"Such an eventful day it was..yesterday" said Mukti..while riding back to their places along with fab5 and navya.. after having a light hearted breakfast at the orphanage.

Nav: sahi kaha Mukti. Bohot kuch huwa kal..hum to sapne me b nahi soch sakte the k Nandu itni tooti huwi hosakti hai. Bohot kuch kaha usne kal..phirb aisa lagta hai k kai aur pahelia jhud gai Nandini k saath.

Dhr: but the violin that she played....man..she was awesome.

Al: yes..i mean i was shocked to see her playing so effortlessly..such a soothing n calm melody it was.

"it wasnt calm"..said Cabir n Manik..both together. They both look at each other n then turned their gazes away.

Dhr: why did u say that?

Cab: her melody had some pain in it..i dnt knw what...but it was there.

Man: it felt as if she was complaining..khaalipan hai uske andar..which was hurting her..n that was coming out as that melody.

The rest of the ride went in silence. After dropping Navya to her hostel..they all headed towards Malhotra mansion as everyone had spare changes kept there. After getting ready..they headed towards the college..as today they were supposed to meet their Mentor.

On the other hand, after feeding Arohi her breakfast..which was a routine for Nandini..though it got a bit changed today..everyday she wud first get ready at her place n then drop by the orphanage to make breakfast for everyone n feed Arohi too.but today..after feeding Arohi she headed towards her house to get ready..where instead of heading towards her own room..she opened the lock of a room that always stayed shut in past 2 yrs. Switching on the lights, Nandini roamed her eyes around to see the room..finally settling her eyes on a large portrait that was hung on the wall..she slowly proceeded towards it. With tears brimming her eyes and a sly smile on her lips..she was roaming her fingers on the portrait ever so delicately..as if trying to feel every feature drawn there.

Nan: M sorry..i know u dont like my tears..but i just couldnt hold back myself yesterday. I lost something..but i even gained something. I never imagined i would b feeling the same thing again. But HE assured me that he would b there for me. And i want u to know that..NO ONE CAN TAKE YOUR PLACE IN MY HEART...NOR IN MY LIFE. Neither i want to..nor i can give ur place to someone.
I LOVE U HERO..UR HEROINE LOVES U...FOREVER.

With a smile..she places a small kiss on the portrait and leaves for college.

Space school of Business

Fab5 were moving towards the college premises from the parking area when suddenly Manik bumps into a guy..a tall, handsome and well built guy.

Man: hope u ddnt break ur bones..

He raises his eyes to see the guy n gets surprisingly shocked.

Man: Tum?

Guy: i guess i ddnt break any of my bones..what about u? (Winks at him)

Man: saale..abhi dikhaata hu.

With that he takes him into a friendly hug. Seeing the guy..the rest of fab5 too hug him..but there was one person who seemed to b slightly more elated than the others..it was Mukti. Her eyes showed some different shine on seeing the guy.

Man: what a pleasant surprise Abhi.. what r u doing here?

Cab: exactly..u were in US ryt..what got u here?

Dhr: we r meeting nearly after 2 yrs.. cant believe u still remember us!

Muk: 2 years and 5 months.

All look at her..amazed to knw that she remembers so precisely when they had last met Abhi.

Abhimanyu.. a business entrepreneur who was completing his studies in US..met fab5 in one of the porsh clubs in US where they had come to change Manik's mood n make him feel better. They happened to share a table as it was a weekend and the club was jammed..and as they say...it clicked and all of them jelled up pretty well..Abhi also volunteered to host a small get together at his place for fab5..he had got a fair idea that Manik was quite upset about something..hence he decided to help fab4..which helped in setting Manik's mood to a great extent. Since then..they had been in touch thru SNS..

Ab: well..actually i have been called by this college to mentor few students here. So here i m.

Al: oh wow..that means u r one of the mentors..is it in ur hand to decide which group of students u would b mentoring?

Ab (confused ): well..i aint pretty sure..its not gonna b somethng specific. Either the administrative dept wud choose or wud ask us to..but in both cases..we r allowed to make changes if we wish to.

Cab: thats great then.. u would b choosing us.

Ab: u? I mean r u guys among those students who r supposed to b mentored?

Fab5 nod positively.

Ab: ohkayyy...well then...in that case..will see u guys in next hour or so. Need to go to the office to complete some formalities.

Saying so..he was about to leave when..

Ab: aah..actually m new to this place..so wud someone of u help me to the office?

Man: sure...Mukti..wud u plz take him?  (Winking at her)

Fab4 were suppressing their smiles while Mukti was finding it hard to control her happiness..

Muk: yea sure.. come lets go.

Mukbhi move towards the ofc whereas fab4 move towards the canteen..where they find Navya sitting all by herself..looking worried.

Cab: hello Madhubala ji...kya baat hai..aaj subah subah aap pareshaan lag rhi hai?

Nav: oh hi Cabir ji. Aayiye beithiye.

Fab4 sit on the same table and look at her.

Al: kya huwa navya?

Nav: wo actually. .kal Nyeonika mam ne bataaya tha na k mentors aane waale hai..aur hume groups banaane honge..lekin kal itna kuch hogaya k hamare dehaan se hee nikal gaya..aur ab lagbag saare groups ban chuke hai..kisi me b 2 k liye jaga nahi..hai to sirf ek k liye..aur hum Nandu se alag nahi hona chahte. Bas yehi soch rahe the.

Man: to isme sochna kya hai? Guys..we r 5 members..n mom ne kaha tha k min 5 n max 8 students hone chahiye. So y dont we take Nandini n Navya in our group?

Dhr: yes..that wud b great!

Cab: aur to aur hum to mentor ko bhi jaante hai. So it wud b easy for us to jel up with him..again.

Nav: kya aap log sach me hume aur Nandu ko apne group me lenge?

Al: ofcourse Navya. So now chill..

Nav: thnk u so much..

Cab: Madhubala ji..kya aapne suna nahi..dosti me no sorry..no thank u.

Nav(dramatically ): ji Cabir ji..suna hai. Wo to bas bhaaonaao me beh gaye the.

Man: God...kitne dramebaaz ho tum dono.

Guy: arre wo dekho...aaj Soni Munda kaafi time baad bade araam se aa rahi hai.

This makes everyone turn their head towards Nandini. Fab4 and Navya get furious on listening this comment. But Nandini as usual was just giving them a cold shoulder. She was about to reach the counter when someone held her hand. She turns to find Cabir holding her hand. He brings her in the centre and says:

Cab: attention everybody! I Cabir Dhawan want to make an announcement here..on behalf of fab5..esp ME.

Nandini was looking at him confused while Cabir continued..

Cab: i hope u guys remember that it was ME who had given Nandini this disgusting name.. n now..here i m...removing that tag name from Nandini..forever. henceforth. .if i ever heard someone calling her by that tag name..then trust me on this..I would take no longer to change myself from Joker Cabir to..KILLER CABIR.
This girl standing here.. (looks at Nandini) is my SISTER..n whoever dares to hurt her..would have to face me.
(Turning back at students)
I hope i have made myself clear enough not to repeat it next time.

He then moves towards their table along with Nandini. .who was lost somewhere..she was so touched by his gesture that she couldnt stop that little smile that played on her lips. Fab5 n Navya were already on the table..Mukti had come back after dropping Abhi to the office. Nandini greets them all n looks at Manik.. Manik just blinks his eyes.. they were chit chatting when an announcement was made for 2nd year students to assemble in the auditorium. On the way to auditorium..Navya informs Nandini that they r with fab5 in the same group under the same mentor.

In the auditorium...all groups were made to sit together.. Nyeonika along with the principal were first addressing the students..they were about to introduce the mentors when Nandini's phone vibrated. Seeing the orphanage's no..she told Navya..

Nan: Navya..orphanage se phone hai..i will have to attend this.

Nav: lekin Nandu..abhi mentor aane waale hai..agar tumhare baare me puch liya to?

Nan: me jaldi aajaungi..aur me baahar hee khadi hu..bas jaldi se phone khatam kerke aati hu.

Saying so..she leaves the auditorium..n here..the mentors enter n were assigned their specific groups..few of the mentors chose their own groups..one of them was Abhi. As predecided..he chose Fab5.

Nyeo: so Mr. Abhimanyu..this is ur group. A total of 7 students. Let me tell u..ur group has the topper of the batch..she is the best..not only as a student..but as a human being too. Hope u enjoy with them.
I will take ur leave.

Ab: thank u mam. N i hope they get a good mentor in me.

Nyeo: oh i m sure they will.

Nyeonika left from there..leaving the mentors with their groups. All the groups with their mentors were scattered in the auditorium..standing with some distance from other groups..n an introductory phase was going on. Abhi reaches to his group..

Ab: so....fab5.. i guess we wont need an elaborated introduction..would we?

Cab: well..not elaborated one but a short one wud b necessary thou..SIR..
This is Navya..our group member.

Nav: hello Sir.

Ab: hello Navya. I was informed that this group has the topper of the batch..is it U? And i was even told that the group has 7 members..but all i can see is 6..mind telling where is the 7th one?

Nav: Nahi nahi sir..hum topper nahi..wo to hamari dost hai.. wo darasal use bohot zaruri call aagaya..isiliye wo baahar chali gai.. aati hee hogi.

Ab: okay...so since ab humara safar thoda lamba chalne waala hai..let me inform u about my working styles n some rules.
1. I dont want u guys to address me as SIR.. Abhi or Abhimanyu is fine with me.
2. I want to build a friendly atmosphere..i would b showing u the tactics of the business world..n in return would see ur perspectives..aise me hum agar dost ban kar rahe to i guess we would feel free with each other..n bina jhijhak u can share ur views.

3. Though I am building a friendly atmosphere..i wouldnt like if u guys take me for granted. Waise to i know u guys personally..but still..if i feel that u r crossing ur lines..i wouldnt take a min to get serious.

Al (whispering to Mukti): dont u think Mukti that he has become serious sort of a guy over these years? I mean he is friendly now too..but there is some seriousness too in his voice.

Muk: thats coz ryt now he isnt just our friend..but our mentor too. So now shut up n let me concentrate.

Al: oooooòoo...so now someone really reallĺlly wants to comcentrate ha??

Muk: sshhhhh.

Ab: 4. The last one..i would really appreciate if ur "topper" would have informed me directly n excused us to attend her call. Next time..i wud like all the students to b present here..together.

Man: sorry to interrupt Abhi..but we all know her well..hadnt it been an emergency..she wouldnt have gone to attend the call.

Muk: yes..and u won't believe. .she is not only the topper..but the youngest in our batch..yet she is much more mature than us.

During this introductory phase..almost all other groups had left the auditorium..

Ab: well..i can see that everyone is a fan of hers here. Kaha hai aapki ye member?

"Me yaha hu Sir" said Nandini from behind. Abhimanyu was standing facing his back to the door. When he heard Nandini's voice he got stunned. He slowly turned around to see her. Nandini was approaching him while keeping her mobile back in pocket..

Nan: m extremely sorry Sir for being..

She stops abruptly on seeing Abhimanyu..standing in front of her..at a distance of merely few feet. Seeing Abhimanyu after more than 2 years made Nandini's mind go numb..she was shocked..n that was clearly seen on her face. Here..Abhimanyu was no different..he had never ever imagined to see her here. He couldnt come in terms that the person in front of her is indeed Nandini. Her avatar..her style..her presence here in business school..everything came as shock after shock to Abhimanyu. He was confused as well..for a second he thought mayb he is imagining...or i wud say..hallucinating would b the right word..but he was proved wrong by Cabir. .

Cab: here comes our 7th member..the youngest in our batch..the topper..a vry dear friend of fab5 and my little sister..NANDINI MOORTHY.

Ab (whispers): BARBIE DOLL...

Not able to hold himself back anymore..Abhimanyu runs towards Nandini..not giving a dam about the place or the people present around..who were confused on seeing all the ongoings..
On reaching close to Nandini..he took her in a tight hug..with his face close to her hair..n kept repeating..
"THANK U THANK U THANK U AIYAPPA..
I MISSED U I MISSED U I MISSED U BABY..I REALLY MISSED U"

Nandini was way too numb to react..she had gone so numb that she couldnt hug Abhi back..she was just standing there like a mannequin...get moulded as per Abhi's hug.
Here..on seeing such a passionate and tight hug..something churned inside Manik..he was initally confused when he saw Abhi running towards Nandini..but then taking her in his arms n then repeatedly saying "I MISSED U BABY" was enough to twist his heart in agony. He was hurt..and he was upset coz he ddnt knw why he was feeling so hurt..and almost same was the case with Mukti.. she ddnt get to knw when her eyes got filled with tears..was this the reason that Abhi never behaved a bit different towards her..n always behaved just like he does with other "friends".
Cabir was confused too..n he was upset too..well..upset coz he definitely want THIS ANGEL to be a permanent part of fab5..though she would b..but he wanted this permanence to come thru MANIK..
Dhruv and Aliya were seeing Mukti again n again..coz fab5 were known not to keep secrets between. They knew it since a long time that Mukti had a liking for Abhi..n thats why they kept in touch with him.
Where everyone was looking at these people..Navya was just focusing on Nandini...seeing her numb she understood that something is wrong. She understood that mayb Nandini wasnt ready to face Abhi..mayb she doesnt want Abhi to face THIS Nandini..and she knew it..before Abhi spills some of the beans of her past..she will have to do something.

Ab (breaking the hug, with tears in his eyes): where were u baby? I have been looking for u since 2 years...do saal se tumhe doond raha hu..kaha kaha nai dhuunda..Canada..London..US..Europe..everywhere..i never expected to see u here. Aur ye kya..(separating her a bit from him n looking at her from top to bottom) what have u done to urself? Why have u lost so much of weight? U look lean and... and pale too. (Cupping her face) are u okay Barbie doll?

Without waiting for an answer..he again takes her in his arms..this time..a bear hug..

Ab: thank u Aiyappa..for giving me my life back..i love u barbie doll..i missed u so so much. (Kissing on her head) now i m back..i wont leave u ever. We will be together..i promise.

His words were working like spears and bullets on 2 hearts..if earlier they thought they would fool themselves by saying that its nothing like that..here were the answers to their confusions..."I LOVE U" "BARBIE DOLL".. Wasnt it clear enough?

On feeling that Nandini ddnt hug him back..he breaks the hug..n looks at her in a confused manner..Nandini looks in his eyes n slowly..unknowingly starts taking backsteps. She kept looking at him while taking backsteps..

Ab:  where r u going baby? Dont go this time please..

breaking the eye lock..she turns around n leaves the auditorium..
Abhi goes behind her and Navya too rushes out. Here in auditorium...Mukti's tears were now flowing freely. Aliya came n hugged her tightly..Dhruv was patting her head..and Manik..he was looking just like that little boy who was till now enjoying the fare to his heart's contend..and suddenly his hand got separated from his mother..n now he was looking around the fare trying to understand what's going on around him..that little boy who understood that now he is lost..but is in so much of shock that he cant cry..even after having tears in his eyes..and the irony was that he ddnt knw why he was feeling this for Nandini...
Cabir..he was just looking...i dnt knw what to say...he had asked his God to send an angel for his brother cum friend..his besty..n his God did send one..but now..after that angel has set everything right in his life...or to be precisely correct..in their lives..she is going away from them..far away..
Does that mean she indeed was an Angel..whom u can just see n hope from to set everything right..but can never have her in ur lives forever????

############
Sorry for being late..was really stuck up..
But will make it up by....by.....

U will get to knw 😉