Sunday, 5:12 PM
They were still gathered in the debate room, half of them barely keeping their eyes open from Coach Carter's Death by Logistics presentation. Someone was spinning an empty water bottle on the table. Another person was trying to Google if eight hotel changes in one week was legal.
Then Maya stretched, cracked her knuckles, and said what everyone was secretly thinking.
"What if we all just slept at someone's house tonight? Like... all of us. One place. No one oversleeps. No one gets left behind. No one forgets their pants."
Leo sat up. "That's actually... genius."
"Yeah," Sadie said, "and if Coach Carter shows up five minutes early again just to test our loyalty to the schedule, we won't be caught in our pajamas alone in the driveway like last time."
Everyone turned to look at Jaanvi.
"...It was one time," she muttered.
Aditya, of course, added with a smirk,
"Flamingo pajama pants, bunny slippers, and a toothbrush still in her mouth. Iconic."
She narrowed her eyes. "Shut it, Singh."
"You shut it, Vaidya."
Leo interrupted, "Guys. Focus. Sleepover location?"
"My place has an entire basement," Maya offered. "There's a pullout couch, two futons, and like, seven different blankets no one has claimed in years."
"I'll bring a blow-up mattress," said James.
"I call dibs on a corner where no one will talk to me," Sadie said, already planning her anti-social bubble.
Jaanvi raised a brow. "You're literally the loudest one on our team."
"Exactly. Reverse psychology. If I declare silence first, I get left alone."
"Genius," someone muttered.
Aditya stood up. "Fine. I'll bring snacks."
"Healthy or trash?" asked Maya.
"Trash. Obviously."
8:54 PM — Maya's Basement
The entire team had shown up with duffel bags, suspiciously overpacked suitcases, and a total of five boxes of Cheez-Its. The basement now looked like the aftermath of a mid-sized hurricane at a Target.
"Why do you need three blazers?" Jaanvi asked Aditya, eyeing his overstuffed bag.
"One for actual debate. One for luck. One in case someone 'accidentally' spills juice on the others," he replied, not-so-subtly staring at her.
"That happened once, and it wasn't juice, it was—"
"Suspiciously red hydration liquid?"
She threw a pillow at him.
They both laughed.
And instantly stopped.
Because the rest of the team was watching them like sharks circling drama.
"You two good?" Maya asked, raising a brow.
"Fine," Jaanvi said, at the exact same time Aditya muttered, "Totally fine."
Leo nodded slowly. "Cool cool. Just... gonna assume the kiss was a fever dream."
Everyone started laying out sleeping bags and changing into pajamas. Jaanvi put on her oversized "Future Lawyer" t-shirt. Aditya wore plain black sweats and a tank top that revealed more arm than necessary, which she definitely did not notice.
"Don't hog the outlets," someone shouted.
"Why are your socks glowing in the dark?!"
"If anyone snores, you're getting flipped like a pancake."
They finally settled down, the lights dimmed, the floor packed like sardines. Jaanvi curled up on the futon, trying not to look in Aditya's direction... who just so happened to be lying directly across from her on the floor.
Their eyes met in the dark.
She mouthed, "Stop staring."
He mouthed back, "You blinked first."
She rolled over to face the wall, smiling.
Tomorrow was going to be exhausting. Eight hotel changes. Random roommates. Aditya's smirk for seven straight days.
And yet... she didn't feel tired.
Not yet.
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