༺ 𒆜Ishq Ka Pehla Saya 𒆜 ༻

Raaz ki taalash

It started with a glance. Then another. And then too many to ignore.

For Shazia and Riya, Haseena's secretive smiles and sudden disappearances after class had become way too suspicious. Especially when those disappearances seemed to align perfectly with the exit schedule of a certain Professor Anubhav.

One Thursday afternoon, Shazia slammed her book shut.
"Yeh ladki kuch toh chhupa rahi hai," she muttered, narrowing her eyes at Haseena, who was staring at her phone with a goofy smile.

"Phone pe phir se wahi sparkle eyes wale emoji? Bata kya chal raha hai?" Riya said, sliding closer.

Haseena looked up, startled.
"Kuch bhi nahi yaar, ek meme tha..."

"Toh dikha meme," Shazia demanded.

Haseena quickly locked her screen.
"Nahi dikha sakti, private hai."

"Private ya professor?" Riya teased, nudging her.

That was it. The Investigation Squad was activated.

Later that day, near the college canteen...

"Riya, tu right se dekh, main left se. Agar woh Haseena fir se staff room ke taraf gayi na, toh pakka uska professor wala chakkar hai," Shazia whispered from behind a tree.

Riya peeked. "Woh aa rahi hai... aur haan! Uske haathon mein notes hai... yeh toh pretext lag raha hai."

They watched as Haseena walked straight to Anubhav, who was sipping chai outside the staffroom. She said something, and he smiled — that soft, corner-of-the-mouth smile. Haseena bit her lip.

"Ufff, lip biting? Yeh toh love story chal rahi hai live," Riya muttered, eyes wide.

Then came the final blow — Anubhav casually reached out to tuck a loose strand of Haseena's hair behind her ear, and both burst out laughing at something she said.

Shazia gasped.
"Yeh toh pakka ho gaya! Mission Raaz ab final confession tak leke jaana hoga."

Later in the evening
Haseena stepped in, humming, her dupatta flying behind her like a scene from a movie.

Shazia and Riya stood like angry mothers.
"Baith," Shazia ordered.
"Abhi ke abhi," Riya added.

"Kya hua tum dono ko?" Haseena laughed nervously.

Shazia crossed her arms. "Tum aur Anubhav Sir. Kya scene hai?"

Haseena froze. "K-kya matlab?"

Riya leaned in dramatically.
"Staffroom ke paas ka tree yaad hai? Haan, wahi tree jahan tu khadi thi Anubhav Sir ke saath. Aur jahan usne tera baal hataaya tha."

Shazia added, "Aur jahan tu uski baat pe hansi thi jaise woh Ranbir Kapoor ho."

Cornered, Haseena buried her face in a pillow.
"Thoda... thoda sa pasand hai mujhe..."

Both girls squealed.

Shazia jumped onto the bed.
"Mere Allah! Yeh toh pyaar ho gaya!"

Riya hugged her. "Aree pagli, itna cute scene chal raha hai aur tu humse chhupa rahi thi?"

Haseena looked up, teary-eyed from all the laughing.
"Mujhe dar tha... tum log judge karoge."

Shazia rolled her eyes.
"Judgment ke naam pe hum toh sirf aur jhooti story bana rahe the — ab asli version mila hai toh party toh banti hai!"

They laughed. But behind the teasing, there was also relief — because secrets might be thrilling, but sharing them with your best friends is even better.

🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀
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Teaser:
But not everyone was ready to accept this love story. And someone else had just started noticing the spark too...