Aditya's POV
The clock blinked 6:00 a.m. when the school gates creaked open.
I stood near the bus, half-awake, watching students stumble in like zombies with backpacks and snack boxes. Cold air, mist everywhere. Too early for thinking. Definitely too early for excitement.
The V5's class took the middle rows. Rohan collapsed into his seat like life had betrayed him.
"Why are we awake?" he groaned.
I didn't even open my eyes.
"Because science waits for no one," Swetha replied, fully alive.
I made a mental note to question her sanity later.
The bus rolled onto the highway. Vibe travel songs filled the air. Some slept. Some shouted. Some already acted like the trip was the destination.
I put on my earphones—classical music, something steady. Across the aisle, Indhu sat by the window, sketching quietly. That's when I knew this trip wouldn't stay quiet for long.
Swetha stood up.
"Someone put on something fun."
Before I could object, the Bluetooth connected. A loud folk beat exploded through the bus.
And then chaos.
Swetha and Indhu stood up and started dancing—in the aisle.
Not small movements. Not jokes. Full-on performance.
The bus bounced. They didn't care.
Indhu moved like she'd forgotten everything else existed. She tripped once, laughed, stood right at the front, and kept going like nothing could stop her. I found myself watching—how easily she laughed, how free she looked.
"They're dancing," I muttered. "And they're good."
Rohan just stared like he'd woken up in the wrong universe.
At the back, Charlotte sat completely unbothered, eating banana chips like a judge at a reality show.
"They're going to twist an ankle," she said.
When the song ended, the energy didn't fade—it settled. The bus felt alive.
The science museum was massive. Real stuff. My kind of place.
Charlotte and I headed straight to robotics. We programmed a bot through a maze. It failed twice. Then worked perfectly.
"Told you my logic would work," I said. "Please. I fixed your turns," she shot back.
Fair.
Indhu disappeared into the space section. Swetha dragged Rohan to aeronautics. Typical.
My curiosity took me that i did not see what was next to me. Then I slipped.
Water model. Bad footing. I grabbed the nearest person. Chaos followed. I slipped ! the boy next to me slipped right onto the modal breaking its part . The staffs and my teacher came running hearing the sound .
My Teachers were furious. One sir grabbed my ear and scolded me—loudly. It wadnt harsh but i faced down even though my ear hurt.
Then i heard a loud sound
It was indhu.
She laughed like it was the funniest thing she'd ever seen. I glared. She laughed more. Even the teachers were suprised but that didnt stop her she even crouched holding her knees and laughed swetha was confused but when charlotte told her she also couldnt stop herself from laughing
Later, my hand stung—a small scratch. I didn't even notice until Indhu nudged me, silently handing over a bandage… when her eyes met mine she started laughing again.
I didn't say anything. I knew it was hard not to laugh especially after the chaos..
She even added ," You slipped like a movie heroine—paused for dramatic effect, background music loading—only to realize there's no hero, just gravity doing its job."
The nerve of her..
I wanted to shot her back with a replay but
My brain suggested a comment.
My common sense immediately reminded me of past bruises.
Conclusion: silence is life. Indhu is dangerous
On the return trip, the bus was quiet. Exhausted quiet. The good kind. But no that did not stop the girls of our class especially now with indhu and swetha charlotte joined in yeah indeed it was total chaos...
Later after they went back out places
Slow musics were played
No one talked. No one needed to. Because everyone were damn tierd
Just before sleep took her, indhu mumbled,
"Next time, we take the robot home."
I smiled to myself.
It wasn't just a science tour.
It was one of those days you don't realize you're going to remember forever—
until it's already over.