Hello Fam :)

A/N - I have uploaded the sequel of Crazy Best Friends. The first chapter is already up. Those who were waiting, please give it a read. :)

Happy Reading...

When Nandini went to college, she was stopped by the peon, Hariprasad, on her way to the classroom.

"Nandini, will you check if there are any changes?", he asked. "I have to go and announce it in all the classes."

Nandini chuckled at his tired tone when he said about the students. She took the papers out of his hands and started going through them. It was about the upcoming elections and an announcement asking students to put in their names for nominations. "Hari Bhaiya, aren't you excited to meet our extraordinary students?", she asked, without taking her eyes off the papers in her hand.

"Trust me, I would rather keep myself at least a meter away from these extraordinary students. So, no", he replied.

"How about I accompany you making these announcements?", she asked. She has missed a lot many classes and now it doesn't matter. She isn't able to get her head around what they are teaching and promised herself to study but as soon as she reached her house, her will to do any work was going haywire.

The look on the peon was that of pure relief when he realized he didn't have to go through this alone. Nandini shook her head, smiling, before heading towards the classrooms.

XXX

They started with the third year because the third years were the most decent among all the students. As soon as Nandini entered the classroom, they hooted. She gave her a customary bow and grinned at their welcome. They were practically her seniors when she joined the college and she often worked with the previous head students during the first year. She never knew when her friendship expanded to the whole classroom but almost everyone was jovial with her.

"Did the queen really grace us with her presence?", asked a guy.

Nandini rolled her eyes, her grin intact, as she let the peon make the announcement. One of the seniors raised his hand and when she noticed the playful smirk on his face, she braced herself for some fun.

"As the announcement says, anyone could contest, right? Does that include me?", he asked.

"Of course, sir. Anyone can contest but the work starts from the next semester and it might be difficult to manage your placements along with the head duties. I am not sure but since we are electing the head boy this late, maybe he might continue even for the next year. You know, it might be impossible to manage this responsibility along with your high paying job", she explained.

"I haven't got a job yet", told the boy with a sad pout.

"I am confident about your capabilities, senior", she told, sincerely. Really, if there was only one batch who could succeed in their life, it's them.

The previous head girl shook her head. "Nandini, you sure do know how to get your work done sweetly. No third year has ever contested in an election before, so it wouldn't start this year."

She nodded and turned to the guy from before. "Sir, I will make sure you get the perfect farewell next semester."

"We trust you, Nandini", the whole class screamed. She dramatically bowed in front of them before leaving the class along with the peon.

"Is it your class already?", asked the peon.

She thanked a hundred times when it was Prof. Verma, the English professor instead of the chemistry guy. She wasn't in a mood to pick an argument with him. After repeating the announcement again, Nandini waited for them to ask if they had any doubts. The announcement literally said Harshad had stepped down as the head boy due to some unforeseen circumstances. Mukti rolled her eyes, Manik frowned and ducked his head, Abhimanyu smirked and Nandini ignored all her friends to listen to the girl who raised her hand.

"Why are there elections only for the head boy? Why not for the head girl? I am sure many people want a new one", she asked.

"Because I am still alive and I haven't stepped down as the head girl. If you have a problem with my work, feel free to go and talk to the principal", told Nandini, calmly, and the hooting started in the class. Nandini wasn't the least bit surprised to find the cause of the chaos as Abhimanyu.

"I guess they have got your message, Nandini", interrupted the Professor.

"Thank you for your time, Professor. Sorry for interrupting", she said and tried to escape but he called her.

"Nandini, will you be able to manage all this along with the exams in the next month?", he asked, lowering his voice so that only she could hear him.

"Yes, sir. Of Course", she told, faking her confidence.

He leveled her a look that told her he didn't believe her.

"Sorry, I am skipping far too many classes this sem. I promise I will take help. Abhimanyu is there", she said, "and probably Manik too", she added as an afterthought.

Hearing the name of the new ideal student of space college seemed to satisfy him as he nodded and waved her off. "Go, rule your world and scare some kids", he muttered but she didn't miss the small smile on his face.

She grinned at him before leaving the classroom. He was the next best thing after the Principal for her. The peon was waiting for her outside the class. Nandini sighed. If this is what she was getting from her classmates, she didn't want to deal with the art students.

"We have to go to the Arts building?", informed Hari.

"What about the first-year science guys?", Nandini asked.

"Both the first years have combined classes and Arts 2nd years have joined along with them", he told.

"Are they having a party or what? Who even designs these classes?", she asked, rolling her eyes. "It's good they are together. We can finish it off altogether."

XXX

Why did she even think this would be easy? Nandini was in the seminar hall of the Arts block and has been answering the questions patiently for the past twenty minutes but the questions were never-ending. When she thought they finally ran out of their questions, she saw a hand being raised. She cursed under her breath. How could she even forget about the mighty Cabir Malhotra?

"Can I nominate my name too?", he asked as he tried to hide his smirk.

Unlike him, Nandini smirked openly. "Aren't you a first-year?", she asked.

"Yes, ma'am", he said.

"A warning to all the first years. If you think becoming a head boy will give you a free pass to bunk classes and escape studies then you can't be more wrong. You will have to do your head duties along with managing your studies. Is that clear, Mr. Malhotra?", explained Nandini.

"Perfectly", said the boy.

Nandini sent a warning glare towards him asking him to shut up, hopefully, he would understand. She was starting to lose her patience.

"Can I contest too? Given, it is my brother's post?"

Nandini didn't bother to confirm who it was. She would recognize the voice anywhere and she turned around to fake gasp. "Oh my god, Alya!", she exclaimed rather dramatically, "you never told me you changed your gender as we are conducting the elections for the head boy."

"Nandini", screamed Alya.

"You aren't?", questioned Nandini. "It's okay. There is still time. You can change it before the elections. I wouldn't mind." She walked towards the girl and lowered her voice. "Alya, we are in the 21st century and I guess, if you didn't know, India is a democratic country. Neither is your brother a prince nor are you the princess of this college that we would pass on the positions as per your family hierarchy. Stop whining now."

She patted her hand and turned to face the class. "If you are done with your questions, thanks a lot. All the best for the nominations. I hope the best one wins", she announced, concluding the entertainment.

XXX

After college, Nandini got a message from her father to attend a meeting in Murthy Industries. Just what she needed. She groaned and left for meeting her esteemed parents.

Murthy Industries was established by Govardhan Murthy, Nandini's grandfather, in his late twenties. Nandini heard stories from her grandmother about how he worked hard to earn a name for himself while she took the responsibility of the upbringing of her only son. They were the only two parent figures in her life whom she still loved. Unfortunately, none of them remained in her life.

Coming to Murthy industries always brought back the memories when she visited it along with her grandfather. She remembered playing hide and seek with him, hiding in undiscovered places until he got worked up and getting all his employees to find his granddaughter. She used to laugh on his face for taking help to find her and the old man would accept the defeat before both of them sneaked out of the office for icecreams. When her parents had arguments, Nandini used to call him to pick her up as they roamed around the city until it was safe enough to go home or crash at her grandparents' place. She remembered doing homework while he worked and taking his help in studying for her exams.

Murthy Industries was the last memory she had of her grandparents after her old man turned his own home into a public library and she never wanted to lose it either to her parents or to anyone else. It was also the main reason for bearing her parents' hate.

"Where is the meeting going on?", she asked in the reception.

The receptionist smiled at her. Unlike the employees at her home, everyone at Murthy Industries respected her because they knew she would take over the company one day. Even if it is not, between attending all the business parties and going on holidays to exotic places, her parents haven't proved themselves as capable bosses.

"Ma'am, it's on the third floor, seminar hall", she informed.

Nandini frowned. The seminar hall on the third floor was the largest and was specifically reserved for the major partners. "Can you tell me who the hell are they trying to have a deal with?", she asked.

"Sinha's. They have especially traveled from Singapore for this deal", she told.

She nodded and pushed the button for the lift when she got an idea. Taking a turn, Nandini pulled her mobile out and climbed up the stairs to the third floor, taking her sweet time. She had some googling to do about her prospective business partner.

XXX

The meeting had already started by the time she had reached the seminar hall. Why call her if they couldn't wait for her? she thought furiously. Nandini barged into the cabin, without a care in the world as she read about the projects and the history of the Sinhas in her mobile.

The meeting continued and Nandini pretended to concentrate on her device. Ten minutes into the meeting, she understood a few points.

Sinha was trying to expand his business here and was looking for some cheap land.

Her father was offering him the cheap land in return the Murthys wanted to be the partners, demanding some percent of the gains, which according to her, wasn't business. It was selling their properties to pay for their luxuries.

The Sinha is trying to set up a polymer company that would manufacture polythene among other things and her father was trying to donate their land that is in a village a few kilometers away from the center of the city.

The proposed land, as opposed to what her father claimed, was farmland which was under maintenance by the same villagers. Giving the land away would not only cut their source of income, but they have to deforest a huge area.

Once Nandini realized the meeting was senseless, she invited Abhimanyu online for a multiplayer game.

Nandini didn't realize that the meeting was over until her father forwarded the documents for her to sign. She was glad she had missed the over-display of affection of her parents in front of their business partners. Nandini went through the papers because she didn't want to come as rude, not that it would change their opinion, before throwing the pen casually on the table.

"I am not signing this deal", she told.

"Nandini, love, are you upset over something? We can discuss it at our home", said Mr. Murthy. He gave her a warning look, asking her to get it done already which she ignored.

"Mr. Sinha, it might have slipped from his mind but the land my father is proposing is farmland and there are so many hazards involved in your project. I am sorry, we can't make this deal", she explained.

"I need a minute with my daughter", announced her father before dragging her out of the seminar hall away from the prying ears.

Nandini made sure to grab her bag on her way out. She didn't plan on returning back.

"What the hell are you doing? This would give millions because plastic can never go out of trend. Hardly a loss", asked Mr. Murthy, gritting his teeth.

She chuckled. "Of course, you would only think about that but father, as a responsible citizen, I have a few concerns."

He crossed his arms. "And they are?"

"It's acres of land and you would just deforest it. Do you know how much you are disrupting the environment in the city? And the place. It's in the village and all the gases they release, it would harm them. They aren't safe. If you had done your homework, you would know how many cases had been filed by the pollution board of Singapore on your partners", she explained.

Mr. Murthy grabbed her arm, shaking her into sense, in his language. "Nandini, we are business people. We don't need to care about the environment", he said

Nandini pulled her arm away. "You are wrong, father. We are business people and hence, we need to think about the environment."

"Just accept it, you don't want to sign the deal because it's us who brought them", he told.

Great. Now he is using the reverse strategy. "You know what, father? Get me the best deal and I wouldn't hesitate to sign for you. But this bullshit that you call as a deal? I am not entertaining your ideas at the cost of the lives of people who trust us." She didn't give him a chance and walked away, this time she used the lift because she wanted to get away from them as fast as possible.

XXX

Nandini didn't go home. She craved some peace of mind which was too much to ask at Murthy house. Instead, she roamed in the city because racing was out of option. There were people around. It was almost seven in the evening when she thought of returning but then she parked her car on seeing a familiar face in front of a beach.

"What are you doing here alone?", she asked.

"Nandini", breathed Manik. He was lost in his thoughts and she had startled him. "It is a nice beach", he told, shrugging.

Nandini knew it was a lame excuse. "Enjoying the beach from outside?", she asked, instead.

He didn't say anything as he twirled a bar of chocolate between his fingers.

Nandini shook her head and removed her shoes to walk inside the beach. "Let's enjoy the beach like normal people instead of analyzing the sand grains like the nerd you are", she teased and smiled when she heard the footsteps behind her.

They were walking but with his shoes on, he was finding it difficult to walk through the sand. "Why don't you remove them and try?", she told. "Let me convince you by a made-up fact. The friction of barefoot helps to walk than your slippery shoes."

He hesitated for a minute before following her and sometime later, he gained the pace. "The sand's tickling my feet."

She chuckled. They walked for some more time until they found an isolated corner away from the humans. "Let's sit down for a while." Sitting down, Nandini watched the waves racing one after the other to reach the shore. She wasn't so fond of the beaches but she didn't hate them. It was nice to be able to visit once a while.

She realized she had zoned out but the boy beside her wasn't conversing much to bring her back. "What's on your head?", she asked.

"Nothing", he said with another shrug and rubbed the back of his neck when she raised an eyebrow, not believing him. "I am just missing dad. It's normal. I sometimes do. It hits suddenly, his absence."

Nandini nodded in understanding. It happens in the case of her grandparents when on some days she suddenly misses them. "Where is Cabir?", she asked. Because it was unlike the twins to leave the other when one of them was down.

"No, I am avoiding him. I don't talk to Cabir about dad. Cabir was closer to him during childhood. He misses him often and he needn't miss him whenever I miss him too. He is just a kid. He didn't need to go through that twice ", he explained.

Nandini thought he was being stupid. If Cabir is a kid, so was Manik as they had only four minutes of difference between them but she didn't want to come off as insensitive by contradicting. "Tell me about your dad. I mean, I know he was a great businessman and all the history behind Malhotra Industries. What was he as a father?"

Manik smiled, hiding it behind his knees. "He was our hero. He habituated me to the books. He said I could live a thousand lives and meet a million people in one life if I read books and he is right. If I am in confusion, sad, angry, or helpless, there's always a book for every occasion. It was him who introduced Cabir to all the exotic wildlife. They used to go for treks to take photographs. Cabir still has his first camera gifted to him by dad."

"And your mom?", asked Nandini because she was curious. Nyonika Malhotra was someone who she had looked up to for so many years and Nandini dreaded it could be false. She hoped it wouldn't because she didn't want Manik to lose the only parent figure he has in his life. She knew how that feels.

"She is amazing", said Manik. "She is the strongest and the perfect woman I have ever known. After dad, mom has literally lifted the company all her own. Cabir might whine all he wants but we would be nothing without her. I just want to finish my college early and help her with the work."

"You already are doing enough", she said.

He wanted to protest but they both were tired. Instead, Manik turned the topic to her, the sly idiot. "What's upsetting you?"

Nandini chuckled looking at the excitement of asking her a question. "Just say I have reached my maximum limit of dealing with idiots."

"Did you find more like the girl who questioned you in class? You are the best head girl. You can't listen to her nonsense", he told.

She stared at him amused. He thought she was the best head girl after getting scared by her on multiple occasions. "That and a few others", she asked. She got an idea. If Manik was her breeze, he could help her remove the last traces of doubt created by her father. "Manik, tell me one thing honestly. If you have a few acres of farmland, would you want to sign a deal with a company for more profits."

He turned sideways to face her completely. "Tell me, you rejected that offer, please", he almost pleaded. "The environment is already in chaos on a global level and deforesting so many plants and trees would add to the planet. Even if it's just a few acres of land, we could at least help the Earth heal by doing our parts, right?"

Why did she even think he would say anything different? She grinned so wide and all her tiredness from the stupid meeting vanished into thin air. "I didn't sign it for the same reason. Thank you."

Manik nodded before taking out the chocolate bar that he previously shoved into her topic.

"Aren't you supposed to eat that?", she asked.

"No, I am fine now. You seem more tired than me. Take it, please", he insisted.

Nandini rolled her eyes before grabbing it from his hand. She tore the wrapper, broke it into halves, and gave one to him. "Or we could just do this", she told.

Manik blushed, realizing he missed it. "Yeah, we could do this", he muttered to himself, popping it in his mouth. 

A/N - Okay, there is some insight into Nandini's past and the rest would come up in a few chapters. 

Guess who's getting a girlfriend in the next chapter? :P