the untold story of class 9th

A friendship left unfinished

The first day of class 9 felt like a fresh start. The bell rang, and everyone rushed into the classroom with new books, new bags, and the same old excitement. I had been in this school since class 6, so I knew almost everyone. Only a few new students looked a little lost, trying to find their places.

I walked in with my friend Liba, and as usual, we went straight to the last bench. From there, I could see the whole class..some kids chatting loudly, some already copying notes, and a few just staring at the board like they were too tired to care.

Right in front of me sat a boy I hadn’t really noticed before. He was quiet, just sitting straight, not talking much. At first, I didn’t pay attention to him at all.

But then came history class.

“Take out your books,” the teacher said.

I froze. Liba froze too. Neither of us had brought the book. On the very first day. We looked at each other and burst into small laughs, then leaned forward to ask the boy in front of us.

“Can we share your book?” I asked politely.

He slid the book a little towards us without saying much.

That’s when I saw it.

The whole book was highlighted..lines underlined, important points marked neatly. It looked like he had already studied the entire chapter. My eyes widened. Seriously? On the first day?

I couldn’t stop myself.
“You… actually completed it? It’s the first day,” I whispered.

He turned his head slightly, calm and confident.
“Yeah. I like history. It’s interesting
.”
In my head, I rolled my eyes. Ugh, topper vibes.

Days passed, and slowly the new session started to feel normal. By then, me, Liba  and the “history boy (raaj)" had become friends. He wasn’t as boring as I first thought..actually, he was smart in his own quiet way.

Soon the teacher decided to change our seats. Now I was sitting with another new boy, while Liba was right behind me. But even with the change, the three of us..me, Liba, and raaj still talked a lot and studied together.

Life in class was fun. I was always busy with something...answering questions, joining activities, or raising my hand before anyone else. English was my obsession. I studied it even before the teacher explained, so in class, I could answer almost everything. It gave me a weird kind of thrill to know the answer when others were still flipping pages.

And then there were all the extra things I loved..art, dance, music. You name it, and I was there, giving my best. The teachers noticed too, which only made me more determined to stay on top of everything.

With raaj, things turned out a little different than I expected. Whenever there was a debate in class, the teacher almost always chose me and him. Maybe because most of the students were too shy to speak in front of everyone, and we were the only two who actually enjoyed it.

And honestly, it was fun. We both spoke with confidence, gave strong points, and never backed down. But every time, before anyone could be declared the winner, the bell rang or the period ended. Which meant… it always stayed a tie.

Not because we were unbeatable or anything dramatic. Just because time ran out.

Still, it became our thing...me and him, standing in front of the whole class, debating until the teacher finally said, “Okay, enough for today.” And then we’d return to our seats, smiling a little at how it always ended the same way..

A few days later, something strange happened.
Raaj's dad received a call..some threatening words, something like “if your son goes out, he won’t come back.” Scary, right? Somewhere in his mind, he connected it with Liba's cousin. I don’t know why, but from that day their friendship broke apart. It was uncomfortable, and I could feel the shift.

Then, as if on cue, the teacher changed our seats again. This time, I was moved to one corner of the class, sitting with another new boy. Raaj was placed with Aadya

Now, Aadya and I had been in the same class since 6th grade, but we were never that close. Still, she always seemed like a nice girl to me. In front of me sat Anushka and ayaan On the surface, everything looked fine. Normal.

But slowly, I started noticing little changes.

Anushka , Aadya, and Raaj.... their behavior shifted. We were friends, right? Then why did it feel like they were hiding something from me? Why those secretive looks, the sudden silences when I walked by?

And then came the teasing.

Anushka and Aadya would laugh and ask me questions like,
“Do you like him?”
“Why do you always sit near him?”

I hated it. What the hell? He’s just a friend. That was it. Nothing more. But they kept bringing it up, again and again, like it was some kind of joke only they enjoyed.

What confused me more was how Anushka always knew things that only raaj and I had talked about. Like once, when I blocked him from my phone just for fun, Anushka  asked me the next day, “Why did you block him?”

That hit me. Wait… how did she even know?

I began to wonder..maybe Anushka liked him? That would explain why she was so interested in everything about him. I told this to another friend, but that friend ended up telling Anushka. And just like that, the whole thing exploded.

Anushka turned against me. She said so many rude things..words I don’t even fully remember now, but they hurt enough to make me cry.

Months later, I walked into class one morning and heard something that froze me in my place.
Raaj… had a crush on me.

What?

The next day, I confronted him directly. I didn’t want confusion, I didn’t want drama.
“You’re nothing more than a friend,” I told him. “Focus on your studies.”

After that, things changed. Slowly, we drifted apart. Conversations became shorter, then rare, and finally, silence.

And just like that, the friendship that once felt simple and strong… was gone.