"Hima, utho..." a loud voice shattered my peace, and I groaned, burying my head deeper into the pillow. I pressed it tightly against my ears to block the noise, but in a few seconds, it was snatched away.

 "Yaar... kya problem hai iss ladki ki..." I muttered, attempting to go back to sleep, but my efforts were futile.

 "Di, aaj first day hai humara... utho, warna mummy ko abhi video call kar rahi hoon main." Vidhi, my twin, tried to threaten me, and of course, it worked like a charm. I shot up straight, my hair an unruly mess covering my face.

 Kyunki puri duniya mein mai agar kisi se darti hoon to wo hai meri Rani Sa, aka Mumma.

 "Arrey re... Rani Sa ko call karne ki zarurat nahi hai... hum uth gaye... thik hai."

I glared at my sister for disturbing my sleep. Her smirk made it evident that her plan had worked perfectly. Huffing, I gathered my hair into a messy bun, threw off my blanket, and stretched my limbs.

 "Yeh ladki uthi ki nahi?" Adriti, our mutual friend, walked in holding a spatula. As the self-proclaimed mother of the group, she was determined to ensure her "children" lived responsibly—a concept that, frankly, bored me.

 Still, it was her responsible nature that made our parents trust her the most in our group. Despite her nagging, we loved her dearly.

 "Uth gaye yaar, Mumma," I whined, trying to shield myself from the constant morning pestering.

 "Very good. Chalo, ab let's have breakfast, then we'll head to school," Adriti said, heading back to the mini-kitchen in our hostel room.

 "Good morning, guys! Welcome back to the channel and to another vlog. Aaj hai hamara first day of class 12 in our new school, so let's go and take reviews." Akash, my best friend, barged in with his camera, pointing it toward me as usual.

 "So as you guys can see, Mahi, as usual, so rahi hai." I smacked his back in response.

 "Ouch! Jahil aurat! Agli baar mujhe mara na toh—" He paused dramatically, and I raised my eyebrow. "Toh?"

 "Toh jail chali jaogi, as it will be animal abuse," Vidhi quipped with a smug grin, making Akash gasp loudly.

 "Yeh dono behene milke na, aapke Akash ko itna torture karti hain, dekh lo, guys." Akash wiped away fake tears, addressing his camera or, rather, his viewers.

 "Alle le le mela bechtie gussa ho gaya?" I cooed in a baby voice. Akash nodded dramatically, and I dramatically wiped his fake tears.

 Prateek entered the room, shaking his head at our antics.

 Vidhi rolled her eyes. "Duniya mein do namune aur woh meri zindagi mein—ek meri judwa behen aur doosra uska best friend."

 "Arre, jaan, aise mat kaho... I know you love me," Akash teased, grinning mischievously.

 "In your dreams!" Vidhi shot back sassily.

 "Arre, mere dreams mein toh isse bhi zyada kuch hota hai. Do you wanna know?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

 "Sabke samne chappal se marungi agar aisi baat ki toh," Vidhi glared at him.

 We all burst out laughing at their banter.

 "Ab hamari Kasukabe group iss naye school mein machayegi dhamal," Adriti declared, earning a round of cheers from us.

 "Woh sab chhodo... tum dono yahan kya kar rahe ho? Pata hai na, yeh girls' hostel hai?"

 "Pata hai," Akash replied casually. "Hum bas jaldi ready ho gaye, phir socha saath mein chalenge. Aur yahan ki warden ma'am bahut achhi hain, so unhone aane diya. Zyada strict nahi hain yahan ke rules."

 "Oh!"

 "Now go and get ready, otherwise we'll be late on our first day," Prateek said as Vidhi connected her phone to the speaker. Soon, the lively beats of Chikni Chameli filled the room, and we all danced around as we got ready for the day.

*********** 

The five of us walked together, attracting curious glances and whispers from the students around us. Ignoring them, we headed straight to the assembly area for the principal's speech.

Mrs. Saloni Roy, the gorgeous principal of Dehradun's best boarding school, delivered a warm welcome. After the speech ended, students scattered, and the new ones, like us, were given free time to explore the campus.

The school was breathtaking. Beautiful gardens stretched across the grounds, and sunlight streamed through the large French windows of the library, casting golden hues over rows of neatly arranged books.

 As we wandered, soaking in the grandeur, I suddenly collided with someone.

 "Sorry—" I began but was rudely interrupted.

 "Can't you see where you're going?" the girl snapped.

"Arre, sorry kaha na maine. Aur tum dekh ke nahi chal sakti?" I shot back, matching her tone. Sure, it was my fault, but I wasn't about to take unnecessary attitude.

 "Whatever. Just don't appear in front of me again," she retorted, striding off without another glance.

 "Yeh kya cheez hai?" I muttered, bewildered.

 "Yeh ignore karne waali cheez hai," Adriti replied matter-of-factly. "Zainab Kashyap. Kisi ne iske parking mein car park kar di thi, toh isne uski brand-new car pink kar di."

 "Toh isse jhelte kyun hain?" I asked.

 "Dad school ke trustee hain. But the weirdest part is, iske iss school mein dost koi nahi hai," Adriti explained.

 "Explains a lot. Waise, tu poori research karke aayi hai, na?" I teased, earning a shrug from her.

 The hours flew by as we continued exploring the campus, mingling with other new students while old ones observed us curiously.

 The sun was high in the sky, painting the school with vibrant hues as we made our way to the canteen for lunch.

 "I need to use the washroom. Tum log chalo I'll join you in two minutes," I said, running off.

 After finishing up, I walked out, distractedly fixing my belt, only to collide with someone again.

 "Hey Prateek ke Krishna ji! Aaj kya sirf ladne-bhidne ka din hai?" I muttered, looking up—and froze.

 The most beautiful pair of eyes I'd ever seen stared back at me.

 Uff! Kya banda hai! Matlab, bhagwan ne Sunday ke din fursat se banaya hoga isse.

 Before I could say anything, he turned and started walking away.

 "Hey! Hey! Wait... ruko... arre ruko, yaar!" I called out, trying to stop him, but he didn't even flinch.

Finally, I sprinted ahead, blocking his path with outstretched arms.

 He raised a perfect eyebrow and removed cotton from his ears.

 Oh! So, that's why he hadn't responded! But... why was he walking around with cotton in his ears?

 "Wo... I wanted to say sorry... because of me, you tripped," I apologized, looking at him nervously.

 He stared at me for a moment, nodded, and walked away without a word.

 Ajeeb aadmi hai, I thought, shrugging. Par cute hai.

 Skipping my way back to the canteen, I hummed softly:

 Tose naina jabse mile... ho sudh budh khoi hai khoi maine... ho jaan gavayi gavayi maine... ho tujhko basaya hai dhadkan mein, savare.

***********************

"Where were you? London chali gayi thi kya washroom karne?" Adriti asked as soon as she spotted Mahi entering the canteen.

 "Arre wo washroom ke bahar ham kisi se takra gaye.....aur hame lagta hai Love at first sight ho gaya hai hame." Mahi replied dreamily.

"What? Kaun hai wo baadnaseeb?" I asked before changing my statement as I noticed Mahi's glare. "I mean Khushnaseeb!"

 "I know the guy....but I don't know the guy's name." She replied sheepishly as the four of us slapped our forehead.

 "Gaddhi ek kam nahi ho sakta hai na tujhse." Vidhi scolded.

 "Wo bhi pata Karlenge....ab Chalo pehle ham apne liye kuch khane ko le ke aate hain."

 Mahi settled down with her food when I saw  Atharva entering the cafeteria, his bag on one shoulder and guitar on the another. He looked around before his eyes landed on us and making him freeze.

Prateek, being his cousin, was the closest to him and as soon as he saw Atharva, rooted at his place, staring at us in disbelief, he sprinted towards him before engulfing him in a bone crushing hug.

 The impact was so hard that they were a little unbalanced, but soon Atharva got his senses back and stabled both of them before wraping his arms around as well.

Prateek dragged Atharva towards our table and we stood up yelling "Surprise!" The whole canteen now had their attention on us as Atharva was quite popular due to three things:

 1. His shy personality

2. His singing skills and

3. His cold and annoyed of human presence best friend.

 And I know this because, I am the gossip king so offcourse I have all the details

 "You guys here...how?" He asked genuinely confused.

 "Yup! We are here because we are gonna complete our 12th from here only."

 "But.....bade papa aur badi maa or even Maa-papa didn't tell me anything." Atharva looked towards Prateek for answers.

 "That's because we said so. We wanted to give you a surprise. Your dream was to study in this school so you joined boarding from 8th class only. So this time we thought why not join our bachpan ka dost." Vidhi grinned.

 "And Aman?” Atharva asked about Prateek’s brother.

 “Wo dedh mahine baad join karega. During freshers for 11^th. Naina kahan hai?” Adriti asked about Atharva’s sister in return.

 “Wo apne friends ke sath trip pe gayi hai after boards. Wo log bhi freshers tak ayenge.” Atharva replied.

 “Lets do one thing. Usko abhi nahi batate hai. Usko bhi surprise denge.” I suggested as the rest nodded in response.

 "Gosh.....this so great.....oh my God! I am so excited. Wait let me bring my bestfriend and introduce you guys then we can have lots of fun." Atharva said excitedly as he scanned the vast expanded of students until his eyes fell on a figure. "Dhruv-" he yelled to get his bestfriend's attention in which he succeeded.

 He waved his hand for Dhruv to notice, who happened to have just entered the cafeteria with his cold expression. I was looking towards that guy when a short intake of breathe caught my attention.

 I turned around and saw Mahi giving invisible hearty eyes towards the new guy. I nudged her shoulder before whispering "Sali tharki aurat. Abhi bol rahi thi 'Saccha wala pyar ho gaya hai' aur abhi paraye mard ko tad rahi hai."

 Mahi rolled her eyes before turning her head towards me. "Abbe pagal yahi hai wo aur wahi hai ye. Mere future pati."

 "What? Seriously? "

 "Yup."

 "Ohho blushing wlushing and all haan." I teased her with a smirk at which Mahi dramatically hit my arm muttering "Chal hatt." We heard a throat clearing sound which made us turn towards our bestfriends who were looking at us weirdly. Even Dhruv was standing there with a blank expression.

"Purre pagal hain dono." Vidhi sighed dramatically.

 "Don't tell me you guys are-" Atharva pointed his fingers towards both of us.

Wait- What the fish? Don't tell me that he thought we are dat-

Mahi and I yelled together as we understood what he was gonna say.

 "NOOOOOO-"

 "Aisa kuch bhi nhi hai. Behen hai yaar wo meri. Apne crush ke bare mein baat kartein hain ham aur unhe patane ki planning plotting." I said.

 "Exactly!" Mahi added.

 "Besides mere naina to kisi aur se hi milein hain." I winked towards Vidhi. Honestly I loved her so much that sometimes I felt that my heart would burst from that feeling but she always thought that I was just teasing her. Anyways no worries, I have a lot of time to convince her.

 "Pure school ke samne dauda dauda ke marungi. Batameez admi." She replied earning a chuckle from me. I even loved her sarcastic replies.

 "Ye bhi jhel lunga, sirf tumhare liye."

 "Ahhhhh!" Vidhi stomped her foot in irritation while the others laughed at our antics except Dhruv.

 "Anyways guys this is my cold and boring as hell bestfriend Dhruv Kunwar and Dhruv this is my hometown paltan. Prateek Mittal, my cousin whom you know. The twins, Vidhi and Mahi, Akash Thapa, the joker alongside Mahi and this is Adriti my-" he stopped as he looked at her. Adriti's ears turned pink.

 They have been each others crush since childhood but as children it was hard to confess. And now they are too shy.

 Mahi and I looked at each other with knowing looks before singing

 "Jaane meri Jaane maan, Bachpan ka pyar mera bhul nahi jana re, Jaisa mera pyar hai, pyar tujhe kiya hai, bachpan ka pyar mera bhul nahi jana re."

 Adriti glared at us while Atharva looked here and there, scratching the back of his neck before continuing "My- My friend...yeah!"

 Dhruv nodded in acknowledgement. I think he was well aware of the girl who he met in the hallway being there but ignored the fact that she was practically burning a hole in his head with her gaze.

 "I came here to inform you that Ravi sir had called us so lets go." Dhruv said before moving out of the canteen followed by Atharva who bid a quick good bye to us.

"Guyz......wahi thhe tumhare future jiju...." Mahi said dreamily while pointing towards where Atharva and Dhruv went.

 "Pagal ho gayi hai?" Vidhi yelled "Wo Adriti ka maal hai bachpan se. Tu sis code todegi?"

 "Arre Atharva ki baat thode hin kar rahe the. Hame pata hai wo Adriti ka maal hai." Mahi yelled in annoyance.

 "Ye tum dono usse mera maal bolna band karo to sabse pehle." Adriti remarked with a scowl.

 "Tu chup reh!" 'Tu chup reh." Both Mahi and Vidhi yelled together. Twin code?

 Mahi said "Haam uske dost ki baat kar rahe thhe."

 "OMG really? Dhruv?" Vidhi asked.

 "Yup....Dhruuuvv......waooo Dhruv and Mahi......Dhruhi!" I cheered

 "Chalo tum teeno ko apne bande mil hin gaye akhir kar." I said pointing towards Mahi, Vidhi and Adriti.

 "Hein?....ye teeno kahan se aa gaye? I don't share..." Mahi said confused.

 "Arre Dhruv ki hin baat nhi kar raha hun pagal. Atharva ki bhi kar raha hun. Adriti ji ke dil me abhi bhi ghanti bajti hai usko dekh kar." I smirked as Adriti glared at I with a little amount of blush coating her cheeks. "Dekho gaal kaise laal ho rahe hain madam ke bas sirji ke naam se."

 "Haan to teeno kahan se aa gaye. Do huye na. Mera Kaun?" Vidhi asked. Haye kitni bholi hai meri pagli. Nazar na lag jaye.

 "Arre jaan main hun na." I replied smirking.

 "I swear to god murder kar dena hai maine tum dono ke best friend ka." Vidhi pointed towards Prateek and Mahi.

"Tu chinta mat kar, I'll help you to hide his body." Adriti shook hands with Vidhi.

 "Arre hamari setting to ho gayi but ye Prateek bacha hai na." Mahi ignored the look of betrayal given by Vidhi and Adriti.

 "Do murder karungi main." Vidhi muttered.

 "Mujhe apne Krishna pe pura bharosa hai." Prateek aur uski bhakti. "Meri wali bhi yahi kahin hogi." He said and as if on a que a girl suddenly fell on his lap.

 The five of us looked shocked for a second, lost in our thoughts when suddenly Mahi yelled "Tum?" remembering the batameez girl from the hallways aka Zainab Kashyap.

***********