The picture above is of Riya, which I drew from my own imagination.
...............................................................

I waited anxiously with bated breath.

For THE RESULTS.
The set of digits that would determine My career choice,
My college
My future
My life
My fate..

I sighed. I was running out of patience.

Just then my phone rang and my best friend's smiling face flashed across the screen. I swiped the screen to the right and picked her call.

"The results are out" was the first thing she said when I picked up. She squealed excitedly and I guessed she must have done extremely well from the happiness in her voice.

"Oh my gosh, I will go check it right away!" I exclaimed enthusiastically and hung up.

I was nervous, anxious and all the other synonyms one can find for that feeling. I wasn't sure if I had done well. But it was the time to find out. I ran to my room to log onto the CBSE website. I typed in my registration number and date of birth and waited while the page loaded.

All sorts of thoughts ran through my head. Would I have done well enough to get into my dream college? Would I be able to pursue what I desired?

It took a while but finally the page opened. I immediately squeezed my eyes shut before I could see my percentage.

"Mom," I called, wanting her to be the one to check my results first before me.

I heard her footsteps enter my room when she asked "What is it, Riya?"

I just pointed in the direction of the screen without opening my eyes. She walked closer to it, peering at the screen. My breath hitched at my throat when silence surrounded us for a few minutes. And then..

"I didn't expect this from you," she said, nonchalantly.

I didn't know what to decipher from the tone of her voice but I was scared. I slowly opened my eyes to look and gasped after calculating my overall percentage, making me the happiest person on earth. I had scored a whopping 97%. I beamed involuntarily and turned to look at my mom whose lips were stretched into a wide smile.

"This calls for a celebration," she said, smiling."Call your dad and inform him at once."

When I called my dad, he picked up immediately. Before he could utter a single word, I screamed into the phone.

"Daddy my results are out and I got 97℅," I said, elated.

"Congratulations sweetheart, I knew you could do it. That's awesome," he said, trying to be a cool dad, making me laugh. "So now you can get into Madras Dental College like you wanted, to pursue dentistry."

The statement caused me to grin over the phone. Though I was a Bangalorean by birth and I could easily get into Government Dental College here if I tried, I really wanted to experience the hostel life and Chennai seemed like a good option, being my native.

"Yay!" I squealed.

My dad chuckled. "So I will try to be home by 5 today," he said. "We need to celebrate."

"Okay dad," I said. "See you soon!"

Just when I placed the receiver down, my elder brother hugged me from behind.

"Riyuuuuu! Way to make the family proud. My little sis is growing up!" he screeched making me laugh out loud.

I turned around and he immediately wrapped his arms around me giving me his usual warm bear hugs.

"Anandiiii love you too," I cooed and he scowled.

"My name's Anandith," he said with a pout, folding his arms across his chest.

"And I am Riya!" I said with a huff.

"But Riyuuu is soo endearing and cute," he said, pinching my cheeks.

"And Anandiiii is cuter," I said winking at him.

Truth be told, I actually really enjoyed being called Riyu. And I am sure he liked Anandi too. But there was a totally different kind of fun in bickering with your sibling about silly things.

"So Riyuuu..." my brother started, putting on his serious face."If you're going to Chennai, you're going to leave Amma, Appa and me behind. I am going to miss you so bad," he said softly, and his eyes reflected his sadness.

"Anandi..." I said placing my palm lightly on his upper arm. "Oh come on you're a big boy, you can manage without me. Besides I still have 2 months before I leave. Cheer up otherwise I am going to cry too."

It was pretty surprising that I had such a strong bond with my older brother. We used to fight like cats and dogs when I was 10 and he was 12, when I considered him as just a playmate. But as I grew older and entered my teens, I slowly saw him as more of a companion, a shoulder to lean on, a person to tell all my secrets to, a support system and a friend. It just happened. I trusted him wholeheartedly and so did he. Even with his crushes and I remember how I used to tease him endlessly.

I remember all the nights he used to sit up and teach me differential equations when I was close to giving up and the cold coffee he used to make for me which was a treat to my taste-buds. I still remember the day he told me something was happening to him, innocently, when he was 14 in a confused manner, because he started realizing that my best friend was pretty. Yes, you guessed it right, beginning stages of his first crush. On my best friend. But that feeling soon disappeared before my best friend realized it. A small smile appeared on my face when I thought about everything that had happened since then. I didn't realize I was smiling goofily till my brother snapped his finger in front of my face.

"Earth to Riyuuu...What IS with the weird smile?" he asked with a smirk.

"Just thinking about your crush on Tanisha," I said with my own mischievous smirk.

"Oh," he said blushing and I raised an eyebrow out of curiosity.

"Don't tell me you're still hung up on her?" I asked.

"Noooo!" he denied, a little too quickly making me suspicious but I didn't press the matter.

"It's all because of you!" I exclaimed and he gave me a confused look. "You started talking about me leaving and so I started reminiscing and going through old memories," I said with a small smile.

"Good thing," he replied grinning. "It's always nice to cherish memories of the past-

"And eagerly await for the ones in the future," I finished with a grin.

It was something he told me countless times, especially during my childhood.

"You're sooo predictable," I said laughing lightly. "Anandith I am really going to miss you too."

After talking to my brother for a while I called up all my relatives one by one to tell them the good news. Then before I forgot, I called my best friend.

"Tanishaaaa.." I squealed into the phone.

"Finallyyyy," she replied. "I was wondering WHEN Miss Krishnan was going to call."

"Sorry," I said sheepishly. "I got 97%" I said happily.

"What?" she exclaimed. "That's amazing!"

"Stop keeping me in the dark. Shut up and tell me how much you got..."

"I can't shut up and tell you...."she trailed off when I groaned..

"Tanishaaaaaa!!!"

"Okay okay" she said laughing. "92.8℅"

"Woww, " I said smiling. "Way to go Tanuuu..so now you can get into Christ University like you wanted. My lawyer best friend...Don't go breaking too many hearts okay?" I said which earned a giggle from the other side.

"Don't get a boyfriend in Chennai without telling me okay?" she said which caused me to blush.

"Not going to happen," I said. "Life ain't a wattpad novel my friend."

"You never know," she replied.

Dad came home with a big tub of Naturals Roasted Almond. My favourite flavour. We each ate a bowl full of ice cream topped with chocolate sauce and nuts.
Before I retired for the night, Dad came into my room to switch off my light.

"I am so proud of you Riya..May you become famous in whatever you do," he said before tucking me in.

I beamed up at him and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Goodnight dad, I love you."

"Love you too," he said before closing my room door and leaving.

"Chennai here I come," I whispered lastly before my eyes closed and I was carried into the land of dreams.