Ayaan's POV

"Looks like this is going to be our home for the next year," I said, my voice echoing with a mix of excitement and relief.

Vivaan glanced at the dorm room paper in my file again, confirming that he was supposed to be in Room 205, not 105.

"You must have mistaken. It's Room 205," he corrected me.

My brow furrowed in confusion as I flipped through my file. "No, it says here that I’m assigned to Room 105."

Before he could say another word, I spun on my heel and marched back to the reception desk, my steps echoing with impatience. I slammed the dorm room paper down on the counter. ''There might be a mistake here, Sir.''

The receptionist looked up from his computer, a calm but firm demeanor in place. ''I don’t think there is any mistake.''

''Don’t you understand?'' my voice raised in frustration as I grabbed the man by his collar, my face inches from the receptionist’s. ''My dad, Mr. Kailash Sharma, specifically requested that we be in the same room. So why didn’t you do that?''

The receptionist freed himself from my grip, his expression remaining composed. ''Mr. Kailash Sharma’s initial request was indeed to pair you with Mr. Vivaan as roommates. However, he later changed his request to pair you with someone else.'' He reached into his locker and pulled out a letter. ''Here, look for yourself.''

I took the letter and scanned it with growing disbelief. It clearly stated that Kailash Sharma had requested to pair me with Sumaira Khanna instead of Vivaan.

'Sumaira Khanna? Who is that?' I demanded, my voice cracking with frustration.

The receptionist shrugged, his tone indifferent. 'I don’t know. The request was updated a week ago.'

'Updated?' my anger was palpable. 'This is ridiculous. What if I don’t want to room with someone else?'

The receptionist maintained his calm composure. 'I understand your frustration but I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do at this point. If you want to dispute it, you’ll need to contact the administration office.'

My gaze shifted to Vivaan. He stood silently, watching the exchange, trying to process the situation. My eyes met his for a brief moment, and I saw a flicker of frustration and disappointment in them. I could tell he was overwhelmed and confused.

''Fine. I’ll handle it,'' I snapped, my voice cold. ''But this is not how I wanted to start the year.''

I stormed out of the reception area, my anger evident in my stride.

As I continued down the hall, my thoughts swirled with unanswered questions and mounting frustration. The year was supposed to start fresh, but now it felt like a mess I needed to clean up before it even began.

A few moments later

"The person you are trying to call is not reachable please try again later" the automated voice echoed in the hallway as I made my way to my room, room 105.

I have been trying to contact my dad for the past 5 minutes. My already boiling blood became hotter as my dad was not picking my call.

The only thought in my mind was who this fucking Sumaira Khanna is and why does my dad pair me with her.

My frustration escalated as I realized I needed to find another way to get answers. Desperate for some form of clarity, I decided to call Dad’s secretary. After a few rings, the secretary answered, her voice calm and efficient. "Hello, Mr. Sharma’s office. How can I help you?"

"Hi, it’s Ayaan. I’ve been trying to reach Dad, but he isn’t answering. Do you know why?"

There was a brief pause before she responded. "Mr. Sharma is currently attending a meditation camp. He won’t be reachable for the next month."

My jaw tightened. "A month? You’ve got to be kidding me. Why didn’t he tell me about this change?"

"I’m sorry, Mr. Sharma. I have no information about why the change was made, but at a personal level, Mr. Kailash don't do things without purpose, so there will surely be a very good purpose behind this. I'll try to arrange a call with your dad as soon as possible perhaps you can discuss it with him when he returns."

I hung up, my frustration reaching a boiling point. The lack of immediate answers and the sudden, unexpected change had thrown me off balance. I was alone in a new environment, facing an unplanned roommate situation with someone I didn’t even know.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I had to get through this, somehow. For now, all I could do was focus on settling into Room 105 and figure out how to handle this situation with Sumaira Khanna.

I entered the room and found it empty

"Great" I muttered in frustration.

The room was pretty with light coloured walls. The space was large with identical beds on each corner followed by a study table and a sofa. There was a door near both the study tables that lead to a spacious closet and an attached bathroom. But I was in such a bad mood that even the light colours of the walls frustrated me and I decided to sleep and not unpack today.

A FEW HOURS LATER

As I lay in bed the voice of the receptionist echoed in my mind.

I felt sorry for my actions I shouldn't have overreacted and should not have behaved so rudely with the reception person. The reason for my anger was that Vivaan and I have been best friends from Kindergarden. My relationship with my family had not been the best, so he is the only person with whom I share all my good and bad news. Vivaan had been staying abroad for the past few years to do his bachelors so this might have been our chance to catch up on each others lives. And staying with a girl i don't even know instead of my best friend just made me angry. The relation between me and my father is not the best but it is not so bad that he will pair me with some stranger, so this decision, of pairing me with some girl called Sumaira should be meaningful. The question still remained who is this Sumaira Khanna, right now the name only was capable of frustrating me.

Third person POV

"10 minute me pahuch jayungi, mamu."

(" I'll reach there in 10 minutes uncle") said a girl as she was trying to find in her bag.

"Pichle adhe ghante se tum yahi keh rahi ho"

("You have been saying this for the last half hour") replied the man on the phone

"This type I am really not kidding, I am so close to the College that I can see it on the other side of the road." the girl replied "Ok, Bye I'll talk to you later"

"You'll have to walk from here ma'am the college doesn't allow any outdoor vehicle after this point." said the cab driver

She sighed, her patience worn thin from the journey. "Alright, thank you."

She gathered her bags and paid the taxi driver.

It was quite dark, a street lamp quite far away being the only source of illumination.

The girl stepped out of the cab, the cool night air brushing against her fair, glowing skin. Her long, dark hair was styled in a single, neat braid that fell over her shoulder, with a few loose strands softly framing her face. She wore a traditional saree in a rich, deep blue, its fabric shimmering slightly under the distant streetlamp. The saree was embellished with intricate gold embroidery along the edges, adding a touch of elegance.

Her fair complexion contrasted beautifully with the deep blue of her saree, and her brown eyes held a mixture of determination and apprehension. Her features were delicate yet expressive, with minimal makeup highlighting her natural beauty.

This param sundari was none other than SUMAIRA KHANNA

Thanks for reading