clashing connection

Aditi

I inhaled a deep breath as I looked up at the off-white building in front of me. Students miled about, varying in ages, laughing with their friends. This was it. It was my first day of college after spending twelve years in the same school. I fished around in my bag for my ID card and flashed it to the watchmen out front. Entering the gates, I scanned it on the scanner and pressed my thumb onto the biometric scanner. It was a little excessive for a college, but it was pretty cool too.
I looked around, taking in the details I had first missed on my trip here to confirm my admission. Back then, I had barely had any time to look around, having been informed that I had gotten in quite late.
I felt a bit self conscious, being the only one who didn't know other kids while everyone else seemed to be in their own worlds, chattering about their classes. Seems like I was the only one who didn't know anyone here, but that was fine. I'll make friends soon enough, right? As I eyed the crowd gathered near the elevators, a girl tapped me on the shoulder. I smiled at her, instantly recognizing her from our interaction on the day of the admission. I quickly took in her appearance to check whether I was remembering correctly. Shoulder level black hair, braces, almond shaped black eyes.... yup , it was definitely her. She was wearing a simple cropped top and jeans, unlike the other kids. I distinctly remembered her telling me that her name was Aisha.
"Hey! How are you? Aditi, right? " she asked with a bright smile.
"Yes! I'm good what about you? Aisha, right?" I asked with a polite smile.
"Yes! You remember me. I'm great! Which class are you in?"
"402-"
"Oh my god! Me too! I'm so glad we're in the same class. I was afraid I was going to have to sit alone on the first day." She looped her arm in mine and dragged me towards the closest elevator.
I felt instant relief at the thought of not being alone and welcomed her company. We quickly began talking about our summer break and life after tenth grade. Turns out, we thought a lot alike, and our energy matched on another level. We giggled as we took a seat on the second last bench while she recounted her mother's reaction to her grades.
It was definitely a relatable story, as I thought back to my own mother's reaction. In India, 10th boards were a very huge thing. The grades you scored sometimes defined everything from your career to your place in the family. I had been panicking at the thought of getting anything below a 90% since all the good colleges required grades above that. My fears had gotten to the point that had I scored below 90.... I shook my head, clearing those thoughts away. I had scored a whopping 94%, so it didn't matter, right? My parents were satisfied and my relatives were also proud. My mother had also shed tears while my dad had gifted me a gold necklace. Trust an Indian family to spoil their daughters with gold. It was practically every household's story.
I had gotten into a good college, Mithibai, and was happy as could be.
Aisha nudged me with her elbow with a frown, breaking my train of thoughts.
"Hey, you okay?" Blinking, I nodded yes and asked her to repeat the question she had asked.
She perked up and whispered."So... do you have a boyfriend?" I smiled as I thought about my boyfriend.
Her eyes widened as she took in my smile. "You do! I have to see a picture. Spill everything!" She gushed. I took out my phone to show her a picture of us at the mall.
"Oh my god! You guys are so cute." I locked my phone and put it away.
"His name is Sahil, and we met in 10th grade." I offered her this much information.

The teacher entered, and a hush fell over the class. He introduced himself as our maths teacher and proceeded to start with the first lesson of the semester. Everyone groaned as they pulled their books out, a few kids putting their head down, taking a nap.
Aisha slapped my arm, drawing my attention to her as I winced in pain. "You can't just leave me hanging! Tell me everything there is about your love story."
I rolled my eyes as the teacher started rambling about composite numbers and whole numbers as everyone started whispering again.
My mind went back to the conversation I had just had with Aisha. Ripping a piece of paper, I scribbled down.

What about you? Do you have a boyfriend?

I passed it to her and read over her shoulder as she wrote.