Akira Mehra~

I was about to collapse on the floor after running for fifteen minutes just to reach school. As I crossed the main gate, I leaned against the nearest wall.

"Hey, you go to your class, only five minutes left," the watchman said.

"I'm gonna die for sure..." I muttered, pressing a hand to my chest and taking a deep breath before sprinting toward the building.

I didn't even know where my class was. I stopped near the building and looked around. A girl from another section passed by.

"Hey, listen!" I called between heavy breaths.

"Do you know where 10 C is?"

"Yeah, third floor, left side, fifth room," she replied.

"Fuck it, man..." I mumbled.

I ran toward the stairs again, though I was already exhausted. From now on, I promised myself, I'll wake up early.

Finally, I reached my classroom. I leaned on the door and kissed it. "Finally... I'm here."

I heard my friends laughing. I looked at them and smiled, almost wanting to join in.

"Miss Mehra."

Not now.

I straightened up and stepped into the classroom.

"You're late on the first day of class."

"Nothing new, ma'am," Manya teased with a smile. I glared at her. Next to her, Kriti was sitting.

I looked for Riva and spotted her in the third row, third bench, with Aviraj.

"I'm sorry, ma'am."

"Come inside," she said, shaking her head.

"Wait, where are you going?" the teacher asked as I moved to the last bench. "Your deskmate is Ivaan Singh."

"Who Ivaan?" I whispered.

"The guy on the last row, second-to-last bench," she clarified.

I tiptoed and scanned the room. His gaze was locked on his notebook. I sighed and walked over, sitting beside him. "Hi..." I whispered. He didn't reply, only looked up briefly and nodded.

Wait.

I've seen him.

I know him.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Two years ago, in the middle school park, I saw him laughing with his friends. I got lost in that smile-majestic, effortless. That was the first time I felt my heart tug toward someone I didn't want to look away from.

He was in Section A, maybe. That was the first day I noticed him. I smiled to myself, remembering. Maybe I had a tiny crush back then... or maybe not.

I just liked his smile.

His eyes.

His hair.

Yeah, that's it.

It's not a crush.

It's just... I don't know what it is. But it's not a crush.

I just... love his smile.

His smile.

His eyes.

His hair.

I looked away as ma'am started lecturing about how important this year is. Blah blah...

"And also... this year we decided to change your deskmates. Some students sit with friends like themselves, so this time we reassigned seating. We hope this will help you improve in studies. Especially you, Akira."

I sighed and stood. "Yes, ma'am."

"Your handwriting... It's poor. You're weak in language subjects. Your bench mate is Ivaan, right?" she asked, looking at him.

He nodded and stood as well.

"You're the class topper. I hope you'll help her in her studies. She's not weak in everything-her science is excellent, as far as I know."

"I hope you'll help her," she added.

"Sure," he said calmly, nodding. Then his gaze shifted toward me. I smiled at him, but he didn't look back.

I frowned and turned to the teacher, who continued lecturing. We sat down, and after three classes, it was free period. I looked at Ivaan as I closed my book.

Aaj kuch itna padhaya bhi nahi... yeh subah se pata nahi kya padh raha hai.

[We haven't really studied much... I don't even know what we've been doing since morning.]

"By the way... do you know about me?" I asked. He didn't respond or even glance at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Everyone knows about you," he said calmly. "You're the only girl who can copy anyone's handwriting-or write an entire paper in ten different handwritings."

"Ohhh..." My heart skipped a beat.

"Wait... are you making fun of me?" I asked, sarcasm creeping into my voice.

🐇🌷

School aesthetics are posted on akira's character Account already.

Since English is not my first language you are going to find a lot of grammatical as well as spelling errors in the book. I haven't proofread most of the chapters but I promise you that you will find improvements

in my writing before the end of the book if you are patient enough to ignore the errors.