Reborn in The Princess Diaries: My Multiverse Empire
Chapter 6 – A Small Victory
The following weeks became one of the busiest periods in Anshul's life.
School during the day.
Programming and studying at night.
At first it felt exhausting, but gradually his body adjusted to the new routine. Every day felt meaningful, every hour productive.
StudyFlow was also improving rapidly.
What began as a simple schedule tracker had now turned into a small but surprisingly powerful application.
Students could:
organize subjects
track daily study hours
receive reminders for assignments
visualize progress through charts.
Anshul had even implemented a basic feature that suggested study plans based on upcoming exams.
It wasn't advanced artificial intelligence, but it worked well enough.
One evening he leaned back in his chair and stared at the screen.
The application interface looked clean and surprisingly professional.
"Not bad at all," he muttered.
But a project wasn't useful if nobody used it.
Which meant the next step was obvious.
Testing.
The next day at school, Anshul sat with a few classmates during lunch break.
His friend Rahul noticed him typing on his laptop.
"What are you working on now?" Rahul asked.
"Something interesting," Anshul replied.
Rahul leaned closer.
"Another school assignment?"
"Not exactly."
Anshul turned the screen slightly so they could see it.
"I built a study management app."
Rahul blinked.
"You built it?"
"Yeah."
Rahul examined the interface curiously.
It looked far more professional than he expected.
"What does it do?"
Anshul demonstrated the features.
Adding subjects.
Scheduling study sessions.
Tracking daily study time.
The app even generated simple progress graphs.
Rahul's expression slowly shifted from curiosity to genuine interest.
"Wait… this is actually useful."
"That's the idea."
Another student nearby overheard them and leaned over.
"Can I try it?"
Within minutes, several classmates were testing the application.
Some were skeptical.
Some were amused.
But most of them admitted the same thing.
The app was helpful.
Rahul looked impressed.
"You should publish this."
Anshul shrugged slightly.
"Maybe."
But inside his mind, the real goal was something else.
The National Student Innovation Challenge.
If StudyFlow performed well in that competition, it could become his first real achievement.
And achievements opened doors.
Later that afternoon, Anshul returned home feeling satisfied.
But as he walked into the house, he immediately sensed something unusual.
His father and grandfather were sitting together in the living room, discussing something seriously.
Legal documents covered the table.
His father noticed him.
"Anshul, come here for a moment."
Anshul walked over.
"What happened?"
His father tapped the documents.
"A client case. Nothing you need to worry about."
His grandfather smiled slightly.
"Your father just enjoys making everything complicated."
His father rolled his eyes.
"That's called being thorough."
Anshul chuckled softly and started heading upstairs.
But just before he left, his father asked another question.
"How is your preparation for studying abroad going?"
Anshul paused.
"It's going well."
His father nodded.
"Good."
Then he added something unexpected.
"If you're serious about studying in America, you should start thinking about scholarships."
Anshul turned around.
"I was actually researching that yesterday."
His father looked pleased.
"Then you're thinking correctly."
"Studying abroad isn't just about grades. Universities also look at projects and achievements."
Anshul nodded slowly.
Exactly what he had been thinking.
His father pointed at the laptop in Anshul's hands.
"Whatever you're working on there… make sure it's something meaningful."
Anshul smiled faintly.
"It will be."
Later that night, Anshul returned to his room and opened the StudyFlow application again.
Several classmates had already downloaded the test version.
Their feedback messages were appearing in his inbox.
Some suggested improvements.
Others simply said they liked it.
Anshul carefully read every message.
Each suggestion helped refine the project further.
After a while he opened the competition website again.
Submission deadline: two months.
Plenty of time.
But also not enough time to relax.
He glanced at the calendar.
Every day counted now.
Then, almost unconsciously, he opened another browser tab.
Mia Thermopolis.
The familiar school website appeared once again.
Her photo stared back at him from the screen.
Messy hair.
Large glasses.
A shy smile.
Anshul studied the image quietly.
In the story he remembered, Mia often believed she was invisible.
Unnoticed by the world.
But perhaps that wouldn't always be true.
Anshul closed the browser and leaned back in his chair.
The road to San Francisco was still long.
But tonight, he had achieved something important.
His first real step forward.
And sometimes…
Small victories were the beginning of great journeys.