23 First Day #2
A slow, genuine smile spread across his face. Without allowing himself time to overthink it, his thumbs flew across the keyboard.
Ansh: Thank you.
He hit send instantly. But as the text bubble popped up on the screen, his gaze locked onto the tiny red heart he had instinctively added to the end. He stared at it, a sudden wave of self-conscious heat flushing his cheeks.
"...Well, it's too late now," he murmured to the quiet room, letting out a soft, amused laugh at his own impulsiveness.
Sliding the phone securely into his coat pocket, Ansh hoisted his laptop bag over his shoulder and grabbed his keys.
Stepping out into the crisp morning, he was greeted by the familiar, roaring pulse of Delhi coming alive.
And just like Niyati and Diya on the other side of the city, he took a deep breath and stepped boldly into the start of a brand-new chapter.
The towering glass building reflected the bright Delhi morning, its polished, pristine exterior gleaming brightly against the cloudless blue sky.
Ansh stood near the entrance for a brief, quiet moment, taking in the sheer scale of the structure before adjusting the strap of his leather laptop bag.
Looking up at the company's metallic logo mounted near the archway, he let out a slow, steady breath. This was it. Today was his first real day-the culmination of four grueling, demanding years at university.
The endless nights of late assignments, the terrifying jury presentations, and the frantic, last-minute design submissions were finally behind him.
He was standing on the threshold of the real world, and after taking a second to push away the final traces of his morning nervousness, he pushed through the glass doors and stepped inside.
The reception area was a masterpiece of sleek, modern design, styled in soft neutral tones, lush indoor plants, and minimalist furniture. Employees moved effortlessly through the hall, exchanging easy greetings and moving with the confident air of people who belonged.
To Ansh, everyone looked as though they knew precisely what they were doing and where they were going, and he found himself secretly hoping he would feel that same quiet assurance someday soon.
"Good morning," the receptionist greeted him with an effortless, professional smile as he approached the front desk.
"Good morning," Ansh replied, stepping closer. "I'm Ansh Raizada. I'm joining today as a Junior Product Designer."
"Welcome, Mr. Raizada," she said, her fingers tapping quickly across her keyboard before she gave him an approving nod. "HR has been expecting you. Please take a seat for just a moment."
Within a few minutes, a cheerful HR executive arrived to take over, guiding him on a comprehensive tour through the expansive office.
As they walked through the bright hallways, she showed him the open collaborative workspaces, the high-tech meeting rooms, the dedicated design studio, the lively cafeteria, and the recreation lounge, smoothly explaining company policies and introducing him to passing teams along the way.
Everyone offered him a warm reception-some greeted him with quick, welcoming smiles, others offered curious glances at the new face, and a few simply gave polite nods before turning their attention back to their screens.
Eventually, they came to a stop right in front of the bustling Product Design Department. The HR executive clapped her hands lightly to gather the room. "Everyone, may I have your attention for just a moment?"
Gradually, the hum of chatter and typing came to a halt as dozens of eyes turned curious attention toward the newcomer standing beside her.
"This is Ansh Raizada, our newest Junior Product Designer," she announced warmly. "He'll be working directly with Team Orion, so please make him feel right at home."
A friendly chorus of welcomes instantly rippled across the room.
"Welcome aboard!"
"Morning, Ansh!"
"Great to meet you, man."
Ansh offered a polite, genuine smile. "Thank you, everyone. I'm really looking forward to working with all of you."
While the general introductions continued, a young designer standing near the back presentation boards casually leaned over to the colleague working beside her.
"He's cute," she murmured under her breath, keeping her eyes fixed on the new arrival.
Her friend glanced over at Ansh, suppressing a sudden grin. "Very."
"Honestly, I wasn't expecting the new junior designer to look like that," the first girl admitted softly.
"Focus on your screens," her friend warned, nudging her shoulder.
"I am focusing."
"Clearly you're not," the second girl teased with a quiet laugh.
"What? I'm just saying..." she replied defensively. "HR definitely omitted the detail that we were getting genuine eye candy today."
Before they could continue their muted banter, both girls instantly straightened up and adopted expressions of intense focus as their team leader walked past their desk. Neither of them realized that a senior colleague standing a few feet away had caught every single word of their quiet exchange.
Shaking his head, he let out a low chuckle. "Poor guy," he muttered to himself.
"What's that?" the person beside him asked.
"They've already started on him," he whispered back, nodding vaguely toward the girls with an amused smirk.
Meanwhile, completely oblivious to the quiet drama unfolding in the background, Ansh was entirely immersed in his work.
He listened attentively as his team leader gave him a thorough breakdown of their active projects, asking thoughtful, well-placed questions, taking meticulous notes in his journal, and paying close attention to every detail.
His genuine enthusiasm and sharp focus made an immediate, positive impression on the senior members of the team.
Later that afternoon, while taking a brief break in the breakroom, one of the senior designers walked over and smiled at him. "For a first day, you're settling in remarkably well."
Ansh offered a modest chuckle. "I certainly hope so. There's a lot to absorb."
"Don't stress it," the senior reassured him, leaning against the counter. "You're going to do just fine here."
"Thank you, I appreciate that," Ansh replied gratefully.
Across the glass partition of the breakroom, the same two girls from earlier watched him through the window.
"See? I told you he has a nice smile," the first girl remarked, resting her cheek in her hand.
"You really notice everything, don't you?" her friend teased.
"I simply have fully functioning eyes, my friend."
Rolling her eyes, the other girl shook her head. "You should probably focus on learning his actual name first."
"I already did," she replied with a triumphant smirk.
The second girl stared at her for a beat. "...You genuinely scare me sometimes."
Neither of them noticed Ansh turning around and walking right past them a few moments later with a fresh cup of coffee in hand, entirely unaware that he had become the central topic of department gossip less than three hours into his very first shift.
He was far too preoccupied with memorizing a dozens of new names and internalizing project blueprints-and secretly wondering how Niyati's college orientation was going on the other side of the city.
By the time the clock on the wall crept toward six in the evening, he was exhausted, but a quiet sense of accomplishment settled over him as he packed up his laptop.
Taking a quick breath, he pulled out his phone and typed a quick message to Niyati, proposing a late dinner to celebrate surviving their respective first days.
When her enthusiastic reply popped up a few seconds later-informing him that both she and Diya were starving-a tired smile broke across his face.
An hour later, Ansh pulled up his car outside the university's main gate, where Niyati and Diya were already waiting under the warm glow of the streetlights. The moment his little sister and her best friend climbed into the car, the quiet interior was instantly shattered.
Diya launched into a frantic, animated recount of their day before Ansh could even shift into drive, detailing how they had managed to walk into the completely wrong auditorium, almost missed their attendance, and gotten lost three separate times.
Niyati sat in the passenger seat beside him, laughing softly at Diya's dramatic embellishments, her eyes occasionally stealing fond glances in Ansh's direction.
They decided on a lively, popular casual dining restaurant not far from campus. The quiet evening they had subtly envisioned, however, quickly devolved into absolute sibling-driven dinner chaos.
"I am ordering the butter chicken, a full basket of garlic naan, and nobody can stop me," Diya declared, slamming her menu down with theatrical finality the moment they sat down.
"Diya, we literally just had a full lunch four hours ago," Niyati reminded her with an amused chuckle.
"That was lunch, Niyati. This is emotional recovery," Diya shot back smoothly before turning to her brother with an imperious look. "Tell her, Bhai. You worked all day, you must be starving too."
"I'm definitely not going to turn down garlic naan," Ansh agreed with a quiet grin, signaling the waiter. "Besides, if I don't order enough, you'll just eat off my plate like you've done for the last eighteen years."
"That is a sacred sisterly right and you know it!" Diya huffed.
What followed was twenty minutes of pure, unstructured laughter.