09-04-2025, 04:13 AM
Episode 10: Something Has Shifted
The answer sheets had been marked. The mid-term math exam was done, and the staff room was unusually quiet that afternoon—teachers bent over red pens and half-drunk tea cups.
Meera sat by the window, flipping through the last of her batch. The pile was mostly what she expected—some careless mistakes, a few rushed final sections, the usual overconfidence followed by underperformance.
Until she got to Arjun’s paper.
She blinked. Scanned it once. Then again.
Neat. Focused. His steps were clean. His logic held. His mistakes were few.
82 out of 100.
He had never gone above 60 before.
She paused for a moment, holding the paper in her hand. Not because of the score—but because she realized she wasn’t surprised. Somewhere in her, she had expected this.
---
Later – In the Staff Room
“Guess who topped in my class?” Meera asked, setting Arjun’s answer sheet aside.
Priya looked up from her own pile of essays. “Don’t tell me it’s one of the usual toppers.”
Meera smiled faintly. “Nope. Arjun. Quiet one. Middle-row.”
Priya raised a brow. “Seriously? What happened to him?”
“I don’t know,” Meera replied, sipping her now-cold tea. “Something shifted. He’s been more… focused lately.”
Priya leaned back in her chair. “Focused on math, or on you?”
Meera shot her a look. “Come on.”
“I’m not saying anything inappropriate happened,” Priya said, raising her hands. “I’m just saying... you noticed. He noticed. Maybe that gave him a reason to step up.”
Meera didn’t respond at first. She looked out the window, thoughtful.
“He’s not a bad kid,” she said finally. “Just a little... intense, sometimes.”
Priya grinned. “Intense boys usually end up breaking rules or breaking records. Let’s hope he sticks to the second one.”
Meera laughed softly, but her thoughts were elsewhere.
---
In the Classroom – The Next Day
Meera handed back the graded papers one by one. When she reached Arjun, she placed his on his desk, upside down.
He flipped it over.
82.
His heart skipped. It wasn’t just the number—it was the red-ink circle, the faint pencil tick next to a perfect equation, and the comment in the corner:
“Well done.”
Underlined. Two words. But from her, it felt like gold.
He looked up briefly.
She had already moved on to the next row.
But the small smile on her lips didn’t leave her face for the rest of class.
---
After college – Arjun’s Walk Home
He walked slower than usual, bag slung over one shoulder, earbuds in but no music playing. The paper was tucked into his notebook, but he’d already memorized it.
It wasn’t about the marks.
It was about her noticing. Her writing those two words. The idea that, even for a second, he had done something that made her pause.
He smiled to himself.
This wasn’t just a crush anymore.
It was purpose.
To be continued…
The answer sheets had been marked. The mid-term math exam was done, and the staff room was unusually quiet that afternoon—teachers bent over red pens and half-drunk tea cups.
Meera sat by the window, flipping through the last of her batch. The pile was mostly what she expected—some careless mistakes, a few rushed final sections, the usual overconfidence followed by underperformance.
Until she got to Arjun’s paper.
She blinked. Scanned it once. Then again.
Neat. Focused. His steps were clean. His logic held. His mistakes were few.
82 out of 100.
He had never gone above 60 before.
She paused for a moment, holding the paper in her hand. Not because of the score—but because she realized she wasn’t surprised. Somewhere in her, she had expected this.
---
Later – In the Staff Room
“Guess who topped in my class?” Meera asked, setting Arjun’s answer sheet aside.
Priya looked up from her own pile of essays. “Don’t tell me it’s one of the usual toppers.”
Meera smiled faintly. “Nope. Arjun. Quiet one. Middle-row.”
Priya raised a brow. “Seriously? What happened to him?”
“I don’t know,” Meera replied, sipping her now-cold tea. “Something shifted. He’s been more… focused lately.”
Priya leaned back in her chair. “Focused on math, or on you?”
Meera shot her a look. “Come on.”
“I’m not saying anything inappropriate happened,” Priya said, raising her hands. “I’m just saying... you noticed. He noticed. Maybe that gave him a reason to step up.”
Meera didn’t respond at first. She looked out the window, thoughtful.
“He’s not a bad kid,” she said finally. “Just a little... intense, sometimes.”
Priya grinned. “Intense boys usually end up breaking rules or breaking records. Let’s hope he sticks to the second one.”
Meera laughed softly, but her thoughts were elsewhere.
---
In the Classroom – The Next Day
Meera handed back the graded papers one by one. When she reached Arjun, she placed his on his desk, upside down.
He flipped it over.
82.
His heart skipped. It wasn’t just the number—it was the red-ink circle, the faint pencil tick next to a perfect equation, and the comment in the corner:
“Well done.”
Underlined. Two words. But from her, it felt like gold.
He looked up briefly.
She had already moved on to the next row.
But the small smile on her lips didn’t leave her face for the rest of class.
---
After college – Arjun’s Walk Home
He walked slower than usual, bag slung over one shoulder, earbuds in but no music playing. The paper was tucked into his notebook, but he’d already memorized it.
It wasn’t about the marks.
It was about her noticing. Her writing those two words. The idea that, even for a second, he had done something that made her pause.
He smiled to himself.
This wasn’t just a crush anymore.
It was purpose.
To be continued…
![[+]](https://xossipy.com/themes/sharepoint/collapse_collapsed.png)