The question paper finally reached her desk.
Aanya turned it over.
For a moment, she didn't move.
Her eyes travelled across the first page.
Then the second.
Her heartbeat, which had been threatening to escape her chest for the last several minutes, slowly settled.
She knew this.
Not everything.
But enough.
She picked up her pen.
And began.
The first few questions went smoothly.
Then came one she had to think about.
Aanya paused.
Read it again.
Then once more.
She worked through it carefully, refusing to rush simply because everyone around her seemed to be writing faster.
Eventually, the answer came.
She wrote.
Turned the page.
Continued.
Time became strangely fluid after that.
There was only the paper.
The pen.
The occasional movement of someone shifting in their seat.
The soft sound of pages turning.
Aanya stopped thinking about how much time had passed.
She simply kept going.
There were questions she knew immediately.
Questions that required thought.
One that made her stare at it for several seconds before something clicked.
And there were two that she wasn't entirely certain about.
She marked them mentally.
Moved on.
Came back later.
Changed one answer.
Left the other.
She didn't panic.
That was perhaps the biggest difference.
She had spent weeks preparing for this.
And now that the paper was actually in front of her, she realized she didn't need to be afraid of it.
She simply needed to answer it.
So she did.
When the invigilator finally announced the remaining time, Aanya looked at the clock.
She had enough.
She checked her answers.
Once.
Then again.
There.
One silly mistake.
She knew immediately.
She stared at it.
For a second, she considered changing it.
Then stopped.
She had already crossed out the correct answer earlier.
Aanya closed her eyes briefly.
"Idiot," she whispered under her breath.
She corrected what she could.
Checked the rest.
Then sat back.
There wasn't anything more she could do.
The final bell rang.
Pens stopped moving.
Aanya put hers down.
For a moment, she simply sat there.
It was over.
The invigilator collected the answer sheets.
Aanya watched hers disappear into the stack.
She picked up her things.
And walked out.
The corridor outside was already filling.
Students poured out of the hall in groups.
Some looked relieved.
Some looked devastated.
Some were already discussing answers.
Aanya stepped outside.
Her eyes immediately began searching.
She didn't even realize she was doing it.
Until she saw him.
Sagnik was standing a little farther down the corridor.
His bag was hanging from one shoulder.
He wasn't talking to anyone.
He was looking toward the doors.
Waiting.
For her.
The moment he saw her, something in his expression changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
His shoulders relaxed.
Aanya noticed.
She smiled.
Sagnik walked toward her.
"How was it?"
Aanya exhaled.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Actually okay."
His smile grew.
"I knew it."
"No, you didn't."
"I did."
"You absolutely did not."
"I did."
Aanya rolled her eyes.
Then they began walking together.
For a few moments, neither said anything.
Then Aanya stopped.
"Oh."
Sagnik looked at her.
"What?"
"I made a mistake."
He waited.
"That second question."
"The one about—"
"Yes."
"I knew it," she said, frustrated. "I knew the answer and then I changed it."
Sagnik nodded.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"One mistake."
"Maybe two."
"Two mistakes."
"Don't sound so calm."
He smiled.
"You said the exam went well."
"It did."
"Then let it go."
Aanya looked at him.
She knew he was right.
She sighed.
"Fine."
They continued walking.
A few steps later, Sagnik spoke.
"Did you eat?"
Aanya looked at him.
"That's your first concern?"
"Yes."
"I just wrote an entire examination."
"And now you should eat."
She smiled.
"You're becoming like Aditi."
"That's concerning."
"Very."
He laughed.
Aanya looked ahead.
The nervousness was gone now.
At least for today.
There were still more papers.
More mornings.
More long hours.
More questions waiting for her.
But one was over.
And she'd done well.
Maybe not perfectly.
But well.
She looked sideways at Sagnik.
He caught her looking.
"What?"
"Nothing."
She smiled.
"Just..."
She hesitated.
"Thank you."
His expression softened.
"For what?"
"For waiting."
He looked at her for a moment.
Then shrugged.
"I told you I would."
And somehow, that answer stayed with her longer than the examination itself.