Just Friends
A story told through text messages
“Hey, I have to tell you something,” he texted.
“Umm. yeah?” I replied.
“I am seeing someone new.”
“That’s amazing. I am so happy for you.”
“You are?”
“Of course. I hope she is as much of a foodie as you are. And I hope you both take good care of each other.”
“Haha.”
“And more importantly, I hope your mother likes her as well and doesn’t think that she wears too much make-up.”
“Hey, come on. You know my mother never said that about you.”
“She didn’t say it specifically. But she implied it a lot of times. But anyway, it’s all over now, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I have something more to tell you.”
“Yeah?”
“April Fool!!”
“What?”
“That was a joke, Divya. Haha.”
“Why would you joke about something like that with your ex, Saurav?”
“I thought it would be funny.”
“I am not your best friend that you will play such a cheap prank on me. I hope you know that this is unacceptable.”
“Hey, hey. Don’t get mad, Divya. I am sorry. But I do indeed have a new girlfriend. Her name is Payal.”
“Are you crazy? How many times do you think the same prank will work on me?”
“No, I swear. She follows you on Instagram. You can check her profile out.”
At that, I paused the chat and went through my Instagram followers’ list. There was indeed a girl called Payal who had a picture with Saurav as her display picture. The account had about 30 posts and it was private, so it looked genuine enough.
“Okay,” I texted him. “I guess I am happy for you.”
“I can sense that you’re still mad. I apologize with all my heart, Divya.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. By the way, did you make a new Facebook account and send me a friend request?”
“Haha, after you blocked me, I have given up on Facebook.”
“But I got a friend request from a guy with your name and display picture a week back.”
“Oh gosh, what? It wasn’t me, I swear. Damn, someone must have made a fake profile.”
“Are you sure? Why would someone make a fake account in your name and seek to be my friend?”
“How do I know? Ugh, it will be hard for me to convince you, but honestly, I have no intentions of stalking you. All I want for you to be in my life is my friend, and nothing else.”
“That is good to hear.”
“Can you send me a link to that fake account so I can block him?”
“What fake account?”
“The one you were talking about now — with my photo and name?”
“Ah, no Saurav. That was a joke. April Fool!!”
“Damn you, Divya.”
“Damn you, Saurav.”