AURTHOR'S POV
"Shanayaaaaaaa"
"Shanayaaaaaa"
"Shanayanaaaa, beta wake up, or you'll be late for college!"
The familiar voice echoed through the corridor of her cozy room . The sky outside was painted with a soft peach hue, birds chirping like nature's own alarm clock. But inside, the queen of the bed lay wrapped like a burrito in her blanket, completely unbothered.
"Ummm, Mamma... just five more minutes, please. Pakka uth jaungi," Shanaya mumbled groggily, hugging her pillow tighter.
Her mother, a no-nonsense woman in her classic cotton kurti and bindi slightly off-centre thanks to the morning rush, stormed in like a tornado of maternal wrath. She marched across the room, clunk, clunk, clunk, and switched off the ceiling fan with the grace of a seasoned warrior.
"Now wake up or I'll pour cold water on you! It's your first day of college and you're still running late?"
"After that, I'm not calling you again, and you know very well what that means" she added with a sharp glare.
Grumbling like a sleepy panda, Shanaya finally peeled herself out of bed and picked up her phone. Half-asleep, she called her friend .
"Babygirl, are you up? We gotta head out ," she said, yawning mid-sentence.
On the other side of the phone, Dishita was already chilling in the living room wearing a cute white tee and blue jeans with a plate full of crispy, golden brown alu parathas.
"Bro, I'm already sitting at your place. Aunty made Alu parathas, I'm eating them right now. If you're not ready in two minutes, then forget about getting any," Dishita said smugly, taking another bite like she was taunting her.
"WHAT?! You're ready and already at my house?! Oh crap, it's already 9!" Shanaya panicked, almost falling off the bed.
Without wasting a second, she dashed to the bathroom like it was an Olympic sprint, brushed her teeth while dancing to her 9AM playlist, and rushed out wrapped in a towel, yelling, "Mamma! Where is my yellow kurti??"
" Agar main upar ayi, aur mujhe teri kurti mil gayi phir teri khair nahi"
"Oh mujhe mil gayi side mein hi rakhhi thi, apko ane ki zarurat nahi hai" Shanaya shouted from her room.
Within minutes, she changed into her favorite mustard-yellow kurti, twisted her hair into a messy half-bun, put on her delicate silver jhumkas, and slung her tote bag over her shoulder like a warrior going to battle.
She sprinted downstairs to find Dishita casually sipping chai and munching away.
"Thank God you showed up! Otherwise, I would've eaten the last paratha too. Here, eat this," Dishita said, handing over a warm, greasy paratha wrapped in tissue.
""You act like this house belongs more to you than it does to me, huh!" Shanaya said, half-annoyed, half-laughing.
"Both of you-eat fast and get moving! Otherwise, you'll miss the bus and get late on your first day!" Shanaya's mom shouted from the kitchen.
After inhaling their breakfast like two starved souls, Dishita did a quick lipstick check in the hallway mirror, and marched out of the gate.
The street was buzzing with the sound of honking rickshaws, morning vendors yelling "papaya le lo," and dogs barking at pigeons like they owned the street.
" Eh come closer " Dishita said while pulling Shanaya towards herself.
" Kya hua, kheech kyun rahi hai?" Shanaya said feeling annoyed.
" come a little bit closer". Dishita said while observing Shanaya's eyes. " You didn't apply kajal? Ugh why you didn't apply kajal!!"
" kyun kya hua, waise bhi I don't like kajal. After applying it I look more like a panda than a apsara ( angel) " Shanaya said shrugging her shoulders.
" ugh, you're no fun. I thought we will be like same to, same to" Dishita added with a sheepish smile.
""Bro, I'm sooo sleepy... I'm not feeling good," Shanaya said while dragging her feet like a zombie.
"Tell me one thing? When are you going to grow up? All you ever say is 'I'm hungry, I'm sleepy,' and in between, 'I'm not feeling good!'"
Dishita rolled her eyes. "And the bus isn't even here yet. We've been standing for ten minutes already."
Just then, like a hero in the climax, the bus appeared, pushing through traffic like it owned the road.
"Tere muh mein ghee sakkar. You just said that and BAM, look the bus is here!"
The two girls jumped into the bus, squeezing past the sleepy office crowd, finally heading toward their new chapter-college life.
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College Entrance - First Day Feels
The college gate was massive, guarded by a bored-looking security uncle, chewing pan and barely lifting an eyebrow as students passed by. A huge banner reading "Welcome Freshers!" fluttered above. The campus buzzed with the chaos of newbies, some wide-eyed, some overconfident, and a few pretending to know what they're doing.
"Bro, which one's our department?" Dishita asked, looking around.
"Look, let's ask that guy over there," Shanaya suggested.
"Excuse me, can you tell us where the Computer Science Department is?" she asked.
"First year?" the guy asked.
"Yes" both said in perfect sync.
"Second building of the first block. Second floor," he said politely.
"Thank you" Shanaya replied, walking off.
"Wait, what does block even mean?" Dishita whispered, looking utterly lost.
"Ugh Dishu, You na.....there are five blocks here. One for Arts, one for Commerce, one for Science, one for Administration, and one for Programming. Each block has two or three buildings I guess," Shanaya explained like a campus pro.
"OHHH okay, got it." Dishita replied
Then suddenly, her eyes widened in regret.
"BROOOO! We didn't even ask that guy's name. He was sooo freaking Hotttt!"
"I've lost all hope in you. Now stop daydreaming and walk faster or we'll be late for our first class," Shanaya said, dragging her dreamy eyed friend toward the building.
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