Sameera's POV:
My alarm rang at 5:45 AM, but I only truly opened my eyes at 6:15, staring blankly at the ceiling. A typical weekday ritual. The rush, the questioning of life choices—especially the one where I chose to study in a college located two hours away from Thane.
By 6:40 AM, I was already brushing my hair with one hand and holding my phone between my shoulder and cheek, Rishi's sleepy voice crackling through the speaker.
"Damn, why do you sound like a dying crow?" she mumbled.
"Because I am dying, Rishi. Dying of travel and this godforsaken MBA crowd," I groaned, stuffing my lunchbox into my bag with one hand and fumbling for my earbuds with the other.
"You say that every day," she yawned. "But you still make college on time, like some broken warrior."
I glanced at the time: 6:47.
"I am not gonna make it today, Rishi. The 7:02 bus is slipping out of my life like every dream I've ever had."
She laughed. "Wow. Melodrama before sunrise. Classic Sameera."
Rishita has been my best friend since we were 13. We did schooling together, being the best deskmates. Rishi is bold, brutally honest, and the only person who could make me laugh even when I was being crushed under a mountain of assignments or self-doubt. She was now in Jaipur doing Electrical Engineering after trying for NEET thrice—but unlike me, she had somehow found peace with her path.
"You could've just chosen a college nearby," she teased.
"Don't remind me. I swear, if one more professor asks me why I'm five minutes late after traveling from Thane to Malad, I will literally launch myself into the Arabian Sea."
"You say that. But you won't. You're too dramatic to die."
She was right. Again.
As I shoved a protein bar into my hoodie pocket and dashed out the door, I yelled a half-hearted "Bye!" to Aai, who was already in the kitchen packing dabba for Baba.
Outside, the city was still stretching its limbs. The sky was a sleepy grey, street dogs chasing auto-rickshaws, and the faint smell of rain mixed with yesterday's dust still clung to the air. I ran to hold the lift, clutching my phone and bag like they were lifelines.
"I'm going to be late," I muttered again.
Rishi giggled. "You're always late. But you always arrive. That's your superpower."
I didn't answer. I was too busy praying to the Mumbai rains, not to pour.
By the time I reached the college gate, my hair was a mess, my hoodie was clinging to my back with sweat, and my mood was dangling somewhere between kill me and I need caffeine or I'll die.
I checked the time: 9:08 AM.
Great. Two minutes before the first lecture—Engineering Ethics. Ironically.
As I sprinted past the watchman—who no longer bothered stopping me for my ID—I heard my phone buzz:
Shreya [Group: Fab 6]:
Sam where are you? Ma'am's here already!!
Sanskruti:
RUN. Like full Bollywood climax scene. Arrey tu gaya aj toh.
Manjiri:
2nd floor, R8. Hurry!
I replied with a shaky selfie of me mid-run, hair flying like I'd just shot out of a wind tunnel, captioned:
"On my way to become a martyr."
As I reached the staircase, I spotted Aryan and Ujjwal leaning against the railing, pretending to be cool but clearly waiting for me.
"Finally!" Aryan smirked. "Did you come jogging from Thane?"
"I swear I'll throw both of you off this floor," I panted, pushing past them.
"Ma'am's already marking attendance!" Ujjwal added, a little too gleefully.
Behind me, I heard Atharva's voice, dramatic as ever, echoing through the corridor. "The Thane Express has arrived! Make way for the legend!"
I gave him a look. He winked.
Inside the classroom, Shreya, Manjiri, Janhvi, Sneha, and Sanskruti were all squished into the second bench, trying to look innocent while subtly signaling me to enter from the back.
I slid into the last row like a ninja, whispering thanks to Sneha who passed me her notes, pretending like I'd been there all along.
The lecture began. Or at least, the professor did.
I, however, was barely functioning. My eyes were open but my brain was still on the platform at Borivali station as I hustled to catch my second bus for college.
That is... until the real chaos began.
It started with loud voices echoing from the hallway. Laughter, shouting, clapping—basically the kind of energy that screamed "MBA first years".
Our professor stopped mid-sentence. "What's going on outside?"
Shreya rolled her eyes. "MBA freshers' orientation. Again."
Aryan muttered under his breath, "God save us all."
And then we saw them through the glass pane of the door—a loud, overly energetic group of MBA newcomers parading through the corridor like they owned it. Flashy outfits, dramatic entrances, and one guy leading them like he was born on a stage.
I only caught a quick glimpse.
But that was enough.
Tall. Denim jacket over a plain white tee. The kind of smirk that made you instantly suspicious of his intentions.
Confident. Magnetic. Slightly annoying and a eye candy.
And just like that,
Saharsh Wankhade walked into Sameera's radar.
Uninvited,
Unbothered,
And somehow already center-stage in the campus chaos.