Chapter 35: Queen of novel: The First Hello

"Alright, everyone, settle down," Mr. Sharma said, looking toward the doorway. "Before we start the class today, let me introduce you all to a new boy who will be joining our batch."

Ananya looked up from her notebook as a skinny, quiet boy with messy hair slowly walked into the room.

He didn’t look nervous at all. In fact, he walked to the center of the room, puffed out his small chest, and announced loudly to the entire class, "Hello everyone! My name is Rohan Roy. I am the future’s greatest cricket player, and I love cricket!"

Mr. Sharma, the tuition teacher, paused with his chalk hovering over the blackboard. He looked at the skinny eight-year-old and thought to himself, Wow. Nice confidence.

The rest of the tuition class, however, was not as impressed. A chorus of giggles erupted across the room. A few older kids in the back row burst out laughing, pointing at the messy-haired boy who was making such grand declarations in a basic math class.

Rohan didn’t seem to care. He simply adjusted his oversized backpack, walked down the aisle, and quietly slid into the empty seat right next to Ananya.

He turned his head, flashed a bright, toothy grin, and whispered, "What is your name? My name is Rohan."

Ananya didn’t even turn to look at him. She kept her eyes firmly fixed on her textbook, her pencil moving precisely over the paper.

"Hello, my name is Ananya," she replied coldly, her voice devoid of any emotion. "And please don’t talk to me. I am busy studying."

She turned her shoulder, completely ignoring him for the rest of the lesson. Rohan just blinked, shrugged his shoulders unbothered, and started drawing little cricket bats in the margins of his notebook.

Three hours later, the tuition class finally ended.

Ananya packed her perfectly organized pencil box and walked outside, where her father was waiting on his blue scooter. She climbed onto the back, and they began the short ride home through the bustling evening streets.

"So, beta," her father asked over the hum of the engine, looking at her in the rearview mirror. "A new student joined your tuition today, right? Did you talk to him? Did you make a new friend?"

Ananya rolled her eyes. "No, Papa. He is so stupid. I am not like him at all. Every little thing he talks about is just cricket, cricket, and more cricket!"

She crossed her small arms, looking annoyed. But then, a sudden memory of Rohan puffing his chest out and declaring himself the greatest player flashed in her mind. Despite her strict, logical nature, a small giggle escaped her lips.

Within seconds, that giggle turned into loud, uncontrollable laughter. She held onto her father’s shoulder, laughing so hard that her stomach hurt. "But... but he is so funny, Papa!"

Her father smiled warmly, listening to the rare sound of his daughter laughing so freely.

"See? Then he is a good boy," her father said gently. "Ananya, you should try making friends with everyone. If you have friends, you can study with them, you can play with them, and you can learn new things from them. If you only look at your books and ignore people... you will be left entirely alone, beta. Friendship isn’t a waste of time. It’s a new way to learn."

Ananya rested her chin on her father’s back. She didn’t say anything, but her father’s gentle words echoed deeply in her highly analytical mind.

The next morning, the bright Delhi sun streamed through the windows of the primary school.

Ananya was sitting neatly in her first-period class, her books already open before the bell even rang. However, the classroom was entirely chaotic today.

At the front of the room, the strict class teacher was furious. She was loudly scolding two boys who were standing with their heads bowed. One was a slightly chubby boy named Kabir, and standing right next to him was the messy-haired boy from her tuition class—Rohan.

"You two don’t study at all!" the teacher shouted, slamming her ruler on the desk. "And on top of that, you come late to school every other day! If you do this one more time, I am going to call your parents and file a formal complaint!"

Instead of looking scared or crying like normal second-graders, Rohan and Kabir were desperately trying to hold in their laughter. Rohan nudged Kabir with his elbow, and Kabir let out a high-pitched snort.

Seeing them trying so hard not to laugh while getting scolded in front of the whole class broke Ananya’s strict composure.

She covered her mouth, a sudden burst of laughter escaping her.

Hearing her laugh, the kids sitting around her started giggling. Within seconds, the entire classroom was laughing out loud at the ridiculous sight of Rohan and Kabir failing to look sorry.

"Silent! Silent, class!" the teacher yelled, her face turning red. She glared at the two boys. "You two are always laughing and causing trouble! Go back to your seats right now!"

Rohan and Kabir hurriedly grabbed their bags and practically ran down the aisle. As Rohan walked past the second row, he noticed Ananya. She was still holding her stomach, her glasses slightly crooked from laughing so hard.

Instead of going to his usual seat in the back, Rohan abruptly stopped and slid into the empty spot right next to Ananya.

He leaned over, looking at her with genuine curiosity. "Why are you laughing so much?" he asked, completely forgetting that she had coldly ignored him just the evening before.

Ananya finally caught her breath. She wiped a small tear of laughter from her eye and looked at the boy with the messy hair. She remembered her father’s words from the scooter ride. You will be left entirely alone, beta.

She looked at Rohan’s bright, unbothered face. He was foolish, he didn’t care about rules, and his uniform was already untucked. He defied all logic. But for the first time in her life, Ananya didn’t want to be alone with her books.

She offered a small, shy smile.

"Sorry... sorry," Ananya whispered, adjusting her glasses. "You are just so funny."

She took a deep breath, gathered all her courage, and held out her small hand.

"Will you be my friend?"