5:32p.m. [Hey gorgeous! Wanna go for a movie tonight?]

5:36p.m. [What, just the two of us? Or Bhai and Behenji joins too?]

5:40p.m. [No babe, Aryaman doesn't join us. As for behenji, I only promised Mukti that I will take care of her in class, not beyond. So just the two of us. Game?]

5:50p.m. [Sure, sounds like a plan! Pick me up at 9?]

5:53p.m. [Done ma'am]

Soha smirked after reading the last message on the phone. This Manik was a charmer, she thought. They have become friends ever since they started college last year when her cousin Aryaman and she ended up joining the same college for the same course - Manik was Aryaman's best friend from junior school. So naturally, they were sort of a group - of course the recent addition to the group was that behenji, Nandini - a total misfit thought Soha dismissively.

Nandini was in the same class from the beginning, but they never noticed her until they started college this year. As luck would have it, Manik's sister Mukti had joined the same college and she was Nandini's roomie. Mukti for some reason had become fiercely protective of Nandini seeing her docile nature and nerdy disposition - she realized Nandini must be having a difficult time in the college, hence she had made Manik promise her, that he will befriend Nandini in class and let her hang out with them - in short taking care of Nandini was Manik's responsibility as per Mukti's demand. Of course, Manik never said no to his tom-boy sister Mukti - so there was their revised group - Manik, Soha, Aryaman and 'Behenji'.

***

Nandini was furiously scribbling and making last minute corrections in the assignment - she couldn't believe that she herself had made so many silly mistakes in it, but of course by the time she had started working on it, it was past 3a.m. and she was really tired and sleepy - she had to learn to manage time better she thought to herself as she tried her best to drown out the constant chirpy voice of Soha sitting in front of her - gossiping over the phone about how fantastic her movie date with Manik went last night. She needed to concentrate and revise this before the professor came for collecting their assignments - she couldn't afford another assignment going down the drain because of her careless mistakes. She was covering her ears with her hand and rocking on her chair and reading out her assignment softly to concentrate better, when she saw a long bony finger tap her desk - she glanced up to see Manik looking down at her with an annoyed face.

"Why my assignment already isn't placed on the professor's desk Nandini?" he asked with an annoyed expression.

"Woh..actually I was doing ---" but he cut her off.

"Oh, so this is how carelessly you do my assignment, minutes before the professor arrives? And why have you scribbled so much on it? You're trying to screw me on purpose, right Nandini?" asked Manik furiously.

Nandini silently turned around and dug out another file from her bag and handed it to Manik. "This is your assignment Manik, I finished it last night. The one I am scribbling on is mine" she replied softly not meeting his eyes.

Manik took the file silently from her and flipped through the pages, it was neatly done and there were no scribbles. He still felt irritated, but he chose not to say anything.

"What is this yaar Manik, at least listen to her once before venting out your anger on her. Firstly she does all your assignments and she prioritises your assignment over her's and this is how you behave?" chided an annoyed Aryaman from next to Nandini. Manik turned back to face Aryaman after he heard his remarks and was about to say something to Nandini, when Soha who was sitting beside him, turned around and faced Aryaman and Nandini too.

"What bhai, if she was done with Manik's assignment, then why could she not go and keep his file on the desk before only? Manik wouldn't have gotten irritated then" finished Soha and smiled warmly at Manik. Then they both turned around and started chatting, leaving Aryaman and Nandini to themselves.

"Nandini, I really think you should stand up for yourself sometimes. Why do you even do his assignments?" asked Aryaman for the millionth time, without expecting a reply. Nandini just turned to him and gave him a small smile and continued revising her assignment. Aryaman was her only friend in the group. The only one who stood up for her - but she couldn't leave the group either, she had her own set of reasons for that.

As the class chirped happily, the professor entered the class, and as expected, the first thing he asked for was the submission of assignments. Soha generously offered to take Manik's assignment along with her's to place on the professor's desk - however Manik turned around and stole a quick glance at Nandini - she was still not done with her own assignment he remembered. But then he saw that she just finished turning the last page, with a silent relief he turned back. No one noticed this little gesture other than Nandini, and it brought a small smile in her lips.

***

[Note: "Mox" and "he" will be used in Mukti's context sometimes - it is not a mistake or a typo. I will use 'he' whenever I am talking from Mukti's perspective and times when she expects people to refer to her as a guy, otherwise when other characters refer to her in third person, it will be in 'she' – this will show the actual gender confusion these folks face in real life, and thereby meet the purpose of raising awareness in my story]

This story offers an unbiased take on gender confusion/crises – it is not meant to hurt/harm anyone's emotion – just another aspect of the story – please read it with an open mind!

It was past midnight, Abhimanyu knocked on the door of his best buddie's apartment, no one responded. He knocked again, this time harder - this time there was a click of locks opening and a yawning Nandini opened the door, rubbing her eyes.

"Abhimanyu? At this hour?" she asked perplexed.

"Where is Mox?" he asked ignoring her question.

"She is sleeping in her room" replied Nandini.

"HE you mean." He corrected and walked inside and knocked on his bedroom door.

"Yes yes, he I mean" murmured Nandini and locked the main door and came inside.

Abhimanyu started banging Mukti's door now, "Mox man! Open the door bro!" he spoke loudly. Nandini smiled silently. In her initial days, when Mukti had moved in to share her apartment, when these things happened, it freaked her out - now it was cool - Mukti was a boy – well not exactly boy in the 'biological' sense of it, but she identified better with the male gender.

Mukti had shared this with Nandini after they became as close they were, that since childhood she resonated better with men, she felt more at home with Manik's friends, his toys, his sports. The family initially indulged her by calling her a 'tomboy' but over the years she realised it wasn't that, she truly did resonate better when she accepted the fact that deep inside she felt like a man. After innumerable visit to child psychiatrists and countless therapy sessions, it was agreed that her resonance with the male gender didn't make her a lesbian, she wasn't a transgender either, she was what LGBTQIA community called 'Queer', her sexual preference was open and subject to her exploration - Mox Malhotra was what she refered to herself as - she had short cropped hair, she wore loose shirts, and she even used aftershave on her cheeks (imagine!). While all her family was aware of her orientation, as expected in most Indian GenX families, it was considered a taboo and no one openly accepted her as the 'guy' she was. Apparently Manik was still indulgent on her face, but to the world she was still a tomboy and more importantly Mukti Malthotra the weirdass sister of the hottie from S.P.A.C.E Academy, Manik Malhotra!

She really was a boy trapped in a girls' body - that's what she had told Abhimanyu when he was five and had newly moved into their neighbourhood. And among all her friends and family, Abhimanyu was the only one who truly believed her claim. He didn't question her, he didn't doubt her, as a child he didn't have preconceived notions either, maybe that's why it was so easy for him to simply believe her. So for Abhimanyu, it wasn't a big deal to barge in at Mox's door in the middle of the night - though he did feel awkward around Nandini, but Mox's mad family wouldn't let Mox move in with other guys and Nandini was the only girl who didn't judge Mox or question his claim.

"What the f**k is up at this hour bro?" came Mox's voice from his room.

"Dude we are driving down the highway for tea with Ashish, Rahul and Karan, I just came to get you. Hurry now!"

"Cool, give me five" came his prompt reply. And sure enough he was out in five, ready with his biker's jacket and key.

Nandini stared at her, she was going to drive down the highway in the middle of the night for tea? That to, with a bunch of guys? Was it safe for her? She knew she would be dead meat if she asked her that - Mukti loved Nandini, she was the only woman who didn't judge him, but if she ever questioned his masculinity seriously, Nandini knew Mukti wouldn't spare her either. But whatever be her twisted truth, from outside, Mukti was still a girl, and hence her safety was still a concern, whether she believed it or not.

"Mox, why drive down so far for tea? I could make it for you guys now right here you know?" she offered.

Mox and Abhimanyu laughed at her statement and muttered, "Girls" in disapproval.

Nandini tried again, "Hey Mox, do you mind if I join you guys?" she thought if she couldn't stop her from going, at least she could go along and ensure she was safe.

"Nands babe, it's a guy thing. It's not safe for girls. I will take you some other time" saying that Mox side hugged Nandini and left the apartment with Abhimanyu, as Nandini stood there and sighed wondering when the day would come when Mukti would finally know how to deal with her gender resonance and be reasonable enough to exercise basic caution and safety.

***

"Sohaaa" shrieked Aliyaa from the bathroom of their hostel room. Soha freaked out and ran towards the bathroom door and banged on it. "What is it Aliyaa? Is it a cockroach again?" she anticipated with baited breathe. However, instead if answering, Aliyaa came out of the bathroom with a brilliant smile on her face.

"Sweety I lost more weight!! I lost two more kilos!! The 'keto' diet has worked for me!!!" she screamed in joy. Soha looked at her haughtily.

"Well the loss isn't really visible though Aliyaa" she told her, eyeing her critically.

"You're just telling because the diet failed for you and you didn't shed any weight, hain nah?" sniggered Aliyaa good naturedly holding Soha's shoulder, and then she ran out of the room to inform her other friends of her new achievement - while Soha stomped her foot fuming. "I hate 'keto' diet" she muttered under her breathe.

***

It late; must have been half past one in the morning when her phone rang, she woke up with a start and received the call with a sleepy "Hello".

"Hi Nandini, sorry to call you this late, it's Manik" by the mere sound of his deep manly voice, sleep evaded Nandini and she was wide awake, her heart was thudding treacherously loud and she prayed to God that Manik didn't hear it. She breathed out evenly to control her senses and responded rationally.

"It's okay Manik, I wasn't sleeping. And don't worry your assignment is ready for tomorrow's submission too." She replied assuming that would be the reason for his call, usually he only called to inform her about his assignment deadlines.

"Thanks, but that's not why I called you. It's Mukti, is she around? I tried calling her, but her phone isn't reachable"

"Oh, no she isn't at home. Oops sorry, I mean, he isn't at home, he has gone for a drive with Abhimanyu and the other guys" she told him. To her surprise he chuckled.

"It's okay Nandini, you can call her a she in front of me, and I won't kill you for it. But why did she go so late? Didn't you try stopping her?" he asked agitated again.

"I did, but he, I mean she said girls won't understand the thrill and she left. Maybe you can try Abhimanyu's number?"

"Yes, yes I think I will call Abhimanyu. Thanks again and sorry for the late call" he reverted.

"It's no problem, goodnight" finished Nandini with a small smile, but before she hung up, he cleared his throat. "Yes?" responded Nandini with a thudding heart.

"Umm Nandini, since you're wide awake, maybe you should finish your own assignment too now, instead of goofing around. That way you won't need those last minute intense revisions."

Nandini's heart hammered inside her chest so hard in content and happiness that she felt it could choke her to death. She knew he cared, but he wouldn't show it - but maybe he cared a little bit because she was his little sister's best friend, nothing more.

"Yes Manik, I will do it now. Thanks." And then there was a small clunk and the line got disconnected.

Nandini got up from her bed and pulled out her notes to work on her assignment, all the time blushing in the shade of crimson. Thank God Mox wasn't around to tease her right now.

***

A/N : Well, how goes first chapter? Any comments, feed backs?

I know it might take some time, but please do interact, I am the talkative, interactive kind of person, I need to know what my readers think, so please drop a comment, hit a like and let me know if this story holds your interest!

WORD COUNT : 2,370