"Bhai, I had a request." Ananya asked her brother as they sat at the dining table having breakfast before she left for the college.

"What is it?" He asked as he had the toast.

"There is this new EVS project where we have to make a working model. It has to be done in pairs. And, I don't have any partner." She started.

"Ask someone then. What can I do about it?" He said with a frown.

"I want to do the project with Sneha." Ananya completed.

His hand froze as he heard the name that has been adamant to not leave his mind throughout the night. His attention piqued and he met his sister's eyes finally.

"Sneha?" He asked to confirm if he heard correctly.

"Yes. This way, I can get to know her and maybe become friends." She explained.

Viraj thought over this for a while. He liked the idea. It would give him another excuse to spend time with her... to see her more often. Because, he knew that after the Sunday lunch, she wouldn't come anywhere close to him voluntarily. And, he wondered why it affected him so much.

"Okay. I will talk to the professor. Tell me his name and I will get his contact number from the dean." He said.

"Thank you, bhai. You are the best!" Ananya chirruped with a smile.

"But, there is a condition." He added immediately.

"What?"

"The project will be done at our house." He said leaving no place for any argument.

.

.

Sneha was almost sleeping by the time the EVS lecture, also the last lecture of the day started. She had her head on the desk with her eyes closed. Jyoti was absent today and she was getting terribly bored. To add to it, a boy whose name she didn't know was sitting next to her. So, she preferred to rest a little while hiding herself from the professor.

"That's it for today, class. Now, I have an important announcement to make. About the project, I will choose the partners and the topics as well. I am putting the list on the notice board. Make sure you see the list before you leave for home. Also, you need to submit the project after 15 days. No late submissions will be entertained." The professor announced.

"But sir, we already started working on the project!" A girl sitting at the front desk complained.

The professor hesitated before replying.

"It was the HOD's (head of the department) decision to make pairs instead of allowing students to choose their partners. In this way, you will interact with new classmates, especially when it is an optional subject." He explained.

Sneha nodded in understanding. It made sense to her. After all, everyone partnered with their friends, and the ones who had no friends were always left behind. It was unfair for them.

She picked up her bag to leave the class when the teacher had left. She saw a boy take a photo of the list from the notice board and share it on the college group chat. In this way, everyone can see their partner's name without any hassle. Since she didn't have a phone, especially a smartphone, she had to go to the notice board herself.

Putting her finger on the list, she tried to find her enrollment number to quickly locate her name.

'Oh shit!' Sneha sighed when she saw herself paired with the girl she disliked a lot. Although Ananya was no longer bullying anyone, still, she was a bully! And, she was the sister of a certain person who had almost turned her life upside down for a day.

"What a coincidence!" Ananya said and Sneha got startled for a second. She turned around to see Ananya behind her looking at the list.

"We are partners!" Ananya added when Sneha didn't say anything.

Sneha forcefully smiled and nodded.

"Yeah! Global warming is our topic." Sneha added. She was about to search for Jyoti's name when she realized that she had a smartphone and would see it from the group chat.

"Jyoti is absent today, right?" Ananya asked as they both started walking out of the building.

"Yes. She has gone on a trip with her family." Sneha replied.

"Nice. Where?" Ananya asked to prolong the conversation.

"Ajanta caves." She answered.

"Wow! So, how will you go home? She used to drop you home, right?" Ananya asked.

"I will take the bus." Sneha replied.

"Okay. Uhh... If you want, then bhai can drop you home." Ananya suggested.

Sneha's eyes widened.

"No!... Thank you but, the bus is fine, you know." Sneha said quickly yet politely. She remembered Viraj commenting on not being Ananya's friends' driver. Either way, she had no interest in meeting him.

"Uh...okay!" Ananya agreed.

"So, about the project, I think we will have to do it in my house." Ananya added.

"We can do it in the college also. I mean, we can decide the model's structure, and then we can make the individual parts at our respective homes. Then, we can assemble the parts in the college." Sneha suggested.

Had it been Jyoti, she would have happily gone to her home. But, she had no intention to visit Ananya's home again. The last time she did, she lost two of her most important things...phone and cycle. She couldn't afford to lose anything more. And, asking Ananya to come to her home was out of option, because she was Viraj's sister. She didn't want the mafia's family member at her little home. Her father will kill her!

"That's a good idea. But, what if our project can't be broken into pieces?" Ananya asked.

"We will design it in that way. Global warming is an easy topic. We can make anything on it. I will use the internet in the college on Monday. You can also search on it during the weekends if you have a computer at home. Then we will discuss the plan on Monday. What do you say?" Sneha asked in hope that she would agree.

"Okay!" Ananya said instantly. She couldn't force Sneha to come to her home or she might suspect her.

"Okay then...bye!" Sneha said as the parking lot came into view. She had to walk straight out of the main gate.

"Yupp. Bye! See you on Monday." Ananya and Sneha shared goodbyes.

Sneha had only walked for two minutes when a car halted beside her. She turned to look at it and her breath hitched. It was her new nightmare...the one with whom she had to have lunch tomorrow.

"Sit." He ordered while looking at her.

Sneha noticed that he was wearing the sunglasses this time. Of course, it was sunny! She noticed Ananya beside him with a big smile plastered on her face. Sneha wondered if Ananya asked him to drop her!

"It's okay. I'll take the bus." Sneha said politely.

This really irritated Viraj. It was as if Sneha did this on purpose...disobeying him all the time. He slowly removed his glasses and gave her a strict look.

"I wasn't asking." He spoke in a clearly pissed-off tone.

The bag almost fell from her grasp as she heard those three damned words: 'I wasn't asking.' What's wrong with him, she wondered.

At that instant, a car honked for Viraj to move as he was blocking the path. She realized that the driver was her professor who was giving her a questioning look. She gave him a meek smile and decided to not create a scene in front of her teacher.

She looked here and there before determining to take the ride offer. At least it will save some money. She sat in the backseat quickly and muttered a low 'thank you'.

"I still have to repeat myself to you." He said as he drove while glancing at her via the interior rear-view mirror.

Sneha sighed as she looked at him.

"Bhai, she doesn't know you...and your work culture." Ananya interfered.

Viraj didn't respond to this.

There was a moment of silence before Ananya broke it.

"So, Sneha! Are you free tomorrow? My friends and I are going to the mall tomorrow for shopping. I'd love it if you could come with us! I would have asked Jyoti too but she is out of the town." Ananya started the conversation.

Sneha looked at Ananya in bewilderment. What was wrong with both the siblings, she wondered. Why were they asking her for her company? She didn't want this. Can't they see it?

"Uhh..." She was about to deny it when an idea struck her. It was better to have Ananya's company than spend time with Viraj.

"Okay." Sneha answered as she felt his gaze on her through the mirror.

"Great! Let's meet in the Plaza mall tomorrow at 11 am?" Ananya proposed excitedly.

Sneha was about to agree when Viraj interrupted.

"She can't." He said.

"What?" Ananya asked as she couldn't understand her brother's comment.

"She can't accompany you to the mall tomorrow." He explained.

Sneha looked in his direction as well.

"Uhh...may I ask why, bhai?" Ananya asked politely, knowing all too well how he hated being questioned.

"She is having lunch with me tomorrow." He answered while stopping exactly in front of the library's gate.

"Oh!" Ananya murmured while trying to understand the situation.

"Go." He told Sneha, gently this time.

Sneha quickly held her bag and mumbled 'thank you'. She opened the car's door and almost ran towards the library. Viraj watched her till she entered the premises completely.

"Why are you having lunch with her?" Ananya asked her brother when he resumed driving.

"To thank her for helping you that day." He answered.

"Oh, then, can I join as well!" She asked with wide eyes so that he would agree to her.

"No." He replied. He wanted Sneha's complete attention. If Ananya comes along, then it would only hamper their interaction.

"Please, bhai!" She requested.

"Should I repeat myself?" He warned.

"No, bhai." She answered quietly and looked ahead.

"By the way, why did you drop her at the library?" She asked when she realized the fact.

"It's where she works." He answered.

Ananya nodded. She knew her brother had done thorough research on her.

"By the way, bhai, Sneha denied coming to our house for the project." Ananya said with a sigh.

Viraj's grip on the steering wheel tightened in frustration. What was wrong with Sneha, he wondered.

"Why?" He asked completely pissed off.

"I didn't stress on the topic much because I was afraid of getting caught for manipulating the professor. She only told me that we can make the different parts of the model at our respective homes and then assemble them in the college." She explained.

"I will talk to her about this tomorrow." He said with a frown. Now, he was even more interested in making her agree to come to his house.

"Thank you, bhai." She chirruped as she thought he was doing all this for her. However, she was completely unaware of the feelings developing in her brother's heart.