“Love happens when one least expects it”

IV. Zephyr

A HAPPY BEGINNING

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So far in ‘A Happy Beginning’:
Siri has accepted Suhas’s proposal and he had been in a different world ever since. In one of the counseling, Ashish got his heart broken, thanks to Suhas for insisting to take the chance before it’s late. However, his intentions and thoughts were genuine, he didn’t anticipate that it would backfire. Perhaps, it was way too early at that time for him to propose. The counseling was a big hectic thing and Siri was placed in a college on the other side of the city which meant that Suhas and Siri were on opposite ends of the city, when her parents suspected that Suhas might be having a liking towards Siri and that perhaps the feeling was being mutual. The days that followed were spent on settling in the new college and adjusting to the new atmosphere. How did they manage to bridge the new gap between them? And what was happening in their lives and the people they are getting acquainted with… Read on to find out…

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“Some people just connect the very first time they meet”

The college was the best time they had had in a long time. The school was a routine, which just shuffled between school and home, and maybe a bit of playing in the evening. But mostly it was about studies. The school was always hectic and the expectations from the students were always more. The age is not a bar, it never was. The marks were the bar. It was mandatory that each and everyone got the maximum marks. The name of the school was at stake and they didn’t want to let it go down, no matter what. Special classes would be arranged for the lesser achievers to bring them up to speed with the others. But, all of the changed once they were in college. The freedom was like a breath of fresh air and everyone had the same idea of making the most of college that they possibly can.

Siri had always been a very studious student. But college saw a different side of her, not that she had left studying and no longer studious as she was but she had much more needed freedom she wasn’t aware of. She started making more and more friends. As for Suhas and Varun became a bit more studious than they were earlier. With time, Siri was part of a much larger friends group in her college and they used to plan most of the things to do outside of the college that they possibly could. Siri did meet Suhas every now and then and was enjoying the newness of the relationship and that was when she met Varun. He was one of the best friends of Suhas and got acquainted with Siri and Deeksha. You know how some people just connect, the first time they meet and they are like they had known each other for ages. That was Varun and Siri. They were two different people, but are exactly the same person, in terms of their nature. It didn’t take them much time to become the best of friends. And the weekends now used to be more fun and more importantly making fun of each other.

The age of love was a funny thing, not that love has an age, but it sure is new to teenagers. The inhibitions to confess the love to one’s crush, the fear of rejection, the teasing by someone they really hate was all part of the fun. Siri was a pro at matching people, so pro that in order to not give a chance to someone else to tease her, she created one for herself. That way she had the upper hand and the people who wanted to tease her stood no chance at all. But now, she was sorted, very much in love and even if someone teased she wouldn’t mind one bit. While that was her case, she had friends who needed some matching up to be done. Deeksha was already a victim of her matching, she got linked to someone who had the funniest name ever. She had been tolerating her since high school and there never seems to be an end to that. Deeksha had hoped that with time she will forget and that name will die out. Unlucky for her, Siri was not going to let her go off that easy. However, she was having her share of fun whenever she can with teasing, Varun who recently joined the group was up for auction. He wasn’t spared either.

Varun had become a good friend of Siri, thanks to Suhas who would come along with him to meet her and she would bring Deeksha with her. They always met in groups, well most the times. So, Varun was next in line to be auctioned off and she didn’t spare anyone, not even her best friend she made from college who went by the name Nikhila. So, she linked the two of them. The funny part was that before she linked both of them, they hadn’t even met each other. There was no crush on either nor anything as a matter of fact. But the only linking factor that seemed to make a bit of sense was that they shared a common surname. That was enough for her to form the link and make her his ‘girlfriend’, but then again, she never needed any such things to link either in the first place. She had that talent.

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Suhas was very excited that day. He called up Siri to inform that a college fest was happening in their college and that she should come and visit. It will be a good excuse to meet her. Siri was equally excited. She would be able to meet him midweek, which was rare in the one year that they had been seeing each other. She jumped at the opportunity to meet him and without a doubt, she was taking her friend Deeksha. She later realized that it would be a great time to introduce her best Nikhila and Varun, the both of whom she had been teasing for quite a long time. At least now, they will see each other and what if they really liked each other, Siri would be the matchmaker for the both of them.

 [ Info:
College Fest: Short for college festival where there are a couple of academic events, presentations, competitions, games, cultural events happen in a college and the students from other colleges are welcome to present their ideas and be a part of the various competitions. ]

The day of the fest was finally there. Siri had dressed up for the event, the event being meeting her boyfriend, and so did her gang Deeksha and Nikhila who were accompanying her to the fest at Suhas’s college. When someone repeats something over a period of time, people start to believe it and find the truth in it. That’s what was going to happen that day. Siri had been teasing Varun and Nikhila so much for such a long time that they eventually started to believe that they were each others’ boyfriend and girlfriend. It was sort of imprinted in their mind and when they met for the first time, it was nothing like they had met for the first time. Needless to say, when Varun saw Nikhila for the first time, he had an instant liking toward her, the sort that stirs the butterflies in the stomach. She carried that charm with her that fascinated him. The feeling was no different with NIkhila either. She was smitten the first time she laid eyes on  Varun. He carried with himself that alluring persona that she was drawn to him. After formal introductions, while Siri and Suhas got busy in their own world, Varun and Nikhila were creating a world of their own, while all this time Deeksha had no idea what to do stuck between all of these couples.

The college fest got over and it ended on a happy note with a sweet promise to meet again soon. But little did Siri know that it was also the start of something beautiful. Her playful teases had finally formulated into something that she hadn’t seen coming. Nikhila and Varun started talking to each other after they had parted the day they met at the college fest. Maybe it was love at first sight or perhaps they felt the connection they were completely unaware of until they saw each other. Siri was still teasing her every chance she got completely unaware of what was going on behind her back. The whole group did meet a couple of times later but she still didn’t figure out that something was going on between the other two of them. Suhas, Varun’s best friend was also in the dark for a long while. In his defense, he was wound up in a world of his own with Siri being at the center of it. All of them were quite busy in their own beautiful worlds, loving every moment of it while dreaming of a beautiful future.

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(To be continued …)
When will Siri tell her parents about Suhas? Will Varun and Nikhila take it to the next level? What were they going to do after college? Is the next thing marriage or will it be that easy?
Catch the next part of the story in the next installment. 

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Read about the character and the story from the start here:
A Happy Beginning