Indhu POV
The morning sunlight streamed into the classroom, but for me, it felt like I had stepped straight back into my dream. The moment my eyes landed on Aditya—sitting calmly, scribbling something in his notebook—my mind replayed yesterday's strange scene. Navami. Her long hair. Aditya showing her around. Swetha whispering, "Is she really his Mallu girlfriend?"
And most of all… Aditya blushing.
I bit my lip to stop myself from giggling, but the memory hit too hard. My shoulders shook anyway.
Charlotte, sitting beside me, raised an eyebrow.
"Okay… what's wrong with you? Why are you laughing like a villain?"
I leaned closer and whispered, "Don't… don't laugh, okay?"
"Now I'm definitely going to laugh," Charlotte said.
I gave in and narrated the entire dream—Navami entering the class, everyone staring, Swetha teasing Aditya, and especially the part where Aditya turned pink.
By the time I reached the lunch break scene, Charlotte had already fallen over the desk, holding her stomach. Swetha, who had been quietly listening from the next row, suddenly burst out,
"WHAT? You dreamt a whole Malayalam love story?"
I covered my face. "I know, I know—it was sooo real! When I woke up, I almost thought Adi was going to walk into class with Navami following him."
At that exact second, Aditya turned around to hand a book to Rohan. My eyes widened instantly.
"SEE!" I hissed. "Exactly like that! That's how he looked in my dream!"
Charlotte and Swetha exploded with laughter again, so loud that even Rohan turned suspicious.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"Nothing," the three of us said at once—but our giggles totally gave us away.
For the rest of the day, every time Aditya raised his hand, spoke to a teacher, or even coughed, my brain connected it back to the dream. Charlotte and Swetha made it worse by whispering "Navami" under their breath and pretending to look around for her.
Aditya frowned, completely clueless.
"Why are you guys acting so weird today?"
"Nothing, Mallu boyfriend," Swetha muttered—just loud enough for Charlotte and me to collapse into laughter again.
By the final bell, I was exhausted—not from classes, but from laughing at my own dream and how ridiculous it felt now. Still, somewhere inside, I smiled. Dreams might not be real, but they sure know how to keep life interesting.
The next morning, I walked into class still carrying the weight of my Navami dream. I'd laughed about it with Swetha and Charlotte the whole of yesterday, but the more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.
So ridiculous… that I had to tell Aditya.
During the short break, I leaned across my desk and whispered,
"Adi… I have to tell you something. Promise you won't get mad?"
He looked up from his notebook, wary.
"Why does this sound like trouble already?"
Rohan, sitting nearby, smirked.
"If it's trouble, I want in."
Swetha and Charlotte immediately perked up, like an eager audience waiting for drama.
I took a deep breath.
"Okay… so yesterday morning, before school… I had this dream."
"A dream?" Aditya tilted his head.
Charlotte nearly clapped.
"Here we go."
I nodded quickly, trying not to laugh.
"Yes! The teacher introduced a new transfer student from Kerala. Her name was… Navami."
Aditya froze. Rohan almost choked on his biscuit.
Swetha burst out laughing.
"See! I told you, Adi—you have a Mallu girlfriend even in Indhu's subconscious!"
Aditya blinked. "…What."
I rushed on.
"No, listen! She sat near us, everyone stared, and then—" I pointed straight at Aditya. "You were absolutely AWESTRUCK. Like you'd seen your long-lost soulmate."
The whole group roared. Rohan thumped the desk.
"Oh my god, Adi, dream-crush reveal!"
Aditya groaned, covering his face.
"Indhu, seriously? Why would you even dream that?"
I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.
"I don't know! But it felt so real—you even gave her notes and ignored us the whole day."
Swetha added, enjoying this far too much.
"He even blushed in her dream, bro. Blushed."
Charlotte leaned toward Aditya with mock seriousness.
"So… is there something you'd like to confess, Mr. Mallu Heartthrob?"
Aditya slammed his notebook shut.
"No! There's nothing! It was her dream, not mine!"
His ears had turned red, which only made us laugh harder.
Rohan pointed at me.
"And you said you called her to sit with us at lunch? Wow. Even in your dream you're matchmaking Adi."
I buried my face in my hands.
"Stop, stop! I regret telling you all!"
But the laughter didn't stop. For the rest of the period, every time Aditya spoke, Rohan would cough and say "Navami," making Charlotte and Swetha nearly fall off their chairs.
Aditya finally snapped,
"If anyone says that name one more time, I'm switching benches."
Of course, that only made them laugh louder.
By the end of the day, I was embarrassed—but oddly relieved. The secret was out. And though everyone teased Aditya endlessly, deep down, I knew he'd remember this dream far longer than he admitted.
As we packed up to leave, Aditya leaned just close enough so only I could hear.
"By the way," he whispered with a sly smile, "if I really do get a Navami one day… I'll make sure you're the first to know."
My eyes widened—half annoyed, half flustered. Before I could say anything back, he walked away coolly, leaving me blinking, my cheeks pink, while Swetha and Charlotte nudged each other, clearly suspicious of the whole scene.