Continue....

The teacher looked at her.

"Ma'am, emergency hai. Jaane do na," Tara pleaded, putting on her most innocent face.The teacher sighed.

"Fine, jao. Aur jaldi aana. Pura school ghoom ke mat aa jaana."

Tara happily walked out of the classroom.

The moment she disappeared from the door, Veer leaned towards Ira."Iski hasi mujhe hajam nahi ho rahi.""Same," Ira agreed suspiciously.

On the corridor...

Tara first headed towards Class 11-A. As she reached the classroom, all her confidence suddenly vanished.

She stood outside the door, nervously playing with her fingers."Bhagwan... bas bacha lena."

She took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

"May I come in, ma'am?

The entire class turned towards her.

Dozens of eyes stared at Tara.

She swallowed.

"Ye log mujhe bhookhe bhikari ki tarah kyun dekh rahe hain?" she mumbled under her breath.

"Yes, come in," the teacher said.

Tara slowly entered the classroom "Bol, bachha. Kya kaam hai?" the teacher asked.

"Ma'am..." Tara nervously began.

"Principal ma'am ne class ke monitor ka naam poochne ke liye bheja hai."

The teacher frowned."Kya? Par unhe toh pata hai Ayan hi monitor hai."

"Ji... matlab..." Tara stumbled for a second.

Then she took one long breath and blurted everything out in one go.

"Ye water bottle garden mein kisi ki reh gayi hai, toh unhone bola ki class ke monitor se iska naam pooch kar ye bhi confirm kar loon ki kya ye bottle unki class ke kisi student ki hai?"

The teacher blinked.

"Acha... acha. Aao, Ayan ko bulaate hain."

She turned towards the class."Ayan, aao zara."

Ayan spoke, his voice a calm anchor in the busy room. "Yes, bolo," he said calmly.

Tara felt her breath catch, shyness locking up her chest. She forced her hands to push the plastic container forward.

"Vo ye water bottle aap puch lijiye kis ki hai," Tara shyly said, her voice barely a timid whisper as her cheeks flushed.

He took the bottle smoothly, his fingers briefly brushing hers-sending a sudden jolt of electricity to her core.

Turning to the room, he announced, "Class, ye bottle kisi ki hai kya?"Silence stretched.

First, there was no response from any buddy, but then a boy spoke up in a low voice.

"Yes, ye meri bottle. Vo mai galti se bhul gaya tha."Tara's eyes widened in sheer horror listening to this.No! That was her absolute favorite bottle! Panic crashed over her, but vo kuch khe bhi nahi sakti-if she spoke up now, sab accha batana padega and she would have to explain her embarrassing scheme.

Hey bhagwan! she wailed internally. Crush ka time table lena mai 200 ka chuna lag gaya!

Her plot had just cost her a two-hundred-rupee penalty."Oky thanks... Umm apkaa namm kya hai?"

Ayan asked, turning his dark gaze back to her.A sharp pang of disappointment wrenched Tara's heart.

Aww, inko tho sach mai mera namm yadd nahi hai... He didn't even remember who she was."Tara..."

Tara managed to squeak out."Oky thanks, Tara."She turned to leave, but she remained hopelessly anchored to his gaze.

For a split second, time slowed down completely between them.Suddenly, the teacher broke the eye contact.

"Hanji beta, aur koi kamm?"Tara jolted back to reality. "Huh? Yes, mam! Vo principal mam ne class ka time table bhi manga hai," Tara lied rapidly.

The teacher sighed in disbelief. "Kamal hai! Kal hi meeting mai time table discuss hua hai aur ajj hi time table chiye.

Acha Ayan, time table ek page mai likh ke de do.""Yes, mam," Ayan said. Soon enough, he wrote it down and handled Tara the time table.

"Ye lo."Tara looked at the paper, and an euphoric symphony erupted in her mind.

Finally, time table mill gayaaaa!She happily went out of the class, executing a little victory jump in the corridor.

"Yes, yes! Time table mill gaya! Whaaa Tara, tu tho kamal hai!" she praised herself before hurrying back to her own class.

"Mam, may I come in, mam?" Tara asked at the door."Yes," the teacher said, then stopped.

"Wait, Tara, tumhri bottle kha hai? Pani bharne gati thi nahhh?"Tara froze, a cold sweat breaking out on her neck.

"Vo mam... bottle...""Han batao, kha gayi bottle?""Vo mai... bottle tho nalli... hann, nalli mai gir gayi galti se! Tho aunty ne usee utha ke dustbin mai dekh diya,"

Tara lied at lightning speed, gesturing wildly.The teacher threw her hands up.

"Whaaa! Kya karti ho tum bhi, bottle hi gira di! Kamal ho ladki tum bhi..."Tara scurried to her bench, while her friends looked at her heavy with suspicion.

She gave them a quick, sweet smile and stared intently at the blackboard.When the lunch break bell finally rang and the teacher left, Tara whipped around toward Veer and proudly brandished the paper.

"Kya?" Veer asked, raising an eyebrow.Tara offered a sinister, triumphant smile. "Time table," she said dramatically.

Wahat! How?! Both Ira and Veer's eyes widened to the size of saucers."Tujhe kese millaaa?" Ira gasped.

"Hehe, Ayan ke hatto se! Usne kudh diya," Tara gloated, her cheeks turning pink.Veer scoffed, crossing his arms.

"Chl, mai nahi manata. Kya pata chori kiya ho!""Pagl hai kya!" Tara said, giving him a playful swat.

She leaned closer to Ira, her voice dropping to a shy purr. "Aur tujhe pata hai, hamra eye contact bhi hua... He was looking my eye and I also looking his eye... An-and you know, uski tho eye bhi shine kar ravi thi!""

Oho, kya batt hai!" Ira teased, nudging her. "Acah chl, canteen."Tara buried her face in her hands.

"Nahi, mujhe sharm aa rahi hai, tum jao.""Abe aree! Mujhe shy aa rha hai ki bacchi!"

Ira groaned. "Subh bhi tho bhooto ki tarha gyab ho gayi thi aur abhi bhi vahi kar rahi hai! Bhul mat, aur bhi ladkiya Ayan ke piche hai... khai vo usee apna saiyan nahh bane le!

"Veer burst into raucous laughter. "Phir Ayan baenga Tara ka Bhaiya! You know, saiyan bana bhaiya!"Tara's face burned a scorching scarlet.

"Tu tho ruk, abbi batyi hu..."She bolted from her seat, chasing a yelping Veer right out of the classroom. Ira shook her head with a grin, picked up their lunchboxes, and headed down the corridor toward the canteen.

Tara, Veer, and Ira navigated the bustling crowd as they soon reached the canteen. They started looking for an empty bench, but luck was not on their side-every single table was completely packed.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pivoting quickly, they decided to have their lunch out on the school ground instead. As they walked out, they also spotted Ayan, Aron, and Zara nearby, and the groups naturally merged.Now, they all sat on the cool grass, making a comfortable circle.

Tiffins were opened and passed around one by one as they laughed and talked, sharing food and gossip under the afternoon sun.Trying to clear the air about the previous day, Tara broke the talk and said,

"Well, I'm sorry kal nahh mai so gayi thi isliye aa nahi payi... par next time pakka aungi, promise," she said, apologizing for oversleeping and promising to make it next time while she lightly grabbed the skin of her neck in a classic gesture of innocence.

Aron chuckled, waving off her apology. "Koi nahh, hota hai. Vase bhi ira ne batya tum Kumbhkaran ki tarha soti ho, tumhe uthna itna asan kam nahi," Aron said,

teasing her by bringing up how Veer had compared her to a mythical deep sleeper who is impossible to wake up.Tara looked at Veer with dangerous eyes, her glare promising absolute mutation.

Veer gave a nervous, high-pitched "Hehe" as he shrank back from her gaze.Soon, their lunch was complete and the bell rang, signaling the end of the break.

They all stood up, dusted the grass off their uniforms, and went back to their classes. The rest of the day blurred past smoothly as they completed their school hours, and the moment the final bell rang, they packed their bags and went to their respective houses, exhausted but happy.

Okay... chapter khatam, but you

r job isn't! 👀

Did you enjoy it? Then Vote ♡ | Comment 💬 | Follow ✨

Tell me-which moment made you smile the most?

See you soon, my little readers! 🫶🏻