The sun was slipping lower, painting golden streaks across the Yogamaaya campus. The interviews were done. The whispers were confirmed.
Siddharth Rai had been chosen as the new Head of the Physics Department.
But for now, he sat quietly in his sleek black Mercedes in the parking lot, hands resting on the steering wheel, gaze lost in the crowd outside.
His voice inside his own mind was steady but unsettled.
"Head of Department. A title I worked for. Yet... why does my heart feel restless, as if waiting for something else?"
⸻
Not far from where his car gleamed under the last light, the small café buzzed with laughter and clinking cups ☕. Students sprawled around tables, sharing snacks, teasing each other.
At one corner, three familiar figures sat close.
Akshu leaned over with concern. "Vidhu, stop overthinking it. Forget what happened in class. It wasn't that big."
Her kajal-smudged blue eyes betrayed her, watery yet stubborn 💧. She shook her head. "It was big. Everyone laughed. Everyone saw."
Nikki, the clown in their trio, stretched across the table dramatically. "My darling, don't cry 😢. If you cry, I'll cry too. And then this whole café will drown in our tears."
Akshu smacked his shoulder. "You idiot."
"Fine, fine." Nikki grinned, then put on a ridiculously serious voice. "Vidhu... did you know Newton invented gravity just so you could fall for me?" 😎
Vidhu's lips trembled. A small sound escaped-half a laugh, half a sigh.
⸻
Inside the car, Siddharth's eyes caught that moment.
Her laugh.
He shouldn't have noticed. But he did.
"Those eyes... blue, fragile, fighting their own storms. I don't even know her, yet I feel something move inside me when I look at her. What is this? A professor noticing a student?"
Her laughter spilled like silver bells. He felt the corners of his own mouth twitch.
Before he realized it, he was smiling too. Alone. In the car.
He caught himself, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.
"No. Control yourself, Siddharth. She's a student. This is just... nothing."
But his heart disagreed.
⸻
The café emptied slowly as the sun disappeared. The trio walked together-Vidhu and Akshu side by side, Nikki juggling his bag like a basketball.
"Evening study hours," Akshu groaned. "One hour of pretending to study."
"One hour of me saving you both from boredom," Nikki corrected.
⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻
The Next Morning 🌅
Akshu was already awake, tying her dupatta neatly.
"Vidhu. Wake up. Prayer at six."
A groan rose from the quilt. "Five minutes..."
"Don't start again!" Akshu tugged her blanket.
Vidhu clung to it tighter. "The gods will forgive me 🥱."
Akshu sighed, grabbed her books, and left for the prayer hall.
An hour later, Vidhu shot up in bed, eyes wide at the clock. "8:00?!"
She scrambled, running for the bathroom. "Arghhh, not again! Why me every time!"
She jumped, grabbed her uniform, and rushed.
Running through the hostel corridors, she climbed two steps at a time toward class. Her heart raced. She couldn't afford to get caught again.
ESTÁS LEYENDO
Between the Classes(Two different worlds)
RomanceShe was supposed to be just another student. He was supposed to be just another professor. Vidhu never believed in early mornings, strict rules, or the idea of love waiting inside a classroom. But when Siddharth Rai walked into her college as the ne...
