"Did you take your lunchbox?"

"Yes mom."

"Water bottle?"

"Yup."

"Mobile phone?"

"Chill, mom! I got everything." I hugged her and dad. She will never stop worrying.

"Okay, bye. I will be late for the bus," I said and rushed out of my house.

I started speed walking towards the bus stop. I didn't want to be late on the first day of college. I was excited and nervous too.

I reached the bus stop and called Surbhi to know if she had left her home or not. She told me she was on her way.

Even though Surbhi and I met just last year, we had an instant connection and became best friends in a really short span of time.

I couldn't be happier. My bestie would be with me in college too.

I am going to enjoy these three years to the fullest.

The bus driver honked and other passengers started to rush past me. I hurriedly got in and luckily got an empty seat. After forty minutes of driving, I reached my destination. I got off the bus and started walking.

"Sandhya!" I turned around on hearing my name and got pulled in a bone crushing hug.

"Surbhi! Nice to see you too, but would you mind letting me breathe?"

She pouted and let me go. She linked her left arm with my right one and we started walking toward our college.

I took a good look at her. She had gotten a little plump since I last saw her but her milky white skin glowed, just like her dark brown eyes and her silky black hair flowed like ocean waves. Her round chubby face didn't require any makeup nor did her full red lips. She was a natural beauty.

She was dressed in a simple plaid red t-shirt and denims jeans but she carried herself so confidently; giving tough competition to the supermodels.

How did I become friends with such a beautiful girl?

"Did you enjoy your holidays?" I asked.

"They were kind of boring."

"Boring?! You went on a world tour," I complained.

"You know what I mean," she said and I rolled my eyes.

"I missed you. You should have come along with me," she added.

"I couldn't afford it."

"I said I would cover your expenses," Surbhi whined.

"Nope. Never. I don't want to sponge off you."

"Meanie."

I chuckled and she began telling me how her cousins made it hell for her.

"ID please," The security guard said as we reached the gates.

"We are freshers. We haven't received it yet," I replied and he brought up a list from his cabin. He asked for our names and let us in after confirming with the list.

As we stepped inside the premises, a proud smile adorned my face. We stopped to admire the marvellous building in front of us which was painted in red and yellow colour, and was going to be our second home for upcoming three years.

(Images used for representational purpose only.)

The whole college was spread across an area of 600 acres and consisted of residential and co-educational campus. It was made of various smaller buildings but there were four main buildings which formed the core of the institution.

The main building was meant for the lecture classrooms which were divided among the three floors; each academic year having one floor. Second building on the left was for library and it had two floors. The one on the right side consisted of cafeteria and diner, and the fourth major building was Dean's office.

Yup. One whole building for Dean. Lucky guy.

Then there were various smaller structures like staffroom, department of chemistry, department of management, department of sports, etc. etc. Then lastly, there were dorms.

Surbhi nudged me and we smiled at each other knowing how much we had worked hard to make it here. I felt so lucky to get admission in one of the top academic institutions in the whole country and that too on scholarship.

Surbhi knew how I was feeling and gave me a side hug when she sensed that I might start crying any minute. I was just too overwhelmed. So, without wasting any more time, we moved towards our classroom.

On our way, we saw some seniors arranging some stalls in the main ground and welcoming the freshers with enthusiasm. Surbhi and I got our pics clicked in front of the 'Welcome' banner and thanked the senior who told us to not miss the 'Freshers Welcome Fair'.

We nodded our heads like kids and hopped merrily like it was the best day of our lives. When we reached our lecture room, which was on the ground floor, I couldn't contain my happiness even though I had seen it before when we were on a college tour.

(Images used for representational purpose only.)

The room was made in a theatre design with wooden benches placed in a tiered setting i.e. it had a pitched floor enabling those sitting in the back to be on a higher ground level than those in the front. There was enough space for the instructor to roam around and address every student.

I still can't believe I am here.

"We arrived too early," Surbhi said, bringing me out of my thoughts. She took out her phone and sat on a bench. I followed the suit and sat beside her.

"Yup," I agreed as I observed that the classroom was empty excluding us.

"So you decided which clubs you would join?" she asked.

"I don't know yet but this time, I am going to participate in every extra curricular activity unlike school."

"You better do that. I don't want to see you buried under books all the time. Let's have a blast."

I nodded and fist bumped her. The bell rang soon and the first lecture started. Some students were late but since it was our first day, the teacher ignored that.

Our lecturer introduced himself as Mr. Advait Mehta and he was going to teach us Math. His voice was low and not at all intimidating like I had imagined it to be. He seemed to be in his late twenties and for a professor, he seemed to be fit and in shape.

Unlike school, I was really enjoying his lecture and his way of teaching really impressed me. So, I paid full attention to his each and every word and wrote down everything in my notebook.

"Nerd," Surbhi commented and I slapped her arm. I motioned towards her notebook which was lying idle.

"I will just copy your notes." She shrugged and went back to scrolling through her Instagram.

I rolled my eyes and continued taking notes. I wouldn't slack off like her.

It was rare to find such good teachers nowadays; I will not give up the opportunity.

"Okay, class. That's all for today. Make sure to attend the event organised by seniors in the afternoon. Have a nice day," Mehta sir signed off and students filed out of the room.

Me and Surbhi also made our way out in the hallway, getting mixed with other students. There was so much crowd. No wonder this college was so popular in our city.

We were busy chatting and arguing on random topics, when someone bumped into me.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry about that," a guy said hurriedly and rushed off.

"You okay?" Surbhi asked.

"I am fine. Someone was in a hurry," I replied. It didn't hurt much because the guy was lean and only his shoulder hit me.

We started moving but I noticed something in my peripheral vision. I looked down and saw a wallet. I quickly picked it up before it got lost in the sea of feet.

I opened it up and saw a driver's licence. The picture was of a boy with light brown eyes and dark brown hair which fell a little over his forehead. He looked nice. After admiring his photo for a few seconds, I read the details. Name, Parth Singhania. Age, 18. Blah, blah...

"He's cute," Surbhi commented.

"You have a boyfriend," I said and she ignored my comment.

"So what? Doesn't mean I can't appreciate the beauty."

We exchanged a look and began laughing.

I checked for money and my eyes almost popped out. There were so many ₹500 and ₹2000 notes.

How could he be so careless to lose his wallet with so much cash?

Surbhi said he looked like the guy who bumped into me. I quickly put the wallet in my bag and decided to deposit it in the clerk's office during lunch. I hoped that boy realised it soon.

The bell rang and we ran towards our class. Good thing, we were kind of familiar with the college's architecture or we would be running around like lost lambs.

We quickly got in and slumped down in unoccupied seats. Fortunately, the teacher hadn't arrived yet.

"Sandhya look, the wallet boy," Surbhi nudged my shoulder. I snapped my head towards where she was pointing and saw him sitting in the back with some other students.

He was wearing a white t-shirt paired with a plain navy blue jacket and dark blue jeans. The photo in his wallet did no justice to him. He looked more cute in person.

I waved my hand towards him to get his attention. He glanced at me for a millisecond but ignored me.

What? Dude, I got your wallet with me. I got up and began walking towards him.

"Everyone please take your seats," the lecturer announced as he arrived.

I lost my chance.

×~×

"I am so hungry. I think I can eat the whole menu," Surbhi said and licked her lips.

"You can eat from my lunchbox," I offered her but she refused.

"How can you eat junk food everyday? It's not good for your health."

"Yes mom," she said and ordered Chinese noodles and two cokes.

We were currently sitting in the cafeteria which according to me was no less than a five-star hotel. The interior was simple and the furniture was placed neatly.

(Images used for representational purpose only.)

When I was admiring my serene surroundings, I noticed Parth aka Wallet boy entering the cafeteria. I waved at him and he ignored me. Again.

What was his problem?

"I will be right back," I told Surbhi and took out his wallet from the bag.

"Hey Parth!" I called and he turned towards me. He raised an eyebrow and looked at me suspiciously.

"How do you know my name?" he asked.

"I know your name becau-"

"What do you want? Look I am not interested. I am tired of girls asking for my phone number all morning. I don't want to deal with you too."

What?

"Actually-"

"Actually what?"

"Will you just let me complete my sentence, you idiot?" I yelled at him.

His eyes widened and I pursed my lips. I needed to control my temper but who did he think he was?

He was good-looking but his attitude wasn't going along with it. I shoved his wallet towards him.

"I just wanted to return this to you. You dropped it earlier," I said.

He quickly took it and sighed in relief. He opened it and checked it thoroughly.

"Is there anything missing?" I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders and put his wallet in his jeans' pocket.

I was waiting. After staring at me for few seconds, he turned around and started walking away. I grabbed his backpack, making him stop abruptly.

"What?" he snapped.

"Aren't you missing something?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I don't think so."

Manners! You are missing manners.

I sighed and let him go. A simple 'thank you' would have been enough.

"Kids these days have no etiquettes."

"What's the matter, grandma?" Surbhi asked and I told her what happened. She being such a great friend she was, began laughing and kept teasing me about it.

×~×

"What's the next class?" I asked.

"What class? There's no class."

"What?"

"Did you forget already? Freshers' event. Ring a bell?"

"Oh right."

"Come on, let's go." She dragged me towards the college's main ground. It was filled with booths of various clubs and food stalls.

Seniors were busy handing out flyers and pamphlets about their respective clubs and luring freshers in with free goodies and snacks.

We quickly made our way towards the drama club's stall. They were offering golgappe.

(Golgappe👆)

Surbhi signed up and they tried to convince me too but I bluntly told them I was only here for free food. They were not pleased, so we ran away.

As a result of roaming around for two hours and stuffing myself with various delicacies, I had joined about six hobby clubs while Surbhi was near to passing out after binging on every snack counter.

"I think we should head home now. I am tired and bloated," I said and burped.

Other students looked at us disgustingly and I did it again on purpose.

Don't act like you all didn't enjoy that free food.

"Yeah. You sure you didn't overdo with that?" she asked and pointed towards the club forms I had in my hand.

I waved her off. I will manage, I guess. We picked up our bags and went towards the exit. Surbhi got in her car and drove off. I got to the bus stop and plugged in my earphones.

"Excuse me?" Someone tapped my shoulder. I turned around and saw Wallet-I mean Parth standing there awkwardly.

"Yes? Do I know you?" I asked. I was getting back at him for behaving like that.

He blinked and looked at me in confusion.

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier and thank you for returning my wallet."

Wow. He apologized.

"Oh. That's no big deal," I replied.

"I am Parth Singhania." He extended his hand towards me.

"Sandhya Rai." I shook his hand.

Honk!

"My bus is here. Bye Parth," I smiled and got in the bus.

He waved me bye and I waved back. He walked away and I smiled to myself as I got myself a seat.

Did I make a friend just now? No? I will go with yes.