THE FIRST TALK

"Raghav," she called.

Wait... did she just say my name?

"Did she just call you?" Ganpat nudged me, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"What?" I feigned ignorance, pretending as if I hadn't heard anything.

"She literally just called your name. Do you know her?" he asked again.

"Yeah... We were in the same coaching class, but we never really talked," I admitted.

Before I could process anything else, she called me again.

"Raghav?"

"See? She called you again. Maybe she wants to say something. I think you should go talk to her before the class starts," Ganpat suggested, smirking.

"Yeah... I guess," I said, trying to keep my excitement in check.

I took a deep breath and walked towards her. She stood there, looking at me with a calm yet curious expression.

"Do you know me?" she asked.

How could I not know her? She was my so-called crush, the one I had admired from a distance for an entire year. But I couldn't say that. Instead, I played it cool.

"Yes, you're Priya, right? But how do you know me?" I asked, feigning surprise.

She chuckled. "Oh, so you know my name too? By the way, since you're the owner and admin of the coaching group chat, everyone knows about you."

Oh, so at least there was some benefit to creating that group! I thought.

"Oh, that's the reason," I said, pretending to be unaffected. "I thought no one even noticed me. I always sat far from everyone and never really talked to anyone throughout the year."

"Yeah, we all noticed that and kept wondering—why did you do that? Why didn't you talk to anyone?" she asked, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"I don't know… maybe because I'm an introvert. I feel shy talking to people," I confessed.

She smiled. "Oh, that explains it. Don't worry."

There was a brief pause before I asked, "By the way, how come you chose this college? What made you pick this one?"

She grinned. "Oh, because you joined this college."

I froze. My heart skipped a beat. Did she just say that?

For a moment, a thousand possibilities ran through my mind. Maybe she liked me too? Maybe this was fate? Maybe—

"I'm just kidding!" she laughed. "I joined because this was the best college among the ones I got."

And just like that, my daydream shattered into a million pieces.

But before I could dwell on my disappointment, she said something unexpected.

"At least you're here, so I won't feel completely alone in this new universe. By the way, can I have your number?"

I blinked.

Wait, what?

She just asked for my number?

This was getting interesting. My otherwise dull life had suddenly taken an unexpected and delightful turn.

"Sure," I said, trying to keep my excitement from showing.

We exchanged numbers and even followed each other on Instagram.

The rest of the day flew by. Classes ended, and Ganpat and I grabbed lunch. As usual, I had my staple meal—plain rice.

As we sat eating, I couldn't stop replaying the entire conversation with Priya in my head. The fact that she knew my name, that she talked to me, that she asked for my number—it was almost unreal.

"Bro, you look lost. Are you still thinking about her?" Ganpat teased.

"Obviously," I admitted. "I mean, seeing your crush in the same college is one thing, but having an actual conversation with her? That's something else!"

He laughed. "Yeah, but dude, how did you even survive a whole year without talking to her?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I guess being an introvert helped."

We decided to go for a walk after lunch, talking about random things, but my mind remained stuck on Priya.

That night, as I lay on my bed, I couldn't help but smile.

Maybe, just maybe, this was the start of something new.

And for the first time in a long while, I silently thanked the universe for this unexpected gift.