Even a tiny bit of deceit is dishonorable when it's used for selfish or cowardly reasons.
- Jeanne Birdsall

Jagruthi

Kajal: Houston! We have a problem.

My phone buzzed with message from Kajal in our group chat when we are Mr. Deshmukh's Computer Programming class. He makes me sleep, his voice has the same frequency as the sea waves that put people to sleep.

Guess what our group name is and who gave the name?

Best fries ever and me.

Get it fries and friends, I know I am awesome right.

I looked at Manju who's listening to this class like it's the most beautiful, wonderful lecture of life. I jabbed her with my elbow showing her the text. She shrugged at me and continued to listen to the stupid class.

Does she not understand that context of Houston we have problem. I huffed at her and texted her back.

Me: What's the problem?

Nidhi: What happened?

Sammy: Why am I in this group? And what kind of name is best fries ever?

Yup! Nidhi and Samrat are our friends now. It's been almost 6 months for our friendship. After that I started to believe that everything happens for a reason. Samrat and Nidhi were betrothed when they were kids. They are family friends and they've been together from 7th grade.

My fight with Sahastra gave me 2 more friends. People who were with me during my hard times.

I'm proud to call them my friends, they never judge me by grades or appearance. My parents like them too, in fact it was because of them I got a freaking 7.2 gpa for my 1st semester.

Kaju: The HH club has no volunteers for tomorrow's service and Randhir asked ME for help!!!! In case you didn't read it right, he asked MEEEEE. And the problem is I have to gather more people to attend.

I rolled my eyes at her excitement, she has a crush on Randhir our senio, the president of HH club. She looks at him like Papa and Mama look at each other or how Samrat and Nidhi look at each other or how Manju looks at her books.

Nidhi: Whoop! Whoop! Kajal and Randhir sitting under a tree. K.I.S.S.I.N.G.

Sammy: What are you? 3! And Janu Stop adding me back into this group.

Me: Oh my Kindred Spirit, It's finally your time to profess your love to thy crush.

Nidhi: Stop watching Netflix and being dramatic Janu. You WILL be in this group so live with it Sam.

Sammy: Drama is her middle name.

I could literally hear Nidhi yelling at Sammy and Everyone calls me Janu, they said if Karthik can call me Janu, they can do it too and I love that they call me Janu instead of Jagruthi.

Soon the bell rang and Rakesh sir announced that we will be having class with Kajal as Radha Maam is on leave today. I updated Manju with the things going on with Kajal and walked to the conference room.

Rakesh sir teaches Electrical Engineering which is not my major so who cares about that class. but I'm so excited for Kajal. While I was waiting eagerly for her to come, I saw Devansh walking in. He kept looking at me, as soon as I realized that I turned my head away. How could I forget that they are in the same class?

But he looks great though, he gets fine by each passing day.

Don't you dare go back into that again. Do you want a repeat telecast of the last semester?

Nooo.

Kajal shoved Devansh away and walked to us and I screamed in excitement for her.

"Guess what? I told Randhir that we all are going to help and we have a club meet right after the class. Don't bail on me please." She pleaded us

Manju said yes and continued reading her book.

"I'll ask Karthik and I have one condition you're going to talk to him, you can't just keep staring at him." I told her.

Karthik is being easy on me these days, he makes me go out with my friends. Especially if Samrat is with us, he says he trusts Sammy to protect me, Like I'm a child that needs protection. But it's better not say that to his face and cut my privileges down.

"What if he won't talk to me?" She said in a painful way.

"Who's coconuts enough to not talk to you?" I said back which made her smile.

Soon Rakesh Sir came in started ranting about Resistors, Capacitors and whatnot, which flew right above my head. The bell rung and Rakesh sir started talking about some random stuff instead of leaving which is making our Kajal impatient. After he left the room making everyone suffer, we all heard Sahastra call out Devansh.

I turned around and looked at them, Devansh looks tensed and panicked, like he didn't want to be there in that position. I felt sorry for him.

He looks nervous, I want to pack him in my bag, run away and make him happy.

Something is definitely wrong with you creep! Why do you say things like this and we are giving up on him.

"Let's go we are getting late." Kajal said and I had to look away from them.

"Will you come out on a date with me tomorrow?" I heard Sahastra ask which made my heart stop for a second and pause whatever I am doing.

Please say NO.

Why do you care? For the love of food, don't say you still have a crush on him.

I do have a crush on him and I just can't make it disappear overnight. He is just..

Kajal nudged me while I was arguing with myself and reminded showing her watch that we are getting late. I wanted to know his answer, I don't know why but I wanted to but Kajal's crush is more important than me knowing the answer.
So, We packed our bags and left.

We went to the club room where Nidhi and Sammy are waiting for us. Kajal narrated them about Sahastra asking out Devansh while I was too busy thinking about his answer and reliving the pain that she was courageous enough to act on her desires while I was sitting in the back and hoping for him to say no.

"Good for them." Sammy snickered after Kajal completed enacting the story.

"Devansh is a quintessential delineation of  an alpha male, with is chiseled features and those black eyes with a gold speck, I get it why Sahastra so interested in him. But his friend Aarthav, he is just an ape who's body evolved not the brain." She said looking into her new book I know why the caged bird sings.

She has a way with her words.

"And the word of the day is Quintessential Delineation." Samrat commented at Manju and she hit him with her book.

Randhir bhaiyya came in and explained that we are going to be cleaning roads tomorrow. He is the president of HH club and founder too, this is the second year for this club and that's why he didn't have much reach like other famous clubs.

After going back from the meeting, we all heard that Devansh said yes and they are going out Saturday which is tomorrow, which felt like someone rubbed salt and red pepper on my wounds.

Did i not like Sahastra dating Devansh or Devansh dating Sahastra?

Why didn't I have the guts to ask him out? Why am I so weak and pathetic?

Can we stop the pity party darling? If it's meant to be it will be. So relax for now and build some self confidence.

I will try not to think about them for now, it's not giving me any happiness. Devansh is a closed chapter of my life as of today.

I shoved myself into the world of Netflix, family and friends and dozed off. Kajal woke us all up and got us ready and Karthik dropped us all off at the volunteering area and left.

"Refresh my memory dear , why am I standing in the middle of road under the scorching sun, roasting my face?" I asked Kajal looking at the sun which made me lose my vision for a second.

"Because you love me." Kajal said and pulled my cheeks.

She looks so excited, We all are wearing a HH club shirt with black leggings. Samrat and the guys on the other hand wore shorts with the club shirts.

Wish I was dude, so I don't have to wear pants on a sunny day. What's wrong with showing my legs? Boys and girls have the same legs it's not like god gave us different kind of legs.

Randhir bhaiyya walked to us and asked us to gather around.

"I am going to make you into teams of two, please find the other person and clean the allotted area." He announced and started reading the names.

Kajal bought a hat, gloves and a mask for everyone, When Randhir bhaiyya was announcing all the Seniors groups.

"Manjula and Shekar." As soon as I heard that I looked at Manju, she has a disappointed look on her face. She grunted and walked away with him.

"Nidhi and Samarat."

Wow! they must be pretty lucky to be together all the time.

"Jagruthi and Kajal." He said and we hugged each other in excitement and that was the end of the list.

"You don't have any one to work with Randhir bhaiyya." Some of his friends reminded him from behind. That's when the cupid in me felt alive. So, I spoke up before anyone could and said

"Bhaiyya, I don't wanna work with Kajal, she keeps punching me. Can she work with you?"

The response to the question was a punch in my ribs from Kajal, a gasp from Nidhi, Manju and a smile from Randhir bhaiyya. He likes her too my heart did a little dance on the inside.

"See, she did it again." I said throwing my hands in the air proving my point.

"Are you sure you can work alone?" Randhir bhaiyya asked me and I nodded vigorously.

Soon everyone scattered them selves along the road. I put my AirPods on and called Papa and Mama feeling bored picking up stuff alone for the past hour.

"Hello Mama, Hello Papa." I said as soon as they picked up the call.

"Hello busy daughter and where are you?" Mama asked me listening to all the traffic sounds from the road.

"Kajal made us sign up for this Clean up drive because she has a crush on Randhir the senior. And now we are picking up trash on the road." I told them picking up cigarette butts from the road.

"WHAT? You are picking trash from the road." My dad yelled not believing what I said.

"Why can't she pick trash from the road? She is not a fallen angel. My daughter can do anything." My mom told my dad feeling proud.

"The number of cigarette butts I'm finding on the road is unbelievable. May be you should pass a new rule to stop people from smoking." I said with him and he ignored me with a smile.

"There is Swatch Bharat campaign going on in that area, Janu stop doing whatever you are doing. I'll send people over to clean up. " My dad announced making my heart stop.

"Shut up Jag! Let her be a normal child and stop overreacting." My mom came to my rescue.

"Janu, Wear some gloves and a hat. It's so hot out today. Did you pack water?" My mom asked me ignoring my comment.

"I did Mama. I am outside a restaurant and I can smell the biryani they are making. Mmmm! We should eat here the next time." I told them sniffing through the mask taking in the biryani smell and gulping as mouth watered.

"Janu! Be careful and don't talk to strangers. If you don't like doing it, text Shyam he will send someone over to do it." My dad said making me roll my eyes.

My father can be a tad overreacting sometimes, what can I say it's his way of showing love and I have to enjoy it.

"We have a meeting honey! Talk to you later, Bye. Love you." They both said in unison.

"I love you too." I said back picking a candy wrapper from the ground.

I stood up and saw two people I never expected to see standing in the front laughing at me.

"The Queen herself picking the trash on the road and saying I love you to a candy wrapper. What a sight to see? " Aarthav stated holding his laughter.

Aarthav is a jerk, he calls me queen and I just want to strangle him with my dirty hands. But, I can't and I don't want to interact with him, so I brushed it off and started walking away from them.

"Jagruthi." Devansh called me making me stop, I turned my head around and faced him looking at his beautiful face.

"I'm sorry about him. Here let me help you." He said picking up trash from the corner with his bare hands.

Why is he so nice and kind?

Kill em with kindness, Selena Gomez said that remember.

"It's fine, I got accustomed to people saying things." I said opened the bag for him to put the trash in.

"I said yes to Sahastra, we are here for lunch." He told me out of the blue, rubbing his neck analyzing my face.

You don't have to rub it my face, it already hurts to listen to all the people talking about and he is just rubbing it in my face.

Don't show him your emotions, Don't let other people enjoy your pain.

"Good for you, She is a nice person." I said smiling at him and he just nodded looking at me even though it burnt my every cell to say it out loud.

I stared at him after so many months of avoiding him, sinking and etching his face into my brain. I might not have the courage or the time to do it again but he doesn't look happy, those black eyes didn't show that emotion when we talked about Sahastra.

How do you know? Are you an emotion detector now? Don't forget what happened to you.

You don't have to remind me every second, I have a scar on my face to show that.

"I was talking to my parents not the trash." I told him breaking the awkward pause and changing the topic in my mind.

"Yeah I figured, You have your AirPods in. It looked funny though. Sorry." He said controlling his laughter.

"Did you collect that many cigarette butts from this road?" He asked me shocked looking at the glove filled with them.

"Yeah, People should stop smoking cigars, there should be a law to stop them. I told my dad that and he just laughed it off. Can you believe him?" I questioned him and explained what I told my dad.

And now you fell back into the same old trap again, blabbering every single thing that comes into my mind.

God! I do really talk awful lot around him.

"There should be one." He said and paused

"Why did you stop talking to me... I mean everyone ?" He questioned me making me still.

I used to talk to him, talk to him as in regular hi, hello, when I was friends with Sahastra. But all of them turned against me after the whole fiasco. He never said anything to me but I stopped talking him when she blamed that I kissed Devansh. I didn't want that drama anymore in my life.

"I don't know, People are judgmental, they made fun of me without hearing my version of the story. I don't care anyways, I found real friends, I am happy now." I told him sighing at the old painful memories.

"If you ever want to tell me your side of the story, I am right here. One more thing Jagruthi, I never judged you, I believe that you are a really nice person." He said holding my hand, the hand which didn't have any glove on.

The way he said Jagruthi was so clear like a crystal, I wonder how he would say Jagati. And the touch of his hand made my heart raced from a regular 80 to 150 in a mere second as his eyes kept piercing me making me and my heart believe that he never judged me.

80 to 150, let's suggest all the people who do cardio workouts to touch Devansh.

Do you have to pass sarcastic remarks all the time? Shut up for once and let me enjoy the moment.

He left my hand after looking at something behind me. I missed the feeling, the feeling I had when all his attention was on me, the warmth from his rock hard hands. I turned my head a saw Samrat running towards us.

"Hi Devansh!" Sammy said nonchalantly but he was looking all over my face for any evidence of pain.

"Hi Sam, good seeing you here. I have to leave now. Bye guys." Devansh said and walked away into the restaurant.

"Did he say anything? Did he hurt you? I will kill him and I have to tell Karthik Bhaiyya you talked to him." Sammy poured his words on me.

"Relax Sammy, he was just being nice and talking to me. You don't have to kill anyone or tell Karthik." I said to him hoping that would help.

"I just shouldn't have left you to work alone. I will do this area and you go work with Nidhi."He mumbled and dragged me to Nidhi. I should stop the interaction between Samrat and Karthik, Karthik is turning him into an overprotective big brother.

"What happened?" Nidhi asked me looking at furious Samrat walking away from us.

"It was nothing, Devansh was at the restaurant for his date and we talked. Sammy got into hulk mode thinking he hurt me. He is turning into Karthik day by day." I told her.

"Samrat promised Karthik bhaiyya that he will look after you after that day. He is never going it out loud but you kinda look like his sister." She said looking at Samrat with a proud look on her face.

"And as of Devansh, After you fell down that day, Devansh and Aarthav came by to help you but he yelled at them to get lost, He was really worried and I heard that he almost hit Sharath for hurting you." She told me justifying Sammy's behavior and at the same time she confirmed that Devnash came by to help me. He didn't judge me or believed the lies. I feel elated at that thought, He was telling the truth.

He is such a nice lad eh he was about hit that Sharath guy?

Hello Stupid! he is out on a date with Sahastra not you.

Fine!

Manju walked to us with a scowl on her face.

"That post pubescent person is the most annoying earthling I've ever met. He keeps talking, talking and talking. Please kill me before he eats me with his words."  She sighed and placed all the bags down.

Me and Nidhi smiled at her, we all looked at Kajal who's having the time of her life with Randhir Bhaiyya. We all smiled at her and continued working on cleaning the roads.

Things we do help our friends.

If you could be friends with any character in this book. Who would you be friends with? Comment here

I would definitely be friends with Manjula, she is my kinda friend.

Do you like the plot so far? Is it interesting?

Teen fiction is kinda new to me and this plot has been stuck in my mind for so long that I just wanted to try it out.

Don't forget to Vote and Comment.

Good night and cuddles.

Love,
Sneha