The rain had stopped by the time Aarohi reached home but the streets were still covered with puddles. She walked slowly with her tote bag slung over one shoulder but her mind miles away from the wet road under her feet.
She had planned to scroll through her phone or maybe watch something then just crash onto the bed. But all throughout dinner and even while changing into an old T-shirt one conversation kept playing on a loop.
And you gave it back with a thank you note. I probably still have it I think.
she sank onto her bed, pulling her knees closer and letting out a soft laugh. He remebered that. Something so small, something so meaningless, at least to her then.
she barely remembered writing the note. She’d been very nervous before that math exam and failing wasn’t definitely an option with her parents breathing down her neck. And he had handed her a pen like it was nothing.
No drama. No teasing like the other boys might have done. Just quietly helping.
Her eyes drifted to the ceiling. Why did that memory suddenly feel so important?
She closed her eyes and tried to picture him the way he looked back then in school with his shorter hair, school tie knotted a little too perfectly and a slight slouch in his shoulders like he wanted to disappear behind the last row of desks. He was never the kind to compete for attention. Never loud.
Memories of another day suddenly plagued her mind. It was another rainy day when all the sports classes were cancelled. Their class stayed in chatting or gossiping with each other or just doing anything other than sitting calmly. She was drawing as usual in her notebook while her friends sat beside her, spilling all the latest gossips. It was then she looked up to stretch her neck a bit but saw him. Arjun, That quiet guy in the corner staring out the window.
It was like he was listening to something only he could hear. And just then as if he could feel her eyes he looked at her but just then Aarohi looked into her notebook, not to seem like a staring creep.
It was an insignificant thing then, but it stayed.
It had stayed with her. Not because it meant anything then, but because it was rare to see someone so calm in a world that always wanted noise and lived in chaos.
Aarohi smiled faintly. Funny how she had forgotten all this until now.
Her phone buzzed, snapping her back. A message from her best friend popped up- “You disappeared! Where’ve you been all week?”
She typed back something vague, “Busy with work”.
and then tossed the phone aside. She didn’t want to explain this weird flutter in her chest. It wasn’t a crush. Not yet. Just curiosity. Yes, that's it. That was all.
Except curiosity didn’t usually make you replay conversations in your head. Like what she could have said on the bus. How she could have asked him more.
Her fingers traced the seam of her pillow as another thought crept in.
What if he doesn’t take this bus every day? What if today was the last time?
The idea made her stomach dip unpleasantly.
She shook her head laughing under her breath. You’re ridiculous Aarohi.
She closed her eyes and let the hum of the city outside fill the silence. Why did one short bus ride feel like a whole movie scene stuck in her head?
It’s nothing, she told herself. Just an old classmate. Just coincidence.
Except as she pulled the blanket over herself, another thought crept in quietly, dangerous.
Will he be there tomorrow?
She shook her head laughing softly. Ridiculous. But her heart gave a small, traitorous skip at the thought.
Still when she plugged in her phone to charge, her last thought before sleep was of a boy in a black hoodie, smiling like he meant it.
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