-• a new beginning •-

After sitting through the excruciating thirty minutes of heavy metal music, the school gates finally come into view. And when I saw my jaw drops, it literally drops.

The red bricked castle-like architecture is spread across hectares of lands. It's a four storey high building, with many towers and turrets and wide open corridors. I shift closer to the window to stare at the building. I feel like I'm in some kind of period drama that's based on a fantasy genre.

The breathtaking experience is ruined by Agastya's constant honking to make the sea of students walking down the gravel road part ways for his car. Dried leaves crunch beneath the tyres as he drives us deeper inside before we finally reach the parking lot. He parks the car in a free spot and cuts off the engine, grabbing his backpack from Arush before he steps out of the car. The backseat doors open and the twins exit the car as well, making me the only one to stay inside, a nervous, anxiety-ridden wreck.

Agastya walks past the bonnet and stops at my side, knocking on the closed window to catch my attention. I meet his eyes to watch him nod his head as a gesture for me to come out. I raise my hand at him, asking him to be slightly patient so I can pick up my fallen confidence before toughing up to face a new chapter in my life.

Isn't it too late for that?

Some beginnings are so strange. Abruptly woken up, while you're still muddle headed from the previous chapter's instantaneous ending. I didn't even get time to realise before I was already plunging into this completely different world of my life.

If the fifteen year old Taranya Chauhan knew this is what her life would come to a year later, she would have prepared herself well for the new beginning. But is it even life if it's not unexpected? Maybe if the fifteen year old Taranya knew about this huge unpredicted twist in her life, she would have spent the last days of her mother's life trying to change it rather than being there in the moment.

Agastya knocks on the window again.

I take a deep breath and unlock the door. He pulls it open for me, slamming it close once I step out of the car. I swing the strap of my backpack over my shoulder, ignoring the attention drawn towards me by glancing at my brothers.

"C'mon," Agastya takes the lead. I walk beside him, the twins on my right as we make our way into the school building. I feel several pair of eyes lock on me, their gaze curious as they stare while I walk with my brothers.

"Agastya!" A dark-haired boy from a random group raises his hand to wave at us. Or preferably, at Agastya.

"Save me a seat." Agastya tosses his backpack at the boy and he catches it swiftly. My brows rise in appreciation. He must be on the baseball team with Agastya. All the boys in the group are physically the same. Tall, buff and athletic.

"Won't you introduce?" Another one asks, glancing at me for a fleeting second. His ear piercing catches the gleam of sun ray, and sparkles in the dark hallway.

"You guys already know her," Agastya rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, but not personally." The piercing guy says. "Hi, I'm Krish." He stretches his arm forward. I feel stumped for a moment, but overcoming the initial suprise, reach out with my own to shake his hand. He clasps it firmly and shoots me a soft smile before pulling away.

"Hey, I'm Aryan," the dark haired boy introduces.

"Hi,"

"Arjun," another says. The scar crossing his right brow catches my eyes first.

I nod at him. "Hi,"

"I'm Rahul," another one stretches his arm forward. His fluffy dark hair falling across his forehead. I lean in to shake hands with him.

"And that's Atharva," Agastya points out.

Atharva smiles at me, the dimple on his left cheek deepening more. His bright commanding eyes, peppered with those dark lashes make them look elegant and sophisticated. He makes brown look beautiful.

A frown replaces my smile when he makes some hand signs at me.

"He's saying he's happy to meet you in a more friendly setting." Arjun says on his behalf.

Realisation dawns on me.

"Can he hear me?" I ask Arjun who nods his head. I look back at Atharva. "Same here." I tell him.

He smiles and nods back at me.

His looks tops Rohit's.

"Alright, let's go." Agastya grabs my arm and whips me to the other side. I glare at him angrily, rubbing the spot where he tightly held before my gaze return to Atharva. His eyes are already on me. I fluster and look down at my feet.

Why are men here so fucking beautiful?

"I'll see you guys later," Agastya says to them in a clipped tone before holding my hand and practically dragging me from there. I click my tongue in disapproval of his rough actions. "You'll stay away from Atharva," he looks over his shoulder to warn me.

"Why? Is he a bad news?"

"No," Agastya grunts. "He's seventeen. He's older than you."

"By only a year. In fact, not even one. I'll be turning seventeen next month." I reveal happily.

Agastya stops and so does the twins. I stare at them innocently. "Taranya, please don't make this difficult for me. Boys are a no."

"Okay, boys," I take a step back, a playful smile coming over my lips.

"Taranya!" He snaps.

"Okay, fine! I'll stay away from him." I say disgruntled.

He looks into my eyes for a few seconds then shakes his head at the twins. "She's stubborn. Make sure she stays away from Atharva."

I clasp my hands on my back, hearing him decide for me while I'm standing right in front of him. Seriously, what's up with these guys? They go around playing with the girls' skirts but if I look at boys with interest, I'm suddenly worse than a rebel. Such hypocrites!

"Don't worry, Bhai. It's Atharva. He will never break the code. Friend's sister is out of bounds." Ayush calms him down.

"Exactly. And even if they want to, it's not that they can hold a proper conversation with each other." Arush snorts.

"Hey, that's rude." I chide. "And love speaks no language." I add with a nonchalant shrug.

"Look here short stuff," Agastya turns around to pin me with his eyes, they hold a warning sign that has me swallowing audibly. "If I ever find you fraternising with a boy, I swear you'll hate the consequences of your actions. We don't want the repeat of Tarun, do we?"

My heart plummets at Tarun's mention.

"I hate you," I sniffle.

His eyes soften but he doesn't offer any words of comfort. "Take her to the student section and collect her ID card from there. It's her first day so don't leave her alone unless it's to use the washroom." He commands the twins before walking off briskly.

I sigh aloud, the mention of Tarun depleting my mood to a greater depths.

"C'mon, we've less than fifteen minutes before the first bell." Ayush grabs my hand in his.

"I'll head directly to the class." Ayush takes a step past us.

"But Bhai told us to be with her-"

"She's not a kid." Arush grunts in frustration. "I've to finish my English essay before the first lecture. I can't babysit a grownup. Bring her to the class once you collect her ID card."

"But I've to be at the chess club today. I've a competition coming this week." Ayush counters.

"Then show her the way, God damnit. But spare me. I've better things to do!" He turns to leave.

"You should have finished your work in time!" Ayush retorts.

Arush holds up a middle finger as disappears inside a corridor.

Ayush is left groaning after his irritating twin.

"Don't worry about me. Just show me the way and I'll figure out on my own."

He looks down at me, contemplates for a short moment before breathing out in defeat. "Alright, let's go and get your ID card first." I nod and follow his lead. We go to the west of the building where it's a lot quieter. I guess the Principal's office must be here. My prediction is proved right when he guides me past the principal's office and towards the student section window. He enters the metal queue barrier and knocks on the ledge, catching the attention of a bespectacled woman inside. Her hair are pinned back in a tight bun, eyes hidden behind the thick frames, a light pink lipstick coating her lips, slightly smudged at the corner. And when she opens her mouth, even on her teeth.

"Kya hai?" She looks up at Ayush. My brows furrow at the unheard vocals. She's speaking Hindi but I can barely understand anything.

"Taranya Chauhan. New admission. Tenth grade, division Aryabhatta." Ayush rambles off in one breath.

She wheels her chair to the left, opens the side drawer and looks through the stuff inside before producing a bunch of ID cards stacked together with an elastic rubber band. Along with it, she also tosses a blue lanyard card holder through the window.

Ayush looks through the ID cards and fishes out mine, properly latching the remaining together with the elastic band before handing them back to her. He hooks the lanyard to the ID and gives it to me. I quickly put it around my neck and flip the ID card to see my photo. I already know which one they've used since it was me giving it to Dad two days ago, but I'm still curious.

"Taranya, see those stairs?" Ayush points to my right.

I nod. "Use them to reach the second floor. Last classroom on left corridor is Aryabhatta, okay?"

"Okay."

"Don't wander, alright? I don't want to be at the receiving end of Bhai's anger." He pleads softly.

I chuckle. "Don't worry, I'm shitty at directions but not so much to confuse left and right. I'll be fine." Just as I say that, the first bell rings. "Go now, we only have five minutes."

He nods and falls in a step beside but then halts abruptly and looks at me in concern, the concern that's probably more for himself than me.

"Go." I push him towards the direction we came from.

He sighs in defeat and walks off.

I slide over the strap of my backpack and look at the stairs determinedly. "Here I come, new beginning," I walk towards the stairs as anxiety and nervousness toils from within, rendering both me and my head blank. The only sound I hear is the indistinct chatter and how my heart beats violently inside my ribcage.

Slowly, taking my utmost sweet time since sympathy for yourself comes faster than sympathy for others, I drag myself through the corridor at a painfully slow pace, wishing an empty lab catches fire and alarm rings so I get one more day to prepare myself for the inevitable.

But as I say inevitable, I'm already standing in front of the average sized classroom. I say it's average not because of the lack of space or the number of students, but because of the noises I hear and faces I see. Several pair of eyes turn to me, half of them retrieve to their own lives while half of them lingers. I walk in and look around for an empty seat.

Arush lifts his head from his notebook when a boy beside him taps his arm. He looks at me and points his thumb at the desk behind him. I nod wordlessly and make my way to the empty seat, grateful that it's beside the window. Dropping my bag to my feet, I plop down on the corner seat and divert my attention outside the window. There are boys playing football on the field so I channel my thoughts to decide the team that has higher chances of winning.

A minute later final bell rings and the scattered students rush back to their seats. Not a few seconds pass by when a young teacher walks inside the class room and slaps her files on the wide podium that has the school's emblem on it.

"Good morning, students."

Everyone stands and bows to the teacher politely, me included as we sing back good morning to the teacher. She tells us to settle down so she can fill up the attendance sheet.

When my name doesn't appear in the alphabetical order of list, I realise I must have been shoved right at the end to avoid shifting roll numbers for one student.

"Taranya Chauhan?" The teacher looks up from the file.

I raise my hand.

"Please come ahead and introduce yourself."

Didn't you already?

I let out a troubled breath and get up from my seat. All the eyes gravitate towards me, following me as I walk up to the front. She nods at me to turn around and I obey, facing the class with my heart beating erratically in my chest.

"Good morning, everyone. My name's Taranya Singh Chauhan. I shifted recently from England. And I know it's already the end of academic year, but I hope we get along." I say softly.

A boy at the front bench nods at me with a bright smile.

I smile back awkwardly.

The teacher claps, urging everyone else to clap before I'm excused to my seat. I slide my hands down the back of my skirt and sit, slightly embarrassed at being applauded for doing something as stupid as introducing myself to a bunch of sixteen year olds who are already aware of who I am.

"Taranya," the teacher calls out and I look up.

"Yes?" I respond verbally.

"Since you've joined at the end of the year, it'll be hard for you to catch up with the studies. This year, you're exempted from submitting assignments and essays. But for practical exams, you must have your journals and projects completed. That's compulsory."

I nod obediently.

"Meet me in the staffroom during the short break. We'll discuss on this more. Whether you need a student tutor or if there are any subjects you find hard so we can focus more on them. I'm also your class teacher, meaning you are under my guidance for the rest of the year. So refrain from creating troubles for both of us." She warns at the end.

"Yes, ma'am." I answer meekly, avoiding the several pair of eyes glancing at me.

"Alright, class, let's pick up from where we left off pre-holiday." She says and manoeuvres everyone's attention back to her. I heave a relieved sigh. "Chapter 15, page 72." She mutters quietly. I dig through my bag and grab the English textbook, flipping it open to chapter 15, page 72. "Anagha, do you remember what we learned in last lecture?" She looks at the girl on the front seat of the second row.

Anagha nods and gets up, the book folded in her hands before she begins to read the previous page and then summarises it shortly. I suck in a deep breath of exhaustion, already tired of the expectations pinned on me. This girl just reminds me of them by how effortlessly confident she portrays herself. Anagha is an attractive girl. She reminds me of Melanie. Smart and probably the class monitor. When I catch a glimpse of the head girl batch hooked on her breast pocket, I almost roll my eyes at how obviously perfect she is. Alright, let's not get acquainted with her. We already know how that worked out with Melanie. She turned out to be such a petty, jealous bitch.

The second lecture turns out to be maths. When the male teacher, Farhan Qureshi as he calls himself, takes my notice, he recites the concept right from the beginning so I understand as well. He also asks me to meet him during the short break.

Next was Social Science and when I say everything went right from top of my head, I'm not kidding. All throughout the lecture, the teacher asked me whether I knew about this incident or that event and I simply nodded my head, not wanting to be seen as dumb.

The fourth lecture was Modern Foreign Languages which turned out to be french and hence I was forced to accept it as well. My german is stronger than french but I'll have to adjust for this year.

When the bell for short recess echoes throughout the building, I finally drop my head on the desk, exhausted and sleepy. Only I know how I was keeping myself awake throughout that whole lecture. One time I even dozed off. Thanks to the cold breeze coming from the window.

"There's drool on your chin," Arush points to my face.

I hastily wipe underneath my lips, coming up dry.

He laughs like a madman.

I roll my eyes and focus outside the window.

"Don't waste time. Don't you remember the class teacher called you to the staff room during the short break?" He reminds me.

I groan and bury my face in my arms.

"Time is running, Tara. You've already wasted two out of twenty minutes." He taps his wrist watch.

"Fuck you," I get up from the seat.

"Ew, incest." He scrunches his nose in disgust.

I slap his forehead with the back of my textbook and book it before he comes at me. In my haste, I slam into a petite figure in the corridor and we both yelp together, our arms reaching out to each other in help.

My eyes clash with dark copper ones, strangely similar to someone I can't remember right now.

Anagha immediately stands straight and peels herself away from me.

"Sorry, I was in a hurry." I apologise softly.

"It's okay. I wasn't paying attention as well." She clears her throat.

I nod and take a step past her before remembering I know shit about where what is in this school. "Hey,"

She stops and faces me. "Yes?"

"Do you know where the teacher staffroom is?" I query.

She nods and starts to give me directions. After the second left, I forget everything.

"Understood?"

I force myself to nod.

She breathes out a chuckle. "Come, I'll show you personally."

"Oh no, it's fine. Just tell me again-"

"No, I insist." She says softly.

"Alright, thank you." I let her take the lead and we head downstairs.

On our way, she points out different labs and rooms in the building. She also gives me a short overview of where everything is. I was shocked to find out the school has its own swimming pool. We didn't have one back in our public school. She also tells me about the three libraries we have, each named after the three brightest star in the solar system. We also have four fields, three of which are used for Baseball, Football and Cricket while one is used for annual functions or open field events, like sports day, etcetera. There's also a basketball court, a tennis and badminton court and an indoor games auditorium. She sounded proud while telling me the school focuses on education, sports and arts equally.

"Here, we are," she splays her hands towards the staffroom. "Go inside, I'll wait for you here."

"Thank you," I say earnestly. Maybe I judged her too fast. She's sweet.

I enter the staffroom and locate my new class teacher at the end of the room, busy reading something on the computer. I walk up to her cubicle and stand patiently. She shifts her attention to me after a minute and hands me the academic book, the course book and a few other stuff.

"Are you inclined to have a student tutor?"

I shake my head.

"A teacher tutor?"

My eyes gravitate towards the maths teacher. He looks up from his screen, glances between us in confusion before he sighs in defeat and nods. I smile in satisfaction.

"For any other subject?"

"Physics and chemistry." I answer.

"Alright, I'll add that to your schedule. But you'll have to stay extra hours after school, is that okay?"

"Yeah, my brothers have to practice after school so I'll have to wait an hour or two everyday." I inform.

"Good that you're prepared to make the most of your remaining time." She nods at me. "What about Hindi?"

"What's the paper pattern?"

"You'll have eighty marks written paper and twenty will be given through internal assessment." She responds.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I tell her.

"You know Hindi?" She asks in surprise.

"I can't speak it yet but I can read, write and memorise stuff."

She nods at me. "Don't worry about it. We'll help you through it as much as we can."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Alright, that's all for now. You can come to me anytime you've problems. This is my number," she slaps a post it note on the top of her cubicle wall. "If you have any queries regarding my subject or anything else, I answer calls before seven."

I take the note and stuff it in my skirt pocket. "Thank you."

"Go back to class now. The break is almost over."

I nod and leave the staffroom. My feet halt abruptly at the threshold when I find Atharva and Anagha talking to each other through hand signs when he suddenly leans in and ruffles her hair. She slaps his hand off, glaring at him, but a playful smile lingers on her lips.

Oh, he's already taken. Agastya will be elated to know if he doesn't already.

I clear my throat to catch their attention. The two turn their heads at the same time and a look of surprise flashes through Atharva's bright eyes.

"I'm done," I ignore him and look at Anagha, referring to my talk with the teacher.

"Oh okay, let's go then?"

I nod at her.

Atharva grabs her wrist, frowning at her.

I look away to give them privacy.

"Ah, right, Taranya, this is my brother, Atharva." She suddenly says, taking me by surprise. I meet his eyes and his gaze relaxes.

"We already know each other." I reveal.

He nods with a small smile.

"Oh, why did you want me to introduce you to her then?" She looks up at him in confusion.

He rolls his eyes and shoves her forward, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.

She scoffs and grabs my wrist, startling me slightly before I'm being dragged off unwillingly as she worries about the remaining two minutes left for the short recess.

I look over my shoulder, unintentionally of course, and find his gaze already on us.

I shift my focus ahead, shaking my head from the stupid thoughts.

Don't you dare, Tara. Don't you dare.

Remember what happened to Tarun? And he was only a friend.

This is just a crush.

I look back and feel disappointed to find him walking away.

Atharva, Shourya and Mystery Man. What's happening here?

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to vote and comment. Makes my day.