F L A S H B A C K

"Sahil. Where's the d?" I yell out to my bestfriend going through his bag. "Dekh." I turn around when he shouts back. He gestures at the front of his pants making me narrow eyes.

"If Sneha Ma'am punishes me because I didn't make the stupid diagrams, I will tell Ahaana you hid her colors." His face morphs from teasing look to pissed off in a second. He storms towards me and yanks his bag from my hold. I give him a wide smile.

"You Mehrotra siblings need to stop blackmailing me every chance you get." He hisses shoving the protractor in my palm, I grin making him more angry. I open his notebook turning to the last page where the diagrams are and start copying them. When he notices I'm not making the diagrams correct, he snatches the pencil and notebook, shoving me out of the way.

I lean against the chair, grinning looking at him finishing my notebook. Since I can't draw a straight line and he can draw a person, every 'draw' stuff falls into his lap. Be it my mathematics & science homework, Ahaana-Suhana's art books. But it's not as if he helps us out of love, if we need him to make something for us, we have to finish his theory work.

"I'm drawing this. You go make sure Shea had her after breakfast meds." I leave before he finishes speaking. Ahaana hates taking medicines, and does everything possible to not take those. But one of the two of us have to make sure that she has her medication on time, since she's living on those.

I spot my sister from the window. She's quickly jotting down whatever Suhana's repeating from her notebook. Mumma tried so hard to get her complete her homework but she was busy throwing a tantrum because Sahil hid her new color box.

I walk into the class and feel good instantly. It's such a proud feeling to scare all the fourth graders without even saying a word. They make way for me to reach my sister. Both the girls look up at me and Ahaana's face lights up immediately.

"Finish it." My sister slides the notebook to me. The sass back like it never left her. I squint eyes at the little girl. "I'm not here to finish your pending work. Did you take your pills?" She bobs her head.

"No she didn't." Suhana huffs taking the notebook and starts writing the last paragraph. I take the bottle from the backpack and pills from the tiny container. She looks up at me pushing her lower lip out in a pout. I gesture at the medicine. She takes the water bottle and quickly gulps the pill.

"Where's Sahil?" Ahaana asks when I wipe the water drops away from her chin with my index finger. "Class." The bell for class rings, I turn around quickly walking out of the girls classroom towards my own.

•

"May I come in, Ma'am?" We all look up at the quivering  but soothing voice, all the eyes eyes on the girl at the threshold. "Come in. Are you Falak Khanna?" The girl nods slightly at Ma'am's question.

The teacher walks to her and speaks to her in whispers momentarily before gesturing at the second last empty chair in the first row.The new girl starts walking towards the chair, her eyes lowered to the floor, watching her steps. She's red. I don't know if it's because of the fear of first day or due to so many eyes on her. She's almost shrinking into herself, wanting to feel small or just poof from this moment.

Suddenly she looks right at me. Our eyes meet momentarily, but that's all it takes. My heart skips a beat. I feel it. I feel the change that one look brought in me. I feel my heart growing heavy and light at the same time. It makes my throat dry.

My gaze slides down her eyes to the rest of her. She has deep black upturned eyes. Her skin fair but pale. But her face, it feels like it is on fire. Her nose, cheeks and ears tinted rosy. A mole sit on the corner of her lower lip on the right side. Her medium length dark brown hair in a ponytail swinging whenever she moves, it almost makes me chuckle with how it bobs around even before she moves. The sudden urge to sniff her hairs... her takes over me. I want to see how it feels to touch her skin. She's so gracefully gorgeous.

"Bas kar. Kha hi jayega kya?" My bestfriend swats at my thighs, I stop looking at her and to the idiot beside me.

"I wasn't looking at her." I mumble looking ahead at the teacher. "Sure." I hear the teasing in his voice.

"Advik." The teacher calls out.

"Present." I reply. "Did you complete your homework today or I have to call your father this time?" The teacher glares, I pull out my English notebook and jump over Sahil's thighs to reach her.

"Kya Ma'am, aap bhi, kaha Dad ko le aate ho har jagah?" I spread open the last chapter I finished during breakfast with Dad narrowing eyes at me and Avni Maa feeding me.

"We finished this chapter last week. What about the one we did yesterday?" I snap my gaze to Sahil, his eyes widens and he starts going through his own notebook. The second he looks up at me with a pathetic face, my shoulders sag. I need a new bestfriend who knows what's going in the classes. This one's hell bent on getting himself and I, kill.

"I'll submit this to you by the end of the day. I promise." I run back to my seat with the notebook. Charu stretches her notebook on my way back to the desk, Sahil and I quickly start to copy.

•

"Ahaana Suhana." Sahil hits me with his shoulder and I take my eyes away from the new girl who's sitting all alone. The girls reaches our table and we leave our chairs for them.

"Why can't they eat in their own class?" The class monitor—Akshay yells from his desk. Sahil and I turn around towards him. "The teacher has no problem, why are you so concerned?" I cross hands on my chest.

"We also have siblings. You don't see them in the class." Akshay's friend Aryan says. "We have written permission from the principal. We can eat with our brothers." Suhana shouts behind us, we turn sideways to see her standing on the chair. Sahil tugs her down, glaring.

"I have told you so many times to not interfere. We'll handle them. You don't need to fight every one, Zia!" Sahil grits out to his little sister, Suhana shrugs his hand away keeping her furious gaze on the two boys. I stand between her view making her look up at me.

"Don't!" I warn her, she looks down and focuses on her lunch box. "Why's she sitting alone? Why's no one talking to her?" Ahaana murmur lowly, I follow her gaze to the new girl.

"She's new." Sahil answers.

"All the more reasons to talk to her." Suhana says before raising her hand and waving to her. The girl looks at Suhana, almost scared. "Do you want to have lunch with us?" Suhana asks.

"Suh! No." Ahaana holds her wrist. "But you said she's alone." Suhana replies to her bestfriend. "Don't call her here. I don't--" She shuts up looking at the girl who just reached our tables.

"Would you like to join us for lunch?" Sahil asks her. She looks at him for a moment before turning around. We all look at her confused. She brings out her lunchbox and comes back to us. Sahil pulls the empty chair and puts it beside Suhana's, gesturing at the girl to sit down.

I look at Ahaana to see her mask back on. The second we have company, she goes back to being so scared. To her shell. Locking herself in the darkness.

I meet Sahil's eyes, worried. He motions at me and we swap places. We all start our lunch. Sahil teases Ahaana here and there but she never responds and keeps to herself.

The lunch is silent. Even though Suhana called her, she stays mum. I see Ahaana glancing at her every now and then. I know it takes her entire strength to gather the courage and meet the gir—Falak's eyes. "Can-Can I share?" Ahaana asks, if we weren't all sitting so close, we would never hear her.

Sahil and I share a look. Our lunchboxes are always same. We have all our meals together. It's not as if our mothers cook separately. It depends where they want to cook and we have our meals in that house.  Since we always used to fight over different dishes for lunch, our mothers sat us all down one day and decided there will not be different things for each of us. It's not possible so early in the morning so we have our favourites four days, turn by turn and the last two days whatever the mothers' want.

Today happens to be Ahaana's favourite—Pasta. I look at Falak's lunch— fried rice. No. My sister doesn't eat spicy. This... seems spicy. But the fact that she's willing to share to make the new girl comfortable makes me proud and smile. Falak slides her lunchbox towards my sister with a smile. I think it's the first smile I have witnessed on her face till now—not as if I was looking at her. I wasn't. I was studying. Like a good boy!

Stop with the side eye! I get enough from Sahdev.

Suhana narrows eyes at her bestfriend. Suh is extremely protective of their friendship. She doesn't talk to any other girls and Ahaana... well she can't even if she tries. That leaves the girl being alone. This is new for all of us. Ahaana taking the first step.

Ahaana takes the first bite and her eyes water. Sahil shakes head uncapping his water bottle and handing it to her. She sips and goes for the next bite, Suhana beats her to it. "We all want some. This pasta is yucky." Suhana says giving Ahaana's lunch back to her and taking Falak's box to herself.

And that's how, we share our first lunch with a new girl, probably making first ever friend apart from the four of us.

•

"Advik!" Sahil yells behind me, I turn around watching him stroll towards me slowly. He gestures his head at the new—Falak. I raise an eyebrow. "Falak. Quick." Sahil shouts making her jump at her place. She faces us with a hand on her chest.

"Ghar nahi jana?" Sahil asks her, she nods now stuffing her books in her bag quicker than before. We wait for her to reach us at the door. "We'll save you a seat from tomorrow." Sahil tells her making me look at him horrified. He's initiating friendship?With a girl? He's either playing some sick game with the poor girl, or he's not my bestfriend. Nope. There's no in between.

Our driver uncle waves at us. The gir—Falak continues following us, she probably needs a ride. I clear my throat, "Where do we drop you?" I speak to her for the first time ever. She stops walking and looks at me, I see Sahil smirking before walking to our car.

"My—my parents are here." She mumbles, gesturing at the car parked beside ours. Her parents smile at me. I gulp down and smile back, not knowing how else to handle this situation. We both walk towards our parked cars.

"Bye." I softly whisper moving towards my seat. Sahil decided to plop on the back seat— probably to tease my sister. He needs a life. In his eyes he's born to torture my little sister and my mother needs to stop siding him every chance she gets.

"Is he your friend, bugu?" I stop myself from laughing at the face she makes when her mother call her bugu. "He's..." She trails off not sure what to say.

"I'm Advik, Aunty. Her friend." I smile at her parents. Ahaana Suhana comes behind me. Falak smiles at them. "They are... my... friends as well." She tells her parents motioning at the girls. They wave at her parents.

"They're in your class?" Her father asked confused.

"No. They are our little sisters." I point my finger at Sahil and me. "We have lunch together, she met them at lunch." Her father nods in understanding.

"Bye." I nod at her slow voice. The family gets in their car. Her mother beams at the girls from the window. Suhana Ahaana waves at Falak, who waves back. Once their car leaves, we get in our own.

•

"I heard they are shifting a new kid from 'C' to our section." Sahil tells me when we are studying at night. I focus on completing my work. He continues playing with the spinner.

"Our class already have 35 students. We don't even have extra seats anymore." I reply back.

"But A and C has 36 and 37 students, they are sending him to our section so all three sections has equal students." I hum back, not knowing why are we even having this conversation.

"Avni Maa." Ahaana snatches the spinner from him when she notices Avni Maa heading our way, Sahil starts writing in his notebook. They just had a huge fight. Again. And yet my little sister can't see him getting scolded.

"Suh saw a guy today and couldn't keep her eyes off." Ahaana whispers only for our ears, Suhana slaps her with the notebook to which Ahaana only giggles. Sahil looks at his sister with scary eyes. "She's kidding!" Suh yells throwing her hands in air. I shake head at the three.

My thoughts going back to a certain someone every few seconds. I won't mind having her around the girls. She doesn't give off the weird vibe like the other girls. She looked at the girls with such adoration. Suhana and Ahaana are really important for us. Even though we have age differences, we never really felt like siblings, we all are eachother's best friends first. We always tell them everything and they tell us every tiny thing. We share such unique understanding, comfortness.

We get along with others in our class but it never felt comfortable enough for us to invite them to our lunch. Lunch time has always been ours. Even though our friends from basketball begged us to join them, we never wanted to be with anyone else other than our girls. We loved going to their class or them coming to ours for lunch. But today, having her, it didn't feel weird. It felt... comfortable. She wasn't intruding, she just existed... with us. She felt like a part of us. Good part. Forever kind of?