"No!"

"But, Sandhya, at least listen to the whole idea," Nair Mam reasoned.

"I am extremely sorry, Mam, but I can't do it." I shook my head.

"As if I am dying to do it," Shree derided.

"Just go to hell, Baldy." I rolled my eyes.

"Will you stop calling me that?" Shree yelled.

"No, I won't. What you gonna do, huh? Hide behind your girlfriend?"

Shree gave me a flat look and told Nair Mam to get him some other partner or change his role completely. Our classmates exchanged worried glances and started opposing Shree's ideas and requested Mrs. Nair to convince us at any cost.

"Kids, stop fighting and think about your friends also. They have worked so hard for the play and most of the preparations have started too; only you two are left for the rehearsals to begin - all roles are already assigned, so would you please do me a favour and solve your dispute?" Nair Mam asked in frustration.

"Why can't Mahek play opposite him?" I argued.

"She is already given the role which suits her, and our class' play isn't the only thing you guys are participating in for the college fest. So, I would advise you both to make up your minds because I need to give an update to the Dean about your progress."

"Mam is right, guys. Why are you wasting our time instead of co-operating? It is just a play!" one of our classmates scolded Shree and me.

Rest of the students agreed and started counseling us to deal with our personal issues later and not spoil everyone's mood. The script for the play was done, Drama club was helping with the costume and set designing, Videography club had agreed to film it, but there was just one obstacle - the main couple i.e. Shree and I were not on the same boat.

"If you guys need time, then you have it till afternoon. By 2pm, I want everyone here for the drama practice, and if you guys don't come, I won't allow you to participate in any other co-curricular activity of our class," Nair Mam threatened and left to attend her staff meeting.

"Why is she blackmailing us?" I groaned.

"I don't care; I am okay with playing my role - you care about yourself," Shree said and waved me off.

He took his script from the director and began reading it like a diligent student. I roamed my eyes around and asked other girls to exchange our roles but all of them refused and informed that they already had a lot on their plates and wouldn't want to increase their workload unnecessarily.

As for Mahek, she was shooting daggers at Shree who was ignoring her since morning. I didn't know what happened between them, but the couple was bickering with each other for last two days, and I heard some of my classmates comment that they were going to break up soon.

And this time, it wasn't Mahek who had brought up that topic as I would have expected, but instead it was Shree who seemed to be keeping his distance from his girlfriend and getting annoyed at her continuous demands of expensive dates and tantrums whenever he refused.

"What have you planned?" one of the guys, who was our assistant director for the play, questioned me after giving me my copy of the script.

"I need some time to think," I replied and left the classroom.

Last Wednesday, three days after Holi, Dean Sharma officially announced the launch of college's annual function and informed us that we had exactly one and a half month to decide what activities we would be performing and then preparing for the same. But before we started anything, we had to get his approval and once we got the green signal, we could go ahead with our plans.

Basically, it wasn't just a college fest. Going by the size of our college and the various departments it had along with other colleges also participating in the whole celebration, it was more like a carnival. I even heard a rumour that Mayank and Rajeev were planning on inviting some really big names from the sports and art sectors to give us more exposure.

I was happy but not by hundred percent. I had decided that I wouldn't hold back and would take part in everything, so I had already enrolled myself in the volunteer team for Drama and Arts club with Surbhi and Tanya, and then I was also a part of the Robotics Club to assist them on the technical front.

Apart from that, Mehta Sir had told me to be on my homeroom's team and help them whenever I could because I was already booked by Nair Mam for our Chemistry class's play. To save myself from dying of exhaustion, I didn't participate in the events organised by Sports department and stayed away from Mayank before he bribed me into doing extra work.

I glanced at the script in my hand and sat down on a corridor wall. I flipped through the pages and pouted. I hadn't even seen Ved for the last three days - I messaged him and called him too, but he never responded even after reading my texts.

Why is my Princess ignoring me? Did I do something again? Did Ayush finally lost it and told Ved not to bother with me?

"Who made you sad, Sandy Pandy?"

I was going to snap my head in the direction of Ved's voice, but when I remembered that he wasn't paying me any attention, I turned my head in the opposite direction and ignored him. I sensed Ved sitting beside me, keeping his legs on either side of the wall, but I scooted away from him.

"Why aren't you looking at me?" he asked.

When I didn't answer, he snaked his left arm around my waist from behind and pulled me towards him. I rotated my body away, but he grabbed my head and turned it towards him in a flash.

"I don't know you," I grumbled.

"But I know you, and I also want to know the reason behind your spoilt mood. Did anyone trouble you?" he locked my arms with his right hand and shook me from side to side.

"What would you do if I told you? It isn't like you care or anything," I huffed.

Just as I completed my dialogue, Ved tilted me towards him and bit my right cheek. I winced in pain and yelled at him to leave me if he was only going to annoy me more. He didn't listen, and after giving me a mischievous smirk, he kissed me where he had bitten and grinned when he saw me turn into a tomato.

"Sandy Pandy can blush?" he teased.

"I know how to make you blush too," I challenged.

Ved narrowed his eyes at me and raised one of his eyebrows in question. "As if."

I grinned at him as he was already turning pink and radiating heat like a geyser. I moved my head forward and grabbed his chin with my left hand after managing to take it out of his iron grip. I tilted his head and planted a peck on his left cheek.

"That's for my Princess, not for you." I stuck out my tongue at him and burst out laughing when Ved turned all red and wasn't able to meet my eyes.

Ved shook his head and told me to stop making fun of him. I ignored his protests and the curious glances of other students, some of whom had stopped on their way to observe what was going on. A few minutes later, I calmed down and flicked Natural Heater on the forehead.

"Why didn't you reply to my texts?" I complained.

"I was busy," he replied.

"Busy with what?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "You really didn't have time to even send an emoji and not worry others?"

"I was busy training with boys for tomorrow's match - it is an important one." He put up his hands in surrender.

"What's new in that? You always play basketball!" I accused him for his pathetic excuse.

"I know, okay? But we are playing the next match with a rival team which has a really good performance record. Coach had specially instructed us to only focus on our game and not get distracted at any cost," Ved defended.

"But you talked to your friends, then why not me?" I whined.

"Because you are too much distracting," he mumbled under his breath.

"What did you say?" I nudged him.

"Nothing."

"I heard you say something, but I want you to repeat it to confirm my doubt." I proded.

"I said you are... you are..." Ved blinked rapidly and licked his lips.

"I am what?"

"You are too close, Sandy Pandy."

I punched him in the stomach and crossed my arms across my chest. He rubbed his tummy and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. He took the script from my hand and waved it front of me.

"Beauty and the Beast?" he read the title and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I am paired with Shree," I informed and slumped down my shoulders in defeat.

"Oh..." Ved nodded his head. "What's the problem then?"

"I don't want to do it with him - we will end up ruining the whole play."

"But it is a role reversal, right? I think you should do it; I want to see Shree in a gown." Ved chuckled.

"Why don't you play Princess Belle's part? If you do it then I don't have any problem doing it too." I giggled.

Ved handed me my script back and started getting up from his spot really slowly. I sensed what was going on in his mind and as soon as he saw that I wasn't going to give up on convincing him, he jumped up and dashed away from there. I ran after him, yelling at him to say 'Yes' and stopped after I couldn't control my laughter; my stomach was aching badly.

After checking that Ved had vanished after hearing the horrifying proposal, I stretched my limbs and headed back to my Chemistry class where others were busy with the costume measurements for all the characters.

"Sandhya is here!" one of the girls announced.

"Where is Belle? Tell her that I have come to pick her up for the party," I announced loudly.

"Are those lines in the script?" our director panicked.

I laughed as soon as Shree arrived with a temporary yellow skirt around his waist while a girl from Drama club was taking the measurement of his biceps. He rolled his eyes when I approached him and forwarded my right hand for him.

"Looking really pretty, my dear," I commented.

"Stop fooling around," he warned.

"Kings don't take orders from ordinary people," I mocked and stood in the middle of the classroom.

"Miss Director, I think you should rename the play from 'Beauty and the Beast' to 'Baldy and the Beast' - it will make more sense," I suggested, and my classmates broke out laughing like hyenas.

"Sandhya," Shree grunted.

"Did you say something, Belle?" I teased.

"Is everyone here?" Nair Mam asked as she entered the classroom.

She smiled at me when I informed her that I was okay with everyone's decision and had no problem in playing Prince Adam's role. She nodded and told us that the Dean would like to see a small demo before he gave us his approval.

Thus, we quickly took our scripts and decided to practice the most important part to perform in front of Dean Sharma. Shree and I held hands and began dancing when the music started playing. I grinned at my partner as he was trying to match his steps to the rythm and avoiding murderous glares of Mahek simultaneously.

"You didn't tell me you already had an affair, Baldy- I mean Belle?" I accused.

"What are you talking about?" Shree queried.

I motioned towards Mahek, who was standing in a corner with a tea cup in her hands. Shree pursed his lips and told me not to bother with his girlfriend. I shrugged my shoulders and continued dancing to the beautiful melody - I just wished I had my original Princess with me.