"The Side Character"

The First Day

The bell rang sharp at 7:45 AM, but it didn’t matter to him. Ayaan stood at the school gate, staring at the chaos beyond — boys laughing, backpacks swinging, teachers barking instructions. His fingers tightened around the strap of his bag. His first day at this new school. His third new school in five years.

Nobody waited for him. Nobody even noticed him.

As he walked in, he felt like a ghost wandering through someone else's world — present but invisible.

The classroom was already half full. Noise, energy, groups. Ayaan walked past the rows, ignoring the curious half-glances. He found a seat at the back, by the window — the safest place for someone who didn’t want to be seen. He sat down, placed his books neatly on the desk, and looked outside.

Boys ran across the playground. Some already clicked together like old puzzle pieces. He was just the extra one that never fit.

"Hey, this is our bench," a taller boy said, standing over him.

Ayaan looked up. Three of them, already claiming their territory like wild animals. He said nothing, just gathered his things and moved one row behind — a broken desk with rusted edges. No one sat there. Fitting, he thought.

First period. Then second. The hours passed like strangers brushing against each other on a busy road — brief, indifferent, forgettable.

He didn’t speak.

No one asked him to.

---

At lunch, he pulled out his sandwich, the one his mom packed without knowing what he liked. He chewed slowly, looking around. Groups laughed at shared memories, loud jokes, inside conversations he couldn’t enter. A few students played cricket outside; others leaned on each other, retelling stories from vacations or old crushes.

Ayaan sat under a staircase, alone.

That's when he heard a voice.

"Why’re you eating here like some movie orphan?"

Ayaan looked up. A boy with messy hair, brown skin, and a mischievous grin stood with two lunchboxes in hand. He looked more curious than cruel.

Ayaan gave a half-smile. “Didn’t find a better spot.”

The boy sat beside him without asking. "I’m Arjun. You?"

“Ayaan.”

“You new?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool. Want samosa?”

Ayaan nodded. Took a bite. It was warm, spicy, real. First warm thing he had all day.

They didn’t talk much, but that was fine. Silence was still better when shared.

---

As the days passed, Ayaan found himself fading into the school’s background like a shadow no one paid attention to. He got pushed once or twice. Lost his place in line more than he liked. Fought back once when someone threw his notebook to the floor and called him invisible.

The fight didn’t last long. A teacher shouted, the other boy smirked, and Ayaan was sent to stand outside the class for “disturbing peace.”

He didn’t argue. He never did.

---

By the end of the second week, he knew the names of the loud kids, the bullies, the funny ones, the smart ones. But no one knew his.

He was always there. Always on the edge of photos. Always on the side of groups.

He started keeping a diary in his phone. Not full sentences — just thoughts.

> Lunch alone again.

Arjun was absent. Missed the samosa guy.

That kid Rohit stares at me like I’m a bug on his shoe.

I think I’m getting used to being invisible.

He wasn’t sad, exactly. Just numb. He told himself it was better this way — no friends, no expectations, no disappointments.

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