>>> Image of Nina >>>

The dining area, which is also called 'a mess in hostels', was mostly empty since the lunch time was over, or maybe it was due to the fact that classes have not started yet. It was easy to find, thankfully.

I went inside and saw a girl having her lunch who was around my age. She looked at me when I passed her. She had a pair of attractive chocolate brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair with a milky white complexion. She was definitely American.

'You should make a friend, Jazz.' Mahi's voice echoed in my ears.

I gave her a small smile which, fortunately, she returned. I went to pick up my food and decided to sit with her.

"Hey," I greeted once I sat down.

"Hello," she replied, chewing her food.

"Umm, I'm Jessica. I just enrolled here," I said and started eating delicious pasta in white sauce.

Yummy! The food was not that bad actually.

"Oh, well I'm Nina and I just enrolled into Masters, though I am not new here . . . I actually graduated from here." she smiled and asked, "Are you from India?"

"Oh, that's good and yes, I am." I smiled.

"Wow, I heard so much about India. My grandparents used to live there, but after my birth they moved here," she said wondering and finishing her food.

"Really? It's good to know. Have you ever been there?" I asked getting curious.

"No, never, but I want to though. We had a house there and everything . . . I guess it's in Dehradun," she said, tapping her chin with her finger.

"Dehradun is a beautiful city. You should definitely visit there." I suggested.

"Of course. Maybe we can both travel together," she giggled.

"Sure," I replied with a smile. "Where are you from?" I added.

"Boston. It's four hours from here."

I nodded, finishing my pasta and checked the time. It must be early morning in India. I should wait until everyone would be up.

Nina sensed something and pointed at my watch. "Are you waiting for someone?"

"Huh? No, I actually wanted to call home but as per 14 hours of time difference, I have to wait. They must be asleep right now."

"Alright, well it's nice to meet you. My room number is 107. If you need any help feel free to ask, okay?" she offered, getting up.

"Okay, mine is 108," I winked. "I am your new neighbor." I laughed.

"That's great! Well, c'mon!"

We started walking towards our rooms. She was about to open her door when I asked, "Umm, Nina?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to hang out tomorrow? I want to see the city and I can't do it alone . . . I mean I can, but you know, I am new here so . . ." I trailed off.

"Relax and of course I will," she smiled, unlocking the door.

"Alright then, see you at dinner," I said, letting relief wash over to me.

"Okay, then. See ya!" She closed the door.

I entered my room, closing the door and leaning against it as I locked it. What's wrong with me? I was never like this. I was a confident girl. How could I get nervous and blabber like that? Maybe it's because of the new atmosphere? I don't know, but this was not good. It's just a beginning, I need to be more strong and confident.

I need to talk to Mahi. She was like an energy booster for me. She was the only one who could help me to deal with this.

I logged in Skype and dialed her; she didn't pick up. Obviously, she must be sleeping, but I couldn't wait. I needed to talk to her right now as she was the only one who could change my mood and erase my nervousness, so I re-dialed her number. It was my third call when, finally, she picked up.

"Hello?" She sounded sleepy.

"Hey Mahi, it's me . . . It's my new number," I said and then gulped. It's really a dangerous task to disturb Mahi's sleep.

Please don't get mad at me!

"What the hell, Jazz?" She yelled.

Oops!

"I want to talk to you," I replied nervously.

"What's so urgent? Have you checked the time? Geez, Jazz. I only slept for a few hours. And now, my headache is going to kill me. Anyways, what do you want?" she asked, clearly annoyed.

"I'm sorry, Mahi. I was missing you so much and I couldn't wait," I said sadly.

"Oh, I am extremely sorry Jazz. What happened? It must be urgent; otherwise, you'd never disturb my sleep," she giggled.

She knows how to lighten my mood.

I smiled, "Okay now please come online. You know how costly these international caller prices are so it's better, if we talk via Skype only."

"Okay." She said and hung up.

*

*

*

Twenty-five minutes later. . .

I waited impatiently and finally after sometime which felt like an hour, Miss Mahi came online.

"Hey." She knew that I was impatient. It was her revenge for waking her too early.

Stupid girl. I don't think she knows what "revenge" actually means!

"Hmm, hello. So quick, huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks," she winked.

"Well, thank me later...  after I get you back." I glared at her.

She stared at me. "Whatever, anyways shoot. What do you want?" she asked and yawned, "So that I can go back to my dreamland."

"You're gonna sleep again?" I asked in disbelief. "It's nearly 5:30 now."

"Don't avoid it, just tell me what happened?" she asked before letting out another yawn.

Oh God, she's looking very tired. I should have waited.

After that, I explained everything to her, including the morning incident. I didn't hide anything from her and even though, I knew she'd make fun of it, I still told her about the major details. She knew me better than anyone and sometimes I thought, she knew me better than my own self.

I looked at her and waited for her reaction. And as expected, she started laughing and I rolled my eyes.

"Enough Mahi, it's not that funny," I pouted.

"Wow, Jazz! So brave!" she said and gave me an 'I-told-you-so' look.

"Whatever." I huffed, getting annoyed.

"Awe, it's okay, Jazz. I already predicted that but you were too stubborn to admit it. Anyways, it's nice to know that finally, you have taken the first step. It's good to make friends, Jazz, and your behavior was completely normal. Don't be embarrassed. You are alone there and new too. You can't be confident in one day, it will take time and then you will be the arrogant and full of attitude Jessica Kapoor that I know and love," she pointed out, winking.

"Haha, very funny," I rolled my eyes. "But, you are right. I'll feel better with time. I need time to adjust here and I have to be flexible if I want to be social.  Thanks Mahi, I am feeling better now. You can go back to your dreamland."

I was not finished yet and wanted to talk more but she was looking tired and I don't want to make her sick.

"Finally," she sighed. "Chal . . . bye? I mean whatever. God, I'm already sleeping. Talk to you later, Jazz." She waved and went offline.

I laughed and smiled as the screen turned blank. I logged out of Skype then logged into Facebook and updated my city and education. I changed my current city to New York. As you could see, I wanted to show off a little about me and I don't think there was anything wrong with it, right?

After all, it's really a big deal to get an admission into NYU.

I smiled remembering Mahi's words and made a decision:

I'm going to take it slow, I'm going to take one step at a time.

*****

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