The next morning starts like any other—rushed footsteps, half-tied ponytail, breakfast I barely taste. But something feels different, and I don't know if it's because of yesterday's walk or because I barely slept thinking about it.
At school, everything is loud except the place inside my chest where the thoughts refuse to settle.
As soon as I enter the classroom, I hear the familiar duo arguing again.Arnav and Rayan came from their section to ours...like always
Aashi: "You cannot put sanitizer on a scratch, Arnav! Are you mad?"
Arnav (completely calm): "Pain builds character."
Aashi: "It destroys skin cells!"
Arnav: "So does your scolding."
I burst out laughing before I even reach my desk.
Rayan looks at me from his seat, one eyebrow raised. "You're in a good mood today."
Am I?
"Maybe," I say, sitting down. I don't have a better answer.
Class goes on normally, but my mind is somewhere else—actually, it's behind me, two rows away, where Arnav and Aashi are whisper-fighting about something stupid again. He keeps poking the band-aid she forced him to wear, and she keeps slapping his hand away. It's like watching a comedy show in slow motion.
During break, Like always, the four of us left to wander around the school during the tiffin break, when Arnav and Ayaan came from their section to ours.
The four of us sit together under the big banyan tree outside.
I'm drinking water when Rayan nudges my shoulder lightly.
"Thinking something?"
I blink. "No. Why?"
"You look… lost."
He says it so softly that for a second I forget how to breathe.
Before I can answer, Arnav cuts in, "She's calculating her life decisions. Probably reconsidering being friends with us."
"Especially you," I shoot back. "Because you're impossible."
He shrugs. "Better impossible than boring."
Aashi laughs and tosses a piece of paper at him.
"I swear, if someone ever writes your biography, the title will be: Arnav Sarma – The Human Headache."
"You'll buy the first copy," he replies without missing a beat.
The way she rolls her eyes doesn't hide her smile.
And the way he smirks doesn't hide his.
Something is definitely there. And for some reason, noticing it feels like watching someone open a book I thought I already read.
---
When school ends, the sunlight looks soft and golden—the kind of light that makes everything feel slower, warmer.
We walk out together again, all four of us.
Arnav is telling some insane story about how he supposedly topped a math test without studying.
Aashi is arguing that he absolutely DID study because she saw him with his notebook near the library.
Rayan and I are walking slightly behind them. He's quiet today… but not the uncomfortable kind of quiet.
After a moment, he says softly, "You're walking faster today."
I look down at my feet. He's right.
"Oh—sorry. I didn't notice."
He shakes his head. "It's okay. I'll keep up."
Something in my chest jumps at that.
We reach the road where the four of us usually split—Today, Arnav—who always books an auto and leaves early—also left in that. So it was just Aashi, me, and Arnav walking. We kept walking, then we took a turn, walked a little more, took another turn, and then we reached my house, Rayan and I toward the neighbourhood road.
But today Aashi suddenly stops walking.
"Wait," she says, turning to us with that half-annoyed, half-teasing look he always has.
"Rayan, you take her home properly. She trips on flat surfaces."
I glare. "It happened ONE time."
She smirks. "Amazing how one time becomes history."
The wind is soft today. The silence between us feels… familiar. Almost comforting.
After a minute, he says, "You didn't laugh much in last period."
I stare at the ground.
"You noticed?"
He looks at me with those steady, quiet eyes.
"I always notice."
My heart stumbles.
I don't know why.
I don't know what it means.
I don't know why everything feels too warm, too close, too something.
We keep walking until my house appears at the corner. I stop.
He stops too.
For a moment, it's just us.
And the weight of all the things I keep denying.
I clear my throat. "Um… see you tomorrow."
He nods slowly.
"Yeah. Tomorrow."
But the way he says "tomorrow"…
It makes me feel like he's not talking about just school.
I go inside, drop my bag, and sit on my bed.
My heart is beating too fast for something as simple as a walk.
It shouldn't feel like this.
It shouldn't twist something inside me like this.
I whisper to myself,
"It's not love… right? It's not. I always get over these things."
But the truth hits me harder this time.
If it was nothing…
why does his silence stay in my mind longer than other people's words?
If it was nothing…
why do I think of him before sleeping?
And if it was nothing…
why does "tomorrow" suddenly feel so important?
I close my eyes.
I know the answer.
I just don't want to say it.
---