18

Chapter 6

Calculating Moments of Inertia....

Nisha saw the study topic on the laptop screen. She was trying to do some derivation of Inertia on her own. It has been 3 months since her college started and there was a trio of Nil, Aarush, and her. Today was 10th October 2024, exactly one day before her birthday. Her family will be there in Pune by tomorrow to celebrate her birthday.

Nisha looked at the screen for a while. Even after 10 minutes, she could not find those errors in her derivation.

Buzz*buzz* buzz*buzz*

She glanced at caller ID. It was her mom. Even though she was calm from the outside, fear stirred inside her because she was unsure why her mother called her. It was because in a couple of weeks, the conversations between both was them weren't that good.

[She picks up the call.]

Nisha: Hello

Nisha's mom: We will come tomorrow around 1 PM. Do you want anything from home?

Nisha: No, it's fine.

Nisha's mom: What are you doing?

Nisha: Nothing, just studying the rotational chapter.

Nisha's mom: Good, good. I Will call you tomorrow before leaving.

Nisha: Okay.

[Nisha hung up the phone and then again started studying. ]

"This is driving me crazy...where the hell I did mistake?" Nisha flipped some pages and at the end, she looked at the derivation.

"Damm...I was using differentiation laws on integration." She facepalmed and laughed at her stupidity. "Who will believe that I was good at calculus in 12th."

[Notification!]

The screen glows up with: 

'AIIMS Delhi Student' Send You a Photo: Look at the moon😇

[11th October 2024 ]

Nish woke up with a unique energy. Riya's bed caught her glance. She was not there instead; she was sleeping near her study desk. Maybe she was studying late at night because she stayed up at night to complete the MSc 1st year Psychology project.

Nisha lay down on the bed for a while, and then she took her phone. The notification contained wishes, and it mentioned 2 stories of birthday wishes. Mira and Avin wished her the best years ahead, with lots of other messages and GIFs. Even Avni congratulated her for becoming officially 18+. Nisha replied to everything, and they also had a small group video call.

After some time, Nisha got ready for college. Riya was also awake by now.

"Happy birthday. Now you are officially 18+." Riya wished her while hugging her and Nisha was happy that Riya wished her.

"Thank you, sis. Well, how I am looking?" Nisha asked her while looking at her bright white shirt with blank formal pants. She was wearing a simple necklace with simple earrings, which she bought after coming to Pune.

"Beautiful...don't go by bus today. I will drop you today." Riya spoke with a changed tone. She spoke with a voice filled with happiness. Nisha tried to refuse her help, but in the end, she was fine with it.

[College]

Riya dropped her off near the college area and Nisha ran towards the lecture hall because she was 5 minutes late. Upon entering the lecture hall, she discovered it to be empty and then received a message on her phone from a professor, notifying them that all lectures for today had been cancelled because of an important meeting. They even cancelled the lectures on mathematics and English. She regrets not reading the message earlier. She looked for Aarush and Nil, but there was no sign of both of them. At that instant, she heard a notification, and it was from Nil asking where she was. After knowing that she was in college, he called her to meet him and Aarush in a nearby café.

Nisha headed towards a café called the Latte Zone. It was near to college and was affordable for students. Nisha entered the café and saw Nil and Aarush. She headed towards their table and said, "Why do they have to cancel the lectures?" She pouts while saying this. "Ah, let it be. It's normal in university life. Sit, I will come with coffee." Aarush said and disappeared for some minutes from their table. Nil looked at her and said, "You are looking beautiful today." Nisha didn't expect this comment from him, but she managed not to blush.

"Why Aarush is taking so much time?" Nisha looked towards the counter, but Aarush was not there. Nil said in an assured tone, "He will come wait." After 1 minute, Aarush came with a cake while Nil kept her somehow busy. Nil and Aarush looked at each other and then...

"Happy birthday, Nisha." Nil and Aarush said in one go, which made her flinch back for a second. Then she looked at the cake and then at them with surprise. She didn't expect this surprise.

"OMG! Thank you, guys," Nisha said while smiling.

"There is one more surprise. Wait!" Aarav said and dispersed without letting her cut the cake. This time Nil also had no idea about this surprise. Aarav came with a guitar of his own and then played happy birthday music on it. Nisha and Nil listened to it with awe. After he finished it, Nil asked him immediately, "Where did you learn to play the guitar?"

"My older brother taught me," Aarush said while placing his guitar in a gig bag.

"Wow, Aarush, that was amazing. Thanks a lot, guys, for this surprise." Nisha said because she was grateful.

Nil said, "Thanks us later, but cut the cake first." With this, Nisha cut the cake and after that, they also took some pictures together on Nil's phone. They spend some time and then head back to college to do some self-studies. Now it was nearly 1 o'clock and Nisha decided to leave. She excused herself from group study and headed back to the home.

[Dinner time]

It was 8 PM. Nisha's family and Riya's family gathered around for dinner. Aarav also was there. They cut the cake and started eating the dinner. Nisha was also enjoying today. She also showed them the 2 photos Aayush, Nil and she took together. While they were eating dinner, Nisha got a message from one of her classmates asking if she completed the PPT for the presentation which they were going to present soon with Aarush, Nil, and her female classmate.

She did forget it. She replied, "Will complete it soon."

"Don't use your phone while having dinner." Nisha's dad ordered. Nisha switched off the phone without explaining anything.

"Nisha, don't you think you should cut your hair?" Nisha's mom asked and then said while looking at Nitu Aunty, "You know the long hair problems, and when she was at home, I was there to take care of her hair."

Nitu Aunty nodded and after that, they changed the subject to something else. Nisha just nodded even though she hated such topics. She finished her dinner, headed back to her room, and started working on PPT. The topic was Astronomy. It was now midnight. She was alone in the room. The birthday energy was slowly converting into work energy.

While She was working, she saw a notification popping up. Avni personally replied to the birthday photos that she sent to the group. She took it as a break and chatted with Avni for a while. Even though her focus was on texting, she felt that someone was coming straight towards the room. It was Aarav. As soon as she felt his presence, she closed chats because she didn't want him to see it, even though it was nothing.

"Give me your phone," Arava commanded, because he felt suspicious.

"No. I was just talking t..."  Nisha's voice sank into frustration because for her it was similar to not respecting her boundaries, but without letting her complete her words, Aarav slapped her.He was shot-tempered, like his dad. Her cheek became red and for a second, she didn't realize what had happened. Slowly, she started feeling pain.

Aarav bent at her level and said, "Do you want to repeat the past 2 years? Mom and Dad already had gone through a lot because of you in past 2 years. Study perfectly or live as a disappointment." He looked at her for a while and then went outside.

"Don't cry, don't cry".

 She started feeling a sensation in her hands and she went straight to the bathroom. When she came out of the bathroom, her hands were red because of that hot water. Today's incident was not the only thing that made her miserable, there was a collection of events from the past 2 years. This was beyond the extent that she started feeling no longer wanted by her family. She wanted revenge, or maybe a small apology.