CHAPTER - 1

“GET UP !!!” shouted Amma at the top of her voice.” YOU ARE THE MOST IRRESPONSIBLE PERSON I’VE EVER SEEN !!!” she bellowed as she reached the doorway .”HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO WATCH MASTERCHEF TILL 10 ? NOW LOOK, IT IS 7 : 30 AND YOU HAVEN’T GOT OUT OF THE BED !!! ”. Aaria looked at her clock and shouted back “IT'S 5: 30 FOR GOODNESS SAKE !!! “. Amma replied ”You get up only when I do that ,don’t you ?Now, as you’re awake ,I have an interesting new job for you . Why don’t you go to your new neighbor’s house and welcome them to our neighborhood? ” before Aaria argued, she added ,”It’s not an option” and left . Aaria groaned and got out of bed mumbling  about her fate .She yawned and sat up , throwing the creased bedsheets on her messy bed .To make matters worse , her alarm started ringing so loudly that she reaches for the clock and threw it down .

 

She glanced at the picture on her bedside table and looked at the man in the middle and glared. Her dad. It gave her this weird feeling in her chest though she did not know what it was. It was taken 5 years ago and it was the last photo taken as family. Her father is working in the military and she only gets to see him for a few days. But those few days were the best she had ever had in her life. When she was young ,her dad used to come home often . Even though he is said to be a very strict officer, she never felt so . He was so loving and supportive that was very difficult to stay mad at him . But she always remembers that he was here just to check on them and he didn’t love them enough to stay with them .So ,whenever he came back ,she always stayed sulking in the corners and acting bored no matter how much he tried to spend time with her .But ,she feels guilty just when he is about to leave ;She had always wanted to ask him or even plead him to stay , she always thinks better of it and never expresses herself . Ever since ,She believed that her father doesn’t need them and they don’t need him ever since .

 

Speaking of them , she heard an even more louder shouting session in the next room .Her brother , Arjun’s room was right next door and she was sorry that she got up before him because she has to hear the tantrums right from twilight till dawn . He was hopeless in waking up early as he sleeps even later than her. He plays for the school’s football team and practices constantly till Amma shouts out at 11 and threatens to embarrass him in front of his friends . Still, Amma doesn’t bother too much about him as he is a model pupil , an amazing athlete and an achiever from quite a lot of fields ,but she seriously seemed to regret that decision as Aaria heard the voices getting louder than before . She sighed and started getting ready.

 

Aaria is a ninth grader in ASS Senior Secondary School in Pune. Ninth graders are all about recognition within the school, especially if you’ve got a popular brother . At the starting of the new year ,Arjun came up to her and said “ I’ve spent years maintaining my image and I’m not having you ruin it for me .So mind each and every step of yours and try to live up to my standards .Though ,no pressure .”as if it was the easiest task ever .It is not as easy for Aaria. She is not ugly but she isn’t happy about her looks. She has bushy hair like Hermione Granger, so lean that a gust of air can blow her away anytime and ,she has to wear braces . Her braces were the highlight of last year. She was teased as ‘The iron mine’ of ASS. It was not like nobody else wore braces, a lot of them did, but she was the least popular in the class and she was hated by the Dynamite. Dynamite Diya is the nickname for the most popular girl in her class. If there is a person meaner than mean, she is ten times that . She is very powerful with her words and had control of all ,teachers and students .So, all the students support her , no matter what , as they can get a beneficial relationship with Diya ( POPULARITY ! ). So, last year had been a nightmare for her, filled with hurt, guilt and loneliness .Aaria thought “I seriously need to get even with her and show her who I am !”." Like that's ever gonna happen " she sighed .

 

 

She was shaken out of her daydream, or a very early morning dream ,when she heard another cry from Amma yelling, “AARIA !!! IT REALLY IS LATE NOW! ITS 6:00, SO GET A MOVE ON AND GO TO WELCOME OUR NEIGHBOURS !“ “SEE HOW RESPONSIBLE YOUR BROTHER IS ,HE IS ALREADY READY FOR SCHOOL ! “she added. “How does he do that?” Aaria replied, baffled .She ran downstairs when she saw Arjun mouthing “See that ?” She made a face at him, which was caught by Amma ,who was already really pissed with her .”You are already late and now you tease your poor brother ?”she said ,annoyed.

 Arjun, who was unable to stifle his laughter , went off blabbering something about having to study for a test conducted NEXT MONTH , which resulted in 10 more minutes of praises of ‘Arjun the Great ‘.

 

Unable to take it anymore ,she did the most she could to make her stop talking about Arjun .She made her change the subject saying, “The new neighbors….What do you really know about them ?What if they end out to be really weird and keep bothering us ?Or what if they are mass murderers who have come to kidnap us and keep us hostage? Or worse, if they are Appa’s enemies who have come to kill us ? We are surely going to die as Appa is never going to save us! We-“She was stopped right there by Amma ,who said “Don’t be silly! Appa is always going to save us. He loves us ,you know?” saying ‘Appa’ like a sacred word. She continued,” And they are not serial killers. I did a bit of research and found that the family speak Tamil too! Is not that great! I have been waiting so long for a Tamil friend since we left Mumbai. And they have a daughter too ,so you’re lucky too. So go fast, give these sweets to them and come back soon .”Aaria didn’t know whether to be happy that she is going to get a new friend or to feel sad that it might not end well like most of her previous friendships .

***********************************************************************