Kiara's POV
When I joined this school, I was nervous.
And when I say nervous, I mean stomach-twisting, overthinking, "why am I breathing like this?" nervous.
Which is funny.
Because naturally?
I am not a nervous person. I am usually the loud one. The confident one. The "don't mess with her" one
.
In my old school?
I was *that* girl.
Popular. All-rounder. Teacher's favourite. Class monitor. The kind who would literally fight someone if they disturbed the class. And yes — physical fights. Not proud. Not ashamed either.
You throw chalk? I throw hands.
Simple math.
Half the class was scared of me. The other half respected me.
Beautiful balance.
But then the pandemic happened.
Two years of lockdown. Two years of screens. Two years of muting myself.
Somewhere in that time, I grew up. When the world opened again, I realised something tragic.
Somehow, my social skills packed their bags and left.
And my Confidence? Gone.
Vanished.
Evaporated.
So when I entered this new school in 11th grade, I wasn't the bold monitor anymore. I was self-conscious. Overthinking. Hyper-aware of how I walked. How I sat. How I breathed.
So annoying!
In 10th (online), I had already made a name. Answered questions. Impressed teachers. Became a favourite. Again. Obviously.
But that was behind a screen.
Real life? Different story.
What if they think I'm a nerd?
What if they expect some genius topper robot and I just… stand there awkwardly?
Still, I was excited.
This school was better. More prestigious. Smarter crowd. Bigger competition. I liked that. I wanted that.
And I had already chatted with Sans, Anshika, and Samruddhi during online classes.
They said I was cool.
Cool.
So I thought, okay. New school. New friends. New era.
Universe laughed.
The First Day?
Disaster.
I came early. Big mistake.
I sat there in the classroom like a statue. Watching chaos unfold.
Why chaos?
Because everyone was reuniting after two years of lockdown. Screaming. Hugging. Laughing. Acting like it's a Bollywood airport scene.
And me?
I didn't know a single person's name.
Except the three girls I was emotionally depending on.
So I just sat there. Watching.
Like a documentary narrator.
"Here we see the species in their natural habitat."
So deep.
As more students entered, my nervousness grew. My brain kept whispering,
"They're judging you."
So annoying!
Finally, Tanya walked in and sat beside me.
Relief.
She greeted me. Smiled. I relaxed a little.
Normal human behaviour. I almost cried internally.
But obviously, she hadn't seen her classmates in two years. So within minutes, she was turned around, laughing, talking, catching up.
And I just sat there.
Silent.
Because apparently, my ability to start a conversation had expired during lockdown.
Love that for me.
Why couldn't I just talk?
Why was I suddenly shy?
Who is this version of me? Return policy please.
Then the class teacher entered and announced there was another new student.
Mahi.
And our class teacher? A maths teacher. The same one I had already impressed during online sessions. So her class went smoothly.
At least academically, I wasn't dying. Emotionally? Buffering.
After some time, Tanya switched seats to sit beside Sans.
So yes. I was abandoned. On Day One.
Tiny heartbreak.
Not because she did something wrong. It made sense. They were closer. But still.
Not dramatic at all.
So annoying!
The girl who sat next to me was Vibhuti.
And slowly, throughout the year, she became my best friend.
Funny how life works.
Through her, I met Girija and Rhea. Gradually Mahi joined too.
And just like that, I was part of a group.
Now here's the funny part.
They were fun. Loud. Relaxed. Barely-passing students but happy.
And I? Miss All-Rounder, Teacher's Favorite, Future Topper.
At that time, I didn't think it mattered.
Marks are marks. Friendship is friendship.
So mature.
Foreshadowing is laughing in the corner right now.
Because later, I realised that maybe joining that group wasn't my smartest move.
Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure Tanya told her group that I was shy and didn't talk much.
Which is not wrong of her.
But still. It's just a misunderstanding. Give me some time guys.
Anyways, so the Sash group never approached me.
They probably just wondered why I was friends with "that group."
Trust me. I wondered that too sometimes.
But excuse me? That group???
As if this is some social hierarchy chart. So annoying!
Gradually though, things changed.
Siddharth.
Dhruv.
Arjun
Mayank.
They all became my friends too.
It took me almost one whole year to learn everyone's names.
Which is embarrassing because I pretend to be socially smart.
But once I opened up?
I got along with almost everyone.
And Our section?
Became the biggest troublemakers in the entire grade.
Yet somehow, we also topped academically.
Because a few of us carried the rest on our backs.
And also because chaos and intelligence can coexist.
We are proof.
And that's how it started.
The shy girl who wasn't actually shy.
The topper who hung out with backbenchers.
The monitor who forgot how to speak.
Iconic confusion.
But to understand what happened next…
You need to know a few incidents from my past.
And trust me.
They're not boring. 😌🔥