"Yeah, hurry up," Mrigank said, moving the items forward.

"Hello Auntie. How are you?" Anmay asked Mrigank's mom with a smile.

"Everything's great. How about you? It's been a while since you last came," Auntie replied happily.

"With studies and everything, I didn't get the chance," Anmay said.

"Let's eat first, then we can talk," Mrigank said, pulling Anmay's hand.

"How does it feel to be back after so long?" Auntie asked while setting the plates.

"I've been here since the beginning, Auntie, just went away for a short while," Anmay said with a laugh.

"That's true. Alright, let's start eating now," Auntie said.

"Thank you, Auntie. The food was really good. I'm glad I accepted your offer to eat here," Anmay said with joy.

"No need to thank me. For me, you and Mrigank are the same," Auntie said lovingly.

"Absolutely. Alright, Mrigank, see you tomorrow," Anmay said.

"Yeah, bye-bye," Mrigank said as they walked to the gate.

Anmay was sitting in his room, surrounded by books. "Finally got some time to relax after a whole day of running around," Anmay said to himself. Despite the exhaustion, sleep was far from his eyes. Sirin's soft voice, gentle smile, and slender fingers kept appearing before his eyes. "Ugh! What a mess," he said, burying his face in the pillow to try and sleep.

Unaware of all this, Sirin had already fallen asleep while reading a book.

"Come down. We're already late today," Mrigank called out from outside Anmay's house.

"Just two more minutes, I'm locking up," Anmay replied and came out after locking the door.

"The first period at eight in the morning is really tough for me," Mrigank said, parking his bike.

"Every period seems tough for you," Anmay said, laughing.

"Everyone is different. Look at Sirin, he's always lost in his books, even while walking," Mrigank said. The cool breeze and gentle sunshine were refreshing. Trees and plants swayed lightly in the wind.

"See, I told you Sirin would be buried in his books," both of them noticed Sirin as soon as they entered the classroom. The classroom was half empty, but Sirin was completely engrossed in his book.

"It looks like you'll set a record before the year ends," Mrigank teased.

"You two are on time for class. I guess Anmay dragged you here," Sirin teased back.

"Absolutely right. He's always in a hurry to get to college but never in a hurry to enter the classroom," Anmay said, laughing.

"You two always gang up on me," Mrigank said, pretending to be angry.

Just then, the professor arrived, and everyone took their seats.

"Let's go to the canteen now," Mrigank said as soon as the professor left.

"No, I need to go to the library. If you guys want to go, you can," Sirin said, gathering his books in his bag.

"Yeah, let's go to the library first. I need to get my library card too," Anmay said.

"You guys go ahead. I'm heading to the canteen," Mrigank said.

"Alright, we'll meet you in the canteen later," Anmay replied.

"Sirin, do you go to the library every day?" Anmay asked while walking.

"Yes, it's peaceful here," Sirin replied in a soft voice.

"People like you are different. There's you and then there's Mrigank," Anmay said, smiling. Sirin just smiled back in response.

"Okay, you get your books issued while I get my library card," Anmay said, heading towards the librarian. Sirin started looking for books.

"I'm sorry, Sirin, but you can't issue more than three books on one library card," the librarian said, pointing to Sirin's fourth book.

"Oh, right! I don't know how I forgot that. I'll put this one back," Sirin said, picking up the fourth book.

"No, no, get it issued on my card," Anmay said, holding Sirin's hand and putting the books down.

Sirin wanted to say something but stayed silent after seeing the smile and ease on Anmay's face.

"Thank you for the card," Sirin said a bit more comfortably for the first time.

"No need to thank me. Let's go to the canteen now," Anmay said.