Aadhya's POV
Here I am… struggling like a delivery girl with four lunch boxes.
Mine… obviously.
Avi's.
Dj's.
And that idiotic king of jerks—Vivaan.
Ugh.
My cycle chain broke yesterday. Of course it did. Like my life wasn't already dramatic enough. Now I have to walk to school carrying this entire tiffin service. My arms were already hurting, fingers adjusting the grip every two seconds, bags slipping, balance going off—
"Great start to the day, Adi," I muttered to myself.
Just then—
A car slowed down beside me.
Window rolled down.
Oh.
Him.
That Indian foreign species with blue eyes.
"Heading to school?" he asked casually.
I nodded… weakly.
"Want a ride?"
I immediately shook my head.
No.
No way.
What if he's a kidnapper? Or a thief? Or worse—a psycho with blue eyes. No thank you.
"You look like you're having a hard time carrying that much. Come, I'll drop you," he added.
"It's fine," I said quickly, dismissing him and walking faster.
Distance = safety.
Suddenly—
HONK.
Again.
What the hell.
I turned, slightly annoyed—
And froze.
Window down.
Nikansh.
"What are you—" I started.
"Hey, are you deaf? I've been calling you since earlier," he said, clearly irritated.
Wow.
He looks ugly when he's angry.
"Get in."
Nice.
That's the energy I like.
I immediately opened the door and sat inside, carefully adjusting the lunch boxes like they were some VIP guests.
"Wow… getting fancy again," I teased, looking around the car. "What are you doing in our area?"
He cleared his throat slightly. "Nothing… had some work nearby, so…"
Hmm.
Suspicious.
But okay.
He started driving, but something felt… off.
I noticed his eyes.
They kept shifting.
Not at me.
Not at the road.
But toward the side-view mirror.
Again.
And again.
"Why do you keep looking there?" I asked.
He didn't answer immediately.
Then—
"Someone is following us."
What?
I tried to turn back, stretching a little to see—but I couldn't spot anything clearly.
"Do you know him?" I asked, my voice lowering.
A weird uneasiness settled in my chest.
What if… they were following me?
And now Nikansh got dragged into it?
Oh no.
"No," he said shortly.
The car behind us suddenly sped up.
Then overtook us.
I looked.
And my eyes widened.
"It's him… the blue eyes guy," I said.
Nikansh nodded once.
"So he is the one following us?" I asked.
Another nod.
Why would he follow us?
Does he not have anything better to do in life?
Weird.
Very weird.
Before I could overthink further, we reached school.
I got out, immediately adjusting the bags again.
Damn.
Still heavy.
"What the hell are you carrying? Your bag looks like it's about to explode," Nikansh said, stepping out.
"It's Dj's, Avi's… and Vivaan's lunch boxes," I replied.
He paused.
Brows slightly furrowed.
"Why are you bringing for Vivaan too?"
Hmm.
Should I tell him?
About the money?
About the deal?
"Because—" I started.
"Because she wants to."
A voice cut in.
Vivaan.
Of course.
Perfect timing.
"No," I corrected instantly, glaring at him. "I'm just paying back my debt."
"Debt?" Nikansh repeated, confused.
Yeah… he clearly didn't know.
"I'll tell you later," Vivaan said casually, already walking ahead like he owned the place.
Idiot.
Absolute idiot.
Me and Nikansh followed.
Same building.
Same noise.
Same chaos.
Nothing ever changes here.
The moment I entered—
Avi spotted me.
And literally jumped like a monkey.
"DO YOU HAVE CHOCOLATE?" he asked, eyes shining like a kid who just saw heaven.
And just like that—
An idea popped into my head.
"Yes…" I said slowly.
He leaned closer.
"…but I won't give it to you."
His face.
Instant heartbreak.
Puppy eyes activated.
Lips pouting.
Oh god.
My little brother.
I couldn't.
I instantly handed it to him.
"Here."
He lit up like someone just turned on electricity inside him.
"ADI YOU'RE THE BEST—"
Before he could even finish—
Other monkeys noticed.
And just like that—
Chaos.
"HEY GIVE ME ALSO—"
"SHARE IT—"
"DON'T FINISH IT—"
"AVI YOU GREEDY—"
I sighed, watching them fight over one chocolate like it was national treasure.
Just when the chocolate war was reaching its peak—
Sir entered.
Our class teacher.
Mr. Trivedi.
And the moment he stepped in, the entire class snapped back into place like someone pressed a reset button. Chocolates disappeared, people rushed to their seats, chairs screeched, whispers died.
But something felt off.
He looked… hurried.
Like he didn't have time but still had to be here.
"Section E," he started, adjusting his glasses, "we don't have a lecture today."
A collective sigh of relief spread.
Nice.
Love you, sir.
"Instead, we're going to discuss the festival."
Festival?
I frowned.
"Sir, but isn't it too early for the festival? Why are we discussing it now?" someone asked.
"Plans might change again," he replied quickly. "So it's better if we discuss everything early."
Hmm.
I turned to Avi, who was still stuffing his face with chocolate like the world might end tomorrow.
"Hey, Avi, what festival?" I whispered.
"Fiesta," he said, licking his fingers.
Ew.
I sighed and turned to Dj.
"Dj, what festival?"
He didn't even look up, just answered in his usual calm tone, "School festival. One week. Food stalls, photo booths, activities, sports fest, pageant… everything. There are other programs too, but these are the main ones."
My eyes widened a little.
That sounds… fun.
"Are there rules?" I asked.
He pointed toward sir.
Oh.
Right.
"Okay," sir continued, "the number of booths depends on the number of representatives from each section. Right now, there are none. Pageants may or may not happen—we're still deciding the theme."
Hmm…
"Activities are divided as follows," he went on. "Section A organizes the program. Section B handles sports. Section C manages booths. Section D handles security…"
A pause.
"And Section E… night duty."
Night duty?
That doesn't sound good.
"What's night duty?" I asked softly.
Dj answered this time, "Since the festival lasts a week, someone has to guard everything at night."
Oh.
So basically… watchman duty.
"And trash collection, of course," Vivaan added bitterly from behind.
I turned slightly.
Yeah… he looked annoyed.
Very annoyed.
"You all know these are strict rules," sir continued. "If you don't follow them, you won't be allowed to participate in the festival."
Silence.
Then—
"But those rules were when Dheeraj was president," Vivaan spoke, his tone sharp. "Now it's me."
Sir sighed. "So what are you suggesting?"
"That we do no tasks."
The class froze.
What?
"But then you won't be allowed in the festival," sir said calmly.
And just like that—
Explosion.
"No! Don't do that—"
"I won't be able to watch Saanvi's performance—"
"I have a date with Jiya—"
"What about food—"
"Hot chicks—"
Chaos.
Pure chaos.
Everyone panicking.
Because obviously… no one wanted to miss the festival.
But Vivaan—
He didn't even flinch.
"NO," he said, his voice cutting through everything. "My decision is final. No tasks. No festival."
Dead silence.
I blinked.
Wait.
What?
I've never been to a festival before.
Not like this.
Not a proper one.
And he's just… cancelling it?
Just like that?
Something inside me snapped.
"Wow," I said, standing up without even realizing. "You're so selfish."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Everyone turned.
Even sir.
Even the air felt still.
My eyes locked with his.
"YOU are only thinking about what you want," I continued, my voice firm. "What about everyone else?"
Staring competition.
Me vs Vivaan.
And honestly… he looked dangerous.
"Why?" he said slowly, his voice low, challenging. "Would you rather be humiliated?"
The class immediately avoided his gaze.
Of course.
No one wanted to answer that.
"But do you want to go to the festival?" I pressed, turning to them.
They shifted.
Murmured.
Conflicted.
"Okay then," Vivaan said, stepping forward slightly, his tone sharper now. "Choose. Be called 'garbage collectors' and get insulted… or skip the festival altogether."
Silence again.
Uncertain glances.
No one answering.
I clenched my fists slightly.
Why is this even a question?
"'Rot at home'…" I said, looking at them, "…or 'enjoy the festival.' Choose."
They looked at each other again.
Hesitant.
Confused.
Scared.
And him—
Vivaan—
Still staring at me.
Like I just challenged something bigger than I understand.
But I didn't look away.
"It's fine to clean," I said finally, my voice softer but firm. "As long as you get to enjoy the festival."
"Okay okay calm down. Festival is still a long way. We can still decide. The school board hasn't announced the date yet," sir said, calming us down. Vivaan sat but still glaring. Go on…
Enjoy festival in the morning and cleaning in the night.
I was really excited for the festival.