Chapter 4

The first ray of the sun slowly crept over the horizon creating a majestic view . Aditya woke up with a stir and an unknown feeling that crawled inside him . He kept laying on his bed looking at ceiling , trying to figure out the mystifying emptiness he felt . Unable to decipher the depth of the moment. The weight of his thoughts hung heavily in the air, elusive and intangible, like a fog that refused to lift. Though he witnessed the beauty around him, something within him remained distant, untouchable—his feelings swirling in a place beyond reach, too complex, too buried to be understood.

With a heavy sign he got up and sat on his bed with his feet dangling down over the edge , he ran his palm over his face get rid of the lingering thoughts and decided to do something that would calm his mind from the thoughts of a certain someone , who has occupied his mind in such a way that everything around him reminds him of her .

Aditya's POV

it's 5 am now and i am up again even though I slept at around mid night . I really have to do something about my almost ruined sleep schedule .

After doing a quick morning workout, I decided to get ready for school in hopes of seeing her today—probably, because she's been absent for the past two days.

I don't know, but I have this feeling that she might not be well. The day of the match, I did notice a small bruise near her mouth, but before I could be sure about it, she left.

I thought of asking Siya about the reason for her absence, but I refrained from doing so because there's no way that chatterbox would stay quiet about it. She would tell Radhika that I was asking about her, and I would, in return, become a creep in her eyes—especially after she saw me looking at her after the match.

But what I did do was ask Siya if Radhika knew about the homework and all the pending classwork she missed. Maybe that way, she would tell me the reason for her absence.

Okay, who am I kidding? She probably doesn't even notice me, let alone think about me.

After putting on my ID card and grabbing my school bag, I went downstairs and found Mumma plating my breakfast with my lunchbox beside it along with a bottle of water.

"I was just about to call you, accha hua tu aa gaya," she said as I smiled at her.

"Kuch hua hai kya? Kal se dekh rahi hoon, itna shaant sa ho gaya hai," she asked. Shit, is it that obvious?

"Nahi Mumma, bas school ka bohot kaam hai aur hum probably interview ke liye select hone wale logon ke baare mein jaanenge. Bas wahi soch raha tha," I said, not wanting to worry her.

"Don't stress yourself out so much, everything will be fine," she said as I continued eating and soon left for school.

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It was almost 7:10 AM, and I was strolling down the corridor with Kartik while he was busy talking about weird things I didn’t even bother to pay attention to—until he said something that couldn’t be ignored.

"Adi, you know, I think I like someone. I mean, I’m not sure—"

I didn’t even let him finish and bombarded him with questions of my own. After all, he’s not just my best friend but also my cousin. "KYA? KAUN? KAISE? SCHOOL KI HAI? ACADEMY? YA FIR TUITION?"

"Areh bhai, ruk jaa!" he said, halting my questioning. But seeing my restlessness, he added, "School mein hai."

"Kaun?" I urged him to say more, but he sheepishly looked at me, slightly smiling, which made me think, Is he even telling the truth about liking someone, or is he just messing around?

"You know her, apne hi class mein hai," he said.

I frowned, thinking about who it might be.

"Ab bol bhi de yaar," I said, unable to take the suspense any longer. The idea of my best friend liking someone was killing me.

"Radhika," he blurted out, trying to gauge my reaction. But all I did was stand there, expressionless. Soon, I gave him a disapproving look and frustratingly said, "Tu pagal hai kya? How can you like her?"

"Kyun? Woh ladki nahi hai, jo main usse nahi pasand kar sakta?" he said, trying to control his laughter. But why? More importantly, how could he even say such things about her?

"Nahi hai," I blurted out without thinking. Then, I quickly realized what I’d just said.

"Mera matlab—" I started to justify myself, but he interrupted and pointed behind me.

"Mujhe nahi usse samjha ab."

OH SHIT! Out of all the days, today was the day she had to come to school and overhear me saying that. Kartik having a crush on Radhika wouldn’t affect her because everyone knows they’re just friends. But I still planned to talk to him about this later. How could he like her? He must be kidding. But first, I had to control another situation.

"Aankhein dikha ke gayi hai tujhe, ab toh teri girlfriend banne se rahi," said Kartik, standing beside me.

"Ek min, you like her, right? Then why did you say that?" I asked, confused about what he was trying to say.

"Zyada na natak mat kar. Do din se shakal bana ke rakhi hai. Aur inn do dino mein jitni baar tune uska naam liya, itna toh tune Badi Mumma ka naam nahi liya. Tujhe kya lagta hai, mujhe samajh nahi aayega ki you like her?" he explained.

But I don’t like her, and it’s not like that at all.

"Ahh... I... It’s... It’s nothing like that," I stammered. Why am I stammering?

"I was just concerned about her studies since she was absent, and everyone knows she’s particular about her studies, so..." I said, trying to make him understand.

"Also, class start hone ka time ho chuka hai, chal," I said, making up an excuse, even though there were still more than 10 minutes before class started. I started running towards the classroom but halted when I saw her engrossed in a conversation with Siya. She looked exasperated, like she was ready to kill the first person she saw after Siya, and that scared me to death. I was 99.99% sure I was the reason behind her wrath.

The moment I entered the classroom, she looked at me with an indignant expression and then quickly looked away.

"I was certain that she hadn’t noticed me, but now that she has, I’m pretty sure she’ll never consider talking to me."

"Why did you want her to notice you?" Kartik chimed in.

Did I say that out loud?

"Yes, my dear brother, you said it out loud," he sneered at me with a mocking smile.

I huffed and sat down at my place with Kartik beside me.

"Yaar, pehle toh baat bhi nahi karti thi, ab toh dekhegi bhi nahi," I said in a low, pleading voice, while all he did was chuckle and say, "Dekhti toh pehle bhi nahi thi. But you know what?"

"What?" I asked, my attention still fixed on her, thinking about how I should explain that what I said didn’t mean what it seemed.

"Mujhse toh baat karti hai. We even follow each other on Instagram."

My eyes instantly perked up, and with an annoyed grunt, I replied, "Ab agar chup nahi hua na, tujhe uss Trisha ke bagal mein baitha dunga."

"Also," I hesitantly asked, "You don’t like-like her, right?" He looked at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes and said, "I do," and that was the last string of my patience. I ran after him with my water bottle around the classroom.

"Aditya and Kartik, both of settle down fast or you will be taken to the principal's office" we stopped the cat and mouse race the moment we heard Rita Ma'am's voice and looked at her with apologetic looks .

"Sorry Ma'am" We said in unison and returned to our places , The whole class was laughing at us by then except her , she had a grump face . Why does she always have the expression on her face? It's like it's inscribed onto her face .

But I quickly averted my eyes from hers as soon as I realised that the death glare was for me.

Radhika's POV

Papa went back yesterday. It was hard to see him go again, especially when, at the back of my mind, I knew that he might not come back. But I stopped thinking like this when he found me crying in my room last night.

He told me that as the daughter of an Army Officer, I should be strong and not let such thoughts block my mind and affect me mentally. But I am still scared that one day he might not return. I wouldn’t be able to bear his absence in my life.

But nonetheless, I understood what he was trying to say and smiled at him proudly, remembering that whatever he is doing is for our country. I shouldn’t be grief-stricken but should instead support his decision to serve his country, even if it means risking his life.

I pray to Kanha Ji daily to keep him safe, and somehow, it gives me reassurance that he will be fine and return to us—me, Mumma, and Bhaiya.

Whenever Papa goes back, Mumma is never melancholy. I've never seen her cry, and it gives me immense strength. If she can do this, then I can too. Bhaiya, on the other hand, is a tough nut to crack. He shows that he is not affected, but deep down, I know he is. I think it's because of his nature that all of us remain strong and steady, never clouded by negative thoughts.

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I walking towards my classroom butmy steps halted when I heard Kartik saying my name and that he has a crush on me . Which is a joke I know because he keeps saying that to me for fun . He's just flirty in nature but I fumed in anger when I heard that bagad billa saying that I'm not a girl and Kartik can't like me .

This is what he thinks of me when after the match all I could do was think about him . Let alone think about him I couldn't sleep properly without thinking of him .

"Yeh toh pagal tha hi mujhe bhi kar ke rakh dega" I murmured and sat down at my place .

"Kaun pagal kar dega ?"Siya chimed suddenly appearing from behind me and sat down next to me .

"Woh idiot !" I said with a hostile expression.

"Kaun idiot ? naam toh bata !" she asked . "Aditya Kashyap" I huffed . She started laughing as I just joked about something .

"Tu has rahi hai mujhe?" I said with a disapproving look . " Yaar woh toh itna accha hai , bechare ne aisa bhi kya kar diya ?" she said as soon as she stopped laughing realising that I was serious.

I started narrating everything and she bursted out laughing but soon stopped looking at my stern gaze .

That bagad billa entered the class and returned to his place even after he saw that I was looking at him . Couldn't he even say simple a sorry to me . God I knew he was never worth to even think about in the first place .

The trouble maker cannot sit at one place . I swear to god , he makes me go insane . What will i do with him ?

"Behen aise teekhi nazar se dekhegi toh bechara aise hi mar jayega" siya said amused at our antics .

I rolled my eyes at her remarks and focused on the class as he was not worth wasting my time . I had much important things to do . Firstly , this council member interview about which we find out today and I still can't fathom the fact that I might see papa after 2-3 years maybe or even more than that .

"The students selected for the interview for Vice Head-Boy are -Aditya Kashyap, Rohan Roy and Advit Singh" said ma'am.

"Yeh khud toh chalta firta aatank hai, yeh banega Vice head - boy " I said to siya when I heard his name being called out . I always knew that he is the prefect candidate for that post but after today I don't think there one good trait in him . Meanwhile siya chuckled at my remark sitting beside me . I couldn't stop myself either and giggled a little .

"For the vice head girl post - Radhika Vaideya , Trisha Agarwal , Nishita Raj have been selected. Moving onto the Vice sports captain Interview - Kartik Kashyap , Nishant Aggarwal . "

I knew that I might get selected for the interview but now when I think about it , it makes me nervous . I don't know I will be able to handle a responsibility like this which requires so much confidence .

"See I told you , maine bola that tujhe select karenge" Siya said happily . I nodded but sensing my discomfort she knew I was clouded by my thoughts .

"Don't overthink , just be yourself and fake it till you make it brother " she said trying to calm me and I think it worked at little -or maybe not.

"All of you , those names I have called out stand in a line and proceed to the principal's cabin in pairs , Kanan will be guiding all of you through it" ma'am said and we proceeded to move out .

"Ma'am pairs as in ? " Trisha asked ma'am in a weirdly sweet voice . I scrunched my face at her way of speaking .

"One boy with one girl will be paired and will be interviewed together " said ma'am which I think is fair as the compatibility between the two is important as they will be leading the school in many things along with the captains .

"Oh okay , can we decide our partners ? " Trisha asked again looking particularly at Aditya . What is her problem ? . Why do I care and rolled my eyes and focused on the upcoming interview.

"No I have already decided that - Trisha with Rohan , Nishita with Advit and Radhika with Aditya"

I felt like guffawing looking at her face the moment she heard that she is not paired up with Aditya but I am - wait what !!!???