nila laughed.
“True.”
Of course, keeping it from Keerthi lasted less than an hour.
The moment Nila mentioned the program during lunch, Keerthi nearly jumped out of her seat.
“YOU GOT SELECTED?”
Nila covered her face.
“I knew you would react like this.”
“Of course!”
Kavya smiled.
“You should do it.”
Nila looked at her.
“You too?”
“Yes.”
Arjun nodded.
“I think you’d be good.”
Nila looked at Adhavan.
He was quietly eating.
“You agree?”
He looked up.
“I already told you.”
Keerthi looked between them.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at her.
“Why did Adhavan choose Nila?”
Arjun shrugged.
“Because she’s capable.”
Keerthi narrowed her eyes.
“That’s all?”
Adhavan looked confused.
“What else would there be?”
Keerthi stared at him for a second.
Then laughed.
“Nothing.”
Nila rolled her eyes.
“Please don’t start.”
“I didn’t say anything!”
“You were about to.”
“Maybe.”
Everyone laughed.
That evening, Nila finally made her decision.
She found Adhavan near the basketball court.
“Hey.”
He turned.
“Hi.”
“I’ll do it.”
He smiled.
“Good.”
“But I’m warning you.”
“About what?”
“If I mess something up, I’m blaming you.”
He laughed.
“Fair.”
She smiled.
“Deal.”
Neither of them knew that agreeing to that small responsibility would eventually change the direction of their lives.
For now, it was just another college program.
Another responsibility.
Another reason for them to spend more time together.
Nothing romantic.
Nothing complicated.
Just friendship.
At least…
That’s what Nila believed.
And Adhavan believed it too.
For now.
The following week, the student development program officially began.
Nila quickly realised that saying yes had been much easier than actually doing the work.
There were meetings.
Schedules.
Lists of participants.
Department representatives.
And far too many messages in the group chat.
By the third day, Nila was already regretting her decision.
“I should have said no,” she muttered while staring at the spreadsheet on her laptop.
Adhavan, sitting beside her, looked over.
“You’ve said that six times.”
“Because it’s true.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“I don’t want to get used to it.”
He smiled.
“Too late.”
Nila gave him an annoyed look.
“This is your fault.”
“You agreed.”
“Because you convinced me.”
“I only asked.”
“You asked very convincingly.”
He laughed.
Nila tried to stay annoyed but ended up smiling too.
Working together had become surprisingly easy.
Adhavan handled the larger responsibilities.
Nila kept track of smaller details, contacted students, and organised the lists.
Whenever she wasn’t sure about something, she asked.
And he always answered.
There was never any irritation in his voice.
Never any suggestion that her questions were stupid.
That made Nila more comfortable.
One afternoon, they were sitting in an empty classroom preparing the final schedule.
Nila stared at the board.
“We have a problem.”
Adhavan looked up.
“What?”
“Two departments have been assigned the same time slot.”
He checked the schedule.
“You’re right.”
“I told you.”
“We’ll change one.”
“Which one?”
He thought for a moment.
“Commerce.”
Nila immediately frowned.
“Why commerce?”
“Because engineering has their lab session.”
“So commerce should suffer?”
He smiled.
“No.”
“Then?”
“We’ll ask the other department to switch.”
Nila nodded.
“Good.”
She returned to her laptop.
After a few seconds, she looked at him.
“You know, you’re actually good at this.”
“At what?”
“Managing people.”
He shrugged.
“I’ve had practice.”
“You make it look easy.”
“It isn’t.”
Nila smiled.
“That’s what you always say.”
“Because it’s true.”
She looked at him for a moment.
Maybe there was more to Adhavan than the confident person everyone saw around campus.
He wasn’t simply good at studies or basketball.
He was patient.
Responsible.
And surprisingly easy to talk to.
Nila understood why so many people respected him.
A few days later, the group met at lunch.
Keerthi immediately noticed the tired look on Nila’s face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Program work.”
“Still?”
“Yes.”
Arjun laughed.
“You agreed to it.”
Nila pointed at Adhavan.
“He convinced me.”
Adhavan looked at her.
“You chose to join.”
“Details.”
Kavya smiled.
“You two have been spending a lot of time together because of this.”
Nila shrugged.
“We’re just working.”
Keerthi gave her a teasing smile.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were going to.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You definitely were.”
Arjun laughed.
“She’s right.”
Keerthi looked at him.
“Don’t take her side.”
“I’m taking no one’s side.”
“Good.”
The conversation quickly moved to something else.
Nila didn’t think much about Kavya’s comment.
They were simply working together.
That was all.
Later that evening, Nila stayed behind to finish some paperwork.
Most students had already left.
The corridor was quiet.
She looked at the clock.
7:15 p.m.
“Oh no.”
She quickly packed her things.
When she stepped outside, she found Adhavan waiting near the stairs.
“You haven’t left?”
He shook his head.
“I was waiting.”
“For me?”
“You said you needed to finish the forms.”
Nila looked surprised.
“You could’ve left.”
“I could have.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
He shrugged.
“We’re working together.”
She smiled.
“You’re too responsible.”
“I’ve been called worse.”
They walked toward the college gate together.
The campus looked completely different in the evening.
The corridors were almost empty.
The lights from the classrooms stretched across the floor.
For once, Nila didn’t feel uncomfortable walking through a quiet campus.
She felt safe.
Comfortable.
Maybe because she wasn’t alone.
As they reached the gate, Nila suddenly stopped.
“Wait.”
Adhavan turned.
“What?”
She looked at the sky.
“It might rain.”
He looked up.
Dark clouds had gathered overhead.
“We should hurry.”
They started walking faster.
A few drops fell.
Then more.
Within seconds, rain began pouring.
Nila laughed.
“Seriously?”
Adhavan laughed too.
They ran toward the covered bus stop outside the college.
Nila held her bag against her chest.
“You could have warned me!”
“I didn’t control the weather!”
“You should have!”
“How?”
“You’re the coordinator!”
He laughed.
“That’s not part of my job.”
They reached the shelter, both slightly breathless.
Nila looked at her wet sleeves and started laughing.
Adhavan smiled.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re laughing at me.”
“No.”
“You are.”
“Maybe.”
He shook his head.
For several minutes, they simply stood there watching the rain.
It wasn’t romantic.
It wasn’t dramatic.
It was just two friends caught in the rain after a long day.
But for Nila, it was another memory.
Another ordinary moment that somehow felt important.
And neither of them knew that these small moments were slowly becoming the foundation for something neither was prepared for.
The rain continued.
Neither rushed to leave.
And for the first time, Nila realised she wasn’t uncomfortable with silence around him.
She could simply stand there.
Say nothing.
And still feel completely at ease.
To Be Continued…
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