Things people notice

By the fourth day, the bench wasn’t something Aarav thought about anymore.

He just went there.

Class 9–C was already half full when he entered. Bags lay open, someone was arguing about homework, the fan made its usual rattling sound. Ananya was sitting at the last bench, leaning her elbow on the desk, reading something from her notebook.

“You’re late,” she said, not looking up.

He checked the clock. “Barely.”

She glanced at it too. “Barely still counts.”

He sat down. “You sound like the attendance register.”

She smiled despite herself. “Someone has to.”

That was how things were now. Easy. Familiar. Like they’d been sitting there for weeks instead of days.

The first few periods passed without much happening. They shared notes when one of them missed a line. Once, their hands brushed while reaching for the same pen, and both pretended it hadn’t happened.

By lunch, Aarav was standing near the water cooler, waiting his turn, when someone called out to him.

“Aarav.”

He turned. Riya from his section stood there with her math notebook hugged to her chest.

“Can you explain question five?” she asked. “I don’t get the last step.”

He hesitated, then nodded. “Sure.”

They leaned over the notebook. Aarav pointed at the page, explaining slowly. It took less than two minutes.

He didn’t notice Ananya walking past with her friends.

She noticed him, though.

She slowed down, looked once, then kept walking. She didn’t say anything. Didn’t stop. Just pressed her lips together and listened to her friends talk about something she didn’t hear properly.

Back in class, Ananya sat down a little later than usual.

“You okay?” Aarav asked, quietly.

“Yeah,” she said. Too quickly.

He waited. “You sure?”

She opened her notebook. “Can we not do this right now?”

“Do what?”

She paused. “Nothing. Just—listen to the class.”

The bench felt different after that. Not cold. Just… distant.

During English, she didn’t ask for the page number. During history, she didn’t lean over to check his notes. Aarav kept wondering what he’d missed.

When the last bell rang, he tried again.

“Library?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Not today.”

“Oh,” he said. “Okay.”

She walked away with her friends. Halfway to the door, she slowed, like she might turn back. She didn’t.

That evening, the talking started. It always did.

Someone saw Aarav with Riya.

Someone added a little extra to the story.

Someone passed it on.

By the next morning, Ananya had heard enough to make things feel heavier than they were.

In Class 9–C, she didn’t walk to the back.

She sat two rows ahead.

Aarav stood near the door for a second before sitting down. The empty space beside him felt louder than noise ever had.

During the break, he walked up to her desk.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

She stared at her notebook. “No.”

“Then why are you sitting here?”

She finally looked at him. “You’re allowed to talk to whoever you want.”

“I know,” he said. “But this isn’t about that, is it?”

She didn’t answer.

Before he could say anything else, the teacher called out, “Ananya, stay back after class.”

Ananya looked at Aarav once. Just once.

Then she turned away.

The bell rang.

Students rushed out.

And the last bench by the window stayed empty—

Waiting, like neither of them knew who would sit there tomorrow.

How was the episode guys, give me some feedback in comments to make it better 👀

See ya all in episode 5

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