The next morning, Aarohi and Sukhi rode to school on Aarohi's brand-new pink scooter. The feeling of freedom and excitement was all over their faces as they parked it in the school lot. As they walked toward the school gate, they found Nirvay already waiting nearby.
Nirvay held out a chocolate with a slight, genuine smile.
"Sorry. You were right. I shouldn't have touched you without asking."
Aarohi crossed her arms, debating internally. I should just ignore him… but why is it always so hard to ignore chocolate?
"Fine," she said, still acting cold.
Nirvay raised an eyebrow. "Take the chocolate. That way, I'll know you've actually accepted my apology."
Sukhi quickly snatched the chocolate with a playful grin. "Sure, Nirvay. I'll give it to her."
Aarohi glared at Sukhi. "Seriously? You too?"
Sukhi teased, "What? I was doing your work. You should've just taken it. Since you didn't, I helped. Now, eat it!" She giggled, holding out the chocolate.
Unbeknownst to them, Piya had seen everything. She rushed to tell Shreya.
"Bae, this is getting too much! Nirvay just apologized to that lizard Aarohi… and gave her chocolate too! What is happening?"
Riya chimed in, "You should really control him now."
Shreya's face darkened with rage. "Unbelievable."
---
After School
As school ended, Sukhi had her own exciting news. "Aarohi, Ayush wants to take me somewhere after school." Her cheeks flushed pink.
Aarohi teased, "A date? Wow, go ahead, lover girl!"
Sukhi smiled shyly. "You'll be okay going home alone, right?"
"Don't worry. I can manage," Aarohi reassured her.
While heading to the parking lot, Aarohi's smile quickly vanished. Two boys had knocked over her brand-new scooter. The side was scratched, and the handle was damaged.
Furious, she stormed toward them. "Who are you two? And why did you do this to my scooter?"
Boy 1 smirked. "What happened to your scooter can happen to you too."
"Really?" Aarohi glared.
Boy 2 stepped forward and shoved her. "If you know what's good for you, you'll change your section or leave this school."
Aarohi steadied herself and snapped, "I'm not going anywhere. Not from this section, not from this school."
Boy 1 raised his hand to hit her again—just then, Nirvay appeared and caught his wrist.
"Aarohi, go stand near my car. I'll handle this."
"Why should you handle it alone?" Aarohi challenged, her eyes blazing. Before Nirvay could react, she delivered a powerful punch to the boy's face.
"Wow," Nirvay muttered, stunned.
Together, they fought back fiercely and quickly forced the boys to run away in defeat.
Still impressed, Nirvay asked, "I can't believe you can fight like that! Where did you learn?"
Aarohi grinned. "At home. Years of practice fighting with my brother!"
But the moment she turned to look at her damaged scooter, her smile faded, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Now what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Nirvay asked gently.
"It's my new scooter. My brother just bought it for me yesterday!" Aarohi sobbed, clutching her scraped palm.
"Hey, don't cry. I'll get it fixed for you, okay? I'll call my driver. He'll take it to the mechanic. I'll drop you home myself." Nirvay's voice softened. "You're strong, right? So don't cry."
Aarohi, her hand throbbing and her heart aching over the scooter, finally agreed to go with him.
As she sat quietly in the car, tears still falling, Nirvay glanced at her. Why does she look so cute even when she's crying? he wondered.
He dropped her near her home and realized something. "So… you and Sukhi are neighbors too."
He wanted to wipe her tears, but the canteen scene from last time flashed in his memory. He chose to hold back.
"Take care," he said simply, before driving away.
Was this the beginning of a friendship? Or something else?
The answer awaited in the next chapter.