AURTHOR'S POV
"I guess this is the room, yep, this has to be it," Shanaya said, peeking inside.
Shanaya and Dishita stepped into their classroom and found it already half-filled with students. Some were chatting, others were buried in their phones, and a few were just looking around awkwardly typical Day 1 college chaos.
The two girls made their way to the fourth bench in the first row and sat down. As soon as they settled in, they noticed a familiar face on the bench in front of them.
"Eh Sana, ye wahi ladka hai na, who helped us to find our department building?" Dishita whispered, nudging Shanaya.
"Yeah, I think so," Shanaya said, tilting her head for a better look.
"Should we say something? We didn’t even ask for his name properly, or thank him," Dishita added.
"Umm… hmmm," Shanaya hesitated, her voice unsure.
"Chal na, we don’t even know anyone else here. Kya pata? He might just become a good friend. And look, he’s already talking to a group. They must be his friends," Dishita pointed out. "Ek do baat karne mein kya jata hai, challl naa"
Gathering her courage, Shanaya leaned forward.
"Excuse me," she said softly. "Thank you for helping us find our department earlier. We were in such a rush, we couldn’t thank you properly."
"Oh no, it’s totally fine," the boy replied with an easy smile. " What are your names?"
"I’m Dishita, and she’s Shanaya," Dishita introduced with a smile.
"Nice to meet you both. I’m Prithvi," he said. Then, gesturing to the people around him, he continued, "These are my friends Deep, Dipanshu, Raunak aka Rony, and Malvika."
"Hello!" Shanaya and Dishita chimed together.
They started talking, and just like that, within minutes, they found themselves vibing with the whole group. Laughter, college gossip, random introductions everything flowed effortlessly. The first day of college zipped by exploring the campus, chatting between classes, and getting a taste of college life.
"Maine alreay bola ye wahi hoga! I was right! you kept arguing with me but in the end, I was right again!" Prithvi teased after their last class.
"Oh please, don’t flatter yourself too much," Dishita replied, visibly annoyed.
"They’ve been arguing about the same thing since the second-last class. Mere kano se khoon nikal raha hai ab," Malvika joked, rolling her eyes.
"Just let them bicker. Bichare ko takleef ho rahi hai," Deep said with a smirk.
"I was rig-------"
you ar----"
"Tum dono ab kya thodi der shaant rahoge! This argument has been going on forever!" Dipanshu groaned, cutting them off.
Dishita and Prithvi paused mid-argument and made funny faces at each other. Everyone burst into laughter.
"You two are really cartoon characters!" Shanaya laughed.
Still giggling and talking, they all walked to the college gate.
"Alright guys, ajke liye bas itna hi. See you all tomorrow!" Dipanshu said. But Prithvi and Dishita were still having a silent glaring session.
"Enough now, let’s go," Shanaya said, dragging Dishita along.
"How are you going home?" Deep asked Shanaya.
"We’re taking the bus. What about you?" Shanaya replied.
"Malvika and I are taking the metro, and Prithvi and Dipanshu are going by bike," Deep explained.
"Alright then, hum chalte hai!" Shanaya smiled as she and Dishita walked towards the bus stop.
"Well, lagta hai bhagwaan ne teri manokamna sunli. You found out Prithvi’s name and he turned out to be your classmate too," Shanaya teased.
"Ugh, classmate my foot! He’s exactly like my older brother, super annoying! Honestly, I don’t even argue this much with my bhaiya," Dishita grumbled.
"What happened to the girl who said 'he’s sooo hottttt' when we first saw him?" Shanaya teased, raising an eyebrow.
"That was before he opened his mouth. Look at Deep, woh bhi uska dost hai, but he is so nice. He answered everything politely, listened properly snd quietly. Unlike Prithvi , ugh, so irritating," Dishita ranted.
"Hmm… do I smell a new crush coming on? Deeeeeeep~" Shanaya sang playfully.
Ahem Ahem.
" Aisa kuch nahi hai! I-I mean, even Malvika, Dipanshu, and Rony were so nice. Only this Prithvi guy was behaving like a typical annoying elder brother!" Dishita replied.
"Our bus is here," Shanaya pointed out.
Fighting through the chaos of the rush-hour bus crowd, the two managed to squeeze in. Getting on an Indian bus during peak hours felt like entering a battleground only with more sweat and fewer weapons. After 30 exhausting minutes, they finally reached their respective stops.
"Mammaaaaaaa!"
" Mamaaaaaa"
"I’m homeeee!" Shanaya shouted as she entered her house.
"Beta, how was your first day in college?" her dad, Mr. Sandeep Roychowdhury, asked.
"Papaaaa!" Shanaya ran up and hugged him tight. "You came home so early today! College was amazing! Guess what? We even made a friends group!"
"That’s great news! How was Dishita’s day?"
"Awesome, too! Apko pata hai, we made five new friends Prithvi, Shreya, Deep, Dipanshu, and Rony!" She said, looking like a little girl who was ranting about her first day in school.
"Aj kuch zyada hi khush lag rahi hai, kya baat hai?," Shanaya’s mom, Mrs. Sakshi Roychowdhury, said with a smile, walking in.
"They’re super excited. Made five friends in one day!" her dad added.
"That’s lovely! Oh, and by the way, Dishita’s parents are joining us for dinner. We’re going out. Be ready by 8!" her mom reminded her.
"Ohhh that’s why you’re home early!" Shanaya said to her father while grinning.
" okayyyy main upar ja rahii hooon". Shanaya said and ran off.
While going to her room upstairs, she happily hummed a song. Skipping stairs, practically running up through the stairs.
"Panchi banu, udti phiroon, mast gagan mein, aj main azad hoon duniya ke chaman mein"
Then she paused and squinted.
"Wait. Chaman mein? Woh chaman mein tha kya"
"Jo bhi ho mujhe kya" she shrugged and kept singing.
"Panchi banu, udti phiroon, mast gagan mein, aj main azad hoon na na nana na."
So focused in her tune, she didn’t see the last stair and tripped.
"Ugh, main bhi na andhi hoon dekhke bhi nahi chal sakti. Har time girti rehti hoon," she muttered and entered her room to call Dishita.
"Helloouuuuu, my swarge se utri hui apsara! What are you wearing for the dinner party?" Shanaya asked dramatically.
"I’m wearing the bodycon dress we bought together last year," Dishita replied.
"Okay, same then!" Shanaya said and hung up.
She sat down with her favorite romantic novel, hugged her teddy bear, and swooned over a scene. After reading for a while she sat up and said--
"Ahhhhhh, Karan is my favourite. Ughhh I wish I had a possessive, obsessed guy like this too…" she said, hugging her bear tighter.
"Kashhhh----AHHHHHH! It’s already 7:50 pm?! Aj mamma mujhe maar hi dalegi!" Shanaya yelled and leaped off the bed to dig through her wardrobe.
"Maaaaaa!"
"Mammmaaaaaaa!"
"Mommmaaa!" she screamed.
"Mam------"
Before she could scream again, her mom entered.
"What happened? Kyun pagalon ki tarha chilla rahi hai?"
"Mujhe meri woh black bodycon wala dress nahi mil rahi hai!"
"Aj tak tujhe mili hai koi cheez? Har tine bas ma ma ma karti rehti hai, kabhi ye dhundo kabhi woh dhundo" Her mother said, feeling frustrated.
Two minutes later, her mom found it hanging in plain sight.
"It was right here. Thikse dhundti nahi hai aur pura ghar sar pe chadha leti hai?"
"It wasn’t there when I checked!"
"Get ready and come down quickly. They’ll be here any minute."
After putting on the black bodycon dress. She smudged a little kajal on her eyes, applied a nude shade lipstick, and slipping in crystal earrings and her high heels. Shanaya snapped a mirror selfie and went downstairs.
"Kyaaa yaar, phirse you didn’t even applied makeup! Khabi toh kar liya kar" Dishita grumbled.
"Babygirl, pehli baat I don’t know how to it, and dusri baat ghar ake makeup clean karna is a hectic struggle! Mujhse nahi hoti ye sab struggle" Shanaya defended.
After sometime, they all went to a fancy restaurant, placed their orders, and started discussing their working lifes, serial gossips, beauty gossips etc. Midway, Shanaya excused herself.
"I’m going to the washroom," she said, walking off.
"Ruk main nhi ayi," Dishita added.
After snapping a few mirror selfies together, while adjusting their hairs Dishita ’s phone rang.
"Hello?........... Hello?" she said, but the signal was not in the mood for working.
"Ugh, I’m going outside. If you’re done, meet me there," she said and walked out.
SHANAYA'S POV
Afrer adjusting my hair, I came out of the bathroom. I was struggling to fit my phone into my ridiculously purse. Now I was regreting my decision of buying this purse, but mujhe kya pata tha ye aisi niklegi. At that time I really liked the design so I bought it. Finally cramming it in, I turned left and Boom! I crashed into a wall.
My heel wobbled (note to self: never wear heels again, I was happy with my sneakers), and I almost fell. I quickly closed my eyes shut, but before I hit the floor, a warm, strong and large hand grabbed my waist and pulled me back, but I again crashed into a wall.
Wait!
It wasn’t a wall. It was something solid.
I looked up and saw a solid well built chest infront of my eyes. Then I looked up and met two light brown pair of eyes already staring at me. His chiseled jaw, long lashes, the way he stared it was like the whole world had frozen. My heart thundered in my chest. I could feel heat rushing to my cheeks.
I looked away quickly, due to his powerful gaze and the intensity of his eyes.
I could feel a weird sensation build up in my stomach. Is it butterflies? Am I feeling butterflies in my stomach? Is it how my book's female characters feel when they get butterflies.
I was pulled out from my thoughts, when the warmth I was feeling a few minutes ago, disappeared. I looked up again and he’d already stepped back.
"Are you okay?" he asked in a deep, low voice that sent a shiver down my spine.
"Y-Yeah," I managed to whisper.
"Be more careful. You’ll keep falling" he said and walked away.
I stared at his retreating figure until Dishita nudged me back to reality.
"Took you long enough! And what were you staring at? My dad already called twice asking where we are!"
"Nothing. Let’s go," I replied.
Back at the table, even though everyone was talking and laughing, my mind kept drifting. My eyes kept scanning the restaurant, hoping to find the pair of light brown eyes again. But he was nowhere.
"And then----'" Dishita stopped abruptly. "Shanaya! Are you even listening? Dhiyan kaha hai tera? Kabse dekh rahi hoon ajeeb behave kar rahi hai"
"Haan? Haha kuch nahi main bas soch rahi thi, what will happen to my female character next," I replied.
"Hain? Kya?" Dishita asked visibly confused.
"Areh, main soch rahi that the book I’m currently reading, what will happen to the famale character. I was wondering if the female lead will meet the male lead again or not."
"Again, tu aur tere book characters!" Dishita groaned. "Aunty ekdam sahi bolti hai. One day, these stories will make you lose your mind."
AURTHOR'S POV
After finishing dinner, everyone slowly began leaving for home. As they walked out of the restaurant, laughter echoing behind them.
Shanaya’s eyes instinctively began scanning the crowd searching for that same pair of eyes. Those warm, light brown eyes that had momentarily stolen her breath earlier in the evening.
But he wasn’t there.
Not in the crowd, not by the door, not even near the street lamps. He was simply gone.
A soft sigh escaped her lips. That fleeting spark she had felt just hours ago had now slipped into the shadows.
Resigned, she quietly slid into the car beside her parents, the buzz of dinner chatter swirling around her, but not quite reaching her. Her thoughts were somewhere else, stuck in that accidental moment in the washroom corridor.
Once home, she freshened up and changed into her comfiest pajamas. Her room was silent, lit only by the fairy lights wrapped around the bedpost. She climbed onto her bed, pulled her blanket up to her chin, and turned off the bedside lamp.
But even as she lay still, her mind refused to settle.
That moment kept replaying, his hand gripping her waist just in time, the crash into his chest, those eyes meeting hers, the sudden heat rushing to her cheeks and that deep voice that still echoed faintly in her ears.
The way her heart had raced, that strange flutter in her stomach, it was all still there, lingering like a ghost touch.
She tossed, turned, smiled a little, and even frowned at herself for overthinking.
“Ugh, why am I thinking about this so much?” she whispered into the darkness.
But by the time she tried to make sense of it all, sleep had already wrapped her gently in its arms.
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