Silent Vows

Chapter 2

The second week of the semester had settled into its usual rhythm: lectures, group assignments, and late-night study sessions. Karan had barely thought about Meera after their awkward project talk, dismissing her as another overly-serious student who’d keep to herself. But one afternoon, as he walked through the quad, he spotted her sitting on a bench with another student.

The guy was tall, with a friendly smile and an easygoing manner. He was talking animatedly, his hands gesturing as if painting a picture in the air, while Meera listened with a faint, reserved smile. There was something comfortable in the way they sat together, as though they’d done this a hundred times. As their conversation wrapped up, he leaned over and wrapped her in a brief, affectionate side hug. Meera let him hug her but didn’t hug him back, simply sitting still and accepting it with a faint, almost amused look in her eyes.

Karan’s jaw tightened as he watched. She was so different from the girls he was used to—girls who’d light up at the smallest spark of attention, who knew how to charm their way into his thoughts. Meera, though, barely acknowledged him. She hadn’t smiled, hadn’t joked, hadn’t even seemed remotely interested. And for what? She wasn’t anything extraordinary in his eyes. Her looks were plain, her style simple. No glamour, no flash. Just a quiet girl who acted like he was some kind of inconvenience.

“Hey, earth to Karan?” Sameer’s voice cut through his thoughts, nudging him in the ribs. “You’re watching someone, and she doesn’t seem to be paying you any attention? Who is she?”

Karan shrugged, his tone nonchalant. “Just my project partner, Meera. Thought she was one of those loner types, but I guess she’s got time for that guy.”

Sameer raised an eyebrow. “Maybe she’s friendlier to people she actually likes.”

Karan rolled his eyes, brushing it off. “She’s putting on a show, probably thinks ignoring me will make me try harder. Little does she know, I’m not that interested.”

Sameer snorted. “Right. Good luck with that.”

Karan watched as Meera and her friend—Arav, if he’d heard right—stood up and headed their separate ways. He’d half expected her to melt into the guy’s embrace, but she didn’t seem to respond to him the way he’d seen other girls respond to him. It made him oddly irritated, though he tried to shake it off. He had more important things to think about than a plain, snobbish girl who thought she could keep him at a distance.

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The rest of the week went by without much interaction between them, though Karan couldn’t help but find his thoughts drifting to Meera at odd times. Part of him wondered if there was something behind her aloofness, some reason she kept people at such a distance. He wasn’t sure why he cared, but the mystery of it nagged at him.

On Friday, they met in the library to work on their project. Karan pulled up a chair across from her, determined to make this meeting more than just business. “So, I went over your outline. It’s solid,” he said, trying to sound like he wasn’t actually impressed by her work. “But maybe we could add a few more examples?”

“Sure,” she replied, her voice even, her expression unchanging as she pulled out her notebook. Karan’s frustration flared a bit at her lack of reaction, but he tried to keep his irritation in check.

“Hey, you know,” he said, leaning back with a casual smile, “you don’t have to be so serious. I’m actually pretty fun to work with.”

Meera’s lips twitched in what could’ve been a smirk, but it wasn’t the reaction he’d been hoping for. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Is that all you’re going to say?” he asked, leaning in with a teasing grin. “C’mon, I’m making an effort here.”

She looked at him, her gaze calm and steady, but something guarded lingered there. “I appreciate it. But I’d rather just keep things about the project, if that’s alright.”

Her words were polite, but they hit him harder than he expected. Was she really that unimpressed? She hadn’t laughed, hadn’t even cracked a real smile. The only hint of warmth he’d seen from her was around Arav, and that had been so small it was barely there.

Trying to recover, he nodded. “Alright. All business, then. I get it.”

She merely nodded, already turning back to her notes. Karan felt a mixture of annoyance and intrigue. She wasn’t just putting on an act, he realized. She genuinely didn’t care about impressing him. He’d expected her to soften up by now, but she was as closed off as ever.

As they worked in silence, Karan couldn’t help but glance over at her occasionally, wondering if she’d ever let down that wall she held up so tightly. He wasn’t used to being shut down so easily, and he didn’t know why he felt the need to keep trying with her. But the fact that he couldn’t figure her out, that she was a puzzle, only made her linger in his thoughts.

For the first time, he wondered if maybe he’d underestimated Meera.