Chapter 7: Reuniting With My Bestie

Bhai, main toh bas dekh hi rahi thi.

( I was just staring at her )

Who is that?

Who is that?

The girl looked so familiar.

Like ridiculously familiar.

Before my brain could properly process anything, my legs had already made the decision.

I started following her.

One step.

Then another.

Then another.

I was so busy trying to recognize her that I completely forgot where I was.

And that's when-

"Excuse me, ma'am."

A security guard stopped me.

I froze.

For a second I thought I'd accidentally committed a crime.

Then I realized what had happened.

Oh.

Right.

My ID.

I was literally trying to enter IIT Bombay without showing my identity card.

Smart move, Mira.

Very smart.

"Sorry bhaiya."

I quickly showed him my documents.

After checking everything, he nodded.

"Okay. You may enter."

"Thank you."

And just like that-

I officially entered IIT Bombay.

For a few seconds, I completely forgot about the mystery girl.

The campus was huge.

Like HUGE huge.

The roads.

The greenery.

The buildings.

Everything looked beautiful.

It felt unreal.

For years, I had imagined what IIT Bombay would look like.

And now I was actually standing inside it.

A student.

Still felt crazy.

Then suddenly I remembered.

The girl.

I immediately looked around again.

And there she was.

Walking ahead.

This time, I picked up my pace.

Faster.

Faster.

Until finally I got close enough.

And then I saw her face.

I froze.

"No way."

She turned around.

And her eyes widened too.

"MIRA?!"

"Oh my God."

"AMAIRA?!"

The next second both of us were screaming like lunatics in the middle of campus.

😆

"Bhai!"

This had to be destiny.

Matlab seriously.

( I mean seriously)

Out of all the colleges in India, out of all the branches, out of all the hostels...

I was meeting my high-school best friend Amaira in the same college.

The girl who had helped me escape from teachers.

The girl who knew me inside out.

The girl from whom I had never kept secrets.

And now she was here.

At IIT Bombay.

Standing right in front of me.

Wow.

"MIRAAAA!" she exclaimed, immediately pulling me into a hug.

"Bhai, how are you?"

"And first of all-LET'S GOOOOOO!"

I started laughing.

"You remember our promise?"

"Ki hum ek saath college jayenge. Humare dream college."

(That we'd go to college together. To our dream college.)

I simply nodded.

To be honest...

I had completely forgotten.

My memory isn't exactly great.

Amaira immediately narrowed her eyes.

"Chal jhooti."

(Liar.)

"Teri memory-loss wali problem abhi bhi theek nahi hui?"

(Your memory-loss problem still hasn't been fixed?)

I awkwardly looked away.

Caught.

Again.

Then she grinned.

"Chal koi baat nahi."

(It's okay.)

"We'll make new memories."

That instantly made me smile.

And honestly?

She was right.

This was a brand-new chapter of our lives.

Why not make new memories?

Soon we started catching up on everything.

"How's life?"

"Good."

"Teri?"

(Yours?)

"Good."

The most detailed conversation ever.

Then I asked the important question.

"Waise, what was your rank?"

Amaira casually mentioned it.

I nearly choked.

"DANG."

That was an amazing rank.

Then she asked mine.

The moment I told her, her eyes widened.

"Yaar."

She shook her head.

"I'm so proud of you."

For some reason, hearing that from her felt way more special than hearing it from the hundred relatives who had called me.

"Thank you."

I smiled.

Really smiled.

Then we inevitably moved to the next topic.

Streams.

"What did you choose?"

"Chemical Engineering."

She stared.

I stared.

We both stared.

"No way."

"YOU TOO?!"

"YESSSS!"

We high-fived so hard it actually hurt.

Honestly, the coincidences were becoming suspicious.

Same college.

Same friend.

Same branch.

Like what was happening?

Then came hostel allotment.

We decided to check our room numbers.

"Please let us be in the same hostel."

"Please."

"Please."

A few taps later we checked.

And then-

Silence.

For two whole seconds.

Followed by screaming.

"NO WAY!"

"NO WAYYYYY!"

Turns out we were roommates too.

ROOMMATES.

I was so happy.

At this point, I genuinely believed destiny had personally planned my college life.

Because there was absolutely no way all of this was happening by accident.

We were still celebrating when suddenly someone approached us.

A guy.

An older guy.

Both of us immediately became silent.

Then we leaned closer and whispered.

"Arey nahi yaar."

(Oh no.)

"Jiska darr tha wahi ho gaya."

(The thing we were afraid of has happened.)

"Seniors."

"Ragging."

"Bhai hum innocent freshers hain."

(We're innocent freshers.)

"Hamare saath hi kyun?"

(Why us?)

The guy was standing right in front of us while we were practically narrating our fears.

Very smart.

Very intelligent.

A true IIT moment.

Finally he asked,

"Tum log freshers ho?"

(Are you two freshers?)

We nodded.

"Yes."

He looked at us for a second.

Then said,

"Big ground."

"8 PM sharp."

"Don't be late."

And just like that, he turned around and started leaving.

I immediately called out,

"Bhaiya!"

He stopped.

"Ye sab kya hai?"

(What's all this for?)

He looked confused.

"The welcome dinner."

Amaira and I exchanged a glance.

Wait.

Welcome dinner?

Not ragging?

Not public humiliation?

Not harassment?

Not making us sing songs in front of five hundred people?

Nothing?

They were actually welcoming us?

The senior nodded casually.

"Freshers' Welcome."

Then he left.

For a few seconds neither of us spoke.

Then both of us let out the biggest sigh of relief.

"Thank God."

"Seriously."

And just like that, our fear disappeared.

Instead, excitement took its place.

Because in a few hours, we'd be attending our first official event at IIT Bombay.

And somehow...

I had a feeling that things were about to get a lot more interesting.

Very, very interesting. ✨👀

------------------------------------------------------------

Hello lovelies !

So how was the chapter

Pls do comment and vite

Share your thoughts

I would be happy to hear them out..