Happily Ever After- 2

-Life-

"Although, life at Ravenwood was good, I missed Gwalior. I missed my friends, I missed Ahana. I didn't have mom to feed me or dad to spoil me. There were nights and days when I felt alone, very alone. I cried to sleep on the initial days because it was so lonely.

But I had my support system here, thankfully. My best bud Viv and Ani, Matt, Abeer. And also, Zoya and Syaahi. I met the girls during one of the meetings of the debating society. Zoya and Syaahi were the presidents of the society. They treated me like a brother and always looked out for me.

Zoya was in my class, while Syaahi was in Science. Both of them excelled in studies, were class toppers, fluent debaters and most importantly, great friends. Z helped me out with everything I had missed out in studies. And it was definitely her, who helped me get good marks in Periodic Tests. Although, I only stayed at Ravenwood for 6 months, the place made its own corner inside my heart. What a lovely time!

My only debate for Ravenwood was when we went to Chandigarh for National-level Debate Competition. I Zoya, Syaahi and Rahul represented the school. I was stunned when I saw the girls grill their opponents. SK's magnificent rhetorics and Z's Killer Hindi vocabulary amazed me. And it was no shocker that they stood first. My performance, although, was an average one. Our school secured the Runners Up position. It was quite a celebration at the school.

Soon, we got busy with studies. Boards were around the corner, so all hobby and sports activities were cancelled for us. We had all day to study and we tried really hard. There was probably no place where we did not go to study; Amphitheatre, Library, Girls' Hostel Lobby, Boys' Hostel Lobby, Playground and even the Church!

Pre-boards went well with all of us scoring good marks. Our farewell was scheduled on 23rd of December. We had no vacations due to boards. It was a Ravenwood tradition to arrange a prom at the Farewell event.

Since Z and Abeer were cousins, they paired up with each other. I partnered with SK. Viv, Ani and Matt were with Prerna, Ridhi and Simran, respectively.
Z and Abeer were crowned as the Stars of the Evening. It was an experience of a lifetime.

Christmas celebrations were a treat to watch. There were prayers, celebration, dance and food! We decorated the Christmas tree and played with snow. We also did the Secret Santa ritual where each one would give one of their favourite thing to a friend as a symbol of lifelong friendship and love. I gave my headphones to Vivaan. Mom got them for me on my 16th birthday and I could not think of anything better to give to him. I received a plain blue kurta neatly wrapped with note, "Since you have always adored this so much. Love, Santa." I knew who it was from. That was Anirudh. Both of us are fond of kurtas and this clearly was the best Christmas gift.

On New Year's Eve, a bonfire was arranged with music and dance. We had never thought that our strict teachers could turn out to be so much fun. The party went on longer than we had expected. We did not care about the cold weather. We were out there, dancing, talking, telling stories to each other. Everyone went to the dorms at 4 a.m. only to return for lunch at 2. It was a great night.

From Jan 2, we had to begin our studies again. Boards were in almost a month and Practicals, just two weeks away. It was a joyride. Our room was a total mess with stationery, clothes, food and people lying everywhere, quite literally.

It was around that time that a deadly virus became a pandemic. Thankfully, we were over with our boards but we were still stuck in the hostel. When the country lockdown was announced, panic struck me. I didn't have anywhere to go. I talked to Reena aunty, but she herself was stuck at Jalandhar and it would not be until 2 days that she could be back. Viv said I could stay at his place until aunty could pick me up. So, we went to Delhi. It was a little awkward for me at first, but his parents were really welcoming and warm, just like him. They reminded me of mum and dad.

Finally on the third day, Reena aunty came to pick me up to take me to Agra. I wanted to go back to Gwalior but since the state borders were sealed, I had no choice. The country was locked down for weeks. It was terrible but everyone was trying their best to cope up with and handle the situation.

During the quarantine, I worked on my cooking skills, tried various dishes and put on 5 kgs! No one had any other work to do. But all is well, if the end is well. The lockdown was finally lifted after everything was normal and then, it was time for college."