Chapter One

I kept staring down at the piece of paper in my hand unable to believe what I was actually seeing. When I came down to get the mail this morning, I never really expected to see this. My hands were shaking and I was almost on the verge of breaking down before my grandma called out my name.

"What is it, Ridhi?" She asked and I quickly turned around to find her walking towards me from the kitchen, adjusting her specs. I blinked back my tears and gave her a huge smile but she still had a worried look on her adorable wrinkled face.

"I--I think I got in," I whispered, letting out a small chuckle and she couldn't hold back her tears unlike me.

"Sweet Jesus! Our prayers have been answered. Oh! This is the happiest day of my day." She choked out a little and pulled me in for a tight hug. It was indeed the happiest day for both of us in a very long time, "Your dad would have been so proud of you." She whispered, against my shoulders.

I had finally got the scholarship to study at the University of Texas, Arlington to do my master's in computer science. My dad was an alumnus of that University and it has always been my dream to study over there. He used to tell me a lot of good stuff about his experience but I never really thought I would get in because I wasn't as smart as my dad.

"I know. This is amazing, grandma but it says that I have to join next month. It's all so sudden and I don't want to leave you alone." I replied sadly. 

Ever since the death of my parents, she has been taking care of me and has always been there for me. Being away from her would be devasting and now, I was having second thoughts about going away to study.

This was crazy.

I mean, the university took care of my tuition fees and my stay over there based on my choice whether to stay at campus or outside. They were providing me with a $50,000 scholarship to join them next month in the mid of July.

"Nonsense, who said I'm going to be alone? I can finally go on the six months all-India pilgrimage tour." She squealed in excitement and I pulled back, giving her a shocked look.

"What? When did you even plan this?"

"Come on, Beta. I knew this day would come and eventually you will have to leave this house to pursue greater things. It's no big surprise that you got the scholarship," she smiled at me warmly and I let out a soft sigh.

"I still can't believe it. I mean, it has always been my dream to study abroad, and now that it's actually happening, I'm so scared." I whined, sinking down on the couch and she sat down next to me.

"What is so scary about studying abroad?"

"A lot of things. We are Indians, grandma. Nobody could understand my accent, I could hate their food and I could have no friends. I could fail all of my classes and be a huge embarrassment." I started to list down all the negative things that could happen and she just shook her head, giving me a small chuckle.

"Or it could be the opposite of everything you listed down. You might actually love it there." She stated and I remained silent, listening to her, "My son was just like you. He had second thoughts till the minute he stepped on that plane but look at the result. He topped his class and became so successful that he started his own company." She added and I took a huge breath, trying to hold back my tears.

"Yeah! Dad was so brilliant." I whispered, thinking about him and my mom. I knew they were watching over me and they must be so proud of me right now and I didn't want to let them down.

"Stop whining and start planning for your trip. I need to make your favorite pickles and jams so that you can take them along with you." She stood up from the couch excitedly and I couldn't help but smile at her energy.

Wow, she doesn't look like she might miss me at all. It's either that or she is good at hiding her emotions. She looks happier for me than me and it all finally started to sink in.

I was going to Texas, leaving India behind.

Holy fuck!

I was going to get all the freedom that I didn't have until now. In an Indian household, you have a curfew every day even if you are an adult and I was a 21 years old virgin both mentally and physically. I've had a lot of crushes but none that I've acted upon because of my strict upbringing. Everything is considered forbidden in our society and a part of me was actually excited to get out of this country.

Now that I am going to be living on my own, I had a plan to do whatever the fuck I want, hopefully balancing my academics on the side.

I quickly pulled back my long black hair into a high ponytail and ran up to my room to start planning. My phone started to ring just at that exact moment and I picked it up from my bed to see who it was.

Eshika Calling.

I fell back on my bed and answered the call from my best friend in the whole world.

"What's up, yaar? I'm bored at home." She spoke in a lazy tone and I could already imagine her, lying on her bed with a messy bun.

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"I got in." I couldn't hold back my excitement and she literally screamed through the phone almost making me go deaf.

"No fucking way! Please tell me you are not joking," she cried out loud which made me laugh.

"I'm not joking, Esh."

"Oh my god! I'm coming over right now. We've got a lot of things to do. Bitch, I know I'm going to cry like crazy later but let's focus on the fun part now." She announced without a beat.

"Yeah, I'm still processing the whole thing and it's surreal. I don't even know what I'm going to do without--"

"Nope. Shut your damn mouth, girl. I'm not crying today. I'll be there in fifteen minutes and we are going to plan your whole wardrobe and browse everything about Texas." She cut the call before I could even reply and I let out a huge sigh, knowing that she was going to make me do all kinds of crazy things and I wasn't complaining even a bit.

She was the exact opposite of me, fun, crazy, and a total extrovert. We both went to the same school, the same college for our bachelor's degree but our fields were obviously different. She was more into photography and was now working as an intern for a small start-up company. Even though she comes from a strict household, she always finds a way to rebel against her parents, and because of her, I've had some crazy adventures in my life that I don't regret even a bit.

God, I knew for sure that I am going to be missing her like crazy.

"Okay, half of your wardrobe is sorted and we can go shopping tomorrow for the rest. Now, let's decide your living arrangements," Eshika clapped her hands excitedly while I was sitting on my bed and stuffing my face with my grandma's hot parathas. I finally looked up to meet her gaze. She was obviously the good-looking best friend with her waist-length brown hair, tall figure, fair and beautiful brown eyes whereas I was short compared to her with waist-length jet black hair, olive skin tone, and amber eyes.

"God, I'm gonna miss home food." I sighed, licking the butter off my fingers. She grimaced at my actions and shook her head in disapproval.

"Only God knows how you can stay thin whilst eating like that," she pointed to my plate and I rolled my eyes at her.

"So, what have you decided? Please don't tell me you are going to be staying on campus."

"I'm new to the place. Isn't it better and safer living on campus?" I argued back and she let out a loud groan before joining me on the bed.

"Oh my God! Dorm rooms are the worst. Trust me, I've read all about it. It's so boring and lame." She almost yelled and I already knew that I wasn't going to be staying in dorms, "I'm going to make sure you have a good time in Texas, babe." She winked at me in an evil manner and picked up my laptop from my bedside table.

"What are you going to do?" I asked, both scared and excited by her recklessness. I mean, of course, I wanted to have fun but without her, I was a lost cause. I don't know what I would do alone and I wasn't the type to make friends easily.

"Finding you an apartment closer to your university,"

"I think the university is providing only $300 dollars for expenses each month if I'm opting to stay out of campus and I don't have enough money for the advance," I explained to her, going through the details in my offer letter.

"We can find something. You can share an apartment with someone and it would totally fit your budget." She replied, not taking her eyes off the laptop screen.

She never gives up, does she?

"This is such a bad idea," I whined and fell back on the bed.

"Look, I found something. Room available for rent. No preference. Pets allowed. Advance payment is not required. Rent $500 dollars." She started to read the advertisement and I sat up straight on the bed to look at the laptop screen.

"It's very close to your uni and look at the pictures, babe. It's a 2BHK apartment and it's so spacious."

We began to slide the images and I had to agree with her. It was super cool and so much better than living in a dorm room but the rent was $500 dollars.

"The rent is high. Let's continue to search." I replied, feeling a bit disappointed and she continued to browse through the internet.

After two hours of endless searching, we weren't able to find anything to our liking and my mind was still stuck on the apartment we saw earlier. It was so beautiful.

"What do we do now? I really liked the apartment we saw first." I pouted and she looked at me, blinking a few times before she opened her mouth

"Why don't you ask your grandma for money?"

"I don't want to, babe. She has already done so much for me and I don't want to trouble her further."

"I get it, Ridhi." She gave me an apologetic look and we both remained silent for a while, "Oh God, I guess we have no choice. It's going to the dorm room then," she burst out, giving me a horrifying look and I couldn't help but laugh at her reaction.

"It will be fine, Esh. I can still have fun. It's not like our country. I don't think there will be a curfew and stuff like that," I tried to convince her and we both came to an agreement. To be honest, I was really disappointed that living outside campus was not an option anymore.

"Let's take our mind off that beautiful apartment and talk about boys," she mumbled and I laughed at her response.

"Do you really think the guys will be hot like we have seen in these teen rom-com?" I asked, playing with the ends of my hair.

"Of course, babe. God, I'm so jealous of you. I can already imagine you running into hot guys on and off-campus."

"No way, I have worked my ass off to study and get this opportunity. I'm not going to be distracted by boys." I assured her firmly. I mean, even though her idea was tempting as hell, I would never do something so daring and reckless.

"Oh come on, just meet some hot guy and have sex already. Blow off some steam, babe. I would do it if I were you."

"Uhhh...you have a boyfriend," I added, earning a glare from her.

"Secret boyfriend and there is nothing wrong in looking at hot guys." She defended herself and I shook my head with a small smile, "It's so annoying to lie and sneak out to meet him every single time," she complained and I felt sad for her. It was tough being in a relationship in a country like India and especially in our society.

"I'm sure your parents will approve if you tell them about him," I comforted her and she nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, I hope so. I will tell them about Aarnav once he gets a job,"

"He will. Don't worry," I smiled at her and she stood up from my bed.

"Okay, I'm gonna meet him now. Cover for me if my parents call you, okay?" She started to adjust her hair and retouched her makeup.

"Sure, take care and text me once you reach home."

"Yeah, babe and be ready tomorrow. We need to do a lot of shopping," she squealed in excitement and walked towards the door before saying goodbye.

I let out a huge breath and closed my eyes, processing the fact that moving away was becoming real with every passing second. I just wished that my parents were there to send me off and I really wanted to see how proud they were of me.

I wiped a lone tear that slipped away from my eyes and shook my head. I wasn't going to be the sad girl who lost her parents anymore. Life was unpredictable and it has its ups and downs. I forced myself to block the emotions that I was feeling and went downstairs to spend some quality time with my grandma.

Synonyms:

Parathas - Indian food similar to pancakes.

Beta(Hindi) -Child

Yaar - An Indian slang similar to dude/bro/mate