Chapter 1: Confession Under the School Bell

I took Ritika’s place as the top student in the batch, and the very next day, her childhood friend confessed to me.

My fingers tightened around my schoolbag strap, and I could feel my pulse racing in my ears, louder than the school bell, as Kabir stood before me in the corridor. Sunlight poured in through the dusty school windows, making the air shimmer around him. The bell and the chatter of students faded into a distant hum. With a face that could launch a thousand Bollywood dreams—enough to make even the colony aunties pause mid-chai—he looked right at me and grinned.

“Meera, join my gang, na. Leave all this padhai-shadhai—let’s do masti together.”

There was such mischief in his eyes, the kind that made my stomach tumble like I’d swallowed too much imli. I knew he was a honey-coated trap, but I dove in anyway, suddenly feeling like my life had turned into a Star Plus serial, all drama and secret longing.

From that moment, I stopped reading, stopped studying, and followed him into wild abandon. I skipped tuitions, let my stack of guides collect dust, and even let Ma’s scoldings roll off my back like water off a duck. School hours blurred into whispered jokes, sharing samosas in the canteen, and sneaking out for nimbu-paani beneath the gulmohar trees. The nimbu-paani vendor’s call rang out, mixing with the honk of a passing rickshaw.

Then, the day the board exams ended, he kissed me for the first time—his own move—and asked if I’d join him at a diploma college. The memory of his warm hand in mine, the scent of his hair gel, lingered bittersweet, like the last bite of kaju katli before Diwali ends.

That’s when I realised: this was his real reason for getting close to me.

But this time, I just waved my IIT Delhi admission letter in front of him. The blue stamp and logo shone like a medal. My hands shook a little, but I held them steady.

“I had a lot of fun with you this year.”

“But the future is too important. I won’t be keeping you company.”