"Nidhi!"Shreya called out. Nidhi turned and smiled at her best friend. "How's the new house?" Shreya asked. Nidhi shrugged to indicate her opinion. "It's okay."

"Good.So," Shreya's mouth twisted into a grin and her eyes glinted mischievously,"Someone was asking for you. And I think you know who I mean by someone."

"Oh come on, Shre," Nidhi groaned, "you know that I'm not interested in him in that way." "Oh but, Ni," Shreya was still grinning, "he's definitely interested in you. In that way."

The boy in question was of course their classmate and friend, Umang. The boy whom both Shreya and Nidhi had known and been friends with since their kindergarten days and who had recently been showing a romantic interest in Nidhi. Nidhi, of course, saw him only as a very good friend.

"Well,you could at least give him one chance," Shreya was again pleading with Nidhi on Umang's behalf, "that's all he's asking for, a single chance. Don't friendzone him, so, so,so.........."Shreya seemed to be searching for the right word.

"Heartlessly, cruelly, without giving a damn about his feelings..."Nidhi listed off monotonously, "Come on, Shre , we have this conversation everyday. I'm not going to change my mind." Shreya sighed dramatically and muttered, "If only you stopped being sostubborn."

"Are the both of you having a conversation about Umang, again?" a grinning group of 3 girls joined Nidhi and Shreya. Nidhi smiled at the familiar faces of her friends. They were Sheetal, Amrita and Eshani. These five girls and the three boys, Umang, Sarat and Raj,were a tight-knit group. As stated earlier, Nidhi, Shreya and Umang have been friends from kindergarten. The rest of the group came together in class 6 and three years later, their bond was as strong as ever.

" All of us are tired of this topic, Shreya," huffed Amrita. "Give the poor girl a break," added Sheetal, shoulder bumping Nidhi. "Alright, alright," Shreya playfully glared at the four girls,"but beware,I'll bring this up tomorrow again," she promised witha chuckle. Everyone laughed.

The school day quickly passed, despite the fact that it was a Monday. Our protagonist was exhausted at the end of it and she couldn't wait to get home. But what Nidhi didn't know was the chaos waiting for her back at home. Chaos on an otherwise perfectly calm Monday afternoon.