If someone ever wrote a biography about my life, the title would be something like:
"A Series of Poor Decisions Made Purely Out of Curiosity."
Because that is exactly how I ended up tagging along with Kiara to her college.
For a few days after coming to Bhavnagar, my sister and I had been living our best feral–girl life. Going out for food, gossiping about family, complaining about relatives who appear only during weddings, and in between all of that — she kept slipping random details about her college friends into our conversations — stories, jokes, inside references that made zero sense to me but somehow still stuck in my mind. She didn't do it intentionally; she was just talking, but my brain was behaving like a nosy aunt who wanted to know everything. The four infamous boys —
Rudra, the walking circus.
Advik, the responsible father of the group.
Kabir, the alien-enthusiast cutie.
And Aarav...
The one who somehow kept slipping into my thoughts more times than I would like to admit.
I pretended like I didn't catch that, obviously. I'm not that obvious. I'm just... internally dramatic.
Why is his name so catchy? Why am I intrigued? Why does his name sound like a soft drumbeat in the background? Calm down, Misha. You don't even know him.
I ignored all of it like a healthy emotionally unavailable queen.
But then one afternoon, Kiara barged into the room already dressed for college, face glowing like she had swallowed the sun and casually threw a bomb at me. "Get up," she demanded, pulling my blanket like a villain. "You're coming with me."
I blinked at her. "Why? Where? No."
She folded her arms like a strict school principal. "I have college today. And you're bored here. So you are coming with me."
I almost spit out my sprite. "Me? To college? Why? To bless your campus with my divine presence?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, exactly. Now come."
I hesitated. "But I don't know anyone—"
"That's the point," she said with a shrug. "Come meet my people."
Still, it wasn't enough to make me willingly walk into a room full of strangers.
I opened my mouth to refuse — new people, new place, no emotional preparation — but then...
somewhere deep inside my dramatic subconscious, a tiny voice whispered:
Aarav goes to that college.
Not that I cared.
Obviously.
But the intrigue was there, tiny but alive.
And that was it.
My brain didn't even pretend to think twice.
So of course... I went.
Her college was surprisingly quiet that morning, the halls mostly empty, sunlight leaking through long windows like some aesthetic Instagram filter. I walked behind my sister feeling like a lost puppy entering a new territory — confused, curious, and slightly ready to run if I saw too many humans.
My first reaction when I entered Kiara's campus?
"Wow. So this is where educated people come."
Kiara slapped my arm. "Behave."
I did not.
Kiara led me to an empty classroom and we settled down. She pulled out her laptop while I did what any emotionally stable adult would do — watched cartoons on my mobile and laughed quietly like a five-year-old on sugar. I had my head down, facing the wall, earphones in, looking like a depressed preschooler, fully absorbed in my animated drama.
I was minding my peaceful, childish business when suddenly — noise.
Not just footsteps noise.
No.
A full earthquake of footsteps.
I lifted my head, and the first thing I heard was—
"Bro, I swear to god, if that teacher gives one more assignment—"
"Shut up, Rudra, you didn't even submit the last one—"
"Oh fuck off, Aarav, at least I tried—"
I slowly straightened myself and turned around in my seat.
And there they were.
Rudra, Advik, Kabir... and Aarav.
All four walked in like a pack of chaotic wolves, arguments bouncing around them like ping-pong balls. Rudra was saying something with full dramatic hand gestures and making enough noise to wake ancestors. He looked like someone who would lose his brain if it wasn't attached to his skull. Kabir walked like a confused penguin looking sideways because he was busy observing something or should i say someone. Advik looked like the forced patience of someone who babysits idiots daily, trying — failing — to keep them under control., and Aarav walked in last...
Grey t-shirt, black jeans, easygoing smile, soft laughter, hair slightly messy as if chaos was his natural habitat.
He walked with casual confidence, not too loud, not too quiet — like someone who didn't have to try to be noticed.
Not that I was noticing.
Obviously not.
Okay fine, maybe a teeny tiny little bit.
My eyes stayed on him a little longer than they should have.
Okay fine — more than a little.
Stop staring. STOP STARING. ACT NORMAL. I immediately sat up straight like a soldier caught sleeping on duty.
Kiara looked at me suspiciously.
I pretended to stretch. She didn't believe it.
They finally noticed us, and Kiara waved at them.
Meanwhile, I tried to pretend I wasn't staring at her friend like he was some limited-edition collectible.
They settled down with their assignments, complaining like 80-year-olds trapped in 20-year-old bodies. I pretended like I wasn't listening, but obviously, I was listening more than Alexa.
And then it began.
Rudra opened his bag, looked in, froze, stared inside like he'd found a snake, and whispered, "No. Fucking. Way."
Advik glanced over. "What now? Did you forget your pants or your brain?"
Rudra looked up with the expression of someone whose life was ruined. "I forgot my assignment at home."
Silence.
Complete. Cold. Dead silence.
Then all hell broke loose.
"BRO WHAT THE FUCK?!YOU BRAIN-DEAD BUFFALO! HOW DO YOU FORGET THE ONLY HISTORY OF YOUR EXISTENCE?" Aarav yelled, throwing his pen at him.
Advik smacked his forehead. "Rudra, you absolute dumbass—this is the third time this week! Every day you break a new world record of stupidity, I swear."
Aarav didn't even look up. "You had one job, Rudra."
Rudra glared. "Wow, thanks for the emotional support, guys."
Aarav glared harder. "Bro, are you fucking brain-dead today? We literally came here JUST to submit that shit!"
Rudra looked helpless. "I swear I kept it on my table—I wrote the fucking assignment! It was literally in my hand last night! Why the fuck is it not in my bag?!"
"Which table?" Aarav shot back. "The one you never clean? The one buried under nineteen chips packets and two socks?"
"Shut up, Aarav!" Rudra snapped. "YOU...you...my life would have been easier without you."
Aarav placed a hand dramatically on his chest. "Awwww. Someone's emotional today."
Kabir, humming, switched tunes to Kal Ho Na Ho background music, making the scene ten times funnier.
Rudra glared at him. "Kabir, SHUT UP!"
Kabir blinked innocently. "Background music adds drama."
I snorted so loudly that Kiara slapped my arm.
Rudra began emptying his entire bag on the desk — pens, a water bottle, crumpled receipts, two chocolate wrappers, and one single sock fell out.
Advik stared at it. "Bro... why is there a sock in your bag?"
Rudra blinked. "Emergency situations?"
Aarav burst into laughter, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah, like when you need to submit a sock instead of an assignment."
"Fuck you," Rudra snapped.
Even my sister smacked her forehead.
I cracked. A tiny laugh escaped me.
Aarav said, dryly, "Rudra, you're beyond saving."
Rudra groaned. "Can someone PLEASE not bully me for two seconds?"
Kabir leaned closer, whispering loudly like a bad narrator, "Ladies and gentlemen... the downfall of Rudra Oberoi."
I slapped my hand over my mouth to stop my laugh from escaping.
They were idiots. Absolute idiots.
But the very entertaining kind.
Advik grabbed Rudra's empty folder and flipped it like it was a newspaper. "There is NOTHING in here. Not even a name. Bro, you didn't forget the assignment. You forgot that education exists."
Rudra shoved him. "Shut up, asshole."
Kabir raised his hand. "No no, continue. I'm scoring this drama."
And he hummed the Mission Impossible theme this time.
Advik joined in. "I'm not even angry anymore. I'm disappointed. Deeply. Painfully."
Rudra groaned. "Stop insulting me in 4K quality, guys—"
Kabir chimed in knowingly, "You deserve Dolby Atmos roasting at this point."
The entire room felt like a stand-up comedy show, and I was trying not to fall off my chair laughing.
Aarav finally sighed — a specific type of sigh people do when they're done with life. "Rudra, we will figure something out. Stop panicking like a wet kitten."
That line killed me.
Rudra sat down dramatically and dropped his head on the desk.
Kabir, of course, added background music, humming the Titanic flute FAIL version — the horrible screechy one.
"Stop playing funeral music for me!" Rudra yelled.
"I'm just setting the vibe," Kabir insisted.
My sister laughed. I tried to sit quietly, invisible, blending into the furniture, but these idiots were too funny. My shoulders were shaking from silent laughter.
Rudra groaned, "Fuck you."
Kabir saluted. "He forgot his homework, but the cuss words remain consistent."
Finally, after threatening Rudra with emotional trauma and physical violence (light, friendly violence), roasting him to hell and back, they all got quiet for a moment.
They spent the next few minutes brainstorming ways to rescue Rudra's marks — copying someone else's work, begging the professor, forging a medical excuse, faking a dog bite, dying temporarily... everything except actually doing the assignment.
Finally the noise settled a bit, and the classroom returned to half-silence.
Which is when Kabir looked around, spotted me properly for the first time, and blinked. "Oh hi. Human I haven't met. Who are you?"
Kiara smacked the back of his head. "Kabir, she's my sister."
"Ohhhhh," Kabir nodded like he had solved a murder case. "Makes sense. The chaotic aura felt familiar."
I grinned. "Thanks, I guess?"
Before Kabir could say anything dumber, Kiara officially introduced me to everyone. They all waved casually — except Rudra, who was still looking like a scolded puppy.
Kabir's eyes lit up like he found a lost child. Then he smiled and asked me, "Quick question — wanna do something noble today?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Depends on what qualifies as noble."
He held out his assignment. "Write my assignment?, Please!"
He looked like a wet puppy. How could I refuse?
I snorted. "Give it."
He looked impressed like he didn't expect me to agree. He placed the notebook on my desk like a sacred offering, and I started writing.
As I wrote, my handwriting flowed easily — neat, clean, the only organized thing about my existence.
When I handed the assignment back to Kabir, he stared at the page like he had found salvation. "BRO. LOOK AT THIS. THIS IS ART."
He pushed the notebook right into Aarav's face. "Look at this handwriting, bro. LOOK."
Aarav, who hadn't even glanced at me so far, finally lifted his head.
And then for the FIRST time since he entered... Aarav turned toward me.
Just a casual glance — then his eyes dropped to the assignment in my hand.
His expression didn't change much, but something about his gaze felt... steady.
He nodded once. "Your handwriting is... really good."
Simple. Direct. Soft but not too soft.
He wasn't giving me his assignment.
He'd already done his.
He just... noticed.
Aarav smiled, "If I had seen this earlier, I would've made you write mine too."
He smirked a little — not cocky, just amused.
I scoffed playfully. "Too late. You already wrote yours."
He shrugged. "Tragic. For me, obviously."
And that — that two-line exchange, that tiny moment — was the first time Aarav actually spoke to me directly.
It was stupid, small... nothing major.
But it was our first real conversation. The first little talk. Barely a few words.
But it stayed.
Not planned.
Not expected.
Just... accidentally perfect.
The class continued with random chatter for a while — dumb jokes, inside references, Kabir's musical talent, Aarav's sarcasm, Advik's parental sighs. I didn't talk much, but I didn't need to... I was entertained by just watching them.
And maybe... just maybe... I watched one person a little more than others.
I felt something shift.
That tiny first spark — small, quiet, almost invisible, but definitely there.
Oh no, I thought. This is how the chaos begins.
But for the first time in days, something felt exciting.
Something felt... new.
And weirdly enough, it all started with a forgotten assignment, a sock in a backpack, and the boy who noticed my handwriting before he noticed my existence.
Nothing else happened. No sparks flying, no background music from Kabir (thankfully).
Just a small moment.
Our first one.
And for some stupid reason... I knew I'd remember it.