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Leaping down the last few stairs, I squealed in joy. Today was the last day of my 8th grade—finally! I carried a huge grin on my face until it was rudely interrupted by someone splashing water right in my face. With a reflexive flinch, I closed my eyes for a second, only to hear a familiar laugh. I knew exactly who it was. Wiping the water drops off my face, I glared at him. "Advik, I'm gonna kill you," I said, before chasing him as he ran off, too.
We crossed the school gate and he dashed into the playground, hiding behind Kartik, clutching his shoulders tight.
"Move aside, Kartik. Today, this bastard is dead," I declared, attempting to catch him while he dodged, still hiding behind his elder brother.
"Calm down, Arushi, and watch your language. If any teacher hears you, you'll get punished again!" Kartik warned
Referring to the time when Advik was made to sit next to me, he started irritating me. I stayed quiet for a while, but then he pulled my hair tie, making my hair fall loose. That made me lose my temper, and I shouted at him with some not-so-nice words. A teacher suddenly showed up and caught us, so we both got punished. Since that day, I've disliked him. Before 8th grade, I never got punished, but when Advik ended up in my class after our divisions were swapped, we became known as rivals.
Before I could reply, our other two musketeers arrived, interrupting us. Yes, 'musketeers'—that's what the whole school called our group. We were indeed the most popular students. "What's up, guys—Adi, why are you clutching my boyfriend like that? Haw, I doubt your sexuality now," Vanshika teased, glancing at them suspiciously. Kartik freed himself from his brother's grip, and we all chuckled at the banter.
I felt like someone was missing, but not for long. Alisa came running and jumped on Reyna's back. He stumbled a bit but managed to hold her.
"Get off me, you rabbit," Reyan grumbled with an irritated look.
"Shut up," she said, glaring at him, and he quickly quieted down, afraid of her long nails. We all burst into laughter. They are such cuties.
"Alisa! Get off him," said Vanshika, pulling her down. Alisa managed to stand properly.
"GUYS. GUYS. GUYS," shouted Alisa.
"What, dude? Are you trying to make us all deaf today?" everyone chimed in unison. Alisa pouted but shrugged. She rested her arm on Reyna's shoulder and leaned forward to continue speaking. Huff, this girl doesn't care about anything unless it's important. And that's sometimes the best
"Okay, we're going to get a 15-day holiday, but my gut feeling says they could be extended to a month or so," said Alisa.
"Why do you feel that way?" asked Vanshika, frowning.
"If we get another 15 days off, that'd be great," Reyan grinned, looking towards Alisa.
"What would be great about it? Come on, dude, I won't be able to meet my Vanshi for a freaking month!" complained Kartik, while Vanshika rolled her eyes.
"Chillax, guys. I don't think our school would give us more than 15 days of vacation. So let's end this discussion here. Look, our bus has arrived," I said. Everybody nodded in agreement, and we all got
