Chapter -2the school fest

Rockford’s annual school fest was chaos. Beautiful, noisy, glitter-filled chaos.

Sanshita hadn’t wanted to come. She didn’t know anyone well enough. She was still trying to figure out where to sit at lunch without looking lost — so being part of a school-wide celebration felt like walking into someone else’s party.

But her class teacher had insisted.

“Everyone participates, even the quiet ones. You’ll help backstage with the props. You’ll be fine.”

So there she was — in the middle of the fest, holding a cardboard moon sprayed with silver paint, her fingers sticky with glue and her hair slightly frizzy from the heat. She wore a black kurti with tiny silver stars stitched on the collar. She didn’t know if she looked cute or like she tried too hard. Probably both.

“Okay, moon girl,” Naina called from behind her, “I swear if you drop that thing again, I’m leaving you to explain it to ma’am.”

Sanshita turned, smirking. “I didn’t drop it.”

“Not yet,” Naina grinned, pulling her braid to the side and balancing a glittery sun cutout. “But your grip looks like you’re holding a baby bird.”

They both laughed — easy, quiet laughter that no one else around seemed to notice. In the week since she’d arrived, Naina was the only one who had really made space for her. No forced questions, no fake interest — just a calm, persistent presence.

“I still don’t know why I agreed to this,” Sanshita muttered, adjusting the moon prop in her hands.

“Because you secretly like the madness,” Naina replied. “And you like me.”

“I tolerate you.”“Same thing.”They were walking toward the back of the stage when Sanshita suddenly slowed down. Her breath caught — not in a dramatic way, just one of those quiet stumbles your body makes when your heart decides to recognize someone before your brain does, And then she saw him.

BHAVIK.

He was standing near the main stage, talking to a few seniors. Laughing. Easy. Effortless. He wore a white kurta with sleeves pushed up again — and she hated how it made her heart skip. He looked like the kind of boy you wrote poetry about and then hated yourself for it.

“Who’s that?” she asked, trying to sound casual.

Naina followed her gaze and grinned. “That’s Bhavik Joshi. Senior. Drama club star. Certified flirt. Avoid at all costs.”

“Hm.”

Too late.

Their eyes met.

Not for long.

A second, maybe.

But long enough.

His smirk returned — that same annoying one from their first meeting — but there was something else in his eyes now. Recognition. Like he remembered her.

And then, to her utter shock, he started walking toward her.

Panic rose in her chest.

“I’ll be over there,” Naina whispered quickly, backing away like a professional wingwoman. “Try not to faint.”

Sanshita shot her a death glare, but she was too busy panicking to be mad.

She looked down at the prop in her hand like it was suddenly the most fascinating object in the world.

“You really like bumping into people, don’t you?” he said, stopping in front of her.

She blinked up at him. “I didn’t bump into you this time.”

“Yet.” He grinned.

She rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth betrayed her — the tiniest smile slipping through.

“What’s your job here?” he asked, eyeing the glitter-covered moon.

“Backstage duty. I carry shiny stuff and try not to drop it.”

He laughed — a real one this time. Warm. Not teasing.

“That’s the most honest job description I’ve heard.”

They stood there for a second. No rush. No crowd. Just them in the middle of the noise.

“I didn’t get your name last time,” he said suddenly.

She hesitated, then quietly said, “Sanshita.”

“Hmm. Pretty name,” he replied, and for once — he didn’t sound like a flirt. Just… genuine.

Then someone called his name from the stage. He looked over his shoulder and nodded.

“I gotta go,” he said, stepping back. “But—”

He looked back at her.

“I’ll see you around, shiny moon girl.”

And then he was gone again. Just like that.

Leaving her heart slightly tangled, her head slightly spinning, and her fingers still gripping the stupid glittery prop.

Naina reappeared beside her, dramatically raising an eyebrow. “Well… that happened.”

Sanshita didn’t say anything.

Because what could she say?

Her heart was still in her throat.

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