Hello chaos

1:08 PM: Aradhya's Room

The suitcase lies open on the bed, already half-full with clothes that look like they were thrown by an earthquake. Mihika is sitting cross-legged on the floor, folding....or at least pretending to.

Aradhya tossed a pair of heels into her bag. Mihika immediately pulled them out.

"We're going to fest, not Lakme Fashion Week. You'll trip and die, flat surface pr toh tum girti-padti rehti ho."

"Better to die fabulous than live wearing sneakers aur kya pata mujhe girane se bachane koi handsome sa ladka mil jaaye😉." Aradhya replied with a smirk.

Mihika glared but shoved them back in the bag anyway.

"Also, why are you packing four dresses and six outfits for a two-day fest?"

"Two outfits per day and extras for outfit emergencies. Or if Vedant's college people are extra judgmental."

"Or if Vedant is extra cute," Mihika teased.

Aradhya snapped her suitcase shut a little too fast. "Tum na thoda bakwas km kiya karo," she said, pointing at her suitcase. "Pack your own bag or I'm leaving you behind."

"You wouldn't dare. Who will help you eat roadside maggi at midnight?" Mihika shot back.

"Fine. But pack faster-  I want to reach early enough to see the opening performance."

They were mid-gossip when Mihika's phone pinged- Vedant had texted.

Reading aloud, Mihika said, "Don't be late. I'll be at the gate."

Aradhya rolled her eyes. "He's acting like we're some chief guests."

"Well, you are the drama queen of the group and he is the guy who's in love with you since like forever," Mihika smirked.

"Shut up, Mhiku." Aradhya rolled her eyes.

Done with their packing they zip up their bags, and collapse on the bed, already buzzing with anticipation.

7:09 PM: College Fest

It was late evening when Aradhya and Mihika reached Vedant's college campus. The lawn was decked with fairy lights, music blaring, students everywhere in vibrant clothes and wild energy.

Vedant was waiting, leaning casually against a pillar, hoodie on and that smug smile he was far too aware of. He spotted them and waved.

"Welcome, welcome! How was the trip?"

Aradhya hugged him tightly. "Long. And Mihika ate all the snacks."

"Liar! You ate two extra chips!" Mihika shot back.

Vedant laughed, shaking his head. "Tum dono pagal ho."

They started walking through campus—banners everywhere, students rushing past in costumes and face paint.

"Wow. This place is..." Aradhya trailed off, taking it all in.

"Impressive?" Vedant prompted.

"No. Dangerous. I already spotted three people who look like they came for Miss India and they're judging my outfit."

"Ignore her," Mihika said, spinning around. "Why does every college smell like cheap coffee and emotional damage?"

"And hormones. Don't forget the hormones," Aradhya added with a smirk.

"So, where's the food?" Mihika asked.

"Priorities. I like it," Vedant replied.

"We're here only for the free food and mental-healing," Aradhya said.

"Same reason I do therapy," Vedant replied, grinning.

They burst into laughter.

As they walked around the stalls, clicked stupid selfies, danced like idiots on DJ night, and mocked the overly intense poetry slams — it was like slipping back into their undergrad versions for a few magical hours.

At one point, Aradhya stood a little away, watching Mihika and Ritvik bicker adorably over cotton candy, (Yup Ritvik has also come to fest😅) while Vedant handled their chaos with the calm of someone who had seen worse.

Vedant glanced at Aradhya and smiled—the kind that said you're home, even in chaos.

"Good decision to come?" he asked, falling into step beside her.

"Best one I've made in weeks," Aradhya replied softly.

They didn't say anything after that. They didn't need to.

4:58 AM: "Late Nights and Older Versions of Us"

It was well past midnight. The fest had wound down, music had faded, and most of the students had either left or passed out in some garden.

The four of them — Aradhya, Mihika, Vedant, and Ritvik — found a quiet spot behind the anatomy block. The air smelled faintly of jasmine and dust, the concrete still warm from the day's heat.

They sat in a haphazard circle on the cold marble floor, clutching leftover sandwiches and half-empty water bottles like drunk poets with snacks.

"How did we even survive college? We were so... unhinged," Mihika said, hugging her knees.

"We weren't unhinged, we were passionately unstable. Big difference," Aradhya laughed.

"Iconic behavior, tbh," she added.

They all laughed.

Then there was a brief lull—the kind that wasn't awkward, just full of memories resurfacing.

Aradhya stirred her coffee dramatically. "UG days... sigh... when I was young, carefree, and still had a back that didn't hurt from 36-hour shifts, when my biggest problem was whether to attend morning lectures or catch an extra hour of sleep."

"You were 'carefree' because you didn't care about classes. Your attendance was on life support," Mihika rolled her eyes.

"Life support? Bro, her attendance was dead. Even the attendance register said sorry can't resuscitate, and remember Dr. Rajput caught you guys cheating in 2nd year," Vedant chimed in.

"Excuse me, we were not cheating. We were... cross-checking data in a collaborative learning environment," Mihika protested.

"By 'cross-checking' she means whispering, 'Bro, question 7 ka answer kya hai?'" Vedant deadpanned.

"And I thought engineering viva was bad. At least my professors just wanted working models, not dead bodies," Ritvik laughed. "And as the only non-medico here, let me just say... the fact that you people laugh about things like 'life support' and 'dead' scares me. You guys talk about dead bodies like I talk about biryani. This friendship is giving me PTSD I never signed up for."

"That's because you're soft. We were built different," Aradhya smirked.

"Built different? Please. I've seen Mihika almost faint because she saw a cockroach," Ritvik raised an eyebrow.

"That cockroach was giving me death stare. You wouldn't understand," Mihika shot back, pointing a finger at him.

"But honestly... those were good days. Mess food, late-night chai runs, exam panic, group study sessions that turned into gossip marathons..." Aradhya smiled softly.

"True, and the thing is Ritvik stayed, stayed through anatomy trauma, professor rants and our exam breakdowns," Vedant added.

"Yeah, someone had to remind you people that there's life outside 'cut, stitch, repeat'," Ritvik shrugged.

"And someone had to pay for pizza when we were broke," Vedant raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly. I'm basically your emotional support ATM," Ritvik smiled.

"I used to think we would change once we left after UG... but our bond... it's still the same," Vedant said softly.

"We grew up. Some of us became doctors. Some of us fell in love. Some of us broke a little. But we're still here," Mihika nodded.

"Together," Ritvik said simply.

"Sometimes I wish I could go back to those late-night Maggi runs and viva prep rants. Before everything got so heavy," Aradhya whispered.

"Same. Back then, our biggest worry was if Dr. Rajput would fail us in patho," Vedant said, looking at her.

"He almost did fail me. Remember? I cried for three hours in the canteen and then ate two plates of pasta," Aradhya laughed.

"You still do that. Cry and eat pasta," Mihika teased.

Everyone chuckled.

They all leaned back, gazing at the moon peeking from behind the clouds.

"I miss us," Mihika whispered.

"We're still here," Vedant replied.

"Maybe a little more broken. But yeah... still here," Aradhya said, nodding.

They sat in silence for a while. Four tired hearts, older now. Wiser. A little sad. But deeply, deeply connected.

And for a while, the world outside didn't matter.

It was just them—the OG squad—under the sky together, with the same kind of comfort that time couldn't shake.

Next day— Campus Chaos, Midnight Chill & Strangers

The fest had started in full swing. Lights, music, laughter — the kind of energy that only college fests know how to create. For Aradhya, Mihika, Vedant, and Ritvik, it felt like time-traveling to a younger version of themselves.

The college lawns were lined with food stalls, and loud dhol beats from the cultural stage echoed across campus. Bright fairy lights dangled from trees, and the smell of tandoori momos mixed with cheap perfumes and ambition.

Aradhya was wearing a loose denim jacket over her strappy black dress , her hair half-tied, confidence radiating with every step she took. Mihika, in a bright yellow top and ripped jeans, looked effortlessly pretty, her eyes always darting toward Ritvik who was constantly fixing his hair every time she smiled.

Vedant, as always, was the dependable one — camera in hand, capturing random chaotic moments of the day. At one point, he made Aradhya pose in front of a college logo made entirely out of cardboard and fairy lights.

Later that night...

The crowd had thinned. The events were done, food stalls were wrapping up, and the four of them were lazily walking around the campus lanes, sipping kulhad chai from a random stand still open.

They were reminiscing about a memory—the one where Aradhya had dramatically fainted during her first pharmacology viva. Everyone was giggling and teasing her about it.

"If our college had a 'Drama Queen of the Decade' award, you would've won it in 2nd year itself," Mihika said.

"I don't compete. I set the standards," Aradhya replied, mock-flipping her hair.

"Tum log main road ke beech me walk kyun kar rahe ho jaise music video shoot ho raha ho?" Ritvik asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Aaj main upar... aasman neeche..." Vedant sang offbeat.

They all laughed.

Suddenly, two voices called out from behind.

"Hey! Excuse me!" one of them panted a little.

They all turned. Two guys, probably fest visitors from another college, were walking toward them, slightly breathless.

"Sorry to bother you this late, but... do any of you have an iPhone charger?" the second guy asked.

"Ours died at the same time and we need to book a cab back to our hotel. It's like, 8 kilometers away," the first one added.

There was a pause. Aradhya and Mihika exchanged a glance—the silent bestfriend look in which everything was silently judged and approved.

"Batteries of both the phones died at the same time... strange," Vedant said cautiously but politely.

"Yeah. We were watching Battle of Bands. Got too caught up. Didn't realize it's almost 1 AM, and we were constantly clicking pictures or recording stuff during the day and in sb mein battery pe dhyaan he nhi gaya," Guy 1 explained.

"You could try the admin block. I think they had a charging station set up," Ritvik suggested.

"We did. But it's locked now. Just saw you guys and thought—" Guy 2 smiled hopefully.

Aradhya dug into her sling bag. "I have a charger, but no power bank. If you're okay standing near the library gate plug point and waiting while it charges for like... five percent?"

"Yes! That would be great. You're a lifesaver," Guy 1 said gratefully.

Vedant muttered under his breath to Aradhya, "Heroine banne ka kuch zyada hi mood hai aaj kal."

"Don't be mean, Vedant," she rolled her eyes.

They led the guys toward the library gate, where a dusty plug point still worked near the entrance. The boys plugged in one phone.

While waiting, everyone made light conversation—where they were from, what their college was like, how crazy the fest had been.

"Honestly, this campus feels like a Karan Johar film set. That lit-up anatomy block? Straight out of a Dharma movie," Guy 2 said.

"You should see it at 3 AM with flickering tube lights. Peak horror," Vedant replied.

A few minutes later, the phone buzzed back to life.

"Thanks again, really. Hope the universe returns the favor," Guy 1 smiled.

"The universe better start by sending a Domino's truck our way tonight," Mihika said, and they all laughed.

The boys waved a final thanks before heading off.

As the four resumed their walk, Vedant glanced sideways at Aradhya.

"Ho gya aapka one good deed of the day."

"What can I say, Bhagwanji loves me, he wants me to be a better person. You know, helping the damsel in distress type people," Aradhya grinned.

"Or maybe trouble loves you," Ritvik added.

They all laughed again.

The night grew quieter, cooler. The streetlights cast long shadows. Under the same stars they had looked at during undergrad night duties, they walked again—the same people, older hearts, but still the same chaotic comfort.

-2.1k words

-End of chapter.

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