As they came out of the auditorium, in the corridor, "Congratulations jaan!" Niyati congratulated, "I knew you will do it!" "Yesss! Babygurl! I know you are the best-" Before Muskan complete the sentence, a deep voice interrupted. "You mean second, darling? Second place suits you—it's close enough to admire my success but far enough to never reach it."
Armaan elbowed Tejas, giving him a done look. "What? I am just telling the truth! Since when did giving the reality checks became illegal? Oh! Of course, since it was the royal Queen Bee!" Tejas' voice dripped sarcasm. Crowd gathered to witness the spectacle unwrap.
"Second place? Darling, that's just a warm-up for stealing the show next time. And, anyways, Grace isn't taught; it's inherited. And clearly, I'm royalty." Dakshita's retort silenced everyone. Pin drop silence. And all of sudden, everyone burst in hooting for her. Everyone was oohing and ahhing for her the way she silenced the Mr Football Captain.
As a royalty, elegantly, she raised her hand to silence everyone, her confidence was something no one dared to defy. "Oh and yes, Some chase the trophy. I chase perfection." She continued. Tejas gritted his teeth. Harsh couldn't hold back his laughter after seeing someone putting Tejas on his place. He added, "Bhai, you won the first place, but her retort? Ufff yaar! It was the real showstopper!"
The crowd erupted in cheers of giggles. Tejas couldn't hold it anymore. "First place isn't just a position—it's my default setting. And besides, Call me arrogant, but the applause agrees with me." Armaan ever the peace-maker pushed Tejas out of the crowd.
"Kya jaroorat thi? Unhe itna bolne ki kya garaj thi!? And, honestly, you too think she did deserve the Showstopper Award!" Armaan said. "Deserving an award and Achieving an award.", Tejas paused, "There is a difference." The bell rang and the three reluctantly returned to the class.
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I am shipping Dakshi with Tejas. I mean. COMEEEEE ONNNN! They have the chemistry. The populars! Total soulmates!#Tejita! Anyways, we went in our classes. The boys were already seated behind our seat.
From past five minutes, no teacher entered. What is that suppose to mean? What! Gosh, we are toppers! We were studying like good little students we are. Seriously? Haha, no. What do you expect from the class of the teenagers in 11th class, especially in off period.
Dakshita was sitting on the desk, facing to the boys. Tejas, as usual, sprawled in his chair like he owned the school. Harsh perched on besides him, constantly zoning out. It was unusual for someone like him. If you could see him, you would almost say, he had a crush. Almost. OMG, it sounds hilarious. Harsh? Having a crush? Hilarious. I am not saying, he is not a good friend, but, only a good friend.
Dating him? Take a big no from my side. Without thinking. Without Hesitation. Atleast, if you want your heart in one piece. I was sitting like a decent one among the group of animals. Muskaan was sitting next to me, rolling her eyes on every word, or rather, whenever Harsh opened his mouth. Why? That insolent was flirting whenever he opened his mouth.
And then, exactly behind me, and to the right of Harsh, was sitting Armaan. With that sparkle in his eyes. I knew, from the experience, it meant nothing but trouble. He opened his mouth, and before I could stop him, he had said that. Oh sh*t! And, guess what? My friends agreed. Holy-moly-guacamole, Oh Nein!
So, we were going to play Never-have-I-ever! The same game which ruined friendships, ended lives, and exposed secrets. I tried to manipulate my friends to abandon the idea, but, they just said, "That's the point" and ignored my pleadings and started,
"Okay, so I will start," Tejas said, filling cups with orange juice,"Never have I ever... been caught cheating on a test." Harsh sipped. Expected. Armaan too. Not surprising at all. What shocked me was Muskaan sipped the juice and Tejas did not. Tejas. Did. Not. And. Muskaan. Did. Dakshita was as startled as I was.
"MUSKAAN!?" I questioned, "You too?" She innocently replied, "What can I do? Math is evil, you know?" I rolled my eyes. Harsh exclaimed, "You guys are such a nerds!" Dakshita retorted, "Or, maybe we just study and-" I continued, "-are self sufficient ent." And, Tejas casually added, "Or, maybe, we just don't get caught."
I now know why Dakshita gets pissed with him. He totally deserves it. And, he is not qualified to date my Dakshi and be my jiju. Who the hell was shipping them? Tum saab log jara milna🔪🔪. Oh, I was too? It wasn't me. It was somebody else in my body.
Armaan continued, "Never Have I Ever... stolen something from a friend or sibling." Everyone took sip. By everyone, I mean, everyone. Why did everyone looked like I had just grown three faces out of my nose? What the hell? Harsh almost choked on the juice. "Niu, not expected this from you!" Muskaan said in a strict tone.
I knew it was wrong. Why had I had to do it? Oh god, I shouldn't have taken a bite from Dakshi's popcorn without asking her. I knew it. Stealing is never right... I started apologising, "Dakshi, I am sorry, seriously, it was just a bite..." and Tejas, Harsh, Armaan and Muskaan broke into fit of laughter "Nia, Sana is kidding!" Dakshita told, Armaan added, "Niya, you need to chill!"
Pheww, it felt much better that I had apologised Dakshita now... Yaar, mujhse nahi hota ki mein kuch baatein chuppa ke rakhu, especially, Dakshi aur Sana se. Tejas continued, "Never have I ever... sent a text to the wrong person and regretted it." Again, everyone but me. I swear I had heard Armaan saying "Goody good shoes." I swear I resisted the urge to throw the juice on his face. But, I am mature to not waste my juice on a dumb*ss like him.
Kasam se, mere papa agar is dummy ke best friend nahi hote na to iska kyaa haal kar chuki rehti thi...
I didn't know what happened to me, but, I had to do this. I continued, "Never have I ever tried to hide my feelings but ended up making it obvious." Dakshita, Harsh, Armaan took sip. Ooohhh... This is interesting!
Muskaan interrupted, "When Harsh? I want to know! The Heart-breaker making his feelings obvious? That's new!" A faint blush crept across his cheeks, subtle enough to be missed by most, but anyone paying close attention would catch the soft hint of color betraying his calm exterior.
"Okay, okay, I will tell, only because I felt someone getting jealous-" Harsh started talking only to be interrupted by Muskaan. "Me? Getting jealous over you? In your dreams!" Harsh retorted, "Sana, who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself? And, anyways, don't interrupt."
He took a deep breath, "So, yeah", he looked in Muskaan's eyes, "So, as you all know, I don't go making my feelings obvious. But, I don't know how or when, it started slipping in front of her. She's the kind of trouble I never knew I needed—unpredictable, wild, and impossible to walk away from. Every time I think I've figured her out, she surprises me with something new. And as much as I try to keep my distance, there's this pull, this force between us that keeps drawing me back. Maybe I'm not supposed to be this drawn in, but with her, I just can't help myself."
Whoa. Whoa! WHOA! If I ever Dakshita, I would have observed and concluded this as Harsh's confession to Sana. Like, on the basis of the eye contact, the sheer intensity of the force he had clenched his fists, the little rawness and little vulnerability in his voice... It was enough for Dakshita to prove her point.
But, because I am Niyati, I will gladly ignore the the sheer intensity of the force he had clenched his fists, the little rawness and little vulnerability in his voice and say "He was just trying to piss my Sana by looking in her eyes, or maybe, trying to make her jealous." Abhi, mein thodi na Dakshi ki personality lekar itna observe kar sakti hu!
I turned to Dakshi. "Dakshi, you too drank the juice. When did this happen?" She retorted almost instantly. "I always try to hide my annoyance, irritation, hatred towards Captain Eggs. But, always, he managed to make my those feelings obvious." Tejas remarked, "Captain Eggs? What a creative nickname! I must say, that one was nice."
Armaan hit his head, "Abey gaddhe, teko boli woh!" Realization dawned on Tejas, "Nihayati ghatiya nickname hein yeh!" And all of us broke into laughter.
Dakshita continued, "Never have I ever pretended not to care about someone's opinion but secretly cared a lot." Everyone took a sip. Well, it was valid.
Sana continues, "Never Have I ever crushed on someone in this room." Everyone but me took a sip. Oh god! What if this was start of Love triangle? Wait Nia, they are your best friends! No, no, that shouldn't happen. I don't want unnecessary drama and fights within our group. Tejas and Dakshita's quarrel are enough! Un dono ko hi sambhalte sambhalte sarr chakra jaata hai!
"Yaar! Kaise ho tum sab! I can't even imagine how I am friends with you all!" I said defeatedly. "C'mon, you love us!" they said in unison. Fair point, but they don't to need to know this!
And, that's when Ms Rooh entered the class. Like the experts Harsh and Armaan are, they quickly hid almost empty orange juice cups. Ms Rooh sternly said, "What's going in here?" Our always tailored leaders made excuses faster than the speed of light.
Tejas started, "Miss, we were discussing how peer pressure can affect us negatively-" Dakshita interrupted, "-And how to lessen the negativity and increase the positive atmosphere." Tejas nodded.
For some reason -of course because they both were all- rounders and 'idol students' in all teacher's eyes- Ms Rooh believed their illogical excuse. Who the hell discusses about 'peer pressure' during off periods? Nevermind- It spared us punishment.
Ms Rooh cleared the throat and went near the black board. "Students. As every year, our school is organising the annual function."
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