The classroom was full, but her world stayed small.
Avni sat at her usual spot — middle bench, second row, surrounded by the same two girls she always stuck with. She was half-listening to the maths teacher, half-scanning the last page of her notebook, where she had scribbled a quote:
> "Silence is safer than attachment."
She believed that.
But today…
Her peace was being disturbed.
She could feel someone staring at her. Again.
It had been happening for days — eyes lingering too long, footsteps suddenly behind her, a slight pause when she passed by.
She refused to look.
She didn't want to give it attention.
She didn't care.
Or so she told herself.
But that day, her eyes slipped — for just one second — and locked onto him.
Rishi.
That's what her friend called him.
New in tuition. Silent. Focused.
A little too calm.
A little too curious.
And always watching her.
---
"Tu usse dekh kyun rahi thi?"
her friend whispered.
Avni quickly turned away, annoyed at herself.
"Mujhe laga woh mujhe dekh raha tha."
"Aur tujhe bura nahi laga?"
"Mujhe farq nahi padta," she lied.
But that night, for the first time, she remembered someone's eyes before sleeping.
---
The next day, he walked past her on the staircase.
For the first time… he smiled.
She didn't smile back.
But she didn't look away either.