First day's friendship

A chapter on how a girl acts and feels about her first day in a new place with strangers all around.

As I entered the college premises, on my first day when classes were supposed to begin, I felt troubled. My first fear was if I would be able to befriend anyone at all. I didn't want to be walking alone and wondering what to do and where to go. I had no previous contacts in this college. A good friend had joined the campus but she was far. I saw a group of people as confused as I was and I immediately felt better. For my first day, I had worn a crisp white shirt with my favorite pair of blue jeans. I had to make an impression. Could not afford to be thought of as silly or immature. I masked my fear and confidently approached them with a very cheerful “hello”. They immediately replied with smiling faces and greeted me and asked me if I was in the same class. I saw a paper with my subject name on the door of the room outside which we were standing and confirmed that I belonged there. I was immediately asked to join in the fun. FUN? Seriously? A discussion about marks is not fun! But I carried on anyway. It was fifteen minutes past the time allotted to us for our first class and the teacher was still missing. We saw seniors getting into a room next to ours. The two groups exchanged glances. Some of the students in our group expressed their eagerness to meet and talk to the seniors. On the other hand the seniors seemed pretty bored and definitely didn't seem to share the feeling. High headed, i thought. We could hear them whisper something to each other about us. Maybe they were passing snide remarks. But, who cared! Suddenly I heard the girls in my group admiring the handsome ones among our seniors. I kept my mouth shut. I too thought they looked good but it was embarrassing to openly talk about these things especially to girls whose names I didn't know. I leaned against a pillar in the corridor and waited silently not knowing what to think and what to expect. While I was lost, someone in the group spoke out loud that the teacher had arrived. We all hurried into the class and tried getting the best seats. Of course, the definition of best seats varied. Some preferred the last few benches with new friends. Some who did not want to get into the teachers line of vision took the middle seats. And the enthusiastic ones fought for the front seats. I safely concluded that the middle ones were the best and I took my seat next to a very serious looking girl. She moved her bag and glanced at me. I said “hello” and in reply, she nodded. That's it? Is it so hard to say “hello”. I noticed she was carefully watching where everyone settled and once the discipline prevailed, our new teacher introduced himself. He seemed like a very gentle and meek fellow, with hair graying and spectacles that enlarged his eyes. But he spoke with a baritone. That was quite unexpected. He even managed to silence the few whispers that one could hear from the back benches. He welcomed us. And what a welcome speech! Had it been said by anyone else, it would have seemed that it was all well rehearsed, but his voice had such a thrust, such genuineness, that it seemed he spoke the sentences from his heart. “I am going to enjoy this class” I thought. The girl who refused to say hello, nudged me and said “ He's good, isn't he?” This time it was my turn to nod. But I did so enthusiastically. I was happy with my first day's first lecture. Very impressed. This new girl introduced herself. She was not that bad. She spoke of her hometown and I was glad the topic of marks was not touched. I liked people who didn't brag about marks. We discussed in detail our first lecture and the scope of the subject we had chosen. I was beginning to like her even more when we came to the discussion of our favorite movies, actors and songs. We had similar tastes and while discussing these topics her face lit up. She didn't look serious at all. So, without much effort, I managed to get myself a new friend. This was easy and quick. I was happy with myself.

We sat together for the rest of the lectures during the day. The other professors failed to make an impression on me like the first one. But I still heard them carefully trying to think deep about what they explained about the subjects we were introduced to. My new friend, stayed calm and composed when the lectures were being delivered and I understood that she did not like being disturbed during important sessions. That was convenient. I didn't like being disturbed myself. So, once we went through the four lectures for that day, I was exhausted. On the other had, my friend didn't show a single sign of tiredness. She seemed fresh and livelier. I asked her how she managed it. She replied she shut out the parts of the lecture she didn't like and rested her mind instead. I was wrong. That seriousness was all a pretense. I laughed. I laughed heartily and we decided to grab some lunch before we continued back to our respective homes. During the lunch I found out that she stayed very close to the apartment where I was staying. I wanted a comfortable stay in the campus so I had chosen a house where I could have a room all to myself. I had to pay extra, but it was worth the money. The room was not so big. But the wall color was pleasant and the flooring was great. The cupboards ran all along the walls and I had enough space to store everything I bought from my parents' place. My father was a businessman. He earned a comfortable income and never refused any wish of mine. I knew my limits and I never asked for anything he could not afford or things that were not suitable for my age. But both my parents agreed that I needed a room of my own. So they did not mind paying a little extra for my comfort.

My new friend stayed in a pg. She said she found the girls weird there in the first look but had no choice but to adjust. I told her to look at the bright side. I was staying close by and she could come over anytime she wished to. She hugged me when we got up after lunch. We returned home after taking note of where the other stayed. I was comfortably lying in bed going over the day's events. The evening came quickly. I had managed to ignore all other groups that were formed in college today. I figured they were temporary and would not last long. So I had absolutely no regrets. In fact I was glad to have found one decent friend. I called up this girl and asked her if she would go exploring eating joints. She was happy to join me. We found a place where I had heard the chicken rolls were amazing. It was six in the evening so the place was not very crowded. We chose our table carefully in a secluded corner. Like little girls we chatted away. Oh! I had so much to tell mom and dad. I knew they would be happy for me!

So that was my first day. Not eventful but still it had freshness of a new blooming friendship.

Author's Note

Ignore grammar please. Has not been edited by a professional.