ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙᴇᴀᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀʟʟᴡᴀʏꜱ

.Unexpected Falls༊˚

AUTHOR'S POV:

Ishan was looking at Avni, as if he was proud of her. When Avni looked at him, he placed his hand on her head and said, "You are amazing, Miss. Einstein."

Before Avni could respond, the teacher entered the room, and the class continued. After the class ended, it was lunch break. Aaron and Ishan went to the canteen, while Nidhi and Avni walked there hand in hand, chatting. Once they all got their food, they found a place to sit.

Nidhi said, "Avni, you're ready for the presentation, right? We have Ishan here too, in case you need help-"

Avni interrupted, "No need, I can handle it. Just send me the slides, and I'll review them."

Nidhi turned to Ishan, "Send her the slides."

Ishan nodded and sent the slides to Avni. She quickly finished her food and headed to the classroom to review the slides in peace, as it was empty. Ishan followed her after he finished eating.

As Avni was reading through the slides, Ishan came and sat next to her.

Avni looked up and asked, "You? Here?"

Ishan replied, "Why not?"

Avni shook her head and asked, "What did you call me earlier?"

Ishan grinned and said, "Miss. Einstein."

Avni asked, "Why?"

Ishan shrugged, "Why not?"

Avni sighed and returned to reviewing the slides. Soon, the other students began returning to the classroom, and the teacher arrived.

Mr. Gupta greeted, "Good morning, students."

All the students said in unison, "Good morning, sir."

Mr. Gupta continued, "I hope you all have prepared your presentations."

The students responded together, "Yes, sir."

"Good," Mr. Gupta said. "Each group will come forward, and one out of the four will present while the others will assist."

One by one, each group presented their models and topics. When it was Neha's team's turn, their slides didn't open at first, and when they finally did, some were ruined while others were missing. To add to the trouble, Neha messed up during her presentation.

Finally, it was Avni's team's turn. They all went to the front, with Avni standing before the board, facing the class, while Nidhi, Aaron, and Ishan stood infornt of her, watching. The slides played on the smart board in the background. Avni began speaking, explaining each topic so effortlessly that even a kindergarten student could understand. She used a few objects as planned to explain the concepts visually.

Aaron helped the teacher record her presentation, while Nidhi showed thumbs-up, silently cheering her on.

Meanwhile, Ishan was lost, lost in Avni's brilliance. Her intelligence, confidence, and the way she effortlessly commanded the room held his full attention. It wasn't just her words, but the grace with which she presented them that mesmerized him. For a moment, everything else faded away, and all he could focus on was her.

After Avni finished, the room filled with applause. Mr. Gupta couldn't help but praise her.

"Well done, Avni," he said, beaming with pride. "I'm so proud of you. You balanced studying for the national physics test and delivered an excellent presentation."

Avni smiled and replied, "It wasn't just my effort, my team did a lot more than me."

Mr. Gupta nodded in agreement. "Indeed, you all did a fantastic job."

He then took some pictures of each group with their models and left the class, as the period had ended.

It was games period, and everyone headed to the ground. As usual, Aaron and Ishan went to play basketball, while Nidhi and Avni sat on a bench nearby, chatting and watching the game. Today, however, Neha wasn't around the match, she was in the washroom with her friends, plotting something sinister.

Neha, frustration boiling over, vented to her friends, "That bitch is really getting on my nerves now, everyone's praising her. I need to do something."

Her friends nodded in agreement, and together, they concocted a plan. As the games period was coming to an end, and students began returning to the classroom to grab their bags and head home, Avni and Nidhi started making their way back as well.

Out of nowhere, Neha appeared, her face a mask of false innocence. She deliberately bumped into Avni with just enough force to send her off balance. Avni stumbled and fell hard onto the rough ground, scraping her knees and palms.

Nidhi immediately rushed to her side, concern evident in her voice. "Are you okay?"

Avni nodded slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, though the pain was clearly visible on her face.

Neha smirked smugly, satisfied with her petty revenge, and walked away as if nothing had happened.

Avni tried to stand up but failed. Nidhi said, "Don't move, it will hurt more."

Soon, Ishan and Aaron arrived.

Ishan asked, "What happened?"

Before Avni could answer, Nidhi spoke up, her voice filled with anger. "Neha happened. She 'accidentally' bumped into Avni, but it was clearly on purpose."

Ishan's expression darkened, but he focused on helping Avni. He removed his jacket and wrapped it around her skirt, then lifted her into his arms and carried her to the medical unit. Finding it empty, he retrieved the medical kit and cleaned her wounds, applied bandages, and used some pain reliever spray.

Avni looked at him gratefully. Nidhi and Aaron arrived with Avni's and Ishan's backpacks.

Nidhi said, "We should inform the teacher."

Avni shook her head. "It's fine. She might not have done it intentionally."

Ishan, still kneeling beside her, looked up and said, "We'll deal with this later."