Aadhya was snug under her blanket, the soft hum of her fan lulling her into a deeper sleep. It was a Sunday morning, her favourite day to sleep in without the interruption of an alarm. The sunlight streamed gently through the gaps in her curtains, casting a warm glow in her room.
Suddenly, a burst of laughter echoed through the house, slicing through her peaceful slumber. She stirred, trying to bury her head deeper into the pillow to muffle the sound, but the laughter grew louder. Annoyed and groggy, she sat up, rubbing her eyes and squinting at the clock on her nightstand. It was barely 9 am.
"Who on earth is making so much noise this early?" She muttered, throwing off her blanket in irritation. She stomped to her bedroom door, flinging it open with more force than necessary, and made her way down the hallway towards the living room.
As she neared the living room, the sound of her family's laughter mingled with voices she didn't recognise. She burst into the living room, her voice rising in a sleepy but furious yell. "Can't you keep it down? People are trying to sleep!"Her eyes took a moment to adjust the brightness and as they did, she noticed unfamiliar faces staring back at her. Seated on the couch were a man and a woman she had never seen before, and next to them was a boy around her age. Her brother, Aaryan, was sitting beside that boy grinning widely.
Her mom introduced the strangers. They were the new neighbours who were gonna live next to her house. The woman smiled at her. "Good morning dear. Aadhya right? Sorry if we woke you up." Aadhya forced a polite smile, mumbling an apology. "No, I'm sorry Auntie. I should've watched out before yelling." Anitha and her husband Varma smiled at Aadhya.
Aaryan jumped in, his enthusiasm undimmed by her outburst. "Aadhya, meet Ridansh. He's cool! We're just playing a game." Ridansh gave her a small, somewhat wary smile. "Hi."
She just nodded. While she found herself instantly liking Mr and Mrs Varma(Anitha). But something about Ridansh rubbed her the wrong way. Maybe it was the way he seemed so at ease with her brother. Despite the awkward start, the Varmas' warmth made her feel welcome. She chatted with them briefly, feeling a growing fondness for the couple. She had a gut feeling that they wouldn't get along as effortlessly as he and Aaryan seemed to.
As the morning wore on, Aadhya's initial frustration faded, her replaced by a mix of curiosity and cautious optimism about the new neighbours. After a while, the Varmas family left. Aadhya's grandma Nandana seemed to like Ridansh a lot just like Aaryan enjoyed his company. Aadhya quickly rushed up and took a shower. She had her breakfast and sat in the living room watching TV.
Aadhya sat on her couch, lazily flipping through channels on the TV after enjoying a delicious lunch. Just as she was getting into a show, the doorbell rang. She smiled, knowing it must be Shanaya, her best friend.
Opening the door, she found Shanaya standing there with a mischievous grin. "Hey, Aadhya!" Aadhya exchanged a grin and greeted her back welcoming them into the house. "Oh! Shaanu is here." Aadhya's grandma loved Shanaya as much as she loved Aadhya. "How you doin grandma? Where's uncle and auntie?" Shanaya was dearer to everyone in this family. "Bro's missing too." Aadhya rolled her eyes before answering her question. "Mom and Dad are helping our new neighbours. You know they were so nice to me. But I don't feel the same with their son tho. Aaryan's chillin out there with uh what was his name? Uh, Ridansh? Yea that is it. I don't get a nice feeling from him." Grandma shakes her head and says "He is a nice boy."
"Aadhya! Wanna bake some cookies?" Shanaya asked her excited. Aadhya nods standing up. They headed to the kitchen, gathering ingredients and preheating the oven. As they mixed the dough, Aadhya suddenly remembered something. "Oh no, Shaanu, I completely forgot about the homework. I need to finish it quickly."
Shanaya nodded understandingly. "No worries, Aadhya. You go ahead and work on your homework. I'll handle the cookies. We can enjoy them together once they're done."Aadhya hurried to her bedroom to tackle her homework.
As she was diligently working on her homework, the tranquility of her study space was abruptly shattered by the jarring sound of a flower pot crashing onto the balcony floor. Startled, she hurried to the balcony to investigate, her heart sinking at the sight of her favourite flower pot shattered into pieces.
Her gaze shifted to the balcony opposite to hers, where Ridansh and Aaryan were looking back at her. Anger flared within her as she realised the cause of the destruction. "What the hell? You broke my favourite flower pot!"Ridansh and Aaryan exchanged guilty glances before Ridansh spoke defensively. "It was just an accident, Aadhya. We didn't mean to break it."
"Accident?!" She scoffed, her anger mounting. "That pot was a gift from Shanaya! Do you have any idea how much it meant to me?"
Aaryan attempted to defuse the situation. "We're sorry my little princess. It was really an accident." She didn't like the idea of Aaryan actually taking Ridansh's side indirectly. She pokes a hole in the basketball with her pen which she was using to do her homework. "Well, accidents have consequences." A little smirk displaying on her lips.
"You ruined my basketball. It's brand new." Ridansh's voice fuming with anger. "It was an honest mistake Aadhya, you shouldn't have done that." Aaryan was disappointed with his sister's behaviour. "Honest mistake or not, you should've been more careful and I don't care if it's a new one, you've ruined my pot." "But still mine was a clear mistake. But YOU! What did you do?" Ridansh's voice clearly showing anger and annoyance. "Firstly tell me who plays basketball in the balcony." Aadhya yelled back at Ridansh. "It's my balcony! I can do whatever I want."
Shanaya was going upstairs with the cookies but rushed when the voices of arguing began to reach her ears. "What's going on here?" Shanaya's eyes shift to the pieces of the pot she once gifted to Aadhya, she tried processing the whole scenario. The argument between Aadhya and Ridansh never stopped. Then Shanaya decides to step in as she saw Aaryan standing there helplessly.
"Look Aadhya, I will buy you a new one, okay? Now let's go inside." She then tries dragging Aadhya inside. "Rid, you can take my basketball, it's a new one too. Sorry for what my stupid little princess did. Now lets go I'll give you my ball." In the same way he tries dragging Ridansh inside. Glaring at each other for the last time before entering into their respective rooms Aadhya and Ridansh yell at each other, "You're so ANNOYING!"
"If you think I'll let you get away with this,
you're sorely mistaken."
