"Aww… man, I slowed down, I still need to revise these two chapters." Estella cried out loud as she turned over her pages.
"Instead of whining about it, let's complete this… where did I keep those notes?" Isabella scrounging across the room filled with notes.
The Banerjee household had become a serious battleground, at least for the girls. Exams were drawing near, and they had a mountain they needed to revise.
"Seriously, where did I keep it?" Isabella tore apart the whole room trying to find her notes, "Damit, if I could be as chill and nonchalant about these exams as those two boys, what are they doing anyways?"
A faint laughter came from the other room.
"From the looks of things scrolling", Estella replied, her eyes glued to the books
"Though I must say I am very curious, just look at those two, they have barely even started studying, even though exams are around the corner", Estella frowning as she was trying to solve a quadratic equation.
"Ya, true, but still I don't understand how they're still scoring so well on these practice papers… and it's not only them" Isabella held her back as she stretched.
As the girls were discussing, Mrs Banerjee entered the room and suggested that the girls should join the boys in their night study sessions.
The girls who were now "getting" adjusted to the nightlife of students thought they could work it out.
"I am cool with it", Aaron nodded
"Ya, it's good to have company", Ishaan gave a devious smile.
The day continued like usual. The girls had their entire afternoon booked with books; they literally studied as if their lives depended on it. They were the kind of people for whom a word to describe them would be Sarswati's blessed children.
On the other the boys started strong. Aaron started going through his Business Study notes he had made the day before, and Ishaan also started with his history studies, 45 minutes later.
"BREAKKKKKKKK!!!!" Ishaan screamed, and both Aaron and Ishaan went on to the kitchen to get snacks and decided they would scroll only for 5 mins.
It lasted till lunch, and in the afternoon it didn't do much great.
"I am seriously concerned, like I have not seen anybody like them, like what the hell? Ishaan has still the last 3 days only completed 2/8 chapters of history also because I kept at him," Estella being concerned as they were gathering books to study with the boys for the night.
"You said it, Est, like Aaron has been doing nothing but draw and play the guitar, like he also completed only 25% or something of his syllabus, I just don't get why Mrs Banerjee is so chill about it?" Isabella said with a concerning tone.
So just like that, the group, after dinner, sat for their late-night study session
"So where do we begin?" Aaron finally sat down.
Isabella had a curious look in her eyes. "So, Aaron, before we begin, why don't we have a challenge?"
"OHHHHH…. What kind of challenge?" Aaron curiously asked
"Well, I'll ask you a question from our economics syllabus, and if you can answer it, I'll do anything you say, but if you can't, you'll do whatever I say. Deal?" Isabella said confidently as if she knew she had won it.
Aaron gave a very sly smile as if he had something up his sleeve, "Sure, then why not? I hope you are ready for my request"
"Ohh, we'll see", Isabella replied confidently.
"So… State any difference between Capital transfer receipts and Current transfer receipts?" Isabella gave an expression that clearly was one of winning.
Aaron grinned and then went into a state of deep thought.
"What's lost already?" Isabella taunting him.
"Na was thinking what I should ask you to do", Aaron gave a calm expression.
"Ohh please, there is no way you can answer this with how you have studied," Isabella is reassuring herself.
"Ohh.. really well then, how about this? Capital transfer receipts are made out of capital/ wealth, whereas current is made out of revenue, one is regular, the other irregular…." and just like that, we pointed out all the points, even the ones mentioned in the tuition lectures.
Isabella was stunned, "Huh??? But how?"
"I told you, don't underestimate me"
"But how have you hardly studied, and this concept is not even written properly in the books, so how?" Isabella asked, confused.
Aaron stood up and, as he went behind Isabella, said, "You see, dear Izzy, in India we students have a very special power that just one night before exams we can activate"
"Power?" Isabella curiously asked.
"Yes, the power of YouTube gurus and procrastinators' minds to absorb the knowledge like a sponge", Aaron replied as he stood behind.
"Huh??" Isabella still confused
"Now, for your punishment, Izzy," Aaron whispered in her ears.
"Wait, what are you…" Before Isabella could react, Aaron went and just lay his head in her arms.
"For your punishment today, you have to teach me while I rest in your arms", Aaron said in a ditsy but cute voice.
Isabella was completely flustered, trying to hide her face behind the book, "You dummy, what kind of punishment is that?"
"The kind where I can see your beautiful face as I absorb knowledge", Aaron replied sarcastically
"You dummy", Isabella gave a small smile, "Well then, let's begin"
All was going well till midnight, but the girls hadn't realised that when these boys say night session, they mean it. As the clock ticked past 3 am, Estella had already started nodding off.
"What sleepy much ha ?" Ishaan remarked.
"Naaaa.. I amz a okiee" Estella now sounding gibberish by the minute.
Ishaan, giving a devious smile, "Ohh… really well, your head is telling something else"
"AHHH… You shutz upp, wat you saying, i awake" Estella was now almost on the verge of collapsing.
"Ya sure, you know you can go off to bed, I understand if you are sleepy after all, you're not adjusted to our nightlife", Ishaan now said this in a comparatively gentle tone.
"I am fine, I am indeed feeling a little exhausted, just let me rest my head for a few minutes, and then I will get back up", Estella said as he rested her head on the table.
"Well, you do you, I'll need to use the washroom", Ishaan got up and went to the washroom.
As Ishaan went into the washroom and locked the doors, a train of thought went to Estella.
'Seriously, I never thought he was actually so well versed, like I have been studying for so long and still feeling lost and confused, and he, on the other hand, answers my questions and doubts so easily.' She looked at the question that Ishaan helped her to solve.
'It feels like what I used to feel when I used to see Izzy getting recognition, and I was ignored. But somehow I don't know why, but I don't feel envious or frustrated, but instead I am feeling extremely satisfi…' before she could finish, she dozed off with a smile.
After a few minutes, Ishaan emerged from the bathroom as if he had been rejuvenated.
"Oh, man! I needed to take that dump now, I feel like I can pull off and all nighter" As he proceeded to return, he noticed Estella fast asleep on the table.
As he looked at him, he thought to himself
'Why don't I prank her after all, she is for the past few days poking me… a little prank will not do any harm'
Before he could speak to her, his eyes lay on her face, it looked so peaceful and calm that he stopped mid-way.
Then, without hesitation, he took out his blanket and put it over her.
"You idiot, did you really sleep here? Man, now how will I study?" Ishaan whispered near her ear.
"Partner in crime's out. Great." Ishaan, after giving her a gentle look, went and sat beside the same blanket and then proceeded to lie his head next to her and also fell asleep watching her.
After a few hours, Aaron came to his room and seeing both of them sleeping her just couldn't help but smile
"Well, it seems both of us had the same thought" As he stared at Ishaan and Estella, he looked into his own room, where Isabella slept with his blanket on her.
Just like these days proceeded, and finally the day of the exams came.
On the bus, before school comes into view, Bhavesh and Ansh ambush the boys the second they sit down. Not aggressively — just with the practised desperation of people who've done this exact thing every exam season for years. Notebooks open, questions fired before bags are even down. The girls watch, confused. Aaron and Ishaan answer without breaking stride — between bites of something, mid-sentence, casually. Like breathing.
The girls try to ask what's happening. Bhavesh or Ansh gives them a one-liner: "Pre-exam ritual. Don't interrupt." The boys just wave off the girls' confusion with some version of "you'll understand when we get there."
As they reached school and as they entered the classroom, the girls saw crowds of students all crowded near two desks, and before they could proceed, a boy shouted.
"LOOK, THE GURUS ARE HERE", and just like that, Aaron and Ishaan were now swarmed by a sea of students who bombarded them with questions and things they wished they would explain.
But instead of looking confused and panicking like the girls, the boys were composed and calm, as if it were a routine for them.
"OK, OK, boys and girls, lets being the last-minute revisions, I'll go from the most important chapter to the least, and you can ask doubts as we go on", Aaron instructed everyone.
"So please don't rush", Ishaan managed the crowd like a pro.
"Now you understand why I was in a hurry?" Ansh is looking at Estella
"This is the story of every exam, they teach, we listen, and when I say we listen, oh boy, we do as if life depends on it and well, to give them credit, they are damn good teachers", Bhavesh said proudly.
Isabella and Estella, although shocked, were still happy in their own way as they were able to be a part of this daily chaos of the boys.
"Ohh… before I forget, give me the consent, I'll go get it signed for us to leave after the exam", Bhavesh asked Isbella.
"Oh.. right here," She handed Bhavesh the consent and sat down at her table. As she was reviewing minutes before the exam, she looked up at Aaron, who was busy helping his benchmate who had forgotten a formula, which he wrote and explained to him. He was still surrounded by fewer students than before, but still, he looked happy and alive.
The bell rang at the end of the exam, and the hallways exploded. Pens clattered, papers fluttered, and an entire batch of exhausted students poured out like freed prisoners.
"Freedom!" Ishaan yelled, stretching like a lion.
Aaron just grinned. "Freedom until tomorrow's exam."
"Don't ruin the moment," Estella groaned, smacking his arm.
Outside the school gate, Delhi was already melting into its lazy afternoon rhythm — autos honking, vendors shouting, and the smell of fried momos drifting from the market nearby.
"Let's go," Aaron said, eyes lighting up. "Momos are calling."
Bhavesh raised an eyebrow. "Bro, you're treating, right?"
Aaron smirked. "I'll pay in knowledge."
"Then we're all starving," Ansh muttered, making everyone laugh.
They crossed to the market, six of them crowding around a tiny stall with steam curling into the humid air. The girls hesitated at first — but one bite later, Isabella's face lit up.
"Oh my God," she said, mouth full, "why does this taste better than any restaurant?"
"Because," Ishaan replied wisely, "Delhi momos have soul."
It was the kind of moment that felt small and infinite at the same time — tired students laughing over street food, brushing off the pressure of exams for a few blissful minutes.
As the sun dipped lower, they called a cab home. The girls sat beside the boys — more out of exhaustion than choice. The hum of traffic, the soft music from Aaron's phone, and the Delhi breeze through half-open windows lulled everyone into calm.
Ten minutes later, Bhavesh looked up from his phone and smirked.
Aaron had fallen asleep, head resting gently on Isabella's shoulder. Ishaan wasn't far behind, half-leaning onto Estella, who had already dozed off herself.
"Arre wah," Bhavesh whispered, pulling out his phone. "Picture time."
Ansh grinned. "Caption: 'Legends after saving the batch.'"
The shutter clicked — the photo catching all four of them bathed in soft afternoon light, exhaustion written all over their faces, but peace too.
"Maybe frame this one," Ansh said. "Historic moment — they actually studied."
Bhavesh laughed. "Yeah, and survived it."
As the cab rolled through the quiet lanes, Aaron stirred slightly, mumbling half-asleep, "Next week… trip… don't forget."
Isabella smiled faintly, not sure if he was dreaming or reminding her.
Either way, she made a mental note — next week, something was waiting.