Everlasting Love

Chapter One: So Much for First Impressions

Keerthy

~Brriing briing~

I woke up to the sound of the alarm on my phone. I set my alarm to 8:00 am to give myself enough time to get dressed and create a great first impression on my first day at Thambi (younger brother in Tamil) University. Today is my first day at Thambi University. I am a first-year Computer Engineering student. Thambi University is one of the most prestigious universities in Chennai after Anna (older brother in Tamil) University.

I was well-aware of the fact that I would be late to my first lecture if I did not wake up right now, but I didn't care. That's one thing about me. I am not a stickler for rules.

The credit all goes to Sivakarthikeyan. Siva always liked girls who were daredevils. He hated anyone who played by the rules. In an effort to transform myself, I moved from Chennai to New Delhi to become the type of girl that Siva would look at. The more I changed myself, the more I realized that even if there was no harm in disobeying rules sometimes, there was always a risk in not following rules during certain situations. Siva swore on his life whenever he did something challenging. The fact that he succeeded in whatever he set his heart to is what motivated me to change my old ways. It also taught me to become more aware of the world around me. Not everyone is who he appears to be. There is always another story behind someone's smile.

I stayed in bed for as long as I could before I woke up again. This time, the thing waking me up was my Amma (mother in Tamil).

"Keerthy Kanna, wake up! As you know, today is your first day at university. You don't want to be late to your very first lecture now do you? Keerthy Kanna! Keerthy! KEERTHY!" Amma screeched at the top of her lungs.

Amma was my bane of existence. I revered her from childhood. She is the epitome of a mother. Sometimes, she was more of a child than an actual mother. I guess this trait of hers is what makes her approachable. When I came home crying one day, as much as I wanted to keep it to myself, Amma pleaded with me to tell her whatever was in my heart that day. Unable to fight it anymore, I told her. I expected her to berate me for falling in love with someone from such a young age. On the other hand, her reaction completely threw me off. She pulled me into a hug. She cried with me! Amma cannot stand tears in my eyes. It can either be that she is very emotional (those Tamil TV serials are responsible for most of her waterworks by the way) or I am her pride. Either way, she begged me not to cry for him anymore.

When I told her that I wanted to move somewhere far away from Chennai, she didn't stop me. She contacted her parents who lived in New Delhi to take me in for a while. I packed my bags and moved in with my thatha (grandfather in Tamil). When I got an offer of admission from Thambi University in Chennai, I went ballistic. As much as I loved my thatha, I really missed the comfort of Amma and Appa (father in Tamil). After high school, I moved back with my parents.

"Yenamma ippedi panrengeelamma (Why are you doing this, Mom?) Naan vaarain (I am coming)." I said, jokingly at first and then rather serious.

As much as I loved my mother, today was not the best of days to wake me up by screaming as loud as the vocal chords would allow. When I didn't budge from bed, Amma poured a bucket of water on my bed.I woke up from the sudden impact. Not only was my mood in a fix, my nightdress was soaking wet. Today was not going as I imagined! I glanced at my phone for a second. It was already 8:30 am. My first lecture of the day starts at 9:00 am! I quickly rushed out of my bed and went to the bathroom. I finished my toiletries as quickly as possible. The last thing I needed was bad breath. That is one thing I cannot tolerate: bad breath. I dressed into a red kurti and black leggings. Those leggings are going to absorb so much heat once I leave my house!Whatever! It is my own fault for waking up this late anyways. I also slipped on a Casio watch on my left wrist.