Hues Of Dusk

Chapter 113. Forever

I jumped on Ved as soon as I saw him. He swirled us around for some time, and then gave me a piggyback ride till we reached his car. I kissed his forehead and hugged Ayush, who was waiting for us with a motherly smile on his face.

We got inside the car, and I started my rapid fire questionnaire. Ayush and Ved refused to tell me where they were taking me - they exchanged glances with each other and seemed to be talking through telepathy.

I decided to irritate them more, but my eyes began to droop. Eventually, I fell asleep and was woken up by Ved when we reached the place. I got out of his car and washed my face; it was like my eyelids were stuck to each other with glue.

But when I registered the cream coloured building in front of me, I felt a jolt of immense joy pass through my mind, body and soul. I glimpsed at my friends and shot them a mischievous smile.

"Last one to reach is a donkey!" I yelled and took off in the direction of my school.

I heard footsteps behind me and increased my speed. Soon, Ved's figure ran past me and Ayush was approaching too. I dragged myself forward, but Ayush showed that he wasn't in the soccer team for show; he zoomed off like a bullet train, and both guys reached the old Banyan tree.

Ved and Ayush smacked their palms on the trunk with a very small interval of time between them and laughed at me when I reached seven seconds later.

"My girlfriend is a donkey," Ved teased.

"What did you say?" I fake glared.

He pinched my nose and kissed my cheek. When we were done with our PDA, Ayush told us that we should meet the Principal and start with our tour. We agreed and went to the Principal's office, our feet guiding us automatically.

"Good morning, Sir!" we yelled in unison.

The old man looked up from his desk, and his smile reached till his ears when he saw us. He got up, and Ved hugged him. Principal sir patted his back and ruffled Ayush's hair. Then, he looked at me and narrowed his eyes in thought.

"Is this Sandhya?" he asked.

"You remember me?" I asked in surprise.

"How can I forget the popular troublemakers? And you?" he shook his head, "Never. You were the one who was the most mischievous of all but disguised herself as the innocent one."

My heart jumped in the clouds after hearing his compliment. I stepped towards him, and he engulfed me in a hug. After talking to him, I learned that the institution was going to be renovated soon, so the students were shifted to a new place. He assured that our precious school wouldn't be demolished and would stay here for more generations.

"I will be leaving soon, so why don't you kids enjoy your time?" Sir asked.

We responded positively and left his office. I ran my fingers on the walls, the memories running simultaneously in my mind. A permanent grin was stuck to my face as I saw Ved and Ayush walk in front, their older forms reflecting back at me.

I covered the short distance and put my arms over their shoulders. They instantly held me up on their joined hands, and Ved shook his head as both of them carried me till the next block. He flicked my nose when I requested them do it again.

"You want us to die of exhaustion?" he complained.

"You were more fun as a kid," I said.

"True," Ayush agreed.

Ved shot an accusatory glance at his best friend, but Ayush was unaffected; he pointed at the classroom in the opposite corridor. We read the section's name loudly and headed towards it. Now that we had grown up, our hands reached the nameplate above the door.