When Eyes Meet

Episode 09

The chat was already chaos.

Students were introducing themselves.

Some were asking about dress codes.

Others were panicking about assignments before classes had even started.

One message read:

Does anyone know if attendance actually matters?

Another immediately replied:

Bro, we haven’t even entered class yet 😭

Sakshi smiled slightly while scrolling through the messages.

Then suddenly—

A new notification appeared at the top.

Adit Varma added to the group

Her fingers froze instantly.

For absolutely no reason, her heartbeat sped up again.

The chat exploded immediately.

WAIT PROFESSOR IS HERE??

Everyone behave 😭

Good evening sir!

Sir, are classes starting tomorrow sharp at 9?

Sakshi stared at the screen silently.

And then—

A new message appeared from him.

Adit Varma:

Good evening everyone.

Welcome once again to Srishti Institute.

Tomorrow will be your official first day, so try to be on time and don’t panic unnecessarily. Most of you already look stressed enough in this group itself.

Also, please remember that college life is not just about marks. Participate, explore, learn new things, and enjoy the experience too.

Looking forward to meeting all of you in class tomorrow.

The group instantly flooded with replies.

Good evening sir!!

Thank you Sir

Already stressed sir 😭

Sir attendance?? 👀

Meera immediately texted Sakshi privately again.

Your professor has fan energy in this group already.

Sakshi tried not to smile while rereading his message for no reason whatsoever.

Then her eyes stopped on the last sentence again.

Looking forward to meeting all of you tomorrow.

Something about it made her heart flutter unexpectedly.

Before she could overthink further, another notification appeared.

Professor Adit Varma changed the group description.

Curious, Sakshi clicked it open.

The new description read:

“Every story begins somewhere.”

And for some strange reason…

It felt like the sentence was meant for her.

Before Sakshi could stop herself from rereading the group description for the fifth time, another message from Meera popped up instantly.

Meera:

“Every story begins somewhere.”

SAKSHI.

THIS MAN TALKS LIKE HE’S WRITTEN BY A NOVEL AUTHOR.

Sakshi burst out laughing quietly in her room.

She quickly typed back.

Sakshi:

You are overreacting.

It’s literally just a group description.

The typing indicator appeared immediately again.

Meera:

No normal professor changes a group description to something that sounds emotionally devastating.

Also, why do I feel like he stares into rain dramatically while thinking about life?

Sakshi froze for exactly one second.

Because somehow…

That description was painfully accurate.

She immediately shook her head.

No.

Impossible.

Sakshi:

You seriously need help.

Sakshi:

You seriously need help.

Meera:

And you seriously need to stop pretending you’re unaffected.

Sakshi rolled her eyes dramatically and placed the phone beside her again.

But unfortunately for her…

Meera wasn’t entirely wrong.

Her eyes drifted back toward the w******p group once more.

Students were still chatting excitedly while Adit remained silent after his message.

Yet somehow his presence alone had changed the atmosphere of the group completely.

Sakshi sighed softly and lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

Tomorrow will be their first official class.

Which meant—

There was a very real possibility that Adit might actually become her professor.

The thought alone made her strangely nervous.

And excited.

Which was honestly becoming a problem.

Next morning

TRRNNG! TRRNNG! TRRNNG!

Sakshi groaned loudly and blindly searched for her phone across the bed.

After knocking over her pillow and almost throwing the blanket onto the floor, she finally grabbed the phone and silenced the alarm.

For a few peaceful seconds, she kept her eyes closed.

Then reality hit her.

First official day.

Her eyes flew open instantly.

Sakshi sat up quickly, her messy hair falling over her face while morning sunlight slipped through the curtains. The rain from yesterday had finally stopped, leaving the sky soft and clear.

For a moment, she simply sat there quietly.

And almost automatically…

Her mind remembered him again.

Adit.

The library.

The group message.

“Every story begins somewhere.”

Sakshi immediately dropped back onto the bed dramatically.

“This is getting unhealthy.”

Why was her brain acting like a romance novel protagonist?

She grabbed her phone again, hoping distraction would save her.

Bad decision.

The first thing she saw was Meera’s message from 6:45 AM.

Meera:

GOOD MORNING.

Today we discover whether Professor Rain—Dialogue is actually teaching us or not.

Sakshi laughed helplessly despite herself.

Sakshi:

Please stop calling him that.

The reply came instantly.

Meera:

Never.

Sakshi shook her head while getting out of bed.

From downstairs, her mother’s voice echoed through the house.

“Sakshi! If you’re late on the SECOND day itself, don’t blame me!”