When Eyes Meet

Episode12

Students slowly settled down while the sound of footsteps echoed outside the corridor.

Then suddenly—

The classroom became quieter.

Almost instinctively, several students turned toward the door at once.

And Sakshi’s heartbeat betrayed her instantly before she even looked up properly.

The classroom door opened slowly.

And in walked Adit.

For one solid second, Sakshi forgot how to breathe.

Meera turned toward her immediately with the expression of someone witnessing history unfold in real time.

“Oh,” she whispered dramatically. “You are finished.”

Sakshi kicked her lightly under the desk without taking her eyes off the front of the classroom.

Adit walked in calmly carrying a few books and attendance sheets in one hand. Dressed in a crisp black shirt again, he looked effortlessly composed despite the noisy first-day atmosphere.

The moment he placed the files on the desk, the entire classroom fell silent.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning, sir,” the class replied together.

Sakshi stared down at her notebook immediately after responding, pretending to be extremely focused on absolutely nothing.

Meanwhile, her heartbeat was creating complete chaos inside her chest.

So he was their professor.

Wonderful.

Absolutely wonderful.

Adit glanced around the classroom briefly, his gaze moving across rows of unfamiliar faces.

Then—

For the shortest moment—

His eyes stopped on Sakshi.

Just for a second.

But it was enough.

A strange flicker of recognition appeared in his expression before he calmly looked away again like nothing had happened.

Meera saw the entire thing.

She slowly turned toward Sakshi with wide eyes.

“Sakshi,” she whispered without moving her lips properly, “I saw that.”

“You saw nothing.”

“I saw a cinema.”

Sakshi wanted to disappear.

At the front, Adit picked up a marker and wrote neatly on the board:

ADIT VARMA

Media Studies

The simple sight of his name written there made everything suddenly feel very real.

“I’ll be handling Media Studies for your batch this semester,” he explained calmly while turning back toward the class.

Some students instantly looked relieved because he seemed approachable.

Others looked terrified because college professors naturally caused fear.

Meanwhile, Sakshi was experiencing emotions she herself could not categorize anymore.

“First of all,” Adit continued, leaning lightly against the desk, “Relax. I’m not here to make your lives miserable on the first day.”

A few students laughed nervously.

A small smile appeared on his face.

“This class is not just about theory or textbooks. Media is everywhere around us — in stories, films, advertisements, conversations, social media… even in the way people see the world.”

As he spoke, Sakshi found herself listening carefully despite her racing thoughts.

Because when Adit taught…

It didn’t sound rehearsed.

It sounded real.

Natural.

Like he genuinely loved what he was talking about.

Sakshi straightened slightly in her seat and forced herself to focus.

She opened her notebook with complete determination.

Unfortunately, her determination lasted approximately eight seconds.

At the front, Adit picked up the attendance sheet.

“Alright,” he said casually. “Before we begin properly, let’s survive attendance first.”

A few students laughed softly.

Sakshi immediately looked down at her notebook again.

Adit began calling names one by one.

Students responded with nervous “Present, sir” voices from different corners of the room.

The classroom slowly settled into a calmer atmosphere.

“Sneha Nair?”

“Present, sir.”

“Arjun Menon?”

“Here, sir.”

Meanwhile, Sakshi sat holding her pen unnecessarily tightly.

Then—

“Sakshi Rao?”

The moment her name left his lips, she instinctively looked up.

And unfortunately…

Adit was already looking directly at her.

For one brief second, yesterday’s library conversation flashed through both their minds at once.

“P-Present, sir,” she replied quickly.

Adit gave a small nod and continued normally as if nothing had happened.

But beside her—

Meera was trying extremely hard not to smile.