| SS : Sukoon | UPDATED!: Page 8- 19 July - Page 2

"Hey! Morning Guys."

She chirped and kept her bag on the bench and sat beside Nikita, her friend.

"Morning Suman. Why are you so happy?" Rohan, another friend of hers asked. Everyone was surprised to see the straight As student but a whiner when it comes to Mondays and attending school and every day is Monday except Sunday when you are a school student.

"Why? Can't I be happy?" Suman raised her eyebrows. Her eyes gleamed with happiness, her lost soul felt alive. Her bestfriend was joining her school for his eleventh and ten plus two and Shravan Malhotra coming to her school was a big deal. Surely they were best friends but the social gap always remained, he was joining there only because of the subject choices they were given nor a Malhotra child joining the school where middle class leads the socio ladder, no one had imagined.

"Well, who is ever happy on a sunny Monday morning?" Nikita sighed and yawned.

Soon the class filled with students, some tired, some bored, some laughing. It was a point where the world met, where no one cared about the society, only they cared was for friendships, true friendships, and sincerity. Funny how soon after school we get divided into divisions according to what we will be in life, and somehow our choices itself are a reason why we get so distant, so individualized, so divisionised. It's the rule somehow, unsaid and even if denied, it's true.

There were different faces, some strangers, some acquaintances, some familiar. It was the first day of the Year that leads the foundation of their ladder groups.

Her eyes though searched for one person and as soon as he entered the class, she had a smile bigger than a clown, her aura dripped of positivity that some cringed watching her as they couldn't even put up with a small smile say like hers.

Shravan looked at her, if it was any other Malhotra child, they would've cringed to join in here but for him, he only cared about the knowledge he was gaining, he didn't care about the source, he had one goal and he knew he would get it complete anyways. Also, he didn't feel like an outsider when he saw Suman, smiling. Instantly he knew, he'd fit in. He looked around but only saw one place empty that screamed welcome and that was beside her, of course, she was Sumo - only he had the guts to be a new student and sit at the back and that too besides Suman Tiwari.

Everyone was shocked was an understatement, they were beyond perplexed, the new boy had the guts to sit beside the Pariah. Surely she reeked of happiness but she had her issues, she was an OCD everyone was so sure of. Everyone was even more surprised when Vividha didn't shout at a person for taking her seat, beside Suman Tiwari. She smiled and waved to her friends and sat beside Vivan asking a new student to switch and find another seat.

Since everyone knew, they always sat together, they were cousins but growing up in the same household sharing one mother- they were best friends. Suman being very protective of the shy timid Vividha never left her side during the initial days of their sixth standard but when Vividha opened up, became the chirpy girl and the only person Suman trusted with anything - she knew it, she had the right and she never let that right to sit beside her best friend get snatched even by a teacher. Everyone adored the two girls.

They looked at Shravan like he was an idiot as Shravan shifted Suman's bag and picked her pencil box aside to make place for him. She hated when people touched her things but there she was smiling at him. Nikita and Rohan felt their heads spinning. They raised their eyebrows but before they could ask any question, the bell rang and, it was the start of a new beginning.

"Okay, guys let me introduce you to my best friend Shravan Malhotra." Suman clasped her hands together and then pointed at Shravan.

"Oh, Okay." Nikita stammered. It wasn't every day their group of 5 had a new addition say Suman introducing the person apparently who she called her best friend as well. They had a quick introduction and handshakes.

Rohan, Vivan, and Nikita settled on the bench, while other sat down on the ground. They quickly opened their lunches. Both Shravan and Suman shouted together watching Suman's tiffin, "pyaaz kai paraathein."

Suman looked at his tiffin, Bread, and Butter, the fact that he didn't like bread was known to everyone but looks like it wasn't known to his mother or the kitchen worker whatsoever. She quickly took his lunch and exchanged one and half of her parathas in his tiffin for his bread and butter and showed a cheeky smile to him and started eating. Shravan smiled, she was his best friend, always had his back, knew everything about him- she was his Sumo.

Vividha smiled at them, she took Suman's tiffin and took the other two slices of bread and exchanged it for one of her parathas. Suman smiled at her and so did Shravan. They had the internal understanding. if there was anyone at home who understood their actions, their relation completely- was Vividha.

Vividha was another story anyway, she was chirpy but shy with new people, must be the social anxiety but she was thankful to God for giving her Suman and Shravan to Suman. There was a time when she didn't like Shravan for stealing Suman but then she realized that he never stealth her but just made another place in her heart. She realised Suman will always be her best friend and Sister and Shravan was the one who gave her strength, if Suman was the ship and she was the waves, Shravan was the anchor of that ship and she really never formed a bond like their's with Shravan but she knew they all had an understanding, they were their own small family and loved both of them.

"I am so happy Shravan, you being in the same class as mine, these last two school years are going to be so awesome," Suman said and licked her ice cream.

" I am happy too. Everyone seemed so distant though." Shravan ate his vanilla ice cream from the cup and raised his eyebrows as he asked the question.

"Haan yaar, teri Sumo hai hi itni popular, not everyone has the guts to sit with Suman Tiwari and that too on Vividha's seat." She giggled and boasted.

"Oh and me being The Shravan Malhotra, clearly ignored that supremacy of yours and your sister. Well, it's not about guts, it's just I am an exemption to the rules of Tiwari sisters." Shravan rested his elbow on her shoulder and stated and both of them looked at each other and laughed.

Vividha looked at them from far as she looked around in the book store to buys some books for her to study. She knew what they were talking reading their lips, it was her specialty, she was able to read people from their lip sync. She scoffed at the last part, both of them were screwed, they were twisted in a good way. If it was someone else they would believe that they were actually talking about that, but she knew it was them goofing with each other. They were best friends, he knew about the rules, and she asked him the first thing in the morning to sit beside her.

Shravan looked at Suman, smiling yet having a lost look, he knew she hated that judgemental look everyone had. They looked at her like a pariah, someone who was not approachable, who was too proud to mingle, who interacted with her type of socialites. Since the longest time when they learned about social differences and real judgemental eyes of people around, she cried to him every night as they talked on the phone, sometimes when having family sleepovers at each other's houses and sometimes having midnight adventures. Unlike other people's believes, she cared what people thought about her. Even if she denies it and brush it off when others ask her about getting judged, it affected her. She poured all her worries to him. He was her confident. She was so strong for Vividha but with Shravan she let herself be weak and he loved it. He loved that someone was dependent on him. He thanked her for making him so confident about himself. He thanked her for making him feel worth it.

"Chalein ? Ya pura ice cream stall khatam karna hai ?" Vividha asked coming towards them.

"Tu kyun aayi yahan ? Ja aur padh lai, if you want we can take you to more bookstores." Shravan mocked at her with a disgusted look at the pile of books in the cloth bag she held.

"Whatever. Apne kaam sai kaam rakho na, wo kya hai na I don't have khali time like you guys to chat around and nor I have a friend like you guys have each other to waste my time. Here hold it." She pointed with her hand at them and then dumped her books bag in his hand and walked ahead.

He balanced himself as she suddenly handled her books to him and walked behind her with Suman.

"Really you don't have a friend like me? Vivs what am I? A monster!" Suman walked at a fast pace and soon came ahead of Vividha and turned her face to her and walked backward.

"Obviously! Sumo monster." Vividh laughed boisterously. Suman slapped her shoulder and turned around and stood with her hand folded and stopped.

"Fine miss crybaby, you are not a monster, you are my friend who I waste my time with. Fine now ?!" Vividha put her hand on Suman's shoulder and pushed them forward.

"Fine!" Suman giggled and put her hands on her shoulder and looked back Shravan who sighed. He had this coming when he replied sarcastically to Vividha.

Vividha walked fast and Suman not so behind while Shravan behind her. Suman suddenly stopped realizing something, and shouted "Wait!, Spending time with me is not wasting time. "

"Yeah whatever, keep telling yourself that," Vividha shouted at they entered into their society.

Suman stomped her feet and walked hot on her heels muttering profanities at Vividha while poor Shravan walked slowly.

"I am not even a cry baby..."

"I don't like you anymore Vividha..."

"You are still crying..."

"I am not.."

"Shravan say something na..."

"What am I supposed to do with the stupid books?" Shravan looked around and sighed, looks like it's going to be him delivering things every day at their home, he didn't mind, his house was just a floor above theirs.

A/N : So this is chapter one, it's almost set 12 years before whatever happened in chapter 0. it will be childish and kinda plain writing at the moment, it would be like a foundation to the later. I am super excited to write about them. Also, this was supposed to be updated 2 days ago surprisingly but the city I live had a 3 days internet ban which sucks as it happens almost frequently now.