As the morning started, Sharvari called out to her daughter, “Uth jao, Vrinda! Aaj tumhare school ka pehla din hai. Nahi toh late ho jaogi.”

“Bas 5 minutes aur, Mummy. Uth rahi hoon,” Vrinda mumbled, turning over to sleep again.

Sharvari, getting a bit irritated, replied, “Phir late ho gayi toh tum hi dekhna. Kyu pehle hi din teacher se daant khana chahti ho? Utho!”

Reluctantly, Vrinda got up from her bed. She glanced at the small idol of RadhaKrishna on her study table and whispered a quick prayer. After brushing her teeth and getting dressed in her uniform, she headed downstairs.

“Vrinda, neeche aa jao. Breakfast ready hai,” Sharvari called.

“Aa rahi hoon, Mummy. Kya hai aaj breakfast mein?” Vrinda asked, her curiosity piqued.

“Aloo parantha,” Sharvari replied with a smile.

As Vrinda sat at the dining table, she began to wonder about her first day at the new school. Clutching her RadhaKrishna necklace, she murmured, “Hey Kanha, sahayta karna. Kahin koi gadbad na ho jaye humse.”

Just then, her father, Sharad, joined them at the table. “Vrinda, jaldi se breakfast karo. Main tumhe chhod dunga aaj school. Beta, zyada tension mat lena. Sab accha hi hoga. Tumhara yeh saal bhi badhiya jayega,” he said reassuringly.

Vrinda smiled at her father. Before leaving for school, she touched the feet of both her parents. “Maan laga ke padhai karna. Humein tujhpe pura bharosa hai,” they said in unison.

As her father dropped her off at the school gate, she took a deep breath and walked towards her class.

“Vrinda, yaha pe!” a familiar voice interrupted her. She looked back and was pleased to find her best friend.

“Vaidehi!” she said with a deep smile, hugging her.

“Holidays ke din toh hamari yaad nahi aayi. Phone toh ek bhi nahi kiya tune. Baat mat kar ab mujhse,” Vaidehi said, making a sad pout.

“Are aisa nahi hai, bas main jara busy ho gayi thi. Sorry na,” Vrinda said cunningly.

“Thik hai, thik hai. Maaf kar diya tumhe. Jao, Vrinda, jee lo apni zindagi,” Vaidehi said mischievously.

They both started laughing.

The school began as their class teacher entered the classroom. “There is a new admission in our class. Let him introduce himself to you,” the teacher said.

“Hi everyone, I am Anish,” the new boy said as everyone looked at him.

The teacher instructed him to sit down. Vrinda glanced at him as he talked with his benchmate. When he turned to look at Vrinda, she quickly looked elsewhere to avoid eye contact.

“Hey Kanha, yeh hume kya ho raha hai? Hamari heartbeat itni fast kyun ho gayi hai?” Vrinda murmured.

“Kuch bola kya tumne?” Vaidehi asked.

“Nahi, nahi,” Vrinda said, biting her tongue.

As the teacher began to teach, everyone started paying attention to the lecture.

The bell rang, and the teacher stopped teaching and left the class.

“Chal na, mujhe washroom jana hai,” Vaidehi said to Vrinda.

“Haan, chal,” Vrinda said.

As they were walking to the washroom, they found Anish at the door of the classroom, talking with the teacher. As Vrinda and Vaidehi walked past Anish, their eyes interlocked, sending a shiver down Vrinda’s spine. Her heartbeat quickened, and she stood there, staring at him.

“Chal na, waha kyu ruk gayi?” Vaidehi said.

“Haan, aa rahi hoon bas,” Vrinda said, looking at her.

She was really stunned by what was happening to her and why it was happening. The school ended, and everyone went home.

“Vrinda, fresh ho jao jaldi aur kuch kha bhi lena,” Sharvari said to Vrinda.

“Haan, Mummy,” Vrinda replied.

As Vrinda freshened up and ate something, she thought of studying and sat at her study table. There was a RadhaKrishna idol on the table. She prayed and opened her history book, but she couldn’t concentrate. Her thoughts lingered around the eye contact she had with Anish.

She thought of calling Vaidehi and picked up her phone. While dialing Vaidehi’s number, she heard, “Hello?” from the other side.

“Hi! Kya kar rahi thi?” Vrinda asked.

“Kuch nahi, game khel rahi thi phone mein,” Vaidehi replied.

“Sun na, mujhe tumhe kuch batana hai,” Vrinda said.

“Haan, bol na. Kuch hua hai kya?” Vaidehi asked with a caring voice.

“Are nahi, itna serious kuch nahi hai bas... woh...” Vrinda said, pausing.

“Bol na!” Vaidehi interrupted.

Vrinda told every small detail about how she felt to Vaidehi.

“Vrindaaa!” Vaidehi screamed.

“Are, kya hua? Chilla kyun rahi hai? Mujhe darr lag raha hai,” Vrinda asked.

“Are, tu pagal hai sacchi!” Vaidehi said. “You are falling in love with him. Itna bhi samajh nahi saki?”

“Kuch bhi... kya bol rahi hai... pagal hai kya? Aisa kuch nahi hai...” Vrinda screamed.

She cut the call and started thinking about what Vaidehi had said while lying on her bed. As she thought, she fell asleep.

“Vrinda, kaha hai tu? Khana khane aa ja,” her mother called her.

Vrinda got up as she heard her mother calling. “Hum so gaye the, hame toh padhai karni thi,” she said, disappointed.

“Aa rahi hoon, Mummy,” she said, freshening up.

As she went down for dinner, Sharad and Sharvari were already sitting at the dining table.

“How was your first day?” Sharad asked.

“And how is Vaidu?” Sharvari added.

“It was really fun, Papa. It was just amazing, and Vaidehi is good, Mummy,” she said, answering their questions.

As everyone finished their dinner, they all went to their respective rooms. As Vrinda was trying to sleep, the thoughts lingered in her mind, all fresh as if they had happened a few hours ago. She was thinking about the eye contact and everything Vaidehi had said to her. After some time, she fell asleep.