I dedicate this chapter to aaradhana_adithya for her constant support and encouragement.

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INDIA

The car went smoothly and slowly through the crowded lane. People were in a hurry and the guard whistled furiously asking the people to move out of the way. 

Sameera leaned out of the window to have a look. All the students were busily rushing.

 She  wondered  if colleges were ever  like this. She had heard everyone say college was fun and that we  don't have to stress much, but looking at these students, made her  nervous. What if it was  like school?

As she was drowning in her  thoughts, "Put your head back inside, Sameera", her  mom ordered.

She  quickly pulled her head inside, narrowly avoiding a guy's drafter. Yeah she knew what a drafter was. Her cousin used it all the time as a weapon against her . No wonder she  had   so many scars on her arm.

Sameera  had  wanted to become a paediatrician, but her cut off marks were low, so  decided to do architecture instead because she developed a sudden liking for it.  She also had to write an entrance exam for that. 

"This college offers engineering courses as well, good that I would get friends from various departments.", she thought. 

And now, here she  was on the first day.

 They  reached the parking lot and she  got out of the car . There were a lot of trees around and the breeze played softly on her  hair. She wore a salwar, since jeans were strictly prohibited, it seemed, though she could see  some girls wearing them.

"Shall we go ?",asked her  father handing the bag to her.

"Yes ,Dad" , she  exclaimed tiredly . The drive from home made her  tired due to the long distance between her home and college. 

They  walked out of the lot and towards the first year block. 

"Thank god this college has a separate building for freshers, else there would have been so many incidents of ragging.", said her mom.

The road that led to the block had trees on both sides whose topmost branches entangled each other, and  dry leaves falling over them and it was a truly, lovely view.

After walking for a few minutes , they reached the block. 

There were student representatives  everywhere who guided the parents and the freshers  , some flirted with the pretty girls as well, who were alone, obviously.

She laughed on seeing a senior trying to flirt with a scared looking girl when his friend smacked his head hard saying,"Enough of your tactics!", and said to the girl with a smile," Please go inside". 

"That is so nice of him.", her  mom said on watching the scene."Be careful dear. Don't even talk to guys", she said with  irrational fears filling her mind.

"That is not even going to be possible, mom. In school, I managed because all the guys were so studious and they buried their faces in books the whole time. But, college is the place where I can make new friends , for a life time.  Please understand "

"But.."

"She knows how to behave dear. You needn't worry unnecessarily. She is my daughter", her dad said proudly with a smile on his face.

"Okay.Whatever. Just be careful. Now you and your father will join forces and turn against me."

"Haha, mom, nothing like that", she  assured her and winked at her  dad.

He returned her wink and said," Now, this is where we leave you. These students( He pointed to those student volunteers) will guide you inside and show your classroom. Be safe and enjoy your first day. I will pick you up by 4 in the evening".

"Sure dad. Thanks .See you later. Bye mom", she  said and sped off towards the entrance of the block.

There  was a big crowd of students trying to get inside and the student reps were shouting,"Please be careful. "

"The first years were so eager to get inside I guess.",  she thought.

She  waited for a few minutes before  the crowd cleared out and stepped inside. There was a small lobby and many  counters labelled with the department names. 

There were students at every counter and the reps were giving them information 

She  searched for the Architecture counter and there it was. Only a few students were present .There was a teenage girl who looked as if she hadn't eaten all day , accompanied with a tall guy.

Apparently, there were the reps for arch.

She had a feeling that they could be her seniors.

As she  headed towards the them, he looked up at her and smiled warmly.

"Welcome"

"Hi", she smiled at both of them.

"Could we have your name please?", asked the guy.

"Sure. I am Sameera Rajkumar",she said .

"Hello Miss Sameera. Here is your I.D card. It is mandatory that you wear it every day."

"Okay" 

"Your class will be...", he searched a long list of names and finally said" C".

"What?" 

"There are 3 sections/groups for architecture. You belong to class C"

"Oh. Fine.Great",

"Please go to your  classroom labelled Arch C", he said smiling. 

"Thank you ", she  gave him a weak smile  and walked out of the lobby towards the inside. 

It was a huge hall with classrooms on all four sides and a wide courtyard in the centre .

People stood, here and there, in groups discussing. She  walked through them to go to the "Arch C" classroom , on the opposite side  .

She  reached and there was a small group of boys , talking excitedly. 

And then she saw him.

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So, how do you like the first chapter people? I would really appreciate if you could vote and give your valuable comments. Thank you for reading. Any guesses who "HE" might be ?