Monday, 4:47 AM
Maya's basement was a battlefield of tangled limbs, blankets, crushed Cheez-It crumbs, and the haunting echo of someone's alarm blaring for the third time.
Jaanvi was the first to open her eyes.
Sort of.
She blinked groggily, checked the time, and thought,
"Ugh. I have twelve more minutes."
She yawned, turned over, and immediately knocked herself back out with her turtle-shaped neck pillow. Her phone, still on silent, vibrated under the couch.
5:12 AM
Everyone else was up.
Almost everyone.
Leo was brushing his teeth using a red solo cup of water. Sadie was tying her boots with one eye open. Maya was folding blankets with military precision.
Aditya was standing over Jaanvi with his arms crossed, staring down like she was an unsolvable math problem.
"She's dead to the world," Maya muttered.
"That's not true," Sadie added. "Last night she kicked me in the shin in her sleep."
"Can we pour water on her?" Leo suggested.
"No!" Aditya snapped, maybe a little too fast. "She's just... a heavy sleeper."
They all gathered around her in a half-circle, like druids preparing to cast a spell.
"Jaanvi," Maya tried gently, nudging her shoulder. "Time to wake up."
Nothing.
"JAANVI," Sadie said louder, this time clapping.
Jaanvi stirred slightly. Her mouth opened. And then—
"STOP SHOVING SPAGHETTI IN THE PRINTER!"
Everyone froze.
Aditya blinked. "What."
Jaanvi let out a long, exasperated sigh—still asleep—then shouted:
"YOU CANNOT CALL THE MOOSE 'DAD' IF HE DOESN'T PAY CHILD SUPPORT!"
Leo burst out laughing so hard he nearly fell onto her.
"What—what does that even mean?!"
"I don't think she's awake," Maya whispered.
"No kidding," Sadie muttered. "We've entered the sleep-talking phase."
Aditya knelt down, snapping his fingers gently in front of her face.
"Jaanvi. Wake. Up."
Her eyes blinked open.
For a moment.
Then she sat up slowly, looked straight at Aditya, and said with perfect clarity:
"Do turtles pay taxes?"
She stared at him for five seconds. Then fell backward with a snore.
Everyone just stared.
"...She's broken," Leo whispered dramatically.
Aditya looked mildly traumatized. "That was... weirdly philosophical."
Maya sighed and grabbed a granola bar. "Okay, Plan B."
Sadie grinned. "I'll get the Bluetooth speaker."
"No!" Aditya shouted. "She will physically attack you in her sleep. I've seen it happen."
"Do it anyway," Maya said, already queuing a playlist.
5:28 AM
As the bass of some chaotic Bollywood remix blasted through the basement, Jaanvi finally shot up, hair a mess, eyes wide with confusion.
"I'M AWAKE! WHO STOLE THE TURTLE?!"
Everyone burst out laughing.
She squinted, furious and half-conscious. "Why do I taste Cheez-Its?"
Aditya smirked, tossing her a hoodie. "Welcome back to Earth. You've been yelling at moose fathers and printers for fifteen minutes."
"That sounds... accurate."
They all scrambled to throw on jackets, brush teeth, zip bags, and triple-check they didn't leave their debate folders behind.
By 5:43 AM, the entire group was loading into the school bus—half-awake, slightly terrified, and already buzzing with adrenaline.
And Jaanvi?
She sat by the window.
Still blinking.
Still suspiciously mumbling about spaghetti printers.
Aditya sat beside her.
He leaned in and whispered, "You were dreaming about me again, weren't you?"
She shoved him lightly.
But she didn't say no.
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