The alarm blares for the tenth time now, its shrill sound cutting through the quite morning air. But the girl in bed remains lost in dreamland, face buried into the softness of her pillow, oblivious to the world around her. The warmth of her blanket cocoons her, and faint smell of lavender lulls her further into slumber. She shifts slightly, nuzzling into the mattress, her dark hair splayed across the pillow like a halo. A faint smile adorns her lips as her dreams unfold. There’s no sign of her waking anytime soon.

When the clock hits 7:00 AM, the alarm rings again—yet the blaring sound still fails to rouse her from her ever-ending dreams.

By now, the eleventh alarm has echoed through the house, heard by everyone except for its intended owner.

At first, they simply ignored it and focused on their tasks. But with each passing moment, as the alarm rang persistently, their annoyance grew.

“What’s the point of even setting an alarm when she doesn’t even wake up?” came a sharp voice from the living room. It was the lady of the house—Mrs. Chauhan— a woman in her mid-forties with sharp features and no-nonsense demeanour, her tone dripping with irritation as she paused mid-prayer, interrupted by the blaring noise. The sunlight streaming from the window lit up the prayer area, casting a golden glow on the idols, but her focus was entirely on the noise upstairs. She didn’t like interruptions during her time with God. She sighed, her hands still clasped in prayer, and muttered, “Even the gods must be irritated by now.”

“The alarm could wake up the dead, but it has no effect on her.” The young boy, her son—Atharv—quipped, chuckling at his own joke.

That earned him a sharp look from his mother. “Don’t say such words. It's bad luck.”

He shrugged, unfazed, and leaned closer to his father, who was seated beside him, engrossed in the morning newspaper. Mr. Chauhan, the head of the house, a tall man with calm demeanour and broad shoulders that carried an air of responsibility. His features had aged gracefully, like fine wine. He adjusted his glasses and turned a page without looking up. “Let her sleep,” he said, his voice deep and steady. “She was up late last night.”

“Late again!” Mrs. Chauhan exclaimed, throwing her hand in exasperation. "It's the same story every day. She stays up late every night, reading those never-ending stories of hers, and we are the ones who suffer with this alarm. I always remind her to sleep early, but no! She must be engrossed in reading those stories all day and night. What even is she reading?”

Atharv grinned. “She reads those chaprii stories—you know, the ones where people fall in love and suddenly the whole world revolves around them. So blindly obsessed they forget to eat, work...Ultimate cringe!”

“Enough,” Mrs. Chauhan cut him off, her tone final. With a final bow she finished her prayer and made her way towards the kitchen to prepare tea. Her saree swishing with every step as she walked with an air of elegance and calmness.

At 7:05 AM, the alarm rings again.

"I’m going to turn off the alarm,” Atharv declared, his tone a mix of annoyance and mischief. He bounded up the stairs, taking two steps at a time, and burst into his sister’s room without knocking.

“Even an earthquake wouldn’t wake her.” He muttered, watching her sleep like a log, limbs splayed, mouth open, chest raising and falling with infuriating calm. The blaring alarm might as well not exist.

“Hey, get up! It’s already 9:30 in the morning," he lies, shaking her shoulder vigorously.

The girl groans, swatting his hand away like a pesky fly. “Get lost,” she mumbles, her voice thick with sleep. She turns over, pulling the blanket over her head.

“Don’t you want to go to college today?” Atharv persisted,shaking her again.

She stirred slightly, curling into a more comfortable position, determined to return to her dreams.

“Hmm,” she hums in response, a noncommittal sound that neither confirmed nor denied her intentions.

“What ‘hmm’? Get up- you're late!”

Another drowsy hum. No movement.

Seeing her unfazed, he snatched the phone from the bedside table. With a quick swipe, he deletes all the alarm and sets the phone back down. “Good luck waking up now,” he muttered before leaving the room.

A few minutes later she opened her, half-hooded and peeked at the clock on the wall and went back to sleep again.

Forty minutes later, she jolted awake, sitting up abruptly, blinking at the clock.

“Here goes another day of me trying to exercise early in the morning,” she muttered to herself, her voice tinged with self-reproach. “Now the whole day won’t feel productive at all. Argh!” she groaned, running a hand through her dishevelled hair, annoyed with herself.

She sat, frozen for a moment, staring blankly, questioning the point of her existence. She let out a sigh, her shoulder slumped, as she contemplated her life choices. The sunlight streaming through the window bathed the room in soft glow, but it did little to lift her spirits. She let out a long, exasperated sigh again and rubbed her face with her palms, as if trying to wipe away the remnants of sleep.

After a few minutes of silent brooding, she got, tidying her bed, the motion mechanical and practiced, made her way towards the washroom to freshen up. The cool water helped shake off the last traces of drowsiness. Done with her morning chores, she emerged feeling slightly more human.

She opened her wardrobe and pulled out an oversized t-shirt and a pair of comfortable pants. The fabric was soft against her skin, and she relished the feeling as she got dressed. With a satisfied smile, she made her way downstairs to the hall.

The scene that greeted her was that of quiet domesticity. Her parents sat on the sofa- her father engrossed in a book, her mother scrolling through her phone-while her brother was hunched over his laptop at the corner table. The room was bathed in sunlight, the golden rays highlighting the dust motes floating in the air. The chirping of the birds added a melodious backdrop to the peaceful atmosphere. The fresh winter coolness wafted in the air, fresh and alive.

It was the last week of the September, and the arrival of winter could already be noticed in the cool and refreshing scent that wrapped around her like a fresh breath of air.

“Good morning,” her father greeted her with a warm smile as she entered the room.

That brought a sheepish smile on her face as she wished him back with same warmth “good morning dad.” She knew what was coming next.

“You should try to wake up early in the morning,” her father begins, his tone gentle but firm. “Staying up late and waking up late are not good for your health. You are a student- you must have some discipline to be an ideal student.”

“I try,” she protests softly, flopping onto the couch opposite him. “But the alarm-why does it never work on me?” she exclaimed, her frustration evident. She threw her head in mock despair, her eyebrows furrowing in exaggerated annoyance.

Her mother, who had been quietly observing the exchange, finally spoke up. "Tell me one thing. When have you ever heard the alarm’s ring?” she asked, her voice stern.

She opened her mouth to retort but was interrupted by her brother’s chuckle. “You!” she accused, pointing a finger at him. He glanced her way for a second, unfazed, then back at the laptop, paused his work and pulled out an earbud.

“What’s the time now?” he asked, glancing at the clock-8:15 AM-before standing and stretching his limbs with a wide yawn.

“You!” she snarled. “Why do you always delete my alarms?”

He rolled his eyes, indifferent to her outburst. “what’s the point of putting all the alarm when you never wake up to them?” he countered, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

She huffed,It irritates her more and she complains to her mother about his doings.

“He turned off the alarm after the eleventh one. Until then did you wake up? No. So, blaming him won’t change anything. “

Her mother reasons. She just huffs at her mother’s response and picks up a book from table placed in front of the couch.

Her mother gets up and makes her way towards the kitchen. Seeing her the girl gets up too and makes her way towards the kitchen and asks her mother “what’s for breakfast?”

“I am thinking of making poha.” Her mother replies as she sets the utensil on the stove and starts preparing for breakfast.

“Sounds good to me” she replies.

“Let me cut the onions for you.” She offers a lending hand, and the breakfast was prepared in no time. As they sit around the dining table, her brother descends dressed up in jeans and a black t-shirt with a bag on his shoulder.

“You are already ready for the college? There is still time.” She states.

“Yeah, I will have my breakfast and do my pending assignments.” Her brother says as he sets the bag on the floor near the table where his laptop lies and makes his way to the dining table.

They all eat their breakfast while discussing their whereabouts.

"It’s your final semester of master's degree. So do well as always. If you are having any problem understanding the subject, then inform me I will find a way.” Her father says while taking a sip of his water.

"Yes dad. Everything is fine. I can understand well but the only exception is Economics. But don’t worry I have tried asking one of our professors for tutoring.

He teaches us accounting which makes it easier to understand. He makes great notes and his ways of teaching are always easy to grasp and stays in mind for longer period.

From one of our juniors, I got to know that he also teaches economics to some of the batches. I wish he taught us economics too.”

She fills in about the situation to her father.

“Okay. If he denies. Let me know. I will try to find a tutor for you.” Her father replies understandingly.

“I will persuade him. I am sure he will agree.” She says confidently as her mind wanders on how to persuade his professor for tutoring.

Then the topic changes to her brother and to his academics.

Soon they finish breakfast. She goes back to her room and changes for her college. She and her brother study at the same college though different courses and this is the first time the class timings have aligned. This gave their parents an opportunity to drop them off at college. Their college is on the way to their parents' office. So, this makes her happy thinking about their family time.

They rarely get to spend time together and now that the opportunity has come no one wants to lose it.

As she makes her way downstairs now in a blue jeans and pink shirt tucked in, with her bag on her shoulder, she finds everyone ready to leave the house.

“Let’s go.” She says as she comes to the hall.

They all settle in the car and their father starts driving with their mother on the passenger seat and the siblings on the back seat.

She opens her phone and scrolls through Instagram mindlessly. She comes across many cat videos and looking at those she lets out dreamily” I want a pet, I want a cute cuddly cat as a pet.”

“This swine right her wants a kitty. How amusing is that’” his brother comments. She smacks him, and with that, they start bickering- her complaining to their father, him sulking as their father reprimands him. He later resorts to making weird faces just to annoy her.

As they reach the college their mother says “okay now, act like good students and do your classes properly and don’t pick a fight. Now go, you guys are getting late.

“Take care both of you” the siblings say and bid goodbyes to their parent. They drive away right after.

“Bye, pig!” her brother yells, waving his hand in the air, sprinting towards his department as they enter inside the college.

“I'll see you at home. Kuri.” She yells as a warning and makes her way towards her class.

Now the only thing on her mind is how to persuade this professor of hers to accept the tutoring offer.With those thoughts she enters her class room, only to be greeted by an amusing sight, much to her surprise.

First Chapter! How is it? I hope you like it.😊

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