82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBfuH06Pu2
The day began with a groan from every corner of the classroom.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGcKhP5ITA
"Surprise test in the first period," someone whispered.
And within seconds, panic replaced play.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHyhPFcWTf
Nobody had studied.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YYJeBlWG5
Sambhavi sat upright, her spine stiff with anxiety. She wasn’t one to cheat—ever. She always believed in trying, no matter how hard the question. She began scribbling answers to whatever she knew, lips pressed together, forehead creased.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xPOScTrMQ
She glanced sideways—and saw Rahul leaning subtly over his notebook, flipping through pages like a ninja.
Effortless.
Confident.
A little too cool.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAOb5bayU9
Before she could stop herself, the words slipped out:
“Rahul… can I copy from you?”
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWDuXL9MHp
He looked up, just a flick of the eyes.
“Yeah, sure. Just cover me if the teacher comes around.”
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWxV86WeiUO
Her heart skipped.
This was the first time he spoke to her so casually.
It wasn’t romantic. It wasn’t poetic.
But it felt like a line from her favorite song.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1HBUlMabg
She nodded furiously, cheeks turning that familiar shade of rose.
“I’ll warn you,” she promised.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1mtM1dZFh3
Throughout the test, Sambhavi kept her eyes on the teacher like a hawk, whispering alerts every time the footsteps got close. Rahul copied calmly. When it was all over, she turned to him with a smile.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8pvJ8IIMr
“Thanks,” she whispered.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWRQJeO9Va
He grinned. “No worries.”
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrX6xcgLWZ
And just like that, something tiny, something important… began.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8Dzvyiit0
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LiUgaR1Eo
---
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrM7yKrwnoY
From then on, little moments started stringing themselves together like pearls on an invisible thread.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfTmVqgfB1
Sometimes Rachel would swap seats, and Rahul’s friend would slide into the bench beside him. But Sambhavi stayed.
She made excuses—“I’ll get scolded if I move,” or “I can’t see the board well from there.”
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zhTCyxrvP
The truth?
She couldn’t bear the thought of giving up that spot beside him.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7muFkd9uu
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3JEopyYjo
---
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KmpS8AVmW
One day, during an English class, their teacher stepped out to use the washroom.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWQWD2YkQ6
“Rachel, write down names of anyone who talks.”
The power had been granted.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCoVBg8fge4
And of course, Rahul and Sambhavi couldn't help mocking her. Whispering jokes, laughing at Rachel’s exaggerated seriousness.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSs9BE9B5o
Minutes later, she scribbled both their names on the board.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uZVjN5tJV
Sambhavi gasped. “Rachel, are you mad?!”
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKkCye4NYy
Rahul laughed harder. “She really wrote our names?”
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLWwC48sdP
When the teacher returned, she barely glanced at the board.
“Next time, don’t talk in class,” she said simply.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5C3mZV9EY
No scolding. Just a warning.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqJ7MragUj
Relieved, they all got back to work. Rachel, being her usual overachiever self, quickly finished her assignment and rushed to submit it.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDq5ctvYs5h
“Stop her!” Rahul whispered.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzj1FGlvMgo
In a blink, Sambhavi and Rahul grabbed the back of her shirt, pulling her back like co-conspirators in a comedy scene.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfPsbUKRS6
In that chaotic moment, her fingers brushed against Rahul’s hand.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsniX2ewcfY
Soft. Warm. Feather-light.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJZ84QellN
Her pulse raced.
A first touch.
A blink of connection.
She pulled her hand back, pretending nothing happened, but inside she was melting.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvHwM60esCT
They all burst into laughter and then finished their work together, handing it in as a trio.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdsYAQQ6b2u
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡptLWS07GYl
---
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4RgdzkYZq
On another ordinary afternoon, Rahul was munching on a chocolate, casually leaning against the bench.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7YI4MQITay
Sambhavi leaned toward him and said, “Give me a piece.”
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSpvemZmiPE
“No,” he replied with a teasing smirk.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcr6g3QcEo
“Please…”
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdpfO6rlMq
He turned his face away dramatically.
“Still no.”
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckk5QCHSCI
She nagged. She pouted. She nudged his arm like a kid fighting for the remote.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCj2XqWdHu
Finally, he sighed and handed her a small piece. “Fine. Take it.”
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80qafnRPtR
She popped it in her mouth like it was made of gold.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODVw9W1KKf
That day, Rachel was absent. Sambhavi sat with Rahul and his friend, feeling like she had accidentally stumbled into a dream she didn’t want to wake from.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx73tAXQgh0
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIF2Svr67ow
---
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvFwyYPMFAE
These moments—tiny and ordinary for the world, but everything to her—kept happening.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3VcJnEBn3
She listened closely when he spoke, memorizing the way he said her name.
She peeked at him when he wasn’t looking.
Sometimes, she pretended to sleep, resting her head on the desk, just so she could stare without fear.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0ELdTcd3q
Her feelings weren’t loud.
They didn’t scr
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeuFmnYcTPC
eam.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVZB1KiM2b
They just... bloomed.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rlsQUnc02
Slowly. Softly. Silently.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwojof2wg9L
Like pages turning in a book no one else was reading.
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCwGVWiJoLR
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCQSSYNfEV
82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFc3vf2CRaM
---
ns216.73.216.197da2
