My best friend now wants to kiss someone because she got a dare. I sit on one side of her, and Bhoomi sits on the other side.

Everyone looks so serious. My best friend, Aadhira, is usually the coolest girl, but she isn't in the mood for kissing. I feel anxious and overthink the situation. I know she will choose Bhoomi, the funniest girl I know. I clench my fist and stare at the bottle. Aadhira and I had a fight today, so we haven't spoken to each other all day. Now I hate seeing my best friend kiss someone else. She is my biggest secret.

Aadhira calls my name, "Kiara."

Aadhira is really an angry girl, and sometimes I'm scared she might kill someone. She glares at me in anger. She is taking time to making her decision. every second is getting anxious. I swallow hard as she pulls me to her side and starts kissing me. She keeps kissing deeper and deeper. I close my eyes. Everyone is watching us in pin-drop silence. My heartbeat is racing, and she isn't giving me a second to breathe. Her aggressive kiss shocks me. She bites my lip, and now my lower lip is bleeding. She stops and takes a deep breath. I forgot to breathe, so when I finally took a deep breath, I coughed.

All eyes are wide. Aadhira removes a cigarette from her purse, lights it, and says, "Next, go."

Everyone is feeling different—some are scared, and some want to kiss someone too. That kiss made the whole group blush, and they disappeared within minutes.

I cannot look Aadhira in the eyes.

Bhoomi looks at me and asks, "Are you okay?" She is also angry. She shouts at Aadhira, "How can you be so angry that you make your friend bleed?"

Aadhira doesn't say a word and just gives an annoyed look. Bhoomi takes my hand and says, "Let me put some ointment on."

Aadhira responds, "She is my best friend. You are not."

Bhoomi replies angrily, "I am her college friend. I know you're her school friend, but I'm the one dating her now. So stay away."

Aadhira replies, "Don't flatter yourself; she's not into you. You forced her to date."

Aadhira talks to me, "I hate that you said yes to fucking Bhoomi. I said NO dates. So why the fuck, Kiara, do you need to date someone so badly?"

I reply, "Aadhira, we'll talk in our room."

Bhoomi says, "Kiara, you are sharing a room with her. I know that but How will you stay with her?"

I reply, "Bhoomi, I am fine. She is just angry. She won't do anything."

Bhoomi asks, "Do you want to stay with me, Kiara?"

I reply, "No, I am fine."

I get up, and Aadhira gets up and holds my hand.

"You are coming with me. We need to talk."

Bhoomi replies, "NO! Don't go with her. She's a dead-hearted zombie."

I say, "Bhoomi, she is my best friend."

Bhoomi responds, "Okay, be careful of this dead-hearted zombie."

I nod. She starts her bike. I hold her shoulder, and we go to our room.

She freshens up and changes her clothes. I am still imagining her kiss. I am not hurt at all. I remember old memories.

Back in school, I was in the 8th grade. A girl named Aadhira was transferred from Class A to Class B. The first time I saw her, I noticed her daring eyes. She did whatever she liked. She was the "don" of our 8th grade; everyone talked about her, but I had never seen her before because she rarely attended class.

The teacher introduced her, saying, "This is Aadhira. Who wants to sit with Aadhira?"

Nobody wanted to sit with her. Everyone knew there was one quiet girl who never said no. The teacher called on me, "Kiara?"

I smiled and looked at Aadhira. I was busy writing, but I stood up and said yes. A girl was already sitting next to me, but she got up, and Aadhira took her seat.

I didn't say anything and continued writing. During lunch, my friend asked me:

"Today is PT [Physical Training] class. Kiara, why are you doing math homework now?"

"I plan to sleep early tonight. Getting up early is really hard for me. Aadhira, She is Diya."

"I don't care if she's Diya or you're Piya," Aadhira muttered.

"She's rude," Diya replied, giving Aadhira an annoyed look.

Aadhira just looked annoyed as if saying, "Fuck off."

Diya said, "If you want to stay with that girl, don't come for lunch today."

I felt sad as Aadhira rolled a pencil between her fingers. I opened my tiffin box and ate alone since my friends had ditched me.

Aadhira got up when some boys came into our class. She greeted them and went to join them. I ate my tiffin alone. The same thing happened the next day. Even the whole class started ignoring me. Nobody wanted to talk to me, and I was left alone. Diya, who was supposed to be my friend, took my tiffin and emptied it. I was hungry, and my stomach was growling. Aadhira returned to class with dirty clothes; she had been in a fight with another class grade D.

I tried many times to control my hunger, but ma'am was teaching Newton's law, and my focus was only on the apple. I couldn't resist and gathered the courage to ask. "Aadhira, do you have something to eat?"

Aadhira glared at me angrily and replied, "Don't you have lunch?"

"No, Diya took my lunch. So, do you have anything?"

This was the first time we spoke. She got up, walked over to Diya, and literally broke her face—she slapped her. The teacher saw and asked Aadhira, "Why did you do that?"

Aadhira replied, "She ate my friend's lunch. If anyone teases or bothers her, this will be the consequence. I'll turn someone's face into an apple."

The teacher said, "You're the principal's daughter, so we don't say anything. But you can't punish everyone."

Aadhira held my hand and said, "She's hungry. I'll get her something to eat."

The teacher said nothing. Diya sat holding her cheek, crying and complaining to the teacher.

Aadhira and I ate chowmein together. Then she asked me, "What's your name?"

"Kiara," I replied.

"Don't stay silent on the messed-up stuff." she said.

I smiled and nodded. That's how we became friends."

I returned to the present moment. She sat on the bed and applied balm to her lip.

"Why do you want to date a girl so badly if you never like dating, those 'sona-babu' things?"