The alarm rang for the third time.

Ruhan Mehra slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.

Then reality hit him.

Today was his first day of college.

He immediately sat up.

“Oh shit…”

He looked at the clock.

He was already late.

Ruhan quickly got out of bed and rushed towards the bathroom.

“Ruhan!”

A loud voice came from outside his room.

“Bhai! Uth gaye ya abhi bhi sapne dekh rahe ho?”

It was Ruhi.

Ruhan opened the door while fixing his hair.

“Uth gaya. Chill kar.”

Ruhi looked at him and laughed.

“College ka first day hai aur janab abhi tak ready nahi hue.”

“Tum chup karo. Tumhari wajah se hi main late hua hoon.”

“Accha? Meri wajah se kaise?”

“Kal raat tum mujhe itni der tak pareshan kar rahi thi.”

Ruhi crossed her arms.

“Main? Tum khud mere saath baith ke movie dekh rahe the.”

Ruhan couldn't stop himself from smiling.

Ruhi was his younger sister, but the two of them were more like best friends.

Ruhan was usually quiet around everyone else.

But with Ruhi, he was completely different.

He could joke with her, complain about things, and talk about almost anything.

“Waise…” Ruhi looked at him from head to toe. “Ye kya pehna hai?”

Ruhan looked down at his clothes.

“Kya hua?”

“Bhai, college ja rahe ho ya school?”

“Shut up.”

Ruhi started laughing.

“Wait, wait. Main tumhari help karti hoon.”

“Tum rehne do.”

“Nope.”

She entered his room and started looking through his clothes.

A few minutes later, she threw a shirt towards him.

“Ye pehno.”

Ruhan caught it.

“Ye?”

“Haan. Smart lagega.”

“Main waise bhi smart hoon.”

Ruhi stared at him for two seconds.

“Tum?”

Ruhan smiled.

“Haaan.”

“Accha, pehle mirror mein dekh lo.”

He laughed and threw a pillow at her.

Ruhi quickly ran out of the room.

“Bhai! Pillow mat maarna!”

“Ruko tum!”

For the first time that morning, Ruhan didn't feel nervous.

At least not for a few minutes.

Downstairs, Pooja was already preparing breakfast.

“Ruhan, jaldi aao. Breakfast thanda ho raha hai.”

“Coming, Maa!”

He came downstairs with his bag.

Samir was sitting at the dining table, reading the newspaper.

He looked up and smiled.

“Ready?”

Ruhan nodded.

“Haan, Papa.”

“First day hai. Nervous?”

Ruhan hesitated.

“Thoda.”

Samir smiled.

“Nervous hona normal hai. Bas apna dhyan rakhna.”

Pooja placed a plate in front of him.

“Pehle kuch kha lo. College jaake pata nahi time mile ya nahi.”

Ruhan started eating.

Ruhi sat beside him.

“Bhai, college mein kisi se baat karna.”

Ruhan looked at her.

“Main try karunga.”

“Try nahi. Karna.”

“Tumhe kya pata college mein kitne log honge.”

“Exactly. Isi liye friends banana.”

Ruhan smiled.

“Tumhe meri itni tension kyun hai?”

“Kyuki tum ho hi aise.”

“Kaise?”

“Introvert.”

Ruhan rolled his eyes.

“Main introvert nahi hoon.”

Ruhi laughed.

“Haan haan, bilkul nahi.”

Everyone at the table smiled.

After breakfast, Ruhan stood up.

“Main chalta hoon.”

Pooja immediately said, “Lunch kar lena.”

“Haan, Maa.”

Samir patted his shoulder.

“All the best.”

Ruhan smiled.

“Thanks, Papa.”

As he reached the door, Ruhi followed him.

“Bhai!”

Ruhan turned around.

“Kya?”

She fixed his collar.

“Ab theek hai.”

Ruhan smiled.

“Thanks.”

“Jaao. Aur haan…”

“Haan?”

“Zyada darna mat.”

Ruhan nodded.

“I'll try.”

Ruhi smiled.

“Good luck, Bhai.”

The college was much bigger than Ruhan had imagined.

The moment he stepped through the entrance, he stopped.

Students were everywhere.

Some were walking towards their departments, some were sitting in groups, and some were already laughing and talking like they had known each other forever.

Ruhan adjusted his backpack.

“Okay…”

He looked at the college building.

“Ab class kaise milegi?”

He took out his phone and checked the admission message again.

Block B — Room 204.

He looked around.

There were three different buildings.

“Block B…”

He started walking.

After a few minutes, he realized he had no idea where he was going.

He stopped a student.

“Excuse me…”

The student looked at him.

“Haan?”

“Block B kidhar hai?”

The student pointed towards another building.

“Udhar.”

“Thank you.”

Ruhan walked in that direction.

After five minutes, he realized he was standing in front of the library.

He sighed.

“Great…”

He looked around again.

Finally, he found a notice board.

There was a map of the campus.

He stood there for almost five minutes trying to understand it.

“Why is this place so big?”

A few students passed by him.

Ruhan finally found Block B.

He hurried upstairs.

Then he saw the room number.

204.

He checked his phone.

“Finally.”

He quietly entered the classroom.

A few students were already sitting there.

Ruhan chose a seat in the corner.

He placed his bag down and took a deep breath.

He had made it.

At least for now.

The first class started after a few minutes.

The professor entered the room and introduced himself.

Ruhan listened carefully.

He wrote down everything in his notebook.

For the first half of the class, everything went smoothly.

Then the professor asked everyone to introduce themselves.

One by one, students stood up.

Some spoke confidently.

Some joked around.

Some introduced themselves like they had already been there for years.

Then it was Ruhan's turn.

He slowly stood.

“Your name?”

“Ruhan Mehra.”

“Anything else?”

Ruhan looked at the class.

His mind went blank.

“I'm... from Patna.”

A few students smiled.

The professor nodded.

“Okay. You can sit.”

Ruhan immediately sat down.

He felt relieved.

But his relief didn't last long.

During the break, Ruhan was walking through the corridor when he noticed a group of seniors standing near the staircase.

One of them looked at him.

“Freshers?”

Ruhan stopped.

He wasn't sure whether they were talking to him.

The senior pointed at him.

“Yeah, you. Idhar aao.”

Ruhan slowly walked towards them.

“Naam?”

“Ruhan.”

“Full naam.”

“Ruhan Mehra.”

One senior smiled.

“Accha Mehra. First day kaisa lag raha hai?”

“Achha…”

“Achha?”

Another senior laughed.

“Isko dekho. Kitna seedha hai.”

Ruhan stayed quiet.

“Tumhari introduction nahi hui abhi properly.”

“Ho gayi…”

The senior raised an eyebrow.

“Humare saamne nahi hui.”

Ruhan swallowed.

“Okay…”

“Chalo. Apna introduction do. Full confidence ke saath.”

Ruhan looked around.

“Main Ruhan Mehra hoon. First year…”

“Bas?”

Ruhan didn't know what else to say.

“Thoda interesting banao.”

The others started laughing.

Ruhan's face turned red.

“Main… mujhe reading pasand hai.”

“Reading?”

“Yes.”

“Romantic novels padhte ho?”

Ruhan immediately shook his head.

“No.”

Everyone laughed again.

“Bhai, isko dekho. Kitna innocent hai.”

Ruhan looked down.

One of the seniors took his notebook.

“Ye kya likh rahe the?”

Ruhan quickly said, “Please…”

“Please kya?”

“Wo meri notebook hai.”

The senior looked at him for a moment before handing it back.

“Relax, fresher.”

Another senior pointed towards the corridor.

“Chalo, ek kaam karo. Wahan jao aur loud voice mein bolo—‘I love my college.’”

Ruhan stared at him.

“Abhi?”

“Haan, abhi.”

A few students had started watching.

Ruhan felt extremely embarrassed.

He slowly walked towards the corridor.

“I… love my college.”

“Loud!”

Ruhan closed his eyes for a second.

“I LOVE MY COLLEGE!”

The seniors burst out laughing.

Some students nearby also laughed.

Ruhan quickly came back.

“Bas?”

“Bas.”

One senior patted his shoulder.

“Good boy.”

Ruhan forced a small smile.

“Can I go?”

The senior nodded.

“Jaao.”

Ruhan immediately walked away.

He didn't look back.

He entered an empty corner near the staircase and took a deep breath.

His face was still burning with embarrassment.

He checked the time.

The next class was about to start.

He picked up his bag and walked back towards the classroom.

It was only his first day.

And somehow, he already felt exhausted.

Still, somewhere in his mind, he reminded himself of Ruhi's words.

“Zyada darna mat.”

Ruhan took a deep breath.

Maybe tomorrow would be better.

Maybe things would become easier.

He just didn't know yet that this first day was going to be the beginning of a story he had never imagined.