A voice shouted, "It's precisely seven o'clock, and it's a little chilly in madam's room." However, it was a human alarm clock, not a radio alarm clock.

"Awaken, slumbering head! We'll be running late!" Indraneel, my dearest friend, could be heard screaming outside my bedroom. Indra can be pretty loud if he wants to annoy me.

I responded with a grunt and returned to my covers. Even though we were in the middle of April, the weather was still quite chilly. Last night, I slept in pyjamas, which wasn't a great decision because it made me feel much colder.

The yelling has stopped, hmm. It is Indra's life's work to discipline me.

When I turned to peek at the door with one of my eyes, a set of beautiful brown eyes wearing glasses greeted me. Being awakened by his smile was a lovely experience. I jumped out of bed and struck Indra in the head with mine, eliciting an Oww! from him. I rubbed my forehead as I groaned and went back to my bed, my heaven.

"Neer, I'm warning you up right now. Get out of bed, or I'll drag you out," he commanded, and I mocked him by sticking out my tongue.

"You're my bully Indra," I murmured, giving him an odd look before crawling back under my cozy covers. The next thing I knew, not even a second later, Indra dragged me out of bed. I was dragged out of my cozy refuge by Indra, who had caught hold of my legs. This incident was a ritual. We did this every day.

I screamed, gripping the headboard of my bed, "Noo..., it's so warm over under the covers."

"It is the first day of the final semester of college, my darling Neer. We probably are spending our last year together. I won't always be there for you, Neer," he adds as I push away the blankets and turn to face him.

"Don't you dare say that, Indra; we are closest friends forever. Even if I wed the most attractive man and you marry the prettiest woman", I promise him, "We will always be friends," and he smiles in response.

He teases me, saying, "I'm going to marry the prettiest woman, but I can't say the same thing about you, Ms. Neer."

I feign anger and add, "That's a very nasty thing to say to your best buddy." Indra goes down laughing.

I turn on the warm water and jump into the shower. I finished taking a shower in ten minutes, as I didn't want to be late for college. It was scorching. I eventually exited of the bathroom, and the crisper air prickled my skin. I put the towel around my body once I had dried off; and reached into my closet to take out some clothes. Indra would undoubtedly lecture me for being late today. I was dressed in some loose jeans and an oversized t-shirt. Come on, who wears makeup to college? Of course, some bimbos do it, but I didn't. In college, there is no one I want to impress who wants to date a big female.

When I went downstairs, Indra was eating breakfast with my mother and father, and they were talking and laughing as usual.

My papa exclaims, "My princess has arrived," I kiss his cheeks in response.

I greet Mumma and Papa as I sit at the dining room table and eat my favorite Aloo paratha (Stuffed Flatbread).

My father asks him, "So, Indraneel Beta(Child), what are your plans after graduating?"

With his braces apparent, Indraneel replies with a smile, "Uncle, there are a few choices I'm looking for, but one of them will work out." He pauses before turning to face my father.

"Good, you've always had a focus on your career; tell my daughter something. She's not taking anything seriously, right?" My papa grins and says to Indra, "She doesn't even know what she wants to do after she graduates."

Indra jokes, smirking, "Uncle, Neer will work something out; otherwise, I have a position for her." I know he's playing a practical joke on me.

I snarl at him, "What position is that, Mr. Indraneel Deshmukh?"

He says, "You can be my secretary, and we know you won't do any work since I will do all the work," and everyone starts laughing.

I pretend to be irritated as I say, "Whatever, we're going to college," Then I take my bag pack.

My mother instructs, "Neerja, I have packed two tiffin's'; give them to Indraneel on time," and I nod.

We both move toward the college, which is just five minutes from my house. Although Indra lives far away from my home—I live in a wealthy neighborhood, while he lives in a poor one—and the college is too far for him to travel, he arrives at my door every day at precisely seven o'clock. As we walk, we talk about the lessons we learned the previous day and how we should study to get excellent grades and a good placement this semester.

Indra visits the college lecturers as soon as we are there. He is the preferred student of each lecturer and the ideal student. We still have fifteen minutes until the class begins, so I make my way to the classroom alone via the hallways. I feel like a lone wanderer at this point. Along the corridor, everyone is introducing themselves and conversing. Not precisely an introvert and not quite an extrovert. I fall somewhere in between. Indra doesn't have many pals beside me; I have a small group of friends and individuals I know.

I realize that other than me, he has no pals. He was always a loner, and when I first met him, he was a loner. It was hard to become friends with him, but something about him drew me in, and now I can say with pride that he is a jewel of a friend.

Even though I'm not precisely a brainy or a collegiate beauty, I don't believe I look all that horrible when I glance in the mirror. I'm not particularly attractive, but I am overweight and fat, and no boy has ever expressed any interest in me. I arrive at class, and I'm greeted by Shilpa and Neha, my other two pals.

Neha motions for me to sit next to her, saying, "You are finally on time." I take a seat between Shilpa and Neha.

"Yes," I answer.

"I'll venture a bet that you were lazy to rise early as usual," Shilpa adds, "Indraneel must have woken you up. "I nod drowsily in agreement.

Neha asks, "How are you going to manage without him, Neerja?"

"Tell me one thing, please. Are you two dating because you two always stick together like glue?" Shilpa jokes. Neha interjects before I can finish.

"Even though they are great friends, Shilpa, please look at Indraneel; he is such an upright, ugly, poor lad with glasses. Who could be seduced by a boy like him? On the other hand, Neerja, who comes from the upper class, is cute, and everyone likes her. His sole redeeming quality is that he is a brainy nut; aside from that, no one talks to him. The only thing working against Neer is her weight, yet even so, she still looks adorable," Neha claims.

With anger written all over my face, I rise out of the chair and tell Neha, "One more word against Indra, and I'm sure to stop speaking to you. How could you possibly be so unkind to my best friend? He is the most sincere, compassionate, intelligent, and loving person I have ever met. He is not less privileged just because he doesn't meet your standards for appearance or because he hails from a low-income family."

"Who are we to say whether or not someone looks good? And on what criteria are you passing judgment? Even if we add three of our intelligence, we won't be able to match Indra's brilliance. He is the most intellectual person in the college. Don't ever disparage my friend." I tell her, get my stuff, and head to the last bench, where I try to ignore everyone.

After some time, Indra and the teacher enter the room. I'm attempting to control my anger. He raises his eyebrows and asks, "What's wrong?" as he stares at me in amazement. I keep quiet, and he grins and sits on the first bench. Such narrow-minded individuals have wholly shattered my mood.

My brain was whirling after four classes. Today was an introductory class; the professor went through each subject's importance and why we should learn them. Most of the queries belonged to Indra, and it seemed we were all forgotten as Indra interacted with the instructors alone. The four hours were agonizing, and the fact that I was by myself only made it duller. The message arrived as I was finishing up my final lecture.

It was Neha's message, "I'm sorry." I texted her back to let her know everything was fine, and we continued to talk throughout class via Messenger, while the professor explained the significance of the lectures. Indra and I eat lunch together every day. I waited for him at the cafeteria as usual.

He eventually joined me and asked, "Neer, what were you doing on the last bench?"

I interrogate him angrily, "Indra, you are not my papa to ask me this."

"Neer is upset, then?" He asked, "Tell me what happened?"

"Nothing," I answer.

He gets up and says, "Okay, wait here; let me grab you something."

After a while, he appears holding my favorite double chocolate ice cream, which makes me grin.

He continues, "I hope this helps," and I grin back.

"Look here, nerdy and overweight couple. What a pair!" One of my classmates, Vijay, replies, "Why don't you tell people that you're committed?" obviously teasing both of us. Indra is an introvert, so I know he won't speak. I then stand to speak, but Indra holds my hand and stops me.

Indra says, "You don't have to expend your energy for these dim wits." The entire class laughs at Vijay, who is furious. Vijay then departs, leaving us to enjoy our lunch.

After a long day, we arrive home. Indra stays for dinner, studies with me, and then leaves later that night, as is customary. He doesn't talk much to me about his family, but I'm glad to have him as a friend. I lie in bed, contemplating what a hectic day it has been. Still, an entire year must pass.

Papa has encouraged me to join his company, but I have yet to be interested. I'm still trying to figure out my career goals. Indra is evident in the direction he wants to take in life. I'm generally average in everything, but let's see what this year has in store for me. As Indra says, I'm confident I'll come up with a solution.