The end of term was approaching and the students had their exams to give, before their summer holidays.

Last minute revisions were going on in full swing and thanks to Rishab, Naina and others managed to understand the subjects they had difficulty with.

The weeks leading to their exams flew past in a blur and they found themselves facing the last paper already.

"Not bad right?"Rishab asked Naina,as they were walking out of their exam hall on the last day.

"Yeah decent.. Okay anyway, exams over Rishu!"Naina replied,the excitement of not having to study for at least a couple more months,evident on her face.

The other friends joined them soon.

"Guys! Let's go out tonight!! Exams over,"Ankit said and started singing,"It's the time to Discooo!"at the top of his voice.The gang readily agreed and started singing along while walking to the entrance.

Rishab however,didn't know what to reply. He had never been to clubs or parties till then and he was not too keen on going either. Naina looked at him and could see that he was in deep thought about something.

"All okay?"she whispered, not wanting to attract attention as the others were anyway busy discussing where they should be going that evening.

"Yeah yeah..it's just that I don't feel like going..haven't been to one and well..,"he muttered,an unsure look on his face.

"It's a new experience, I don't drink and I know you don't either.. So we can just probably go for a while for their sake and leave early ?" Naina suggested.

"Um.."

"Okay no problem,"Naina smiled and turned to the others.

"Oh guys I forgot! It's my school friend's engagement today..I was so excited about exams getting over that this totally slipped my mind. She knows Rishab and invited him,so we will have to get going. You guys carry on"

Everyone was disappointed and Rishab was relieved. Finally, she managed to convince them somehow and they left,after deciding to meet up later during the holidays.

"Phew okay, now do you want to go somewhere else or shall I go home ?"Naina turned to look at him,with a victorious grin on her face.

"Stay, let's go somewhere! But what if they get to know?"

"They won't. They will all head to one of their places first and then go wherever they have planned to,I am sure,"she said,before thinking for a few seconds and continuing with,"Okay, How about Marine drive?"

"Sure,"Rishab replied grinning broadly. He loved being there and all the more so if it was with Naina.

"Good I got my Activa. Come on,Let's go,"Naina told him and walked towards the two wheeler parking area. He had never been on her bike earlier. All their plans till now was more or less them meeting outside or Rishab coming there on his own.

Naina,who had managed to take her bike out of the parking area,now looked at Rishab who was lost in thoughts.

"Hello?"

He just looked at her Activa and then her.

She deciphered the meaning behind his expression soon enough.

"You are scared for your life,aren't you?"she asked,chuckling.."I have been driving for four years now, you can trust me"

"I do but.."

"Are you shy?Rishuuu,are you blushing?"

"Fine,stop pulling my legs now,"he mumbled and went ahead to sit behind her and it was a good five minutes before Naina stopped laughing and started driving.

Rishab relaxed after a while and enjoyed the cool breeze fanning his face. They reached Marine Drive and Naina parked her vehicle. They decided to walk along the shore for a while.The beach,which has always been famous for its amazing sunset views,didn't disappoint them that day. A yellowish orange hue had spread across the sky,looking spectacular and urging them to just keep looking at it.

Rishab started talking,as they walked."Naina, you know? I have always loved water and beaches right from childhood.When I was a kid, I remember coming to Mumbai with Papa(Dad) once, for a day, and after his work got done, he took me to Marine drive. Such a calm place. I saw Papa smiling that day,after a long time,without a tinge of worry on his face.I guess the waves soothed his nerves and he felt happy,just looking at the water. I didn't get a chance to come here after that, but that day ,the contended expression on Papa's face and the calm soothing feeling that warmed my heart,will stay with me forever".

Naina smiled at him, "Rishu, you should bring your parents here sometime.Won't your Dad be thrilled to be here again?"

"He will.But they won't agree so easily.They'll think they are troubling me, if I have to organize a hotel for their stay and all that."

"Oh come on! They can stay at my place"

"No No Naina. That won't be necessary.Anyway,Papa is retiring in two months. So I will probably find a part time job by then and when I assure them that I am managing pretty well,they might come. Oh,they can come during our graduation! Cool,that didn't strike me earlier."

"Okay,your call. But they can come to my place anytime,just keep that in mind too. And part time job? Any idea where you are going to apply?"

"I haven't given that a thought yet.Was waiting for exams to get done."

"I can ask dad if there is a vacancy in his company"

"Oh yeah? That will be great. I will also try in other places. We'll see how it goes"

"Sure,Goodluck Rishu."

They walked in silence , the only sound being that of the waves and kids playing Frizbee.

"Rishu look! Frizbee! Can we join them?"

Rishab's face mirrored her child like grin."Come on,"he replied,pulling her along and they approached the kids.

"Kids,can we play too?"

"No.You are big"

"No, I am of your age too, my mother gave me a lot of Complan,"Rishab replied,with an innocent expression on his face.

Naina giggled at his reason and the kids assessed him.

"One minute,"one of the kids replied and all the kids huddled together and discussed if they should include the Uncle and the Aunty in their game (yeah they were not convinced about his Complan reason).

They eventually agreed and Rishab and Naina had an amazing time,playing with the kids.

They sat down in a bench after bidding bye to the kids.

"I haven't had this much fun in a long time.I haven't even spoken to anyone like I speak to you.I can be myself with you and it feels good to share things with you. Thankyou,Naina"

"And I am happy that you are no longer the guy you used to be,when I first met you. You have come a long way,dear boy", she replied grinning and Rishab smiled too. Her smile was infectious after all.

"Naina, I have been meaning to ask you. Would you like to come home for a couple of days? I am going home during the holidays next week and I wanted to invite all of you. It won't be as huge or as posh as some of your houses but my parents will feel good seeing you.So..I just thought I will ask you first before talking to the others about this. It's okay if you don't want to come. No pressure"

"Stop. STOP! I would love to!! I am sure the others will have a lot of fun too!! And come on Rishab! People matter, nothing else does"

"Yeah?"

"Yes! Thanks for inviting .I'll get to meet your parents,Yay! Fine, We'll plan on when to leave and all that, when we meet the others, Okay?"

"Okay,Best Friend. Thanks for agreeing to come"

"If there is one thing you should change , it is your habit of saying 'Thankyou'. I am tired of hearing that"

Rishab smiled sheepishly."Okay Ma'am. Will be considered"

"Good,I liked the 'Best friend' part of the sentence though"she replied,winking at him.They spent the next hour,looking at the now dark sky and the endless expanse of water in front of them,talking about College,Friends and Life in general.