At cafe.
The bell on the cafΓ© door gave a soft ding as the trio entered. It was a cozy corner cafΓ© with posters of freedom fighters on one side and fairy lights dangling like hope on a thread.
And there she was-Aashvika-sipping iced coffee, looking straight into the abyss like some tragic heroine from a dramatic TV serial.
Drishti ran toward her and flopped onto the chair.
"Bas! Bata de! Kitne aaye? Hum sabko tension ho raha hai!"
Esha whispered, "She hasn't told us either..."
Aashvika blinked, kept the coffee down with poetic sadness, and said,
"Mujhe mat poochho, Drishti..."
"Kyu? 33 aaye kya?" Avni blurted.
Drishti slapped her arm, "Oyy, let her say!"
Aashvika finally looked up and softly said,
"I got... 85%."
Everyone froze.
Then Drishti laugh , "Oyee! Tere aur mere toh same hi hai toh ! Itna emotional kyu ho rahi thi?"
Aashvika pouted, "Because papa thought 'meri beti toh minimum 90 laayegi "
Drishti licked some melted ice cream and leaned closer to Aashvika with a devilish grin,
"Aur kar na! Power of subconscious mind kar kar... !"drishti
Aashvi dramatically closed her eyes, joined her fingers like a yogi, and said bhai sorry galti ho gai jo tujhe manifestation ke affirmation ke bare mai bataya ,aurr.Aashvika almost choked on her brownie.
"OYYY! Jyada mat bol... tune bhi toh wahi kiya tha, madam!" she fired back.
Drishti gasped mockingly, "HAAN kiya tha, but mere subconscious ka battery low tha... thoda buffering ho gaya!"
Drishti rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically, drishti said gaining every ones attention "Aur suno! Pata hai result ke baad meri cousin ka call aaya... Pata hai kya boli?
Everyone leaned in.
Drishti continued with flair, mimicking her cousin's ultra-sweet taunting voice:
"Bhaaiii... tujhe toh English medium mai padhaa ke bhi sirf 85 aaye? Itna paisa kharch kar diya mummy papa ne... aur ek mai hoon-na tuition, na coaching-phir bhi 84! Bas ek point ka farak, bhaiii!"
Aur boli ki usse sapna aya
ki mera newspaper mai photo chhapa hai! Ek ladki ne kiya parivaar ka naam roshan 10 th ki board exam mai laye '100/100 likh ke!*" She made the pose of a news model holding two trophies and a laddu.
The whole table burst into laughter.
The girls slapped the table laughing.
Esha was howling.
Avni almost dropped her fork.
Then Esha teased,
"Haan toh tu hi toh sabko bata rahi thi ki 'meri toh 90+ aayenge, pakka aayenge!' Le... mil gaya na paper mai spot-front page fail wala!"
"OYY Esha!" Drishti threw a napkin at her, blushing hard.
Aashvi added with a smirk, "NDA ki jagah tere sapne ne tujhe TOI pe bhej diya! Aaj ka headline: 'Sapne me top kiya, asal me chhatt pe chadh gayi shock mai!'"
The laughter echoed so loudly that even the cafΓ© uncle peeked in with a confused smile.
Wiping their tears, Avni said,
"Kya karein yaar... yeh dosti bhi na result se zyada surprising hai!"
"Bas ek baat clear hai," Drishti smiled softly now,
"Marks aaye jaate hain... lekin yeh squad? Permanent hai."
Esha, ever the wise one, said, "Bhai standing up after falling-that's what makes a real warrior. NDA ke liye bhi yahi chahiye, right?"
Drishti nodded, eyes soft. "Sahi kaha. Waise bhi, koi bhi exam humari value decide nahi karta... hamari mehnat karti hai. Aur mehnat sabne ki hai."
"Exactly," Avni added. "Tu chinta mat kar. Kal se fir se shuru karenge. Uniform ke sapne me koi percentage barrier nahi hota."
Just then, their waiter brought four sizzling brownies with ice cream-on the house.
"Complimentary for four future legends," he said, smiling.
"Dekha?" Drishti said with pride. "Even the universe is on our side."
The girls clinked their forks together like warriors raising swords.
Aashvika smiled for the first time that day.
"Bas... ek promise karo," she said. "Chahe kuch bhi ho... hum sab ek dusre ke saath rahenge. Har exam ke pehle, baad, aur beech mein bhi."
Drishti extended her hand in the center.
Esha placed hers over it.
Then Avni.
Then Aashvika.
All four
"Together. Till NDA. And beyond.
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