She Fixed Her Hair

“Who cared?” Rajesh asked.
“Padmu! If you don't say clearly, how can we know? Please tell us clearly. We are all with you,” Karthik said gently.
Padmavathi lowered her eyes.
“It started three weeks back,” she said softly.
And just like that, Padmavathi began telling the story of her pain.
______________
Three Weeks Earlier
It was a hot summer afternoon in Kakinada.
The sun outside seemed determined to melt the entire city. Even the trees stood motionless under the blazing heat.
Inside her room, however, Padmavathi was comfortably lying on her bed, endlessly scrolling through Instagram.
Her mother looked at her with visible disappointment.
“Padmavathi! Stop staring at that phone all day.”
Padmavathi didn't even look up.
“Hmmm.”
“Either sleep or read a book. You used to read so much before. Look at those shelves.”
Her mother pointed dramatically toward the wooden rack near the wall.
“Every shelf is overflowing with books you bought. Not even one page has been read!”
Padmavathi groaned.
“Ammaaa... please don't eat my brain.”
Her mother immediately sat up.
“Am I eating your brain?”
“Yes.”
“You idiot!”
“Amma, pleeeeease...” Padmavathi said, pouting with exaggerated innocence.
Her mother rolled her eyes.
“Go to hell.”
Then she spread a bedsheet on the floor and lay down for her afternoon nap.
Padmavathi giggled quietly.
The room became silent except for the sound of the ceiling fan.
She continued scrolling.
Then suddenly,
A red notification dot appeared on Instagram.
Her eyes widened.
A notification.
Someone had either liked her post, reacted to a story, or sent a follow request.
Curious, she opened it.
There were several follow requests waiting.
She rejected a few without even checking.
Then her thumb paused.
A boy.
A profile she had never seen before.
She looked at the display picture for barely two seconds.
Without thinking much, she accepted the request.
Then she continued with her day.
She never imagined that one small tap would change everything.
______________
The next evening, she posted a story about her favourite cricketer, MS Dhoni.
That night, she was lying on her stomach across her bed.
Her legs swung freely in the air.
It was a childish habit she had never outgrown.
Another habit she never admitted to anyone was checking who viewed her stories.
Every single time.
So naturally, after a few hours, she opened Instagram again.
She started scrolling through the viewers.
Then she saw the name.
The same boy whose request she had accepted.
Rohaksh.
For some reason, she clicked his profile.
His account was public.
There weren't many posts.
But there was enough.
A few photographs.
Some music clips.
Some saved stories.
Padmavathi told herself she was only checking for a few seconds.
Five minutes later, she was still there.
Ten minutes later she was still there.
A small smile appeared on her face.
A smile she didn't even realise was there.
She liked one post.
Then another.
Then quickly closed Instagram.
As if someone had caught her doing something illegal.
Her cheeks felt strangely warm.
______________
Days passed.
Whenever Rohaksh posted a story, she watched it.
Whenever she posted one, she secretly checked if he had seen it.
Little things.
Small things.
Meaningless things.
At least that was what she kept telling herself.
From his profile, she guessed he was a musician.
And somehow that made him seem even more interesting.
Without realising it, her curiosity slowly became a crush.
A tiny crush.
The kind that blooms quietly inside the heart.
______________
About a week after her birthday,
Padmavathi was having terrible period cramps.
The pain was unbearable.
She was lying curled up on the floor beside her bed.
One hand on her stomach.
A pillow squeezed tightly against her chest.
Even breathing felt difficult.
Then,
Ding.
Her phone lit up.
She ignored it.
Another vibration.
She lazily reached for her phone.
The moment she looked at the screen,
Her heart stopped.
A message.
From Rohaksh.
For a second, she forgot about the pain completely.
Her eyes widened.
Her stomach cramps vanished from her mind.
Her heartbeat suddenly became louder than the ceiling fan.
She sat up immediately.
The message notification glowed on her screen.
Rohaksh.
Her crush.
The boy she had secretly been thinking about for days.
The boy whose stories she watched first.
The boy whose profile she had visited far too many times.
Her fingers trembled slightly.
A smile appeared before she could stop it.
Then slowly...
Very slowly...
Padmavathi opened the chat.
------------------------------------------------------------------
“Wait! What's his name?” Jack suddenly asked.
“Rohaksh,” Padmavathi replied softly.
Jack's eyebrows shot up.
“He messaged you?”
“Yes,” Padmavathi nodded.
For a moment, everyone stared at her.
Then Jack slapped his forehead dramatically.
“Padmu! What were you even thinking?”
“What does that mean?” Achyutha immediately asked.
“Yes! What are you trying to say?” Anantha frowned.
“Do you think she doesn't deserve a message from a boy?”
Jack looked at both girls as if they had completely misunderstood him.
“Are you two insane?”
“Excuse me?” Achyutha folded her arms.
“No, seriously! That's not what I meant!”
“Then what did you mean?” Anantha demanded.
Jack sighed heavily.
Before another argument could begin, Karthik stepped in.
“Guys. Relax.”
Everyone turned toward him.
“What Jack is trying to say is this.”
Karthik leaned forward.
“A boy with a completely public account. A boy who openly posts his pictures, music clips, and personal stories. A boy who has no mutual connection with Padmu. A boy who randomly sends her a follow request and then messages her first.”
Rajesh nodded slowly.
“That's actually unusual.”
The compartment became quiet.
Padmavathi looked down at her hands.
Even now, remembering that moment made her heart feel strange.
“So what happened next?” Rajesh asked gently.
“What did he say?” Achyutha asked.
“Did you reply immediately?” Anantha asked.
“Were you smiling like an idiot?” Jack added.
“Jack!” both girls shouted.
Padmavathi couldn't help laughing.
A tiny laugh escaped her lips.
For a brief moment, the heaviness in her eyes disappeared.
Then it returned.
Because she knew where the story eventually led.
Achyutha quietly held one of her hands.
Anantha held the other.
“We're here,” Achyutha said softly.
“You can tell us everything,” Anantha added.
Padmavathi looked at her friends.
All six of them had been together for years.
There was no point hiding now.
She took a deep breath.
Outside the train window, the evening sun painted the fields golden.
Inside, only the rhythmic sound of the train filled the silence.
Padmavathi closed her eyes for a second.
Then she opened them.
And traveled back to that afternoon.
Back to the moment when her phone vibrated.
Back to the message that made her forget her pain.
Back to the first conversation.
Slowly, she began reading from memory.
______________
Rohaksh:
"Hey."
Padmavathi stared at the screen.
Just one word.
Four letters.
Yet somehow her heartbeat doubled.
She read it once.
Then again.
And again.
Her stomach cramps were still there.
But suddenly they felt less important.
She sat up on the floor and fixed her hair instinctively.
As if he could somehow see her through the phone.
Then she realized how stupid that was.
She looked at the message.
Looked away.
Looked again.
A smile slowly appeared on her face.
Her first thought wasn't What should I reply?
Her first thought was,
"Why is he messaging me?"