Rohit and Vaqzy continued walking toward the classroom. The corridor had become noisier now, with students moving between classes, laughing with their friends, and complaining about the next lecture as if the professor had personally planned it just to ruin their day.
Vaqzy walked quietly, his hands in his pockets, while Rohit kept glancing at him from the side. For once, he didn't say anything about Meera, probably because even he had realized that repeating the same joke for the hundredth time would make it less funny.
They reached the classroom door.
Rohit suddenly stopped.
"Wait."
Vaqzy turned around. "What?"
"I forgot my pen."
Vaqzy looked at the pen in Rohit's hand.
"You have one."
Rohit looked down.
He was holding it.
There was a long silence.
"Right."
Vaqzy shook his head and walked inside.
Rohit followed him.
"I was checking if you were paying attention."
"Sure."
"Very important test."
"You failed."
"That's your opinion."
Vaqzy didn't bother answering.
For Vaqzy, the incident with Meera had become a distant memory. He couldn't believe that he had actually said those five words and he was still not able to understand why Rohit was so obsessed with it. He did not know that Meera was still thinking about the same five words.
As they reached the classroom, most of the students had already taken their seats. Rohit entered first, followed by Vaqzy who adjusted the strap of his bag.
As soon as Vaqzy glanced at the room, his eyes had landed on Meera. She was sitting at her desk, going through her notebook. The same moment, she looked up and their eyes met again.
For a moment, neither of them looked away.
The memory of the corridor came back almost immediately. resurfaced in them both. Meera remembered the awkward collision and the polite return of her items by Vaqzy, followed by his strange goodbye. Vaqzy remembered her apology and was suddenly embarrassed by the fact that his words must have sounded odd. He was not sure why he was so embarrassed this time when he had not been yesterday.
He quickly looked away and walked towards his seat. Meera lowered her eyes and went back to her work. She noticed a smile attempting to form on her lips but quickly ignored it and focused on her notebook again.
They did not speak.
There was no need to.
They barely even knew each other.
Vaqzy sat down next to Rohit, opened his notebook and began preparing for the class. Rohit looked at him.
"So..."
Vaqzy didn't look up. "Don't."
"I haven't said anything."
"I know you."
Rohit smiled. "Fair enough."
A few minutes passed and the professor entered the classroom, commanding a hushed silence from the entire class. Vaqzy focused on the lesson, writing down the important points on the board. Meera did the same, and for a while, it was business as usual.
About fifteen minutes into the lecture, Rohit leaned slightly towards Vaqzy.
"Bhai."
Vaqzy continued writing. "What?"
"One thing."
"What?"
Rohit lowered his voice. "Do you think she thinks you're weird?"
Vaqzy looked at him. "Who?"
Rohit stared at him.
"Seriously?"
Vaqzy followed his gaze to Meera and then back at Rohit.
"Why would she?"
"Because of that."
"I didn't do anything."
"You told her to leave."
"I didn't tell her to leave."
"You literally said—"
"Shh."
The professor suddenly stopped speaking.
The class fell silent.
"Rohit."
Rohit's expression immediately changed. "Yes, sir?"
"Is there something you'd like to share with everyone?"
Rohit shook his head. "No, sir."
"Then why are you talking?"
Rohit looked at Vaqzy for half a second before looking back at the professor.
"I was just discussing the topic, sir."
The professor raised an eyebrow. "With Vaqzy?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Then perhaps you can explain what I just taught."
Rohit's confidence disappeared.
He looked at the board.
Then at his notebook.
Then back at Vaqzy.
Vaqzy suddenly became very interested in writing something.
"Sir..." Rohit started.
"Yes?"
"I understood it."
"Excellent. Explain it."
Rohit stood there silently.
A few students started laughing.
Vaqzy bit his lip, trying hard not to laugh.
Rohit finally said, "Sir, I understood it in my head."
The professor looked at him.
"Then explain what is in your head."
Rohit hesitated.
"That's the problem, sir. It's not coming out."
The entire class burst into laughter.
Even the professor shook his head.
"Sit down, Rohit."
Rohit quickly went back to his seat.
As soon as the professor turned towards the board, Rohit looked at Vaqzy.
His expression was enough to say everything.
I'm going to kill you later.
Vaqzy tried not to smile.
He whispered, "Why are you looking at me?"
"You didn't help me."
"You got yourself into trouble."
"You could have given me the answer."
You said you understood.
"I was trying to look confident."
Vaqzy quietly laughed. "You failed."
Rohit gave him an angry look before looking back at the board.
Vaqzy shook his head and continued writing.
For the rest of the class, Rohit was unusually quiet.
At least until the professor stopped looking at him.
By the time the last class ended, everyone was eager to leave. Students had begun packing their bags and discussing their plans for the evening. Vaqzy shut his notebook, placed it inside his bag and stood up.
Rohit stretched out in his chair. "Finally."
"You say that every day."
"Because every day feels longer than the previous one."
Vaqzy smiled. "I'm leaving."
"Canteen?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I'm going home."
Rohit sighed. "You are becoming boring."
"I've always been boring."
"That's true."
Vaqzy walked out of the classroom towards the college gate. Inside, Meera was surrounded by some of the other students. Since she was new, a few of the girls had started talking to her while a couple of the boys were also trying to get into the conversation. Meera was answering them politely when she noticed Vaqzy walking away.
For some reason, she wanted to call him.
She opened her mouth just slightly.
"Vaqzy..."
But before she could say anything, one of the girls beside her asked another question. Meera turned towards them for a moment but when she looked back at the door, Vaqzy was already gone. She stood there for a second, wondering why she had wanted to call him in the first place.
Maybe she wanted to ask him something.
Maybe she was just curious.
Maybe she wanted to see if he would say something strange again.
She smiled to herself at the thought.
Outside, Vaqzy walked home but would not notice that Meera had tried to call him.
For him, it was just another ordinary college day.
He would have no idea that things were about to become much less ordinary.
The Festival Holiday
College was closed the next day because of the festival.
Vaqzy actually enjoyed his break.
He woke up later than usual and spent some time playing games, worked out for a while, and then stayed at home doing nothing important. After spending most of the day inside, he decided he should go out for lunch. He chose a restaurant that he had visited before and found a table in a quiet corner.
For once, there was no Rohit sitting beside him and no professor telling someone to keep quiet. Vaqzy ordered his food and relaxed as he looked around. The restaurant was fairly quiet when he arrived, but it soon became crowded. More people began flooding in and soon most of the tables were occupied. Some were waiting nearby while others were looking around, hoping someone would finish eating soon.
Vaqzy paid little attention to them.
He was enjoying his food when the restaurant's door opened again and a group of people walked in. At first, he did not look up, but he then heard a familiar voice.
"Is there no table?"
Vaqzy's hand stopped.
He slowly looked towards the entrance.
His expression changed.
Standing there was the girl from the past who had rejected him.
She was with her friends.
And beside her was her new boyfriend.
For a moment, Vaqzy simply looked at her.
He had not expected to see her again.
Old memories came rushing back almost immediately.
He remembered how much he had liked her and the embarrassment that followed after she rejected him. He remembered how he had smiled, acted normal, and pretended that it didn't bother him, as if everything was fine. But deep down, he wasn't fine at all. Her rejection had hurt him more than he ever let anyone see, and even now, a small part of that sadness still remained in his heart.
At least,
Seeing her again made him realize that some memories never fade away just because you stop thinking about them.
Vaqzy quickly turned his gaze to his food.
Please don't notice me.
He did not want any conversations.
He did not want any questions.
And certainly not any jokes about the past.
But it seemed his luck had other plans.
One of her friends suddenly noticed him.
"Wait. Isn't that Vaqzy?"
The girl followed her friend's eyes and looked at him.
Her face changed with recognition.
"Vaqzy?"
He slowly looked up.
"Hi."
She smiled.
"Wow. I didn't expect to see you here."
"Yeah."
She looked around the crowded restaurant.
"You're alone?"
Vaqzy nodded.
"Yes."
One of her friends laughed.
"Still alone?"
Vaqzy gave a small smile but did not respond.
Since there were no more empty tables, they eventually came over to his table. The girl sat across from Vaqzy while her boyfriend sat beside her. Vaqzy moved his plate slightly to make space.
For a few moments, nobody said anything.
Then the girl looked at him.
"So... you still haven't found yourself a girlfriend?"
Her friends laughed.
Vaqzy looked at her.
"No."
"Really?"
She smiled.
"I thought you would have by now."
Her boyfriend laughed.
"Bro, still single?"
Vaqzy looked down at his plate.
"Looks like it."
One of her friends suddenly said, "I remember when he used to like you."
The girl laughed.
"Yeah. He really did."
Vaqzy's fingers tightened slightly around his spoon.
He tried to ignore it.
But the more they talked, the more uneasy he became.
It was not just about the jokes.
It was the fact that they were talking about him as if he was still the same person from years ago.
As if nothing about him had changed.
The girl looked at him again.
"Honestly, Vaqzy, I thought you'd have someone by now."
He forced a small smile.
"Things happen."
She shrugged.
"Maybe nobody wants you."
Her friends laughed again.
This time, Vaqzy did not smile.
He looked down at the table and felt the old embarrassment creeping back up. He hated that feeling and had worked hard to become someone else. He did not want one conversation to take him back to who he used to be.
Vaqzy picked up his glass of water. He was about to stand when he suddenly heard a voice behind him.
"Hey."
"Vaqzy."
He froze.
There was something familiar about that voice.
He slowly turned around.
Meera was standing a few feet away.
She looked at him first, before looking at the people around his table. Her expression changed slightly as she walked towards them.
"Vaqzy."?
He stared at her.
"Yesss?"
Meera smiled.
"I've been looking everywhere for you."
Vaqzy blinked.
"What?"
She did not answer.
Instead, she looked at the people sitting around his table and said casually,
"You didn't tell me your friends were here."
Everyone at the table went quiet.
The girl across from Vaqzy looked confused.
"Who are you?"
Meera looked at her.
Then she looked at Vaqzy.
Vaqzy had no idea what she was doing.
Before he could ask, Meera suddenly stepped closer to him.
Then, in the most casual voice possible, she said,
"He's my boyfriend."
Nobody spoke.
Vaqzy just stared at her.
For a moment, his mind had completely shut down.
The girl from the past was looking at Meera in shock.
Her boyfriend looked confused.
Her friends were exchanging looks.
And Meera was standing beside Vaqzy as if she had just said something completely normal.
Vaqzy slowly turned towards her.
"What?"
Meera sat down beside him.
She leaned slightly closer and whispered,
"Just go with it."
Vaqzy stared at her.
"Go with what?"
Meera tried not to smile.
"Your girlfriend."
Vaqzy looked at her in disbelief.
He had gone to the restaurant alone and wanted a quiet lunch.
Instead, he somehow ended up with a fake girlfriend sitting beside him.
And he still did not understand why.
Across the table, the girl from his past was still staring at them.
For once, she was not laughing.
She looked completely shocked.
Vaqzy looked at Meera again.
Meera gave him a small smile.
And at that moment, he realized something.
Whatever was happening now...
It was definitely going to become a problem.
A BIG PROBLEM
End of Chapter 9
"Sometimes, silence doesn't stop people from hurting you—it only makes them believe you won't fight back."