1. Milkshake splash

Naina

I was the kind of person who embraced change with open arms. I loved doing new things even if they terrified me, like today. It was my first day of college today and to say I was scared would be an understatement.Even though I loved this new beginning, I was still extremely nervous.

"Hurry up, Naina, or you'll be late on your first day," my mother yelled from the kitchen. I quickly put on my earrings and rushed downstairs to grab some breakfast. As I sat at the dinner table, my elder brother, Akshay got up from the couch and began to leave. "You're leaving already? I thought you would drop me off at my college" I questioned him, frowning. "I'm sorry Naina but a work emergency came up. I have to leave for England immediately. I won't be back for three weeks at most." Looking at my crestfallen face, he said "I promise I'll make it up to you. maybe we can catch a movie when I get back?" "Yeah sure" I mutter half-heartedly.

I watch him exit the house as I chew on some toast. My brother and I have been close, ever since I was a little kid. Unlike the typical 'I hate my brother' kind of sibling relationship, I adored my brother. Whenever our father couldn't be there to teach me something, he always stepped in, acting as my parent. Being six years older, he always advised me in life, correcting my wrongs and appreciating my accomplishments.

I snap out of my thoughts and quickly hop in the car. Papa gets in the driver's seat and starts the car. "Are you off to your firm again?" I ask. "Yes, I just got appointed with a hotshot case, I'm excited to work on it." I smile at his enthusiasm and put my earphones in. Papa loves his job, he was always thrilled by the prospect of becoming a lawyer.

"So do you have any of your friends with you at your college?" he inquired. "Yeah, I'm meeting Ira at orientation" I reply."That's good, at least you won't be alone on your first day." "That hellion will be with me as long as I exist, she has made a blood oath"I say while chewing on some gum.Papa chuckles dryly, and soon we're pulling up near my college gate. "Alright, have fun on your first day beta," he says and starts to drive towards his firm.

I step inside the college and call Ira. "Where in the world are you? Orientation begins in 10 minutes and you're not near the front office as we discussed." "Arey, I'm inside the hall already, you were taking ages to come. now hurry up, everyone is almost seated and the dean will arrive any time now." I hear her sweet voice from the other side of the phone. "yeah, I'm coming" I mutter and hastily make my way to the hall.

As I enter the hall, I see Ira waving at me frantically and pointing to the seat next to her. I smile gratefully and sit beside her. "What took you so long? You shouldn't be late on the first day, Naina. Anyways, how does my makeup look? I did it myself- see, I even used the highlighter you got me for my birthday." she poses in front of me, feeling accomplished. Ira has dark brown hair and striking brown eyes, and her skin literally glows, no matter how bad the lighting is. She has been my friend since we were in 6th grade.

The dean then enters the room and begins his long speech about the legacy of the institution. I tune him out after 5 minutes and my eye starts wandering around. While I'm zoning out, I accidentally keep on staring at this random girl sitting far away from me. Shit. she probably thinks I'm a creep. I smile at her hesitantly and she waves back at me, energetically.

I lean back in my seat and the dean dismisses us for the day. We quickly get up and head to our first class.
"Don't get me wrong, but I think that girl is beckoning you over." Ira points out. It's the same girl from before. "Let's see what she wants, shall we?" Ira dramatically winds her arm around me and we walk over to her.

"Hi, I'm Naina and this is Ira. I'm sorry about before. I promise I'm not a creep I was just zoning out." I confess as my cheeks warm. "No, you are absolutely fine, I get it. His speech wasn't the most interesting thing on the planet. I'm Avani, by the way, and this is Alana." she points to the girl with dark red hair behind her. "I was just wondering if we could head to class together. You're with me in biology, right? I tend to get lost." she says while taking her schedule out of her bag. "Oh my god, I'm totally in love with your hair! It looks so chic and effortless." Ira rushes over to Alana and starts to compliment her. Ira has had that golden retriever puppy personality ever since she was born. That girl makes friends left and right.

"Sure, let's head on" I replied and we left for our classes together. On the way, Alana was explaining all about her hair journey and how she convinced her family to let her bleach her head. We had tears in our eyes listening to Avani and Alana's banter. I was so happy that I made good friends before the first lecture.

The day passed in a blur of introduction lectures for our first years. By the end, we were exhausted and tired from all the sessions. "You know, I think we should all head to that new cafe right next to the new Plaza Hotel. I've been there before and the food is really good. I would kill for a coffee right now." I say while dropping down on the first chair I saw in our garden. "Yeah, I'd love some coffee," Alana replied while
putting her lipgloss on.

We enter the cafe while Avani and Alana banter over what to order. The three girls snatched a table while I went to order. The cafe was soon filled with people and was crowded. I made my way back and we kept on chatting until the waitress called my name for the food. I asked Alana to come with me and she picked up the snacks while I had the coffee and my chocolate milkshake. Suddenly, I felt my body hit the floor and my clothes were covered with cold coffee and my face was doused in my chocolate milkshake.

The cafe went silent and I blinked, horrified at what just happened. The milkshake was slowly leaving my face while the chunkier bits were still stuck on me. In front of me, this boy who collided into me was flat on the ground. I slowly sit up and take my surroundings in. "What the actual hell did you do? Aankhein band karke chalte ho?" I yell at him, shaking.
"Arey, why are you yelling at me? you fucking bumped into me and now you're blaming me?" "Acha, let's ask everyone around us who bumped into who. So tell us people" I shout at the insufferable bastard.

Collectively, they all point at the guy standing in front of me. I look in his eyes, triumphant. "Well!Apologize. I'm in this mess literally because of you." I snap at him impatiently.He unapologetically smirks and whispers in his deep voice "Atleast we're both covered in the same mess. I'll see you around." he reaches out and caresses my cheek with his thumb and swirls it around his mouth. I stand there, dumbfounded at his audacity. i watch his retreating back leave the store and I decide that I will take my revenge in some way.

"Oh my god, I cant believe he did that to you! What a jerk." Ira said while wrapping her jacket around me. Avani hands me some tissues while Alana gathers my things and ushers us out.

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That's it for the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. Y'all can ask me anything about this book and I promise I'll answer.