Chapter ~2

^^^Aria's pov:     ^^^

After our third class ended, the bell finally rang for lunch.

“I am dying of hunger—let’s go already!” I groaned, leaning against the washroom wall.

Tanya was still inside, applying lip gloss like she was prepping for a movie shoot.

“Okay, okay, I’m done!” she called, capping the tube and stuffing it back into her pouch.

“I swear, if that oldie principal catches you near the canteen, she’ll chew you out for wearing lip gloss.”

“She doesn’t come around every day. And besides, you’re also walking around with a single braid. If we get caught, we’re doomed together,” she said, swinging her bag over her shoulder and walking ahead.

I blinked. “Well… yeah. I didn’t think about that. Oh—wait! I’m coming!”

By the time we reached the canteen, all the seats were taken.

“Great. All seats full. Thanks to you,” I said, glaring at her.

Tanya looked around awkwardly, then her eyes lit up. “Hey, Aarav’s table has some empty chairs.”

“No way. We can’t sit there—they’re boys. And you know how that goes.”

“Oh, please. We’re seniors now. You said you wanted to loosen up this year, right? Best way is to actually make friends. And Aarav seems like... full eco-friendly friend material,” she said, nudging me with a grin. Then added, more seriously, “He’s good. C’mon.”

Before I could protest, she dragged me across the cafeteria. We sat down beside Aarav and another guy I hadn’t seen before. I landed next to Aarav while Tanya took the seat across.

“Hi,” I said, giving them a small wave.

Aarav returned a slightly awkward smile—of course, only around me.

The other guy didn’t even glance up.

“Hey Aarav, you won’t mind if we sit here, right?” Tanya asked.

“Of course I’ll mind. You’re annoying as hell,” he shot back with a smirk.

Tanya gave a short laugh, but something flickered in her eyes. For a second, I couldn’t tell if she was offended or just out of comebacks.

“We’ll still sit here,” I said quickly. “You don’t own the cafeteria.”

Just then, the new guy finally looked up—and spoke.

“Oh, so you do talk. I thought you were mute or something. That’s what I figured from how quiet you are in class.”

Ah. That comment again. I’d lost count how many times I’d heard it.

“I’m not mute. I just don’t like speaking in front of people like you.”

The air around the table tightened slightly.

He gave a forced smile, stabbing his fork a little too aggressively into his plate. “Direct from Instagram reels, huh?”

I matched his energy, dragging my knife through my food. “Perfect for a typical aunty comment.”

Aarav gave a half-laugh and smacked his own forehead. “Don’t mind him—he’s been a jerk since birth.”

“She’s just introverted. Don’t mind her either,” Tanya added, tossing both of us an eye roll.

—the jerk—suddenly softened a bit. “I’m Reyansh, by the way,” he said to Tanya, flashing a very different smile.

As the awkwardness eased, we all settled into some light conversation. Eventually, we started clearing our plates.

“Well, I’m off,” Tanya said, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Bunking math class. Got a mock test at coaching.”

“Oh, okay. All the best,” I said.

“Thanks!”

“I’m bunking too,” Reyansh added to Aarav, already standing.

“Why? Your coaching’s after school.”

“Because I want to,” Reyansh said with a shrug. “Don’t tell my mom.”

He grinned and walked out, just as Tanya disappeared down the hallway.

After Tanya and Reyansh left, it was just me and Aarav at the table.

“Let’s g—” he started to say.

“I think I have a book to return to the library,” I cut in quickly. “You go ahead. I’ll catch up.”

Before he could reply, I grabbed my plate and walked off, eyes fixed on the floor like it held the secrets of the universe.

Of course, I had no book to return.

I slipped into the library, letting the quiet swallow me whole. The AC hummed softly, and the dusty scent of old pages wrapped around me like a blanket. I dropped into the nearest seat and buried my face in my arms.

God, what is wrong with me?

Every time I see Aarav, it’s like he turns into a different person—stiff, quiet, almost uncomfortable. Or maybe it’s just me being... me. But I can’t stop thinking about this morning, when I tripped during that stick fight and moreover out of nowhere and landed like a full-blown drama scene right in front of him—and then ran away the moment the assembly bell rang.

That was my grand first impression.

No wonder he acts weird around me.

He probably thinks I’m that strange, clumsy girl who appears, falls, and vanishes like some chaotic cartoon character. I groaned into the desk, the memory playing on loop in my head like a bad meme.

But why do I care so much?

It’s just the first day. I don’t even know him.

And yet—here I am, skipping math class just because the idea of walking next to him again made my soul shrink into a raisin.

“Why? Why?” I suddenly muttered out loud.

A few students looked up from their books, blinking at me like I’d just screamed in the middle of a prayer.

I sat up straight and whispered, “Sorry, sorry.”

Then slouched back down, mentally melting into the chair.

So much for being mysterious and chill.

^^^Aarav pov:   ^^^

I barely heard a word the teacher was saying. My eyes kept drifting to the empty bench beside me.

Where is she?

She said she’d join after returning a book. That was, what—twenty minutes ago? Half the period’s already gone. Maybe she ditched. Maybe she just didn’t want to sit with me again.

Shit.

First, that disaster this morning—her tripping in class because of my my stupid stick fight like something out of an anime. And then Reyansh, with his classic "are-you-mute" comment during lunch. Could it get any worse?

She probably thinks I’m a walking bully or something. Or at the very least, a magnet for chaos.

I just wanted a moment to say sorry, alone—without Tanya, without anyone watching. But nope. Destiny said: Not today, buddy.

I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed.

When did talking to someone become such a mission?

But hey, maybe I’ll get a chance after school. At the gate. That could work.

I just need... five seconds of not being awkward.

^^^Author pov:  ^^^

The final bell rang. A wave of students poured out of the classrooms, buzzing with chatter. Aarav grabbed his bag, unchained his cycle halfheartedly, and paused.

He glanced toward the library. Waited. Looked again.

Still no sign of her.

“I guess she’s taking her time,” he muttered and sighed, then slowly walked to the other end of campus—toward the girls’ cycle parking area.

The moment he stepped in, a subtle ripple passed through the group of girls standing nearby. Whispers rose. Eyes widened.

Wasn’t that... the new guy?

Aarav, fully aware of the growing attention, rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and scanned the line of bikes until one caught his eye.

Purple frame. A smiley sticker near the handle.

Aria Sinha.

“Finally,” he breathed out, pulling a small paper bag from his backpack. He hesitated for a second, then hung it gently from her handlebar and quickly turned to walk away.

“God, I must look like a complete creep right now,” he muttered, speed-walking back toward the boys' gate.

Meanwhile, behind him, the group of girls erupted in excited whispers.

“Was that... a gift bag?”

“For Aria? The quiet girl?”

“The nerd got a boyfriend before any of us?”

“And it’s the cute new guy?!”

“I heard his friend is single too. Someone stop me.”

“No one’s stopping you, babe,” another girl whispered, grinning.

The girls huddled around Aria’s cycle like it was a national artifact, peeking into the bag without touching it.

Inside was a small note, folded neatly.

^^^Aria's pov:    ^^^

I woke up with a jerk, the library still and too quiet around me. Crap. I had totally fallen asleep. How long had I been out?

By the time I reached the cycle parking area, school was nearly deserted—except for a small group of girls buzzing suspiciously around… my cycle?

“Excuse me,” I mumbled, but they didn’t move.

“Please step aside?”

Still no response.

“I mean—aside!” I said louder, basically shoving through them like a polite bulldozer. I grabbed the handlebars and started wheeling the cycle out, not stopping until I was past the gate.

Then I saw it.

A small paper bag hanging from the handle.

I blinked, surprised. I took it off and peeked inside. Just a single band-aid.

And a note.

“Sorry. In the morning you fell because of me. And please put the band-aid. –Aarav”

I stared at the scribbled handwriting. The words sat in my hand like they weighed something.

He could’ve said that in class. Or at lunch. Or literally anywhere else today.

So I was right—he was uncomfortable around me. Maybe I came off too weird. Maybe he regretted even trying to talk to me.

Fine. Whatever. Let’s not make this more complicated.

(Author’s Note: Certified Overthinker alert🥱.)

And honestly, now that I think about it, bunking class over a guy I barely know? Wow, Aria. Brilliant life choices you have board exams this year with college entrance exam you can't get a guy whom you just meet to get to your head, so it will be better, no best if we don't see each other .

I sighed, peeled the band-aid from the wrapper, and slapped it on my knee like it was sealing away the memory of today.

Then I hopped on my cycle and started pedaling away, a little too fast, like I could outrun the awkwardness trailing behind me.

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