𝐓𝐔𝐌 𝐊𝐘𝐀 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄

𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

𐙚˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩

chapter sixteen

late nights and brownies

𐙚˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩

Anjali's POV

The days following the trip were an indistinct blur, a whirl of unrelenting deadlines and looming exams. I barely had a minute to pause and reflect on anything—let alone think about Veer and Tarini, or whatever was going on between them.

Or, more importantly, whatever was going on between Dhruv and me.

It wasn't just me feeling this pressure, though. The entire school was practically losing its mind over the upcoming prelims. After an off mid-term, everyone was scrambling to recover. Even though these exams wouldn't factor into our final grade, they still mattered. Colleges would ask for them. You'd want a good score to keep your future prospects intact. At the end of the day, no one could escape the inevitable drive to score well.

I stood in front of my desk, hands planted firmly on my hips, staring at the whiteboard hanging above it. My head tilted as I squinted at the equation scrawled in front of me, wondering for the hundredth time why it wasn't clicking. Physics had never been my strong suit—hence, why I'd asked Dhruv for help in the first place. We'd been tutoring each other before the trip, and for a while, it had been enough. I'd made progress.

At least, I thought I had. But this equation? It was mocking me.

Groaning in frustration, I plopped back into my chair, the weight of it all settling in. I was teetering on the edge of giving up, but I couldn't afford to. Not with a physics exam tomorrow—first of the prelims, lucky me—and I still had so much left to revise. No competition in sight, but still, there was a title to uphold. Parents to answer to. Expectations, everywhere.

A knock at the door interrupted my spiraling thoughts, and before I could respond, my sister's head popped in, her familiar mischievous smile plastered on her face. Akshu Tai always had that knowing look—like she was in on some cosmic joke that I wasn't. She sauntered into the room with two cups of coffee, setting one on my desk as she settled herself on the bean bag by my bed.

I sighed. It wasn't very healthy, for me to be chugging down the glass of coffee so late into the night. But I had a Physics examination the next day— which by the way was the first prelim, to my vain— and I needed to get the entire revision done before it was morning. I could not afford losing marks this time. Even if I had no competition, I still had a title to uphold. And parents to answer to.

"You know," Akshu Tai said, sipping her coffee loudly. "Back when Aai and Baba left me alone, I used to sneak out. Go to a party or something. What are you doing just staring at that board like it's gonna solve itself?"

I shot her a withering look, too exhausted to even come up with a snarky reply. I just hoped she'd take the hint. She did, chuckling to herself as she took another sip. "Okay, fine, I get it," she teased. "But didn't Dhruv help you with this stuff?"

My eyebrows furrowed as I stared at the board again, trying to remember. Did he help me with this specific equation? I wasn't sure. Her voice broke through my thoughts again. "You could always call him, you know."

I shifted in my seat uncomfortably when she mentioned that. I hadn't thought about Dhruv since the trip ended—not consciously, at least. It wasn't like we needed to talk regularly, but the trip had stirred something. We'd talked a lot. Maybe too much for me to ignore. But now, after everything, it just felt... odd. Casual. Like we were closer than we actually were.