The days before exams never felt like normal days.
The whole school buzzed in a strange mix of panic and laughter — half the class was trying to memorize notes, the other half pretending not to care. Our homeroom teacher, Mr. Sharma, always joked,
"Don't faint in the exam hall, okay? Write at least your names before you give up."
and everyone laughed, even those who looked like they were about to faint already.
I loved that man — not because he was perfect, but because he understood us. He talked to us like we were equals, not kids. Sometimes he joined our jokes too, and that made even the worst day bearable.
Our little corner by the window was always the loudest. Me, Aashi, the topper — Arnav, and Rayan. We sat there every day, talking, teasing, laughing. Arnav was like my buddy. Sometimes we said the same thing at the same time and high-fived like it was some achievement. Aashi was my constant — my best friend since forever. And Rayan…
Rayan was different.
He wasn't as talkative as Arnav, nor as mature as Aashi. But he had this way of saying one line that made everyone laugh for minutes. I never really talked to him much before, even though we'd been classmates for years. But now, he was just there — part of my every day. His presence had become so normal that I never questioned why I looked for him every morning without realizing it.
---
The exam season finally arrived. Everyone was tense. I tried not to show it, but I was panicking inside.
The first paper went fine, but the second… not so much.
Halfway through, I looked down and froze.
My watch had stopped.
Just like that — the second hand was frozen between two ticks.
I didn't even know how much time was left. The classroom clock didn't work either, and for a second, I thought my heart would jump out of my chest.
When the bell finally rang, I dropped my pen in relief.
Later, when we met in the corridor, I told Rayan everything.
He listened with that half-smile of his and said,
"Why are you tensing so much? Here—take my watch tomorrow."
I blinked. "What? No, it's fine—"
"Just take it," he said, pulling it off his wrist. "Mine works perfectly. Don't stress yourself."
I hesitated. "But won't you need it?"
"My room's clock works fine," he said casually, shrugging.
He handed it to me before I could argue.
---
The next exam came, and I wore his watch.
And somehow, after that exam, I didn't see him.
Every time I tried to return it, something came up. He was busy, or I was late, or Aashi dragged me somewhere.
Three days passed.
When I finally met him in the corridor, I waved the watch in the air.
"Here! Your watch. I finally managed to find you."
He grinned, "You can keep it if you want."
"No way, I already kidnapped it for three days. I fixed mine now."
"It's okay. Maybe it likes you more," he said, teasing.
"Stop joking, and it too big for me ...i have to hold it in exam ...here take it " I said, laughing.
But he only smiled — that calm, knowing kind of smile — before his friends called him away.
I watched him walk off, still smiling to myself.
Later that day, I had to pass his exam room on my way to mine. It was quiet now, empty except for the echo of footsteps in the hall. I don't even know why I stopped. Maybe I just wanted to wish him luck again.
I peeked inside, and then I noticed it.
The wall clock above his board wasn't moving.
The second hand was stuck — still, lifeless.
My heart did a tiny, strange twist.
He'd said his room's clock worked fine.
But it didn't.
He'd given me his watch anyway.
I stood there for a second, feeling something I couldn't quite name.
"He gave me his time… even when he didn't have his own."
That thought stayed with me long after the exams ended.
I don't know why. Maybe because it wasn't about the watch at all.
Maybe because, for the first time, I realized that Rayan wasn't just part of my days —
he was slowly becoming part of me.
___