Nandini looked into her little compact mirror for the umpteenth time. It was her first day at the reputed SPACE academy, and she felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement as she entered the towering gates. She had put on a pretty halter-neck blue top with skinny jeans and her favourite stole. Her makeup was minimal - kohl, mascara, a hint of baby pink lip-gloss and some blush on her cheeks. Her hair - she left open, swept to one side, blue jhumkas adorning her ears.

''Nandiniiiii!!!'' A pretty girl in white churidar, grabbed Nandini from  behind. Nandini turned around in surprise, and let out a squeal of excitement on seeing who it was. ''Navyaaa... I missed you so much - meri drama queen!!'' Nandini screamed , and hugged Navya happily.

Navya Naveli - is a bubbly, full on desi, extremely talkative and naive girl of 18. She had been Nandini's childhood friend back in Mangalore, but they had been seperated at the age of 14, when Navya's dad shifted to Mumbai because of a job transfer. And now the duo were re-united, because Navya too had joined SPACE academy.

The two friends stood chatting for a while until Navya glanced at her watch and exclaimed ''Chalo, Nandu .. Orientation ceremony ka time ho gaya hai. Hum uske baad araam se baat karengey, pehle din acha impression jamana hai na''. Nandini giggled at this and nodded, saying ''Haan let's go.. Waise, You know Navya, I'm so happy ki atleast tum mere saath ho''. Navya smiled warmly and replied ''Hum bhi khush hai ki tum ho humare saath'', and thus confessing, they quickly rushed to the auditorium.

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At the same time - A girl in denim shorts, crop top and wild, coloured hair casually strolled in the canteen. Students tried to avoid her, and cleared the tables near which she even stood.
(This was -

Mukti Vardan, a fiesty, bold and daring girl whose motto in life was to 'Keep Fighting till the End'. She played the electronic guitar in Fab 5. She grew up in a household where all that surrounded her were numerous disputes, hate and bitterness. Thus, the love she had recieved from Fab 5 was extremely precious for her, and she considered them her real family.)

In a matter of minutes, Cabir too came in and joined her.

''Heyy Mukti.. Any idea baaki kahan hai?'' Cabir asked, taking the seat next to her. As if on cue, Alya and Dhruv walked in, arms linked and looking perfectly in love.
''Yeh lo, humare love-birds toh aagaye. Seems like they have patched up'' Mukti replied, winking at Cabir.

''Hey guys!'' Dhruv greeted them, and pulled out a chair for Alya, saying - ''Meri Manik se abhi baat huwi. He's running a bit late, but he'll be here soon''.

Mukti sighed, saying ''I just hope wo jaldi aa jaye.. Aaj freshers aayenge, aur humein unki ache se leni hai, as soon as their bakwaas Orientation ceremony gets over'' .  All of them, except Dhruv burst out laughing at this and hi-fived each other. Dhruv, unlike the others did not fancy the idea of using the poor freshers for their own entertainment, but he loved the Fab 5, and didn't have the heart to stop them.

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A little later ....

Navya, Nandini and Shahid finished their tour of the college, and now stood chatting in the corridor. ( During the ceremony, they had met the friendly Shahid Sharma, of 2nd year and he offered to show them around college, which they happily accepted.)

Suddenly Navya exclaimed, remembering something - ''Shahid, tumne humein college ke baare me sab bataya, par humare favourite Fab 5 ke baare me toh kuch kaha hi nahi.. Waise bhi, unhi ke liye toh hum SPACE me aaye hai!!''

''Fab 5? Who are they?'' Nandini questioned.

''Arrey, pichle do saal se woh hi toh Musicana jeet rahe hai'' Navya responded, excitedly.

Musicana was a grand musical fest, which gave a chance for music bands all over India to show their talent and prove themselves.

''Fab 5..'' Shahid spoke up, slowly. Nandini noticed he looked a little anxious as he spoke about them.''Unka music toh acha hai, par unse thoda bachke rehna. Yahan ke sabse bade bullies hai woh log, mujhe bhi kaafi rag kiya hai'' Shahid then went on to tell them about the many ragging incidents involved with Fab 5.

Navya just stood, surprised, listening to him while Nandini felt a surge of anger at this .
''Unhe koyi rokta kyun nahi?'' Nandini blurted, angrily.

''Sochna Bhi mat ... Warna unka agla target tum hogi.'' Shahid warned her, and led them to the canteen to eat something.

The trio walked in and took up seats at a corner of the canteen. Shahid then proceeded to point at a bunch of bratty-looking wild teens ''Wo rahe Fab 5!'' He said.

''Par wahan toh sirf 4 hai..'' Nandini said, counting them out, while Navya shamelessly just gaped at them.

''5th wala bhi aata hi hoga.. Wohi toh sabse dangerous hai, sabse scary . Us se bhidoge toh, samjho seedha college ke bahar.. Monster hai bilkul.'' Shahid said, shuddering.

At the Fab 5 table,
Alya pointed at the table in the corner, saying ''Guys, guys wahan dekho.. Woh jo teen hume stare kar rahe hai? - freshers hai shayad!''
All of them turned to look around and exchanged evil grins.

Mukti suddenly stood up, announcing ''Bas, ab main aur nahi wait kar sakti Manik ke liye...I'm gonna get the party started!''

She strolled up to the freshers, while the other 3 followed. Everyone at the canteen sensed what was about to happen, and quickly started scurrying outside, preferring to peep safely from a distance -  through the canteen's large windows.

Nandini and Navya looked up, confused and Shahid gulped as Mukti sat next to him.
''Hello Shahid!! Hey freshers, What's up? What are your names?'' She greeted them.
Navya whispered to Shahid - ''Dekho, kitni achi hai yeh, tum hume bekaar me dara rahey the''.
She then loudly answered Mukti ''Hi, hum Navya Naveli hai .. Actually hum tumhare band ke music ke badey fan hai.. Hum soch rahe they, ki agar tum log bura na mano toh, hum tumhare band me join karne ke liye audition kar sakte hai kya?!''

Nandini and Shahid widened their eyes at Navya, frightened, while the Fab 4 looked at her, amused.

Cabir slowly came up next to Navya, and made her stand up, looking at her from head to toe, saying ''Waah, itni himmat - hum toh impress hogaye Madhubala Ji'' . Navya blushed at the nickname happily.

''Par.. Agar tumhe humare saath aana hai, toh ek makeover karna padega'' He continued.

''Haan, toh usme kya hai.. Hum tayyar hai ek new look ke liye'' Navya agreed excitedly.

''Great!'' Mukti squealed ''Toh chalo shuru karte hai, pehle apney aankhein band karo''.

Navya seemed confused, but she shut her eyes anyway. What Cabir did next made both Nandini and Shahid gasp. He had grabbed bottles of ketchup and mustard, and was now pouring it over Navya's head. Navya opened her eyes in shock, and tried to escape, but Mukti and Alya held her tight in place.

Nandini and Shahid stared, numb.
''Kaisa lag raha hai makeover?'' Alya asked Navya teasingly, while Navya began sobbing.

''Ale le Madhubala Ji ko toh rona aa raha hai'' Cabir mocked her, and Dhruv just shook his head disapprovingly at the sight.

Next, Mukti grabbed cans of Pepsi , and poured them too on the crying Navya.

Eventually, Nandini could take it no more. Her anger had reached the maximum limit. Yes, she wasn't a confident person, but that didn't mean she had no heart. She screamed at the top of her voice ''STOP IT GUYS!!'' All heads turned towards her.

Then, Alya laughed provokingly and poured another can of cold Pepsi on Navya's clothes, sending the others in peals of laughter. This made Nandini angrier and she shoved Alya hard - away from Navya.

Everyone stood for a few seconds , shocked at her move.

'Shit! Nandini, yeh tu ne kya kardiya' Nandini bit her lip, realising what she did, but before anyone could say a word, she grabbed Navya's hand and ran out, while Shahid followed.

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Manik reached the canteen only to see his band boiling with anger. Cabir quickly recounted the incident to him, while Dhruv tried to calm Alya down.
Manik felt waves of anger pass through him, and furious thoughts clouded his mind - 'How dare a fresher touch a member of Fab 5?! No one , and I mean No freaking one can even place a finger on them..'.

''Ok Guys, batao koun hai woh.. Let's show her, her rightful place'' Manik finally spoke, in a deep, sinister voice. Everyone nodded, and streamed out of the canteen. Manik grabbed an egg on his way out.

After some searching inside the institute, the Fab 5 stepped on to the college grounds. ''Woh rahey!'' Mukti suddenly whispered, pointing to three students at a distance, huddling together. They were seated on the steps, Nandini's back facing them while they could see Shahid and Navya's scared faces.

''Kisne push kiya tha? Wo behenji?'' Manik asked pointing at a drenched, plaited Navya.

''Nahi, wo nahi, Its the other one.'' Cabir spoke up immediately. Something made him pity Navya, and he didn't know why.

Manik nodded and went up to them.

Shahid, Nandini and Navya were discussing the event, after they had helped Navya clean up. ''Ab toh tumhe Fab 5 zaroor target karega, tumhe aisa nahi karna chahiye tha..'' Shahid reprimanded Nandini.

Suddenly, he looked up and noticed Manik approaching them furiously. Shahid whispered ''Oh no guys, the fifth guy from the Fab 5 is coming here!''.

Nandini's heart started thudding and she was about to turn around, when she felt an egg crack hard on top of her head. 'SPLAT!'

Nandini screamed in horror, as the disgusting mess poured down the top of her head and along the sides of her face.

She slowly looked around and gasped in surprise, at the angry, tall guy standing. ''Tum?'' She exclaimed.

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Manik's POV

I went up to the girl, who had her back towards me. The drenched fresher and Shahid looked at me in alarm, and Shahid whispered something to the girl.

I noticed as I approached - the girl had gorgeous hair. 'Too bad they're gonna be messed up now'  I thought revengefully.

Before she could turn around, I cracked the egg on her head in one swift move. She screamed. I froze in place.
There was something so oddly familiar about her scream. She slowly turned, and looked at me.
Nandini!!

''Tum?'' She exclaimed.
I just stared, unable to form any words. She looked at me, in shock and confusion. Slowly, the confusion in her eyes was replaced with pain and disappointment.

This made me cringe on the inside, and I was immediately regretting my move. The Fab 5 joined me, looking perplexed. ''Tum jaante ho issey?'' Alya asked. I ignored this question, and first adressed Nandini ''Woh.. I didn't know it was you..''. Then I turned to Alya, saying ''Yeh ladki , actually Meri nayi ... umm.. friend hai.'' I replied as my band stared at me, shocked. I normally wouldn't leave any one who dared to mess with Fab 5. I myself was in a dilemma.

Suddenly, Nandini stepped closer to me, and standing on her tip toes uttered ''Friend Hai nahi, Friend Thi, Mr Manik Malhotra''. Then, she stormed off, her friends at her heels.
A wave of regret passed my whole body.

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