As soon as the teacher entered the class, the whole room echoed with the students' famous morning chorus:

"Goooodddd Mooorrrnnniiiinggg Maaammm!"

The teacher smiled warmly."Thank you, everyone. Sit down."

After settling her books on the desk, she looked at the class and said,

"Alright, new students, please introduce yourselves one by one."

One by one, the newcomers stood up from their benches to speak.

Meanwhile, Krunali muttered under her breath with a slight frown,

"Ye karna zaroori hai kya? Akele mein naam puch leti toh bhi chal jaata..."

While waiting for his turn, Jeet kept repeating his introduction in his head.

"My name is Jeet Chouhan... my name is Jeet Chouhan..."

But when he finally stood up, nerves took over and he blurted out:

"My Chouhan is Jeet!"

The words hung in the air for a moment, and then-

the whole class burst into laughter, even the teacher couldn't hold back a smile.

Realizing his mistake, Jeet's face flushed red.

"I mean... my name is Jeet Chouhan," he corrected quickly.

The teacher, still smiling, gestured for him to sit down.

Jeet sank into his seat, muttering under his breath,

"Sidhi ke saamne izzat chali gayi..."

His eyes flicked toward Sidhi, who was covering her mouth but failing to hide her laughter.

Next, it was Krunali's turn. She stood up with full confidence and introduced herself clearly, leaving no room for mistakes.

Once all the introductions were over, the teacher moved on and began the lesson.

As the third lecture ended, the bell finally rang. In other words-the sweet sound of lunch break.

The teacher walked out, and immediately the students began packing their bags and rushing out with lunch boxes in hand.

Meanwhile, the twins still had their heads buried on the desk, looking as if the bell had rung too late to save their lives from the torture of the boring geography lecture.

"Oyee Krunali, uth chal! Canteen jaate hain, mujhe bhook lagi hai," Sidhi said, nudging her.

At the very mention of canteen-which basically meant food-both Jeet and Krunali sprang back to life from their so-called suicidal state.

"Haan chalo canteen chalte hain," Jeet said, standing up and casually shrugging Vedant, who was busy packing his bag.

"Tu kyu bandaron ki tarah kood ke uth gaya? Main to Krunali ko bol rahi thi," Sidhi scolded, rolling her eyes.

"Haan toh main aur Krunali alag thodi na hain," Jeet grinned.

"Hatt!" Krunali shot back, pushing him aside as she walked out with Sidhi. Vedant followed quietly, while Jeet tagged along behind them with his usual mischief.

The lunch bell rang and the canteen quickly turned into a mini-fish market. Students rushed in, some running to grab the front spots in the queue while others dragged their friends straight to the samosa counter.

The smell of hot bread pakoras and masala maggi filled the air, making everyone's stomach growl even louder. A group of boys tried to balance three plates each, while one unlucky fellow almost dropped his cold drink on his shoes.

"Arre, line me lag na!" the canteen bhaiya shouted, waving the ladle in his hand.

But nobody really cared about the line-half the students were already crowding the counter.

Krunali and Jeet squeezed their way in.

"Bhaiya, ek samosa aur ek patties," Jeet said confidently, pushing forward.

"Arre thoda side ho na! Mujhe bread pakoda chahiye," Krunali nudged him, rolling her eyes.

Behind them, Sidhi muttered, "Bas do minute late aayi aur yeh log already half canteen kha gaye."

The three grabbed their plates and rushed to an empty corner table, where the noise of laughter, gossip, and clinking steel plates made the canteen feel like the heart of the whole school.

They sat at their table, plates loaded with samosas, patties, and one lonely cold drink to share. Just as Jeet was about to take the first bite, a voice came from behind-

"Laddoo!"

Everyone turned. It was Ridham, walking in like she owned the canteen, with a girl tagging along who might be her new friend.

Jeet froze, samosa halfway to his mouth. He muttered under his breath,

"Ye didi meri izzat khaali karke hi rahegi..."

As Ridham and her friend sat down, Jeet leaned closer, whispering in frustration

"Kya didi, school me toh mujhe iss ajeeb naam se mat bulao na..."

Ridham said while grinning "Arre isme kya ajeeb hai? Itna cute naam hai." She lightly punched his cheek.

Krunali rolling her eyes, murmuring just loud enough "Cute nahi... sour hai."

The table went silent for a beat-then Sidhi burst out laughing, almost spilling her Maggi.

"Hii I am vamika Shekhavat " the girl introduced herself

Hii-the trio replied

Just then, two boys appeared from nowhere-Rakshit and Nihal Mathur.

Nihal leaned closer with a teasing smile.

"Tum dono in bachho ke sath kyun bethi ho?"

Krunali straightened up, her eyes narrowing.

"Excuse me? We are in 11th standard."

Nihal smirked, clearly not done.

"Height se to bilkul nahi lagta," he said, making the others burst into laughter.

Ridham tried to keep a straight face, though a laugh escaped his lips.

"Tum meri behen ko aise chhed nahi sakte. Chhoti hai toh kya hua..."

"Ho toh yeh hamari sali sahiba! Ab toh chhedna banta hai," Nihal added, his tone playful.

Krunali's jaw dropped. She turned sharply towards Ridham, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"Didi ... main kya sun rahi hoon?"

Ridham shook his head at once, looking flustered.

"Aisa kuch nahi hai... yeh bas faltu phek raha hai."

Jeet chuckled under his breath, clearly enjoying the scene, while Vanika hid her smile behind her hand.

"Ek din to tum bhi maan jaogi," Nihal said while capturing a seat beside Ridham. Rakshit, on the other hand, placed himself between Vamika and Krunali.

Just as Rakshit stretched his hand to grab the bread pakoda from Krunali's plate, she caught him red-handed.

Thap!

She smacked his hand lightly and snapped,

"Kya hai... apna lao na!"

Rakshit rolled his eyes dramatically, as if accepting his defeat.

Turning to Vamika, he asked gently,

"Tum kuch khaogi?"

She shook her head with a soft smile.

Krunali and Jeet, sitting opposite, exchanged a look and then turned to Rakshit with wide eyes.

"Bhaiya, aapne humse to kabhi itne pyaar se nahi pucha," Jeet complained.

"Pyar se kya... hume to kabhi pucha hi nahi," Krunali added, pretending to be hurt.

Nihal smirked, jumping into the moment.

"Arre, tum dono Vamika jitne special thodi na ho."

Vamika instantly lowered her gaze, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks. She already knew what was about to come.

The twins leaned forward in unison, curious.

"Matlab?" they asked together.

Nihal cleared his throat, exaggerating the moment.

"Matlab... ahmm... ahmm... ah

mm..."

With a mischievous grin, he pointed first at Rakshit, then at Vamika, and finally joined both his hands together in a mock shaadi gesture.

“What!!!”

Krunali and Jeet shouted in unison, their voices echoing across the canteen.

“keh do ki ye juth hai!” Jeet exclaimed, eyes wide in shock, his jaw practically dropping.

“Exactly! They don’t even match!” Krunali added, her eyebrows raised and lips curled in disbelief

“Vamika di ek dam cute si beautiful si or Rakshit bhaiya—”

Before Krunali could finish, Jeet quickly interrupted,

“—saand jese !” he said with a grin.

Everyone burst out laughing, some clutching their stomachs, others trying to control their giggles.

“Oyee!” Rakshit said, giving Jeet a light smack on the head.

“ye bhi bol rahi thi !” Jeet complained immediately, pointing at Krunali.

Without hesitation, Rakshit gave Krunali a playful smack as well.

“Don’t act smart… varna papa ko bol dungi !” Krunali rubbed her head with a pout, adding sarcastically,

“kese school me gulchalrre uda rahe ho”

The others couldn’t hold back their laughter, hiding their smiles behind their plates, stealing glances at Rakshit and Vamika.

Rakshit, slightly embarrassed but trying to act cool, grabbed Vamika’s hand and walked out of the canteen.

Everyone else returned to their food, still giggling and exchanging amused looks, barely managing to control their laughter.

Rakshit and Vamika walked side by side through the corridor, his hand still wrapped firmly around hers.

Students passing by turned to look — some whispering, some exchanging surprised glances. A few girls couldn’t hide their jealousy, watching Vamika with narrowed eyes and forced smiles.

But Rakshit didn’t care. He walked with the same calm confidence, his expression unreadable, as if the whole world around him didn’t matter.

Vamika, on the other hand, kept her eyes lowered, her cheeks slightly flushed. She tried her best not to blush, but the warmth on her face betrayed her calm act.

“Tum kya un dono ki baaton par hass rahi thi? Or achha hoga ki unse tum dur ho rahi, varna vo dono tumhe bigad ke rakh denge!”

Vamika just rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath,

“Jese ki main tumhari baat manungi.”

Before they could react further, a girl’s voice called out from behind:

“Hii, Rakshit!”

They turned around to see a girl standing right beside Rakshit. She was from the same school, her hair tied up in a high ponytail, with a few strands falling over her face. The first two buttons of her shirt were undone, and her tie hung loosely around her neck, giving her a careless, attention-seeking appearance. Her confident, almost flirty stance immediately gave off the vibe of a typical “chapri” girl trying hard to make an impression.

Rakshit’s expression remained calm, unfazed, while Vamika’s eyes narrowed slightly as she observed the new girl, her cheeks flushing just a little.

“Aa gai kalmuhi…”

Vamika muttered under her breath, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Charu.

"What"

Rakshit just gave a calm shrug, his usual “not so interested” expression firmly in place.

“Kya hua Rakshit? Aaj kal kisi school matter me tumhara naam nahi aata…” Charu said, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger, her tone teasing yet slightly challenging.

Before Rakshit could reply, Vamika interjected, her voice steady but firm

"Tumse matlab..."

“I mean you. I’m talking to you calmly, so you also need to talk to me calmly. And just so you know, I’m talking to Rakshit, not you.”Charu said tilting her chin slightly with a smug smile.

“Koi jarurat nahi hai, Rakshit. Tumhe isse baat karne ki… kal hi mera jhagda hua hai.”

Vamika raised an eyebrow, lips curved in a small, knowing smirk, clearly unimpressed by Charu’s attempt to assert herself. Her stance was relaxed, but her gaze was sharp, as if silently warning Charu not to mess with her.

“BTW Rakshit, can we talk… somewhere else?”

Charu said softly, placing her hand on Rakshit’s arm.

Before Rakshit could even respond, Vamika’s eyes flared and she instantly jerked Charu’s hand away.

“Kutti kamini! Sharam nahi aati dusre ke aadmi pe nazar daalte hue? Ubli hui tindi si! Kide pade tujhe, baal jad jaaye tere, tu ganji ho jaaye!” she fired off in one breath, her voice rising with every word.

Rakshit bit his lip, trying his absolute best not to burst into laughter while holding Vamika back. “Bas… Vamika, stop, please…” he tried to say, but his voice trembled with suppressed laughter.

Vamika, however, was nowhere near done — her temper and words both refused to take a break.

Somehow, he managed to convince her and took Vamika along with him.

Just then, the bell for the next period rang, signalling everyone to head back to their classes.

It was the library period for the 11th standard, and all the students began moving toward the library.

Krunali, Jeet, and Siddhi entered with bright, satisfied smiles on their faces — the kind that came from managing to get bread pakoda before they were all gone.

As Krunali scanned the room, her eyes landed on Vedant. She realized he hadn’t been with them in the canteen. Without thinking twice, she walked toward him and gestured for the boy sitting beside him to get up. The boy stood — not because he wanted to obey her, but simply because his class period was over and he had to leave.

Still, for Krunali, it felt like a small victory.

“Kya karing,” Krunali said, resting her head with the support of her palm, a lazy smile playing on her lips.

“None of your business,” Vedant said, getting irritated, his brows slightly furrowed as he tried to focus back on his book.

“Chhid kyu rahe ho?...me to bas puch rahi thi,” Krunali said, her tone half-annoyed, half-teasing.

“Matt puchho...khud pado aur padhne do,” Vedant said, letting out a short sigh, clearly trying to control his irritation.

“Thik hai, jyada bhav matt khao,” Krunali said while opening her book with a small smirk.

“Thank you,” Vedant replied, his voice dry but calm this time.

“Vese tum pure lunch break me yahi bethe the kya...tumhe khana nahi khana?” Krunali asked, tilting her head slightly, curiosity mixing with a hint of concern in her eyes.

“Mene kha liya,” Vedant said shortly, his tone flat as he kept his eyes on the table, clearly not interested in stretching the talk any further.

“Kab?” Krunali asked, leaning a little forward, her brows raised in curiosity.

Vedant didn’t bother to answer. He quietly started wrapping his books, gathered his things, and exchanged his seat, moving away without a word.

“Badtamiz,” Krunali muttered

d under her breath, crossing her arms with a small pout before looking back at her book with fake annoyance.