After my tiny but weirdly warm conversation with Aarav, the room slipped back into its natural habitat—absolute circus mode. The boys finally remembered they had assignments to submit, so we all walked together toward the faculty room.
They dropped their files on the table in the most unserious manner possible — Kabir acting like he was donating a kidney, Aarav complaining about "educational torture," and Rudra doing drama like he was sacrificing his soul and Kiara and I followed like two tourists who accidentally joined the wrong tour group. Once we returned, another class needed the room, so the whole group walked like migrating ducks to the next room.
The moment we entered, Rudra's eyes locked onto the switchboard like he had discovered a hidden treasure.
"Ohhh AC! Let me turn it on, my people deserve cold air!" he announced dramatically, marching toward the switches like a dramatic villain.
Aarav groaned and slapped his forehead. "Rudra, you dumb donkey, don't touch anything! Every time you touch something, the whole building gets trauma or loses IQ. Last time you switched off the whole building, idiot."
Rudra ignored him and struck a villain pose. "Today, destiny is in my hands."
Kabir immediately provided background music—the deadpool tune, whistled with full confidence.
Advik looked up from his phone with the most exhausted expression known to mankind, like he was mentally tolerating these people but also strongly consider disowning them daily.
Rudra pressed every switch except the right one. Lights flickered like a horror movie, fans coughed, and for a moment I was convinced we had opened a portal.
"BRO ARE YOU TRYING TO SUMMON DEMONS?" Advik yelled.
"You shut up, tube-light!" Rudra shot back.
I stood there thinking, Wow... they wake up and choose stupidity so confidently.
Finally the AC started, and peace—well, relative peace—returned.
After enough drama to shoot a daily soap, we all sat down. Everyone started doing their own work. Kiara pulled out her notebook. Aarav leaned back scrolling through his phone. Kabir started softly humming some random Hollywood tune if we were in a movie montage.
And me? I pulled out my phone and started playing UNO like a peaceful child minding her own business.
Yes, this is my emotional support game. I'll play until the universe stops attacking me. Or until these boys notice I exist again—whichever comes later.
Of course the universe hates me, so the first one to notice was Advik.-
He leaned toward me, eyebrows raised. "You play UNO?"
I nodded. "Yeah, when life stresses me, I destroy kids with Draw Fours."
"Start one." he demanded like I was his personal app store.
Before I could even reply, Aarav suddenly looked up from his phone, "Wait, UNO? Start for me also."
His speed surprised even him.
Like bro wasn't talking to me for even one minute, and now suddenly he's invested in my UNO career.
Within two minutes, both of them downloaded the game, and our table became a digital battlefield and in minutes we were yelling at our phones like maniacs.
Then Rudra, who had been pretending to work, suddenly sensed chaos like a dog smells biscuits.
"UNO? WHAT THE— YOU GUYS STARTED WITHOUT ME? Bastards, add me too."
He joined like he had been invited since birth.
Soon, everyone except Kiara was either downloading or playing. She was minding her business, completely used to this nonsense. And Kabir, instead of downloading, decided he would give background music every time someone dropped a Draw Four.
Very helpful. Very cinematic. Very unnecessary.
Soon, the entire room erupted with screams like:
"NO BRO WHY DRAW FOUR ME?!"
"AARAV YOU ABSOLUTE SNAKE!"
"ADVIK STOP TARGETING ME YOU ROTTEN DOG SHIT!"
"I WILL TARGET YOU TILL I DIE, BASTARD!"
"BRO BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP I'M LOSING!"
In the middle of one round, Aarav leaned slightly toward me. "Hey, I'm going to the canteen. I'm starving. You want something?"
I blinked. "Uhh... you're going alone?"
"Yeah. These clowns aren't coming."
Everyone else ignored him like professionals. Kabir straight-up pretended he didn't hear. Advik and Rudra were busy planning my destruction in UNO. Kiara was doing her own thing. So I nodded.
"Fine," I said, grabbing my phone. "But we're continuing the game."
"Obviously," he smirked.
And we left the classroom like two warriors marching to battle—with UNO still running on our phones because priorities.
In the canteen line, he asked, "Do you always play UNO like you're plotting a murder? You play well. Did not expect this level of betrayal from you."
I shrugged, dramatic. "Survival tactics. UNO teaches you who you should never trust."
"Yeah, I can see. You're dangerous." he laughed under his breath—and damn, that laugh did things to my heart.
I rolled my eyes, but inside I felt warm. Oh wow. Sir please. Compliments are not allowed. Not when I'm already fighting for my life trying to behave normal.
We teamed up silently, like some unspoken alliance formed in the heat of war, and the two of us targeted Advik and Rudra without telling them.
The boys didn't even realize their downfall until Rudra suddenly yelled from the class,
"HELLO? WHY AM I GETTING ALL DRAW FOURS?? WHO TF IS ATTACKING ME??"
Aarav and I exchanged a silent, evil smile.
It was evil.
It was fun.
It was iconic.
Perfect teamwork.
Eventually, everyone got hungry, so we decided to grab lunch.
Advik asked me, "What do you wanna eat?"
"Anything is fine."
He made a face. "That's the most annoying answer ever."
"But true," I shrugged.
So the group decided — well, mostly the boys screaming — that we would go eat Chole Bhature.
Everyone agreed in 0.2 seconds because food = happiness.
We all left on the Activa like a chaotic dysfunctional biker gang with no direction or discipline.
Rudra of course had no chill. At the restaurant, he pretended the spoon was a mic and did fake interviews. He dramatically said, "Sir, how do you feel eating chole bhature for the seventh time this month?"
Aarav replied in an exaggerated British accent, "Quite emotional, darling."
Kabir hummed background music. Again. This time it was O Meri Laila for absolutely no reason.
And Advik just looked at them like he was questioning his life decisions.
After a while, Rudra took a bite and said, "Broooo this is spicy. My tongue is crying."
Advik hit his head and said. "Your tongue cries because it's scared of you, idiot."
The whole table burst out laughing while Rudra kept acting like a tortured soul.
I just sat there thinking, What species are these people? And why am I starting to like this madness???
Despite that, they made me feel included without trying too hard. The teasing, the laughter, the chaos... it all came naturally.
After eating, we headed to the garden. Time had flown — it was already 4 PM.
We sat on the grass. Instead of phone UNO, we took out real UNO cards because not everyone could join otherwise. I sat silently, shuffling cards, trying not to look awkward because it was literally my first day with them.
"You know..." Aarav murmured, leaning slightly closer, "you look quiet but you're actually quite sharp. A little too clever."
I stared at him. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"
"Yes," he said smugly.
My entire face heated up. I scratched my head, half hiding my face, suddenly shy.
WOW THANK YOU HEART, BEAT LOUDER, MAYBE THE WHOLE GARDEN CAN HEAR YOU. Why am I blushing? Why is he noticing?? Calm down, Misha. Breathe.
We played. Aarav kept poking fun at me. Rudra accused everyone of cheating. Advik tried to peek at my cards. Kabir hummed the Avengers theme during dramatic moments. Kiara laughed at all of us like we were idiots.
It was stupid. It was pure, beautiful chaos. It was kinda... fun.
I barely spoke but the boys kept pulling me in naturally, laughing, teasing, making me feel like I wasn't the newcomer anymore.
At 7 PM, I got a call from home. Time to leave. Kiara and I got up, said goodbye, and walked toward the exit. For once I hoped the ending would be peaceful.
But NO. God said, "Let's spice it up."
He has a personal rivalry with me.
We stepped out of the garden gate and BAM —
AND THE GROUND BETRAYED ME.
My foot slipped on a stupid uneven surface, and I literally tumbled like a potato rolling off a kitchen shelf.
My soul left my body.
WHY ME? WHY DOES GRAVITY ONLY FIGHTS ME? DO I HAVE A TRAGET SIGN ON MY FOREHEAD?
WHY GOD WHY DO YOU HATE ME??FIX YOUR VENDETTA. STOP TARGETING ME.
IS THIS A PUNISHMENT FOR ALL THE DRAW FOURS I USED TODAY???
CAN YOU AT LEAST LET ME LEAVE WITH DIGNITY FOR ONCE??
I got up immediately, pretending it didn't happen, but the embarrassment burned brighter than the sun. i was praying that no one saw.
Spoiler:
Everyone saw.
They were stunned for 2 seconds—
Advik laughed so hard he nearly collapsed.
Rudra pointed at me and yelled, "BRO THE FLOOR ATTACKED HER!"
Kabir hummed a tragic violin tune.
Aarav tried to hold back laughter but failed miserably.
I wanted the earth to swallow me whole.
I walked away with the grace of a dying pigeon, pretending I still had dignity.
Kiara dragged me away before I died from embarrassment.
Kiara and I left the garden and headed home quickly to freshen up because we had to visit someone's house as guests that evening. I was still internally crying about my dramatic fall, but I walked like nothing had happened. Kiara kept staring at me.
"What happened to you? Why are you walking like a wounded warrior?"
"Nothing," I said, traumatized. "Life just hates me."
After getting ready, we went to that relative's house — the typical polite guest mode. Kiara carried the sweets, I carried the fake smile. As soon as we entered, the aunties started the usual, "You girls have grown so much," and I mentally left my body.
We sat in the hall while they talked about family and random drama. Kiara was scrolling her phone quietly, replying to someone. Her face softened a little — too little. I recognized that expression instantly.
"Who are you texting?" I whispered.
"No one," she said too fast.
Suspicious.
On the way back home, I couldn't hold it in anymore.
"So... why were you smiling at your phone like that? And why do you talk about Kabir like he's your emotional support animal?"
Kiara almost tripped. "WHAT!? No! Shut up!"
"You sure?"
She sighed. "We're just... really good friends, okay? That's all."
I narrowed my eyes. She avoided mine.
We walked in silence for a moment. Finally, she nudged me.
"Don't overthink it, Misha."
"Fine," I said, but a tiny doubt stayed in the back of my mind.
That evening ended slower than a boring family wedding. After leaving that aunty's house and questioning Kiara like a suspicious FBI agent about her "good friend" Kabir, I finally collapsed on the bed back home.
My brain should've been tired.
But no.
My brain was replaying every moment of the day like a dramatic Bollywood recap episode — Rudra forgetting his assignment, Advik screaming "you absolute clown," Kabir humming background music like a broken speaker... and then Aarav.
Aarav sitting beside me.
Aarav teaming up with me.
Aarav asking if I wanted something to eat.
Aarav looking at me with that tiny amused smile.
I hid my face in my Pillow.
"I hate it here," I mumbled.
Kiara walked past the door, hair wet from her shower. "Talking to your pillow again?"
"Mind your business," I snapped dramatically.
She laughed. "You liked them, didn't you?"
I sat up. "LIKE? No. They're just... entertaining. Like circus animals. But with more cuss words."
Kiara raised an eyebrow. "And Aarav?"
I blinked. "What about Aarav?"
"Nothing," she said, walking away with the smuggest smile of 2023.
I threw a cushion at her.
My phone pinged.
A message from Kiara. "Btw the boys liked you."
My stomach flipped.
I typed: "Good. I'm iconic."
God, I was doomed.
This wasn't supposed to happen — this little warmth, this little spark, this little curiosity that sat in my chest like a badly behaved kitten.
But it did.
And somehow... it felt nice.
That was the day everything started — quietly, accidentally, stupidly.
The day chaos met them.
And the day everything in my life shifted just a little.
Just enough to matter.
Just enough to stay.
And thus...
My first day with them ended like every chapter of my life — with chaos, bruised dignity, and unexpected warmth.