25 Freshers Ball
The afternoon sun filtered through the large classroom windows, painting long, golden streaks across the polished wooden desks.
The first lecture of the day had ended a few minutes ago, leaving the room buzzing with conversations as students waited for their next professor to arrive.
Some were frantically discussing upcoming assignments, others exchanged notes, while a few were already making enthusiastic plans for the weekend.
Niyati rested her chin in the palm of her hand, absentmindedly twirling a metal pen between her fingers as her eyes drifted out the window.
Beside her, Diya was busy scrolling through the university's student portal, occasionally making dramatic faces that earned curious, amused glances from nearby classmates.
"You know," Diya sighed dramatically, locking her phone with a sharp click, "college professors really derive a sick kind of joy from handing out assignments in our very first week."
Niyati laughed softly, turning her gaze back to her friend. "It's called preparing us for the real world, Diya."
"It's called state-sponsored mental torture," Diya countered immediately. "You are such a drama queen."
"I prefer the term emotionally expressive," Diya declared, adjusting her collar.
Niyati rolled her eyes affectionately, a soft smile tugging at her lips. But before she could fire off another comeback, two familiar figures stepped up to the edge of their desk.
"Hey, girls."
Both of them looked up simultaneously. Aarush stood there with his usual carefree grin, one hand casually tucked into the pocket of his jeans. Standing right beside him was Shaurya, carrying a heavy notebook under his arm and wearing an amused expression.
"What's up?" Aarush asked cheerfully. Diya looked straight up at the whitewashed classroom ceiling with exaggerated, absolute seriousness. "The ceiling, Aarush."
A beat of dead silence hung in the air.
Then Shaurya burst into a sudden, loud laugh, while Aarush simply stared at Diya with an expression of pure, unadulterated disbelief.
"Very funny," Aarush muttered, shaking his head.
"I know," Diya preened smoothly.
"You've been waiting to use that line for ages, haven't you?"
"For literally years," she admitted without a trace of shame.
Niyati shook her head, trying-and completely failing-to suppress her amused smile.
Aarush dramatically placed a flat palm over his heart, looking betrayed. "I came over here with genuine, noble intentions, and this is the warm welcome I receive."
"You'll survive the trauma," Diya replied dryly.
"I don't know, my heart is fragile..." He sighed theatrically before grabbing a wooden chair from a nearby empty desk and turning it around to sit opposite them. Shaurya quickly followed suit, pulling up another chair.
"So," Aarush began, leaning forward on his elbows with sparky enthusiasm, "are you two ready for this weekend's Freshers' Ball?"
Diya's face instantly lit up. "Oh, you have absolutely no idea how excited I was!"
Shaurya frowned slightly, catching the shift in tense. "...Was?"
The bright excitement drained from Diya's expression just as quickly as it had appeared. "Niyati and I aren't going."
Both boys blinked in surprise. "What?" Aarush almost shouted, leaning back. "Why?" Shaurya asked, looking equally perplexed.
Diya let out a long, heavy sigh, pointing an accusing finger directly at her best friend. "Look, I wanted to go. I was practically picking out my outfit. But Madam over here refuses."
Both pairs of eyes shifted toward Niyati. She looked instantly self-conscious under the sudden spotlight, her cheeks warming slightly.
"It's not like that..." Niyati began softly.
"Then what is it?" Diya pressed, folding her arms over her chest.
Niyati let out a quiet sigh, realizing there was no point in dodging the question. "We don't have partners," she explained simply. "The event is specifically a couples' ball. Everyone is going to be attending with someone."
Diya nodded with dramatic emphasis.
"And I explicitly told her we could easily find two perfectly decent guys in this entire sprawling university!"
"Diya..." Niyati warned gently.
"What? We easily could!"
Niyati shook her head, her voice dropping. "I just... I don't want to randomly ask someone I barely know just for the sake of an entry ticket."
Shaurya exchanged a quick, silent glance with Aarush across the table. Then, as if sharing a telepathic signal, both of them smiled at precisely the same time.
"Girls," Shaurya announced with sudden, booming confidence, "why fear when we're here?"
Niyati and Diya looked at them in complete confusion.
Aarush spread his hands wide in a theatrical flourish. "Shaurya and I don't have partners either. So..." He pointed a thumb toward himself and then toward Shaurya. "Why don't the four of us just go together?"
Diya's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "What?"
"Are you guys actually serious?" Niyati asked, her breath catching slightly. "Completely," Aarush nodded earnestness replacing his usual banter.
"In fact..." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking unusually sheepish for a brief second. "That's actually the whole reason we walked over here."
"We've been trying to gather the courage to ask you two since eight o'clock this morning," Shaurya admitted with a light chuckle.
Diya looked from Aarush to Shaurya, and then whipped around to Niyati, her eyes sparkling with pure delight.
"Niyuu!" She grabbed her friend's arm, shaking it with unrestrained excitement. "Now we have partners!"
Niyati felt completely caught off guard, a sudden wave of panic rising in her chest. "No... Diya, wait..."
"What now?" Diya asked, her smile pausing.
"I..." Niyati opened her mouth, searching frantically for a reasonable excuse, but her mind went completely blank.
How could she possibly explain it to them?
How could she explain that the very thought of walking into a formal dance with someone else felt fundamentally wrong?
That no matter how much time had passed, every single time she pictured attending a ball, the only face she ever saw standing beside her was Ansh's?
Even after everything they had been through. Even after the quiet, agonizing distance of their breakup. Even after months of convincing herself she was moving on. Her stubborn, hopeless heart simply refused to imagine anyone else holding her hand on a crowded dance floor.
"Niyuuu..." Diya's soft, pleading voice broke through her spiraling thoughts. "Please? It's our very first college ball. We'll never get another first-year ball again. Second year is going to feel completely different. Please, yaar..."
Across the table, Aarush instantly joined the persuasive attack. "Yes, please, Niyuuu!" He clasped his hands together in dramatic prayer. "Pretty pleaseee."
Shaurya laughed, shaking his head. "Don't make the poor guy beg on his knees, Niyati."
"I have zero dignity left if it gets us into that party," Aarush declared proudly.
"Exactly!" Diya agreed, nodding vigorously.
Now all three of them were staring at her with identical, wide, hopeful expressions. Niyati looked from Diya's beaming face, to Aarush's desperate clasped hands, to Shaurya's quiet, expectant smile. Three pairs of pleading eyes locked onto her.
She tried so hard to remain firm. She really, truly did. But seeing Diya practically vibrating with happiness made her resolve crumble into dust.
Finally, Niyati let out a long, defeated breath, her shoulders slumping.
"...Fine."
All three of them leaned in closer.
"I'm in."
A split second of stunned silence hung over the table.
And then-
"YAYYYYYY!"
Diya's high-pitched, triumphant squeal echoed off the concrete walls of the classroom, causing half a dozen surrounding students to turn around and stare in shock. Diya didn't care in the slightest. She immediately threw her arms around Niyati, hugging her with a suffocating tightness.
"I knew you'd agree!" she cheered into Niyati's shoulder.
"I only agreed because you were actively emotionally blackmailing me," Niyati mumbled, though a fond smile cracked through her defense.
"Hey, whatever gets the job done!" Diya grinned, pulling back.
Aarush clapped his hands together with a loud snap. "Perfect!" He pointed a finger at Niyati. "So, I'll go as Niyati's partner." Then he gestured toward Shaurya. "And Shaurya will go with Diya." He looked at both girls for confirmation. "Is that arrangement okay with everyone?"
Niyati glanced at Diya. Diya was practically glowing, grinning from ear to ear. Together, both girls raised their thumbs in unison.
"Done," they said together.
"Awesome," Shaurya smiled, pulling out his phone. "I'll create a group chat right now."
"For organizational coordination," Aarush added smoothly. "And primarily so Diya doesn't accidentally get lost before the event even starts."
"I do not get lost!" Diya protested indignantly.
"Diya, you literally managed to get lost three separate times on orientation day," Aarush pointed out.
"That wasn't getting lost, that was strategic campus exploration!"
"That was basic geography failing you miserably."
The four of them erupted into a wave of shared laughter. Just as the noise settled, the heavy front door of the classroom swung open, and their afternoon lecturer stepped inside carrying a towering stack of textbooks.
Almost instantly, the chatter filling the room died down to a faint whisper.
"Looks like class is officially starting," Shaurya whispered quietly, pushing his chair back and standing up.
"We'll text you both details later," Aarush added, flashing them one last cheerful grin before turning around. "See you."
"Bye!" Diya waved enthusiastically as the two boys headed back toward their assigned seats a few rows behind.
As Niyati opened her notebook and clicked her pen, setting it against the fresh page, Diya leaned over her shoulder, whispering with a mischievous, victorious smirk, "See? I told you we'd find partners without any drama."