ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙᴇᴀᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀʟʟᴡᴀʏꜱ

.Group Study༊˚

AVNI'S POV :

Neha left the room after the teacher dismissed her. The teacher then turned to Ishan and said, "Thank you, Ishan, for bringing this to my attention. You did the right thing."

He then addressed me, "Avni?"

I looked at him nervously.

He continued, "You should have reported this earlier, Avni. Don't keep things to yourself. If you face any problems, inform your teachers—at least me, your class teacher."

I just nodded. Then we both left the room, as the teacher signaled us to.

Ishan headed to the classroom to pack his bag, as school was about to end soon. I wanted to thank him for helping me, but I couldn't as he sped up to reach the classroom. I went to the playground, but no one was there. Maybe they all were in the classroom. So, I went to the classroom and found Nidhi and Aaron along with Ishan in the classroom; the others had already left.

I went to Nidhi and said, "I am sorry, Nidhi. I should have listened to you."

Nidhi remained silent. When she noticed my downcast face, she said, "Are you going to cry? Because I didn't bring tissues. But seriously, it's alright. I was wrong too. I shouldn't have lost my temper."

I chuckled at her response. Nidhi and Aaron chuckled too, but Ishan didn't.

Nidhi said, "Still, I haven't forgiven you. You have to make it up to me."

I replied, "I know how to make you happy though."

"Really?" Nidhi asked.

"Yeah. Food!" I said with a grin.

Aaron said, "You really know her well in just one day."

"That's what best friends are for," I replied, hugging Nidhi.

I released Nidhi and said, "I’ll treat you tomorrow. Today, I have to go to my tutor again." I glanced at Ishan, who was acting being busy with his phone.

"Let's study together. We have to also appear the test, and I haven't started studying yet", Nidhi said.

Aaron agreed. I nodded and went to Ishan, asking, "They can join us, right?"

Ishan got up from his seat and said, "Do whatever you want," before leaving the room.

I thought, "What a weird person. I was right to call him Mr. Weird Malhotra."

I said, "Let's go!" to Nidhi and Aaron.

We reached the library, where Ishan was already settled. We went over and took our seats near him.

Ishan took out his Botany and Zoology notes and laid them on the desk.

"Read and memorize them. I don’t think there’s much to teach in this," he said.

"We can do this at home as well. Why don’t you teach us Physics or Chemistry?" I asked.

"I don’t feel like teaching today. Just read these. I’m heading home," Ishan replied, gathering his things.

Nidhi joked, "Isn’t the tutor a bit lazy today?"

We chuckled, but then a book fell, and Neha appeared.

She approached us and said, "I'm really sorry, Ishan. It was a mistake, or maybe not... It won’t happen again, trust me. I don’t want you to misunderstand me."

Ishan didn’t look at her and said, "Shouldn’t you be apologizing to someone else?"

Neha's gaze shifted to me, and though she seemed hesitant, she said, "Oh yes… I’m sorry, Avni. Let’s be friends from now on."

I was taken aback by her sudden change and just nodded in response.

Neha then asked, "Can I join you guys?"

I nodded, and Ishan stood up. "Read those notes and return them to me tomorrow," he said. "I’m leaving now." He exited the library.

Neha added, "I think I remembered some work, so I’ll leave as well." She followed Ishan out.

Nidhi shook her head and remarked, "She wanted to join us only because of Ishan. What a sly."

I replied, "Forget her. Let’s focus on studying."

We then spent the next two hours studying productively. I worked on chemistry from the book by myself, planning to memorize Ishan's notes at home. Even though I could understand most of the things, I still needed some help. I decided to ask the teacher or Ishan tomorrow.

But then I thought, "Why would I ask him!? He didn’t even help me today... I mean, he did, but not with the studies. Such a weird person."

After two hours, Nidhi said, "I can't study anymore. I'm exhausted."

I replied, "We've been at it for quite a while. Let's grab something to eat before we head out."

Nidhi asked eagerly, "You're treating us, right?"

I said, while packing my bags, "Yes, your favorite, donuts."

Aaron chimed in, "Looks like I'll miss out. I need to head home now; I don't want to be late for basketball practice."

Nidhi teased, "Your loss."

Aaron left for home, and Nidhi and I headed to the cafeteria. I bought donuts for Nidhi, and we enjoyed them together. Afterward, she went home, and I made my way to the bus stop.

I got on the bus and took a window seat. Plugging in my earphones, I started listening to some music.

As I thought about Ishan, I realized, "I should at least thank him, no matter how weird he is."

I began texting him: "Thank you (x3). One for congratulating me earlier, one for helping me complain to the teacher, and one for the notes."