Chapter 1: Riya
Hi, I’m Riya, an ordinary girl living in an extraordinary world.
Our elders say it wasn’t like this when they were our age. They never knew what demons were. They never studied their levels the way we do, Level 1 to Level 5. They never heard demon attacks on the news all the time. They never feared the smell of sulphur or the sudden drop in temperature.
Level 5 are the most dangerous while Level 1 demons are the weakest. Even final year school students can vanish them.
We took that exam in our school year too. Our task was to survive in a forest in the demon realm for sixty minutes. Our batch was the only one that survived whole. It was all over the news. In history, no batch has had more than half the students survive, but we all did.
And it was because of my best friend, Khushi.
We met in primary school. We shared a bench. Thanks to Khushi’s badly timed jokes and my habit of laughing at everything she said, we spent more time standing outside class than inside it. Khushi taught me how to live life to the fullest. Always laughing, always joking. She is the light of my life. Well, one of the lights.
The other is Rohit, my boyfriend.
Rohit joined us in sixth standard. He was this shy, tiny boy who walked up to us and said, “I’ve heard you two are the most popular. I am the least popular. Can you please adopt me?” He was so adorable. Of course we adopted him. We needed a new person to make fun of.
I caught feelings for him pretty soon, but that idiot only asked me out at prom in our last year. Who asks someone out right before a deadly exam? Obviously I said yes. And we survived.
Khushi saved us all that day and then faced a demon army on her own. Who would have thought my class clown best friend would turn out to be so brave and strong?
She also managed another insane achievement. She made Satan fall in love with her. In her defence, it wasn’t her fault. Satan came disguised as our teacher, Mr Desai. Khushi became his favourite student, and somehow he fell for her. Khushi was rescued by top exorcists and demon slayers, but Satan is still alive. We worry every day that he will come for her.
Khushi refused to be scared anymore, so she joined the Anti Demon Training Institute after school. Rohit chose the same path. But I wanted a somewhat ordinary life. I chose fashion designing. Well, not exactly ordinary. I design outfits for demon slayers, exorcists and the top warriors that Khushi and Rohit are training to become.
Sometimes I send my best pieces for Khushi, but I do not know if she actually wears them. Rohit says she does, but I haven’t seen her in a whole year.
Today all three of us will finally be together. It is just a coffee date, but I miss her so much that I will take anything. Monthly calls are not enough. I want to laugh the way we used to.
