I always thought exam week would turn me into a disciplined, focused, academically dedicated human being.
Spoiler: it didn't.
Instead, it turned me and my entire friend group into a pack of mentally unstable pigeons screaming at textbooks like they owed us money.
The chaos officially started on Monday morning when we decided—biggest mistake of our lives—to study in the library. Yes. The library. The holy temple of silence. The one place that absolutely rejects our existence.
We walked towards the door like a group of criminals returning to the crime scene.
Before we could enter, the library assistant blocked us with both hands like he was stopping a stampede. "No. Not again. Not this week. Not during exams."
Rohan gasped. "Sir, what do you mean 'not again'? We're perfectly disciplined students!"
Sir glared. "Last time you people were here, that girl—" He pointed at Anushka like she was a wild animal in a zoo. "—started shouting at the boy for solving numericals too slowly!"
Anushka folded her arms. "Yes because he WAS solving too slowly! At this rate he'll graduate when he's 92."
Harsh didn't even look up from his notes. "I'd rather graduate at 92 than listen to your voice for two more minutes."
I swear the assistant started praying.
Nandini tried to negotiate. "Sir, we'll be quiet. Promise!"
Sir stared at us, especially me, as if remembering my last meltdown. "You three," he pointed at me, Rohan and Nandini, "were crying so loudly last time, even the books wanted to jump out the window."
I clutched my notes dramatically. "We weren't crying loudly! We were crying academically."
"And emotionally," Rohan added.
"And historically," said Nandini, wiping a tear that wasn't even real.
Sir groaned. "Get inside. But one sound—ONE—and you're out."
We entered like refugees who barely survived a war. The second we sat down, the silence felt heavy. Oppressive. Suspicious. Like the AC was judging us.
We lasted exactly seven minutes.
Because in minute eight, my brain decided to question its entire existence.
"Rohan," I whispered, shaking my notes, "WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING IN THIS CHAPTER? Why does it look like the author wrote it while being kidnapped?"
Rohan looked equally traumatized. "I think the author was kidnapped, tortured, then forced to write the syllabus."
Nandini's voice broke like she was in a tragic movie. "I don't understand ANYTHING. Why is this equation attacking me?"
We tried whispering. Truly. We tried.
But then Rohan started crying into his notebook.
And Nandini started crying because Rohan was crying.
And I started crying because both of them were crying.
It was a chain reaction of stupidity.
Behind us, Saumya rubbed her forehead. "Guys. Please. Breathe. Relax. It's just the first chapter."
"This is not a chapter!" I hissed. "This is a crime!"
Harsh tried to ignore us like a responsible adult. "Please let me study. Some of us want to pass."
But Anushka turned to him, eyes blazing. "PASS? YOU? With that handwriting? My cat's paw prints look more educated!"
Harsh rolled his eyes. "Your insults are like your logic—nonexistent."
Anushka stood up, ready to fight him spiritually, physically, emotionally. "SAY IT AGAIN, YOU BADLY CODED HUMAN PROTOTYPE!"
The assistants glared from the corner, ready to put us in library jail.
Saumya tried her best. She rubbed Misha's back. "Calm down... breathe... we will study together—"
"No we won't!" Anushka said. "These two don't study. They panic and spread their disease."
Rohan gasped. "Are you calling us contagious?"
"Yes," Anushka replied. "You're like anxiety mosquitoes."
That was the last straw for the assistants.
"OUT!" they shouted.
We ran out with our bags, water bottles, and remaining dignity.
Studying was officially not happening in the library.
And that was just the beginning.
By midweek, exams had fully started and our lives completely collapsed.
Every day was a new level of emotional breakdown. Every hour was new stupidity.
I barely got time to talk to Nidhi, but whenever I did, it was just me ranting like a broken blender.
Life turned into a nightmare. Our daily schedules were basically: wake up, panic, study, cry, attend exam, cry again, eat something unhealthy, panic again, repeat.
It felt like we were living the same day on loop, just with different levels of suffering.
Everyone was busy. Everyone was rushing. Everyone was stressed.
The whole campus looked like a live documentary titled "Students on the Edge."
I barely got time to talk to Nidhi, but whenever I did, it was just me ranting like a broken blender.
"I am dying please pray."
"Why is this syllabus like my toxic ex?"
"This paper will end me."
And Nidhi, being a barely normal human, would simply reply: "You got this, babes."
Honestly, her calmness was offensive at this point.
Meanwhile, our group chat turned into a digital madhouse.
The type where logic went to die and chaos took full-time employment.
PURE.
UNFILTERED.
CHAOS.
Rohan: I swear I'm dropping out. I'll become a gardener. At least plants don't give exams.
Me: BRO THE PAPER IS GONNA MURDER ME I LOOKED AT THE SYLLABUS AND MY SOUL PACKED ITS BAGS.
Nandini: I read one page and forgot my own name. What is happening. Who am I. Why am I.
Saumya: Relax. The paper won't be that hard guys.
Harsh: Yeah, chill. Questions are usually basic only.
Anushka: OH WOW LOOK AT YOU TWO — TALKING LIKE WISE BAMBOOS. Stop acting like you invented education. Some of us have two brain cells and BOTH are on maternity leave.
Rohan: Harsh blink twice if she's threatening you.
Harsh: ....
Me: I'M SO TIRED I JUST SAW MY REFLECTION AND APOLOGIZED TO IT.
Nandini: Same. My brain is buffering since morning.
Daksh: Stop being dramatic.
Me: WE ARE NOT BEING DRAMATIC WE ARE ACTIVELY DYING.
Rohan: YES PLEASE SHOW US SYMPATHY WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS.
Nandini: Daksh if you can't support us emotionally please at least donate snacks.
Daksh: Someone has to stay normal in this circus.
Anushka: Normal? YOU? Babe you're one inconvenience away from retiring to the mountains. Don't act brand new.
Me: CAN WE FOCUS I HAVEN'T STUDIED CHAPTER 6 THROUGH 19.
Rohan: Same. I opened my notes and immediately closed them. Emotional damage.
Nandini: I'm crying again. WHY IS EVERYTHING WRITTEN IN ENGLISH I DON'T KNOW.
Saumya: It *is* English-
Anushka: Saumya please. Let the girl cry. This syllabus is in some demonic language. Even Google Translate would resign.
Me: MY HANDS ARE SHAKING I'M NOT READY.
Harsh: It'll be fine.
Anushka: SHUT UP POLITE GRANDPA. If you say "It'll be fine" one more time I'll throw you into the nearest dustbin.
Rohan: Anushka please he's already scared stop bullying our senior citizen.
Harsh: ???
Me: GUYS I JUST SAW A QUESTION PAPER PATTERN AND I THINK I DIED FOR TWO SECONDS.
Nandini: SHARE SHARE SHARE I WANT TO DIE TOO.
Rohan: NO DON'T SHARE I'M ALREADY FRAGILE.
Daksh: All of you need therapy.
Anushka: Therapy? Bitch they need exorcism.
Me: I CAN'T DO THIS I WANT TO DROP OUT AND SELL HOME-MADE PICKLES.
Rohan: TAKE ME WITH YOU I CAN CUT VEGETABLES.
Nandini: Same I'll be the marketing team. "Pickles made by students who failed academically but succeeded in crying."
Saumya: Guys please study.
Anushka: Saumya if you say "study" again I'll print your face on a caution sign.
Daksh: I muted this chat for 10 minutes and came back to 187 messages of you people screaming.
Me: BECAUSE WE ARE SUFFERING DAKSH.
Rohan: HAVE SOME HEART BRO.
Nandini: WE ARE BABIES HANDLE WITH CARE.
Anushka: You three are not babies. You are "malfunctioning washing machines". Shaking, crying, making noise, and achieving nothing.
Me: RUDE BUT ACCURATE.
Rohan: I FEEL PERSONALLY ATTACKED.
Harsh: Just read two chapters today.
Anushka: OKAY WHO GAVE HIM MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES TO EAT TODAY? STOP IT.
Me: GUYS TOMORROW'S PAPER IS GOING TO BE OUR FUNERAL.
Nandini: Please don't say that I'm already panicking in HD quality.
Rohan: Full 4K anxiety.
Daksh: Goodnight. I'm done with all of you.
Anushka: BYE MISS SENSITIVE.
Me: I'M GOING TO STUDY NOW IF I DON'T TEXT IN ONE HOUR ASSUME I FAINTED.
Rohan: Same. If I don't reply by morning just know I joined the plants.
Nandini: GOODBYE I'M LOGGING OUT BEFORE MY BRAIN STARTS SMOKING.
Saumya: Study properly guys.
Anushka: Yes yes mother hen, now shoo.
That group chat was the only reason our phones overheated more than our brains.
Exam halls were no better. Every morning we'd walk to college like prisoners walking toward execution.
The air itself felt like stress was leaking from everyone's pores.
I sat beside Nandini, both of us breathing like asthmatic dinosaurs.
Our combined anxiety could have powered a small nation.
On the other side, Rohan sat clutching his pen like a weapon. "This is it. If I fail, bury me with my answer sheet."
He said it with the confidence of someone who had already accepted death.
Anushka glared at him. "If you fail, I'll bury you myself. Stop shaking the bench you terrified squirrel."
Her voice could've filed a police complaint on its own.
Harsh just sighed. "Why do I sit with you people? Why?"
The existential crisis in his tone was beautiful.
Saumya patted his shoulder. "Fate. Destiny. Karma."
Basically, "you can't escape us."
And then the papers came.
Every time I flipped a question paper, it felt like the first line said, "Welcome to your doom."
I stared at the questions like they were written in ancient alien language.
My brain refused to translate anything.
Nandini leaned toward me, whispering urgently, "Did we study this? I don't remember studying this."
Panic was dripping from her voice.
"I don't remember studying anything," I whispered back.
Which was... unfortunately true.
Rohan slowly raised his hand to ask for extra sheets.
The invigilator frowned. "You haven't even written anything."
"I need extra sheets," he said dramatically, "to cry on."
Honestly, respect for his honesty.
Anushka kicked him under the bench.
The invigilator looked traumatised. We didn't care.
Daksh, writing peacefully in the corner, looked at us once and shook his head like a disappointed father.
His silence was louder than all our chaos.
That continued for one whole week.
A full seven-day marathon of mental destruction.
Every paper ended with us crying and screaming in the WhatsApp group.
Our voice notes sounded like ghosts with WiFi.
Every night ended with Saumya and Harsh telling us, "You'll pass, relax."
Their optimism was an insult at this point.
And Anushka snapping, "STOP GIVING THEM HOPE LET THEM SUFFER."
Honestly? She sounded like a strict tuition teacher from hell.
Finally, the last exam was over. The campus buzzed with a kind of energy I hadn't felt in weeks—equal parts relief and unhinged excitement. Students were screaming, hugging strangers, praying to every deity they could think of, and bargaining with the universe like it owed them something.
"If I pass today, I'll never procrastinate again!" someone shouted.
Lie. Everyone knew it.
We walked out of the hall, dragging our exhausted bodies, and immediately Rohan jumped in front of us like a man possessed.
"I AM ALIVE! ALIVE!" he screamed, flinging his bag into the air like it was a victory flag.
Nandini grabbed me, squeezing like she was trying to prove we survived some apocalypse together.
"WE DID IT! I mean... did we? Maybe? Hopefully?" she said, her eyes sparkling with chaotic energy.
Anushka groaned, crossing her arms.
"If you people hug me, I'll file a complaint. Emotionally and legally."
Harsh stretched lazily, letting out a sound that could have been mistaken for a dying walrus.
"I swear my brain aged 40 years," he muttered, rubbing his temples dramatically.
Samuya smiled softly, calm as ever.
"It's over. Finally," she said, her serenity a sharp contrast to the disaster surrounding us.
Daksh, of course, packed his things with effortless calm, giving off a vibe that screamed, I survive chaos daily.
He passed me and said softly, "Good job surviving."
And stupidly—STUPIDLY—my heart did a small somersault.
But I refused to let that ruin my victory moment.
Outside, we all stood together, looking like survivors of a natural disaster.
Rohan lifted his hands toward the sky dramatically. "Exams are over! Bring the food! Bring the sleep! Bring the Netflix!"
Anushka smacked his head. "Bring a brain first."
Nandini and I cheered like maniacs. "WE ARE FREEEEE!"
Harsh rolled his eyes but smiled. "Idiots. All of you."
Saumya took a deep breath. "Let's go celebrate before your stupidity destroys the building."
And just like that, we walked out of the college gate—tired, brain-dead, traumatised, but victorious.
Exam week tried to kill us.
But we?
We fought back with stupidity, friendship, and emotional breakdowns.
And honestly... I wouldn't trade this chaos for anything.
For the first time in two weeks.
I just breathed.
Like my lungs finally remembered their job.
We were done.
Finally.
And it felt like someone removed a 200-kg textbook from my soul.
For a moment, it felt like the world was ours again—
open, wide, peaceful, waiting for us to exist without stress.
Until next semester, of course.
Where we would willingly repeat the same stupidity
and act shocked when life punched us again.
But for now?
We were free.
Beautifully, stupidly, gloriously free.