I didn't get the chance to return Jalebi Devi directly to Neena. So I gave it Reyansh and asked him to pass it on. He later told me that Neena had been thrilled.

Contrary to the one and a half day drive from Mumbai to Ooty, our return journey with Riya's parents was in a fleeting two hour flight. But sometimes, the fastest journeys are not always the best ones.

I'm being literal.

Riya threw up thrice, Zoya got a migraine and I was stuck in a seat next to a very fat old man who seemed to have neither showered nor shaved and lectured me continuously about the importance of obeying elders.

It was a sunny summer afternoon when the flight landed in Mumbai airport.

And from there, life took off.

I got into IIT Mumbai. There were revels, congratulatory phone calls and laddu distribution in the apartment complex. Riya, Zoya and Reyansh celebrated it like they had got into IIT themselves.

Zoya and Maya got into two other good engineering colleges. Riya joined B.Sc Viscom. Josh went on to study law. Reyansh was called by his father to come back to Pune and do his under graduation there. But he refused and instead joined an arts college in South Mumbai.

"If you're ever in Mumbai, call me", was the last thing Riya told Laksh before leaving Ooty. But Laksh called Riya everyday. At least three times. And Riya called Laksh another three times. And they 'dm'ed each other on Instagram the remaining time.

Zoya and Rahul were the ultimate item. Rahul went public about their relationship after which many of Rahul's fans started following Zoya too. Rahul's band went stronger as well. They went on to shoot music videos in Greece and do shows in Hong Kong.

As we plunged deeper into adulthood, our lives changed. Not all the friendships and relationships remained. Because the real world is not fun like high school nor adventurous like a holiday. It throws curveballs at you and changes in unexpected ways. But I don't want to go into all that. This is a story about teens after all.

But I will tell you this. Only one out of mine, Zoya and Riya's relationships pertained. The remaining two romances faded out. You could guess which one lasted.

To the narrow sighted, the teens is just an inconsistent, blurry period of life. But for me, it was heaven. In some ways, my soul will always be a teenager.

I remember how after the volunteering program in Ooty ended, Reyansh, Maya and Josh arrived back in Mumbai with certificates and framed photographs of them standing with the Bluepeaks management and the kids like high tech interns in suits and all.

Riya, Zoya and I had missed out on those things. But who cares? All three of us had got better things than a certificate out of the trip. Riya got a boyfriend. Zoya got her boyfriend back. And I..well, I didn't get anything. I just lost something but never mind that now.

Wait a bit, I did get something. I got my belief in God. And that,I think is the best possible thing for a human being to get.