Best Friend

Riddhima is grateful to have a friend like Sejal.

The two first-year college students have been paired as lab partners in their financial accounting class and have begun to hang out together after that.

Riddhima is a shy, studious girl from a humble background. She was at university on a scholarship to obtain a business degree so she could fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a chartered accountant.

Whereas Sejal is an outgoing, athletic, attractive girl from a well-to-do home. She was at college on full tuition to make friends, contacts and, hopefully, obtain a business degree in order to help out at the large corporation her grandfather had founded.

Riddhima tutored Sejal on her coursework; and Sejal included Riddhima in all of her social activities.

Sejal had a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. While Riddhima had only kept in contact with a few of her computer club associates from high school.

Sejal owned a brand-new sports car, and her family had a house at the lake.

After a long, tough week of academics, the two friends would drive out to cottage country in Sejal's car. They'd do a little schoolwork; a lot more swimming, hiking and partying.

It was a two-way, well-balanced relationship, almost contractual, as defined in the commercial law class the pals shared.

One night in Riddhima's dorm room, as Riddhima was explaining the intriguing intricacies of deferred taxation to Sejal, she asked her friend...

Riddhima: Ummm Sejal, how come you don't have a steady boyfriend?

Sejal laughed.

She placed a smooth, slender hand on one of Riddhima's hands.

Sejal: Oh, I have all the boys I need. Why settle on just one?

Riddhima groaned.

Riddhima: I'd like to settle on just one.

Riddhima's face reddened.

She adjusted her glasses, staring down at the open textbooks spread out on her cluttered desk.

Sejal: Like which one, for instance?

Riddhima blurted out.

Riddhima: Well......like Vansh, for instance!

Sejal: Vansh?

Riddhima: You know that boy in our auditing class who sits in the front row all by himself black hair and well shaved beard.

Sejal shrugged.

Sejal: Oh, yeah, Vansh. Sooo, does a company eventually have to pay their deferred taxes, or is it basically corporate welfare?

.

Riddhima was a little miffed when she saw Sejal talking to Vansh in class the following day.

The young woman was then downright in a snit, when she spotted the pair sitting at the same table having lunch together later on in the cafeteria.

Sejal's tinkling laughter seared Riddhima's burning ears, her eyes shooting flaming daggers at the girl happily teasing their thunderstruck classmate.

Riddhima knew Sejal could have any freshman or sophomore or junior or senior, or professor, for that matter – she wanted.

Her looks and money only equaled by her charm.

So why did she have to go after the one guy Riddhima had expressed interest in?

After all, Riddhima had done for her – all the unpaid study sessions.

Riddhima's oversized brain stewed over her supposed friend's actions.

When she was standing on the curb at the end of the school day, she watched Sejal and Vansh whizz right by in Sejal's sports car.

The aggrieved young woman unfolded her laptop with cold deliberateness back in her dorm room, her eyes glaring black ice.

Riddhima hissed.

Riddhima: Get ready for a full-out social media takedown lady!

She'd been mentally composing the vicious tweets and ruinous rumourous updates and assembling the embarrassing photos she was about to unleash into cyberspace, as she'd stalked across campus to the student residence.

Sweet revenge for bitter betrayal.

The computer screen glowed to life.

Riddhima logged in. First, to unfriend her former friend with extreme prejudice.

Riddhima positioned a poison arrow over top the appropriate icon and...

.....

Sejal burst into the dorm room and plopped down in the chair next to Riddhima.

Sejal threw an arm around Riddhima's angrily hunched shoulders.

She chirped cheerfully.

Sejal: Guess who's got a date with Vansh to go to the cafe on Friday?

Riddhima's eyes slid to the right. She seethed.

Riddhima: Who?

Sejal exhaled.

Sejal: I knew you'd be too shy to approach the guy, so I set it up for you.

Sejal flashed a dazzling smile at Riddhima's storm-darkened face.

Riddhima: W-What!?

Sejal: You two will be great together. And what are friends for, right?

Sejal gave Riddhima a squeeze, then directed her gaze down at the computer screen.

Sejal: Hey, can you bring up the balance sheet consolidation section of the accounting handbook, so we can go over it?

Riddhima gulped.

Riddhima: S-Sure!

All the rage drained out of the young woman, joy rising up inside of her like a warm, welcome tide.

She grinned at Sejal.

Riddhima: Just what I was going to do. Best buddy.