The Boy on the Other Side of the Screen

The first day of 11th standard always feels important.

New subjects. New teachers. New classmates. A fresh chapter.

Even though it was online, she still wore her uniform properly. She tied her hair neatly, adjusted her notebook, and sat straight in front of her laptop.

“This is a new beginning,” she told herself.

The online classroom slowly filled with small glowing squares. Some cameras were off. Some students were adjusting angles. Some looked nervous.

Then one camera switched on.

And everything changed.

He appeared casually on the screen, slightly leaning back in his chair. His hair was messy in a way that didn’t look intentional—but somehow suited him. His earphones hung loosely, and there was a calmness in his face that stood out from everyone else’s anxious expressions.

She blinked.

Her heart skipped.

Who is he?

The teacher started speaking about the syllabus, exams, and expectations. But her focus slowly shifted.

His eyes weren’t on the slides.

They were lowered.

His fingers were moving quickly—too quickly.

Tap. Tap. Swipe. Tap.

She looked carefully.

His shoulders moved slightly. His expression changed every few seconds—sometimes serious, sometimes slightly frustrated, sometimes smirking.

Realization hit her.

He’s playing a game under the screen.

On the first day. Of 11th standard.

She should have been annoyed.

Instead, she felt something unexpected—a soft laugh escaped her lips.

“How is he so relaxed?” she whispered.

While everyone else was pretending to be attentive, he was living in his own little world beneath the camera frame.

She couldn’t stop watching him.

The way his eyebrows tightened during an intense moment. The quick movements of his fingers. The tiny victorious smile that appeared for a second.

The teacher called his name suddenly.

He looked up instantly.

For one heartbeat—

Their eyes almost met.

Her chest tightened.

She quickly looked down at her notebook, pretending to write something important. But her pen wasn’t moving.

Her heart was.

Loud. Fast. Uncontrollable.

Why am I reacting like this? It’s just a boy.

She didn’t know his favorite subject.

She didn’t know his voice yet.

She didn’t even know if he had noticed her existence.

But she knew one thing clearly—

She wanted to keep looking at him.

When the class ended, students started logging off.

One by one, the squares disappeared.

But she stayed.

Just for a few seconds longer.

He was still there.

Still tapping under the screen.

Still in his little gaming universe.

She smiled to herself.

“That gamer boy,” she thought.

That night, while revising the first lesson of 11th standard, her mind drifted again and again.

Not to formulas.

Not to definitions.

But to him.

To the careless boy who didn’t pay attention on the first day.

To the boy who didn’t know that someone had already started admiring him silently.

She didn’t realize it yet.

But that tiny digital square…

That hidden game beneath the screen…

Was the very first moment her heart chose him.

And this was only the beginning of a love story neither of them saw coming.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***