Sia, wake up!" Mom calls out.

Acting a bit fussy and keeping my eyes closed, I groan, "Mom , bus thoda or sone do ."

Then comes the retort, "Fine, then I’ll go to college in your place today."

I jolt awake in a panic, check the time on my phone, and exclaim, "Oh shit, I’m going to be late for my first day!"

Mom says, "Get up and hurry, Sia; get ready while I fix breakfast."

Just then, Naina arrives: "Good morning, Aunty! How are you?"

Mom smiles and replies, "I'm doing well, dear."

Neha looks at me and says, "Sia, why are you still lying in bed? Go get ready."

I nod, go take a shower, and dress in a brown short *kurti* and beige pants for my first day.

I quickly step out of my room.

Neha and I have breakfast together and then head out for College.

We stand in front of the college entrance; Neha says excitedly, "We finally made it to our dream college, Sia!"

I smile and look at the college. "You're right, Neha; we worked so hard to get admission into this college, and now, finally, here we are."

Neha and I walk around, admiring the campus and its surroundings, when we receive a notification in the college group: all first-year students are to gather in the seminar hall for orientation.

We head to the seminar hall and take our seats—luckily, not everyone had arrived yet, or finding seats would have been difficult.

The orientation lasts for at least three hours.

As we are stepping out of the hall, we hear some girls shouting behind us: "Did you know there's a football match going on? Let's go watch; it'll be fun. There are so many hot guys—I can't even tell you!

Another girl chimes in, "You can look at them; I'm only going to watch my hottie, Ansh."

Neha whispers in my ear, "What do you say? Shall we go too?"

I reply, "No, I'm not really interested in football or anything like that."

She pleads, "Oh, please! Lectures start tomorrow anyway—and honestly, that three-hour orientation felt more like a literature class than anything else. Let's go naa to freshen up our mood."

She gives me a puppy look and asks, "Can't you do even this much for your friend?"

Finally, I give in and say, "Okay, let's go."

Excited, she hugs me and says, "Thank you, my lovely bestie!"

We reach the grounds to watch the football match.

We watch the players, who are playing a magnificent game with great passion.

Amidst all this, I notice something: more than half the girls are chanting the same name"Ansh, Ansh."

Deep down , I wanted to know who this 'Ansh' was the guy so many girls were crazy about.

Suddenly, I was stunned; right in front of my face, a hand with clearly visible veins caught  football. It was just about to hit me in the face, and look at me I didn't even realize it.

I stood there, mouth agape.

Then, the boy looked at me and asked, "Are you okay?"

Gazing at him, I was captivated by his beauty; he was so handsome that words couldn't do him justice. His deep brown, almond eyes and messy hair only added to his striking appearance.

Still in shock, I simply nodded.

He then walked away and resumed his game.

Just then, a girl muttered, "She's so lucky that Ansh Rathore saved her."

I was left dumbfounded, realizing, "Oh, so *this* is the Ansh everyone in the college talks about."

Neha asks me, "Sia, are you okay?"

I nod in agreement, and we walk away.

I start blushing.

Neha notices this and asks, "Sia? What's happened to you? Wait a minute-you're blushing! Tell me the truth-is it about the guy who saved you? Do you...?"

I interrupt her, saying, "Oh, no-are you crazy? It's nothing like that."

Neha stares at me for a moment, then smiles and says, "Okay."

After that, we attend our lectures; it's a Business Communication class taught by Mrs. Tiwari.

Suddenly, two seniors walk in and shout, "Hello, freshers! How are you? We're your seniors. So, guys, how do you like it here?" The whole class shouts back, "It's great!" They continue, "To make your college journey enjoyable, we're giving you a form where you can choose a club based on your interests-whether it's singing, dancing, theater, or sports."

The whole class got excited upon hearing this.

Then, the seniors handed out forms, mentioned that the submission deadline was the next day, and left.

We filled out the forms.

I chose the singing club because singing is my world-I've always wanted to be a singer, though Dad disapproves because he considers it a mere pastime with no career prospects, so I never even mention it in front of him.

Neha chose sports, as she is deeply interested in athletics; she has even reached the state level in badminton.

So, that was our first day-a mix of exhaustion, fun, and a unique feeling.

That night,

While we were all having dinner together, Dad asked me, "Beta, how was your first day of college?"

I replied, "It was great, Papa."

Neha asked me excitedly, "Didi, it's such a huge college-the campus must be massive! And there are so many handsome..." I glared at her, signaling her to shut up, especially since Dad was already glaring at her .

Just then, Mom mentioned to Dad, "By the way, I spoke to an old friend of mine today, and I was thinking of inviting her over for dinner sometime."

Dad said, "Sure, why not? Invite her, but let's do it next week."

Mom asked, "Why next week?"

Dad told us, "We have to attend my sister's son's wedding."

Mom slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "Oh my, I completely forgot about that!"

I said, "But Papa, my college has just started, and Nia has her 12th-grade exams coming up soon. I don't think either of us can come."

Dad agreed, saying, "You're right; studies are important. So, you two stay back and continue with your college and studies, while your mother and I go attend the wedding."