Mahika and Amoli can't stand each other, but that's not the only thing they have in common.
Mahika treats Amoli like she's childish. Amoli thinks Mahika is a stuck-up prude. But Mahika's best friend and Amoli's brother are getting married, so they c...
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˗ˏˋlong drives and awaiting surprises'ˎ˗
➷
The morning that they're supposed to leave for the trip is a beautiful one. Because it's still early, the birds are singing away their happiness, and the slight chill in the air brushes across everything in its way and leaves it shivering.
One look at the sky and they can tell it's clearer than it has been in a while.
"Wow, I hate this."
It's the voice of one of the three figures standing outside Mahika's house with their arms wrapped around themselves; the voice of the most dramatic one out of them all.
Keerti. Of course, it's her: The beginning of all that is chaos, the end of all that is part of the universe.
"Me too," Sakshi mutters, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to get rid of the goosebumps prickling her skin. "I'm kind of jealous of Dhruv right now."
Mahika stares straight ahead, not a twitch in her expression. "Such a good day. So much enthusiasm. Naina is going to be so happy when she sees how excited we are."
"It's cold," Keerti whines, stepping closer to Sakshi so they can huddle together. They're all wearing sweaters, but none of them had expected the morning to be extra chilly. Once the sun shines upon them, it's going to be better.
Until then, Mahika watches them stand together like penguins.
"It's six in the morning," Mahika rebukes, then sighs. "It'll get better in an hour or so." When Keerti continues to look like she's slowly shrinking from the cold, Mahika rolls her eyes and bends down to unzip her bag, pulling out a scarf and holding it in front of Keerti.
It's brown, warm and smells like home, which is perfect considering her mother was the one who got her that scarf.
"Here." She shakes the fabric in front of her quaking friend. "If your teeth chatter any harder, you're going to wake up the entire street."
Keerti wraps it around her neck and half of her face in a way only her eyes are visible.
"Do you think Naina would hate me if I took a nap the entire ride?" Sakshi asks, stifling a yawn. Out of all three of them, Sakshi hates waking up early the most. Some days, when Mahika and Keerti are grumbling about how tired they are, Sakshi is as dead as a doornail in some corner. Mahika respects her for it, really.
"She'd be proud."
Mahika shakes her head. "Naina would let you sleep anywhere but on a trip. She's probably buzzing with excitement as we — is that... them?" Mahika squints at the approaching figure of a minivan from the end of the street, leaning forward to make up for the fact that she isn't wearing her glasses. "I think they're here."
