The next day, Sharma Sir walked into the class holding the answer sheets.
Aarohi's heartbeat spiked, panic flooding her chest.
Aarohi's thoughts:
What if I only got 4 marks? What will everyone say? And seriously, why did I even trust Nirvay?
Sharma Sir began calling out names with their marks.
Aarohi's thoughts (in pure dread):
They're actually announcing names with marks? Oh no, what will I do? I only got 4 out of 20… how humiliating will that sound?
Sharma Sir: "Aarohi Singh — 16 marks."
Aarohi's eyes widened, and a huge smile spread across her face.
Sixteen? I got sixteen? I'm not humiliated! I'm safe! Nirvay did this for me.
She glanced at Nirvay, who was already looking at her, smiling and signalling: Told you so, right?
For the first time, Aarohi smiled back brightly and mouthed, Thank you.
Classes ended, and the students were leaving for home when Nirvay stopped Aarohi and Sukhi.
Nirvay: "So, Aarohi… are we friends now?"
Aarohi: "Yeah… kind of."
Sukhi teased: "Wow, cheating made this friendship happen!" 🤭
Aarohi (playfully hitting Sukhi): "Stop it! You talk nonsense, anytime, anywhere."
Nirvay: "You know, you could've gotten full marks if you hadn't answered those two questions… they were wrong."
Aarohi: "What??"
Okay, I seriously need his help now.
"Fine, Nirvay. Help me understand physics and maths properly."
Nirvay: "Okay, but what's my fee?"
Aarohi: "I'll bring you chocolates and snacks every day." 😊
Nirvay: "Deal. Your tuition starts tomorrow. Just one hour after class—I'll make you understand physics and maths daily."
Sukhi: "Perfect! That'll give me more time to attend my love classes with Ayush." 🙈
They all laughed together.
The next day, Nirvay and Ayush were waiting near the school gate as Aarohi and Sukhi arrived.
Nirvay: "Here, your scooty keys."
Aarohi: "My scooty? It's fixed?"
Nirvay: "Yep, it's perfectly fine now. It's parked outside. Go check."
Aarohi and Sukhi rushed to the parking lot.
Aarohi (hugging her scooty): "Finally, you're back to me!" 🩷
Later, as they entered the classroom, Aarohi went straight to Nirvay's seat.
Aarohi: "Thank you so much! Tell me how much it cost. I'll pay you."
Nirvay (teasing): "You don't have to pay me with money. You'll have to pay me in some other way." 🙃
Aarohi (nervously): "What do you mean? What kind of payment?"
Nirvay (smirking): "Take me out for lunch."
Aarohi (relieved): "Oh! Okay, I'll take you someday."
School was over, and it was Aarohi's first day as a student and Nirvay's first day as her teacher.
Nirvay: "Where's my fee?"
Aarohi (grinning): "The chocolates and snacks I brought… well, I already ate them during lunch. Now I only have empty wrappers left. 🤭"
Nirvay: "I knew you'd do this, so I brought extras myself."
They both laughed, shared the snacks, and began their lessons—not in love, but in physics and maths.
Meanwhile, Sukhi and Ayush were busy attending their "love classes" in their own sweet world.
But on the other side, Shreya was burning with jealousy, and her friends Riya and Piya were happily adding fuel to her fire.
A week passed.
Aarohi and Nirvay had grown extremely comfortable with each other. Nirvay now spent most of his time with Aarohi, only visiting Shreya when she called him.
Sometimes, Aarohi would feel a strange ache when she saw him go to Shreya. But then she'd remind herself:
Don't forget, Nirvay is just your friend. Just a friend.
One afternoon, Aarohi, Sukhi, Nirvay, and Ayush were sitting together in the canteen, laughing and chatting.
Aarohi: "You guys carry on. I'm going to the restroom."
Sukhi: "I'll come too."
Aarohi: "No, you stay. I'll be back soon."
A few minutes later, as Aarohi was inside the restroom stall, Shreya, Riya, and Piya entered the restroom, fixing their makeup in front of the mirror.
Piya: "It's just too much. Aarohi is literally stuck to Nirvay like glue. She's such a clingy girl."
Riya: "You should do something, Shreya. He's your boyfriend."
Shreya (calmly): "Don't worry. I completely trust Nirvay. I've known him since childhood."
Aarohi, quietly inside, overheard everything.
Piya: "Even so, you should control the situation."
Shreya: "Do you really think Nirvay would get serious about that girl? Have you seen her? And you know Nirvay, right?"
Riya: "But he gives her so much attention. You can't ignore that, Shreya."
Shreya: "I asked him the same thing. I told him he's giving too much attention to Aarohi. And you know what he said?
'You know me, Shreya—new toy, new excitement.'" 😉
"So I just told him, 'Play well.'" 🤭🤭
The three of them giggled and walked out of the restroom.
Aarohi was left standing there, frozen, her heart heavy, her mind spinning.
She quietly returned to the classroom, sat at her desk, completely broken inside.