Inside the Dorm Room
Time: 8:45 AM
It was a bright sunny day for everyone in MIT - WPU, Pune. A normal day with all the hustle and bustle of the university. For some, it was a preparation day for the upcoming exams, for some it was a Library day, and for others, it was a brand new day in a brand new university. Mishti belonged to this last category, as she was one of the newcomers here. But as a small-town, introvert, Bengali girl, she was having a hard time to place herself in this new situation.
As she was packing her bags to go to the class, she was also mentally preparing herself to sit by herself in the class.
Trisha, her roommate, was getting ready too. Mishti looked at her to ask something, but was too embarrassed to do so.
Trisha understood. she looked at her and said, "What?"
"N-Nothing!!" Mishti immediately looked away.
Trisha understood, "Okay, Mishti, I understand you're an introvert. But will you just let me know what you need? We are roommates, you can tell me anything."
Mishti sighed and said, "Well, as starters, I want you to be in the English classroom with me."
Trisha started laughing, "Well, for starters, I am a math student and you don't talk to me in the dorm too."
Because of her tone, Mishti couldn't control her chuckling. Trisha, smiling, came to her, "Why don't you put some kajal in your eyes? Your eyes are so naturally pretty, use some kajal, and they will just glow up." As she said this, she took out a new kajal from her drawer and came up to her.
Hesitantly, Mishti looked at her. "My eyes won't itch, right?"
"No, just trust me," Trisha carefully put kajal on Mishti's eyes.
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In the English Classroom
Time: 9:15 AM
The class was about to start in 15 minutes, and Mishti was sitting alone on the second last bench in the classroom. Also, she was the only one to be ready with notebook, textbook, and pen on her desk.
The entire class was chattering, with kids scattered on each other's desks, talking, giggling, and gossiping. This was nothing new!! Since she had transferred here, this was the common scenario. Everyone making a chaos until the professor entered. And she was the only one prepared with homework and ready for the class. In the last class, she was appreciated by Mrs. Ketu. Probably that was the reason others didn't like her much.
While all these scattered thoughts were coming to her mind, Mishti was casually noticing the entire classroom. 'That tall boy with thick eyebrows, what was his name? Something with P. He was the leader of Football Team. He plays nice,' she thought, 'but doesn't pay attention in the class. 'That fair girl, she is Punjabi, so fair she is, and so nice hair she has.' 'And that Marathi girl, her name I remember, Isha Pawar. She and that short girl are best friends. What's her name? Something Malini, I guess. Who are they talking to? I have never seen that guy before.'
While she was thinking all this, Mrs. Ketu entered the classroom. And immediately turned to that unknown boy, "Abhinav, what are you doing in this class?"
The boy got alarmed, so were the girls. "Ma'am, I was just talking to them."
"Get out, this is English class. You know that, right? Don't come and disturb the whole class. Go to your classroom."
Abhinav looked at the girls and without further talk, left the classroom. But before he left the classroom, he gave a really good glance at Mishti. That was the moment when she noticed him precisely. His thin almond eyes, slightly oval face with little beard on it, curly hairs cut into a plateau-top style, his Rockstar t-shirt perfectly complementing his worked out body, and his tapered jeans complementing his medium height on a noticing level. But beyond everything was his stares, the kind where it probes through the soul and stirs up emotions. Emotions that Mishti had never felt before.