"Hi All! Welcome to the Indian Institute of Technology and Management Science. We are extremely happy to see all of you gathered in this Auditorium as we embark on yet another year of this prestigious institution. 

I have always said to every student that I have seen in the same place as you, Make the best of your years in this place because it definitely will be a core memory for the rest of your life. My closest friends, mentors and even my wife have been people that I met on this very campus. 

This year a tad bit more special because", he paused as his eyes traced every student until it fell upon one set of eyes that were praying for his dad to not spoil his only ask of staying under the radar, "its a Centennial, a 100 years of serving this country's best minds and creating a future that we dream of every day.", he finished and saw a relieved sigh exhaled by his only son. 

"Kadavule... thik thik nimidangal madri dan indha day poganuma?", he ranted to God. 

After a couple of other speakers, the introduction session came to an end.

Before he could slip away into the crowd he saw Tara who stood there frozen unable to move as the wave of students moved past her. The girl who never stood still for a second from the few times they had interacted was almost stand still and that did not sit well with him. 

"Enna aachu ivaluku?", he thought to himself as this was completely out of the ordinary. 

When he looked at her close, he could see the panic in her eyes. Her eyes were looking around to find comfort and finally their eyes met. 

He was not sure if he should walk towards her or just walk away given their track record of not being the best of influences on each other. He signaled from afar if she wanted him to come over and before she could respond they lost each other in the crowd. With no choice left, he walked towards where he had last seen her and to his utter dismay she was close to passed out. Thankfully a random guy had given her some water and stood beside her when he reached.

"I think she needs some rest. Panic attack madri iruku. Maybe best to see a doc?", the guy explained. 

"Panic attack ah... iva dhaaney mathavangaluku panic attack kudupaa... Ippo enna aachu?", he murmured before holding her steady. 

"Thank you. Enaku therinjavanga dan. I will take care", Karthik thanked and slowly took her outside. 

"An...na...", she stammered. 

"Dhruv illa Karthik", he corrected unsure if she was in a state to gather what had happened nor explain. 

Finally they found a table near the open area and he helped her settle down before handing over a bottle of water. 

She took a few minutes to calm her mind and heart that was racing. 

He looked at her closely for the first time ever. She was beautiful and he always knew that. But the way her perfect eyeliner elevated her eyes, perfect shade of nude lipstick that complemented her golden skin tone, small jhumkis that were dangling as the breeze swept across her face, a tiny black pottu, loose hair with a side partition that fell right below her shoulders and ofcourse the chain that Dhruv had gifted for her 18th birthday which had a small pearl pendant. 

He had never looked at a girl this closely. Period. It was never a conscious decision but just that there wasn't a girl that made him want to look. 

Why was he doing that now? That too with a girl who he was sure had no interest in him? More importantly his best friend's only sister?

"Ava un friend oda thangachi. Konjam mariyaadhaya behave pannu", he scolded his stupid mind for even noticing these things about her. 

As he was in his own world trying to talk some sense into his mind, he heard her for the first time ever that made his heart skip a beat.

"Thanks and Sorry", she said after composing himself. 

"Thanks ok. Sorry edhuku?", he asked with his intense tone that made her feel intimidated a little bit. 

"For not ever apologizing after that incident. I was scared when I heard someone jump out of nowhere. Anna birthday ku surprise panna yaarum epavum vandhadhu illa. Adhan", she wanted to clear the air. She had been meaning to do this for a long time now but there was never a good setting for her to actually do it. 

"Paravalla. Therinju panala... Sorry naanum nadu rathri la apdi vandhadhu thappu dan. It was a spur of the moment decision", he said with a smile and she could feel a huge weight lift off her chest. 

"Ippo ok va?", he asked with concern looking at her flushed face. 

"Hmm..", she nodded her head and took a sip of water. 

***

"En da ipdi edho oru ulagathla iruka?", Aakash was being grilled by his friends. 

"Dei onu illa da. Just happy today. Adhu oru kuthama?", Aakash shrugged away from any more questions and started to quickly slip away into the corridor.

Being a Mech student meant almost no girls. It was a different world. 

The guys almost bonded like they were family and had each others' back at all times. It was certainly a great feeling until any of the guys started seeing someone. Then it all became complicated. The vetting process was long and elaborate, as if they were recruiting for some intelligence agency. 

It was just the first day and Aakash had no plans of putting Tara through that before he actually knew if he liked her beyond a friend. 

"Machi... Enna escape aagalam nu plan ah?", Ritesh followed him and put an arm around his shoulder. He was sure that his best friend was up to something and even if the other guys were ok to let him be that did not matter to him. 

"Dei.. it is not serious. Just paathen. Nalla pesna. Avlo dan", he reassured. 

"Per enna? Endha department?", Ritesh fired back more questions and it was not unexpected. 

"Tara. First year. Endha department nu lam therla. Bike service la iruku. Adhunala bus la vandhen. Apo paathen. Podhuma?", Aakash blurted all of the details he knew. 

"Department therla nu solra. Unaku ilaadha friends ah? Department list ah HOD eh unkita tharuvanga", his friend laughed knowing that this guy right here was the hotshot of the college.

"Apdi illa da. I just want to be this normal guy for her. Not the Aakash the cool musician. Just Aakash mech student", he explained and this was entirely new even for him. 

"Nee sonaalum solala naalum one month la there is Freshers day. Nee perform panni dan aaganum. There is no way around that", his friend tried to talk some sense into his ridiculous idea. 

"Seri 1 month. Atleast until then let me just be a normal guy. Yartayum solaadha. Main ah no one in our band should know. I just dont want her to be pressured or anything. I dont even know if I like her beyond a girl I know type", Aakash explained.

They were now walking across the open air theatre and from a distance his eyes fell on the girl that was sitting on a table. A handsome guy stood beside her and it immediately made him feel a little something that he could not really understand. 

Was he jealous? Like seriously? Why? His mind was now a complete mess.

Following that his best friend had zoned out, Ritesh looked around to know why and instantly he knew.

"Tara", Ristesh asked with a teasing smile which earned him a glare. 

"Yes", Aakash said with a stern tone and stood there watching her.

"I agree. Thangachi azhaga dan iruka...", his friend already knew that this was not just a girl he met. 

"Nee vera summa iru da. Maybe she is committed", he said with a pang of pain in his voice. 

"Maybe he is a stranger that is helping", Ritesh comforted. 

***

"Iniku class illa la. Na vena Dhruv ah vara sollava?", Karthik enquired. 

"Illa venam. He will be busy. I am ok. Next edo campus tour lam iruku. You go and join that. I will rest here. Evening bus la poikren", she did not want to be a burden on his first day. She knew from her brother how much this meant to him. 

"Enna un annan therinje adipan na unna ipdi vitutu pona", he explained when they heard footsteps nearing them. 

When she turned around to look, it was Aakash and an other guy with him. 

"Enna aachu?", he asked with concern and Karthik was not sure who these guys were. 

"Just dizzy. Konjam bayandhuten with the crowd and everything", she answered and Karthik mentally slapped himself for not even asking what made her feel so sick. 

"This is Karthik. My brother's friend. MBA join panirkaaru", she introduced putting Aakash out of his misery. 

"Ohhh. Anna oda friend ah machan", Ritesh reiterated and felt a bone crushing squeeze on his hands. 

"Hi. Aakash. Mech second year. This is Ritesh. Same batch", he introduced with a smile. 

After an awkward pause in the conversation, she knew she had to say something to break the silence. 

"Karthik neenga campus tour ponga. Aakash kooda na inga iruken. Inum konja nerathla I will be ok", she promised and he obliged. 

"I will ask Dhruv to come by and pick us up early", he informed and stood there for a minute looking at her. 

He did not have her number and it felt too awkward to ask in front of the other guys but he also did not want to ask Dhruv for her number. Too many thoughts were hitting him in all directions when he saw a text show up. 

"Tara", it read and he smiled knowing she had his number. 

"Take care", he said with a gentle smile and walked away. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Note:

More to come. Trust me it will be light hearted.