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I sat in the back seat with Yash, while Sid kept talking non-stop.
My attention was drawn to something else, though-I noticed Meera holding his hand.
What the heck?
How dare she hold his hand?
My brain chimed in, ‘By using hands,’ and I rolled my eyes at the silly comment.
‘Are you jealous?’ my mind teased.
I replied, ‘Why would I be jealous? He can sit with anyone. Who is he to me that I should feel jealous?’
“Your thoughts are saying something else.”
To hell with my thoughts, i murmmered slowly.
“What?” Sid asked me.
“Nothing,” I replied.
Soon after taking a rest our bus continued, Vihaan sat next to me. My heart felt happy.
And like always we ended up having a, childish conversation.
As evening approached and we were about to reach our destination, I couldn’t stop thinking about what he had said, “I promise, next time I’ll save the best seat for you and definitely won’t let anyone take your place. Never!”
Just remembering that made my stomach flutter with excitement.
It was as if his words had awakened a flurry of butterflies inside me, making me feel a rush of happiness and an unknown emotion.
β’β’β’β’
We finally reached our destination after a long journey.
My back hurts from sitting for so long.
I’m just not used to sitting in a bus seat for long durations.
We started our journey in the morning and arrived by 5 in the evening.
And let me tell you, the vibes in Lucknow are completely different from what I expected. The streets are lively with markets, colorful shops, and the delicious smell of local food. The city mixes traditional charm with modern conveniences.
I thought I would get bored, but Vihaan kept me entertained with his nonsensical conversations.
I couldn’t stop smiling throughout the journey.
He always says something that definitely sends a tickling sensation overall in my body.
I tried to ignore these feelings and focus on our next goal.
Miss Ragini took attendance and checked everything, and we were assigned rooms on the top floor of the school.
“Are we going to live in the school?” I heard Vani say.
“Right now, our school budget only covers the second branch, but they should have given us rooms on the ground floor. Who is going to climb to the 5th floor?” Tanya complained.
At this young age, my physical health feels so poor that I can’t move any further after the 3rd floor. My back starts hurting.
Am I getting old so soon?
Tanya and I looked at each other and carried our bags to check the name list.
To be honest, the school looks very peaceful.
The ground is huge, and the sky has turned a little dark, looks like it might rain heavily.
The wind was blowing, creating a sense of relief in my heart.
The monsoon winds always have a calming effect on me.
As we started moving, I heard someone say, “I’m sorry.”
Tanya and I turned to see Vani standing there, looking down.
She’s sorry, but why?
I wondered.
I looked around to see who she was apologizing to, but there was no one.
Vani then said, “I’m apologizing to both of you. On the first day, I spoke to you both very rudely. Trust me, I’m not normally like this, something happened that day, and I was in a bad mood. Being short-tempered, I didn’t want to say anything in anger that would hurt you. So, you know what I mean….umm am I forgiven?” She said all this in one breath while closing her eyes.
She opened one eye and asked, “Say something.”
We both smiled and I said,
“You don’t need to be sorry,” which made her smile in return.
“Uh, can I join you both?” Vani asked.
“Isme puchne waali baat kya hai,” Tanya said, and we all moved towards the list.
(What’s there to ask?)
“We’re all in different rooms,” I said, pouting.
“Who the hell assigns rooms and makes lists according to student IDs?” Tanya grumbled in frustration.
“Our school,” Vani replied, and we all chuckled.
“By the way, we can ask the teacher who is in charge of assigning rooms,” Vani suggested.
We nodded and went to find the teacher, only to find it was the sports teacher.
“No way, he’s so strict, he will never change rooms,” Tanya said, pacing back and forth.
“Why?” Vani asked clueless.
“Because he thinks whatever he has done is the best,” I replied with a straight face.
“Then we should at least try once,” Vani said and started moving, but then turned back to ask, “By the way, who is the PE teacher?”
Tanya facepalmed, and I shook my head.
As we walked to find Sir, I saw Vihaan, Yash, and Sid already there.
“Sir, please change our rooms?” Yash asked, showing his cutest puppy eyes.
“Sir, pleaseeee,” Sid joined in.
“Sir, I joined the last sports match even though I didn’t want to because you asked, so please,…..” Vihaan said with his extra sweet voice.
“Vihaan is his favorite student, and he didn’t even listen to him. Why would he listen to us?” Tanya whispered, and I nodded.
But Vani, being Vani, stepped forward and said, “Good evening, sir,” in the calmest voice.
“Good evening, beta,” he replied.
“Wow sir, you’re looking great, this color suits you,” Vani said, making the sir adjust his collar proudly.
“Thank you, thank you,” he said.
“Sir, woh… actually I’m a new student and still struggling to adjust here, so could you please change our rooms and give one room to three of us?”, Vani said with the most innocent look, which could melt anyone’s heart.
I appreciated her acting skills, she should join the movies.
Tanya and I felt proud as we stood there, enjoying the show.
Meanwhile, the boys were watching intently, not blinking their eyes.
“Listen, it can’t be changed, no no,” he said, starting to check something on his phone.
“I knew he wouldn’t change it,” Tanya said, frustrated.
Vani sighed and looked at us. I held Tanya’s arm, and we all approached the sir together, saying,
“Pleeeaaaseeee, sir,” hoping this trick would work.
He looked at us and finally said, “Okay.”
Wow, this trick actually works.
Vani did a little jump but soon composed herself and said, “Thank you, sir.”
Meanwhile, the boys looked at us with shock, their mouths wide open.
“Ham kya unhe pichle 20 minutes se French me bol rhe the please?” Yash said, frustrated.
(Were we speaking to him in French for the last 20 minutes, please?)
“Ye to nainsaafi hui,” Sid said.
(This is unfair)
Done.
We felt bad for them.
Since Sir changed our rooms, he allowed them to switch theirs as well.
We climbed up the stairs, and finally, our room was at the end of the last corridor.
They had used classrooms for our stay, removed all benches and there are three single beds placed.
Tanya, exhausted, lay on the bed and said, “At least they removed all the benches and kept the beds for us.”
I never imagined staying in a school, but it felt exciting to be here for four days.
It would have been even more exciting if it were our own school, but since the principal of this school is our principal’s brother, they didn’t spend much money.
Anyway, I’m sure we’ll enjoy it.
We changed and went to report to Miss Ragini, who gave us a motivational speech.
After an hour of motivation, we were so tired that we just wanted to eat.
Seeing the food, even our remaining motivation went on vacation.
We ate dinner, and the other school teams also arrived.
And soon Miss Ragini ordered us to go to sleep.
But I could never sleep before exams or competitions due to anxiety.
I looked at Vani and Tanya, who were sleeping soundly. I wished I could sleep too.
I opened the window and saw that the wind was blowing, and it might rain. I love this weather, so I closed the window, quietly opened the door, and went for a walk.
Walking through the school corridors at night felt different.
A different type of adventure.
I tiptoed as not to wake up the teachers.
But my clumsiness got the better of me, and I bumped into something hard, rock like a wall, causing a loud noise.
Someone screamed.
When did rocks start screaming?
In a dim light I tried to see who this person is only to find Vihaan.
I quickly covered its mouth to muffle his scream.
“Shut up, it’s me, Vihaan,” I whispered.
The chimpanzee calmed down and looked at me, we both looked at each other for a few seconds when he pointed downwards to my hands.
I removed my hand.
“You’re definitely a witch. What the heck are you doing here at night?” he said, rubbing his chest and taking a deep breath.
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking what you’re doing here?” I asked, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow.
“Unlike you, walking around like a witch, I’m just filling my water bottle,” he said, showing me his bottle.
“Oh,” I said.
I nodded and started walking ahead.
“Wait, isn’t your room on the opposite side?” he whispered, trailing behind me.
I nodded again.
“I think you should go back to your room and sleep. I’m not in the mood for your nonsense,” I said.
He looked at me and smiled like a clown.
“Aisa kaise ho sakta hai, aap jahan main wahan,” he said sheepishly and started walking beside me.
(How can this be? Wherever you are, I am there)
“Mr. Raichand, don’t you think you should find someone else to annoy?” I said, looking at him intently.
In the dim light, I could clearly see his dark eyes.
“Bilkul hum zaroor dhoondh sakte hain, lekin humein bas aap hi chahiye,” he said, looking straight at me.
(Sure i can, but I just want you)
He shouldn’t have said that to my heart.
I know he is just kidding but my poor heart beating so fast.
I exhaled and took a deep breath and moved ahead.
I shook my head and went to the top of the school.
The weather was perfect. The wind was blowing, the trees were swaying, and the leaves were flying around.
Thankfully, the school had a small light bulb on the terrace.
He also came and settled beside me, “Are you feeling anxious about tomorrow?”, he said as he set the bottle down.
How did he know?
He continued, “Wondering how I figured it out? It’s not hard to read your face. Whenever you’re anxious, you shake your leg non-stop.”
His insight was sharper than I’d realized.
“Aren’t you observing me too much?” I asked, turning to face him completely.
He began to cough nervously and quickly opened the bottle cap, and drank whole water.
“What are you talking about? It was just a guess,” he replied, stumbling over his words.
“Yeah, sure, just a guess,” I said, turning my attention back to the sky. We sat there in silence, not sure how much time had passed, until he broke it.
“Don’t overthink what will happen tomorrow. It’s just a part of life. Enjoy this moment. It doesn’t matter how we perform, what matters is that we experience every part of it. If we let anxiety take over, we’ll ruin even the things we’re good at. So, Ruh, just relax. I believe you’ll do well,” he said, offering a reassuring smile.
No one had ever spoken to me like that before.
His words were different, comforting in a way I hadn’t experienced.
I felt a profound sense of calm wash over me.
I don’t want to admit it, his presence alone had the power to make me feel at peace just by sitting beside me.
I took a chocolate from my pocket and unwrapped it.
As I did, some of the chocolate crumbs fell everywhere.
I broke the chocolate in half and offered one piece to him. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“I usually don’t share my chocolates, but I’ll share this one with you,” I said, taking a bite of the chocolate.
He looked at me with a teasing smile and said, “Why don’t you feed it to me?”
“You’re not a child,” I replied, taking another bite.
“Please” he said with a hint of innocence, and my heart melted like chocolate.
I passed him the chocolate.
As he leaned in to take a bite, his lips brushed against my fingers, sending a flutter through my stomach.
I felt my cheeks turn red and quickly withdrew my hand. He ate the chocolate, and I turned away, trying to create some distance.
“The chocolate was really sweet,” he said.
“Chocolates are supposed to be sweet, right?” I responded.
“But it became even sweeter when you fed it to me,” he teased.
“That’s very cheesy,” I mimicked him, looking upwards.
He laughed, and his laughter felt like a melody to my heart.
Suddenly, I felt raindrops on my face. It was raining.
I wanted to enjoy the rain, but I had a competition the next day and didn’t want to get sick.
He stood up, took my hand, and led me off the terrace. By the time we were outside, we were both almost soaked.
He gently brushed the raindrops off my forehead as if I were as delicate as a feather.
At that moment, everything seemed to stand still.
I didn’t realize I was staring at him until I heard his voice ask, “Did you fall for me?”
My heart skipped a beat.
I quickly stepped back, feeling his gaze pierce through me.
I stammered, “Good night, I’m feeling sleepy. You should go too.”
I walked away and soon reached my room. I closed the door behind me, and all I could hear was the sound of the rain, my racing heartbeat, and his voice echoing in my mind.
I tried to calm myself, changed my clothes, and went to bed.
But my thoughts were occupied by that one person.
I need to maintain a distance from him.
————————————
Finally Chapter 23…!!
So how was the chapter?
Do let me know your favorite scene?
I always have a dream of staying in school but In real life ye sapna, sapna hi reh gaya, anyway me is story ke through apna deam pura kr lungi heheπ« ππ»
Okay! I know this Chapter was short and a little boring, as this weekend I have extra classes and i didn’t get time to write…I was too exhausted by classes, completing backlogs, but since this week is going to be very hectic and i won’t be able to update so i hurriedly wrote up the chapter and posted.π₯Ήππ»
I promise next weekend I’ll update long chapters and pakka interesting chapter post krungi π
Next Chapter- Sunday ππ»
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Kr dena comments I am waiting π
Enjoy Reading β€οΈ
Stay Tuned for further updates…!!!
Bye Cutiepies….!!!π
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