Chapter 2 — 2012
1881 Words
CHAPTER 2
2012
Before there was a reunion, there was a classroom.
Before there were ten years of silence, there were ordinary school days.
And before Anaya ever wondered what Aarav felt for her, she was simply a girl sitting on the front bench, unaware that the boy at the last bench had already begun noticing her.
It was 2012.
The school corridors were already alive when Anaya walked through the gates that morning.
Students hurried toward their classrooms, friends called out to one another, teachers walked past carrying stacks of books, and somewhere in the distance, the first bell was about to ring.
Anaya held her books against her chest as she walked toward her classroom.
“Anaya!”
She turned.
Naina came running toward her.
“Wait!”
Anaya smiled.
“You’re late again.”
“I’m not late. The bell hasn’t rung yet.”
“You were supposed to come ten minutes ago.”
“I was having breakfast.”
“You always have an excuse.”
Naina laughed and linked her arm through Anaya’s.
“Come on. Let’s get our seats.”
They entered the classroom together.
Anaya immediately walked toward the front bench.
She always liked sitting there.
She liked seeing the blackboard clearly.
She liked listening to the teacher.
She liked knowing exactly what was happening.
Naina dropped her bag beside her.
“You really like sitting in the front?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I can hear everything.” Naina rolled her eyes.
“I can hear everything from the back too.”
“You don’t listen from anywhere.” Naina laughed.
“That’s why I need you.”
Anaya smiled and opened her notebook.
Around them, the classroom slowly filled.
Students were laughing, talking, exchanging homework, and arguing about who had taken whose seat.
At the very back of the classroom, near the windows, Aarav walked in with Rishabh.
They dropped their bags onto the last bench.
Rishabh sat down first.
Aarav leaned back against the wall and looked around the classroom.
He had been sitting at the last bench for so long that it had almost become his place.
The teachers knew it.
His classmates knew it.
Even Rishabh knew that trying to move him somewhere else was pointless.
Rishabh opened his notebook. “Did you finish the homework?” Aarav looked at him.
“What homework?” Rishabh stared.
“Exactly.”
Aarav laughed.
“You finished it?”
“Obviously.”
“Then I’ll copy yours.”
“You always say that.”
“And you always give it to me.”
“Because you’re my friend.” Aarav smiled.
“See?”
Rishabh shook his head.
“You’ll never change.”
Anaya glanced toward the back of the classroom.
That was when she noticed him.
A boy was sitting near the window on the last bench.
Aarav.
She knew his name, of course.
They were classmates.
She had seen him many times before.
But she had never really looked at him.
He was sitting beside Rishabh, leaning slightly against the wall while they talked about something that made both of them laugh.
Aarav looked relaxed.
Nothing about him seemed particularly unusual.
He was simply one of the boys who preferred the last bench.
Anaya looked at him for another second.
Then Naina touched her arm.
“What are you looking at?”
Anaya immediately looked away.
“Nothing.”
Naina followed her gaze toward the back.
“Oh.”
“What?”
“You were looking at Aarav.” Anaya frowned.
“I was just looking around.”
“Of course.”
Anaya rolled her eyes.
“He’s our classmate.”
“I know.”
“Then?”
“Nothing.”
Naina smiled and sat down.
Anaya opened her notebook.
But before she began writing, she glanced toward the back once more.
Aarav was still talking to Rishabh.
This time, he looked toward the front.
Their eyes met.
Anaya looked away almost immediately.
She didn’t know why.
Maybe because she hadn’t expected him to be looking at her.
Maybe because she suddenly felt caught.
Or maybe it was simply one of those ordinary moments that meant nothing at the time.
She didn’t know.
She couldn’t have known.
Because to Anaya, Aarav was just the boy who sat at the last bench.
Nothing more.
Not yet.
The teacher entered.
The class immediately became quieter.
“Good morning, everyone.”
“Good morning, ma’am.” The lesson began.
Anaya listened carefully.
She wrote down the important points and occasionally underlined things in her notebook.
Aarav tried to concentrate.
He really did.
But after a few minutes, his attention drifted toward the front.
Toward Anaya.
She was sitting exactly where she always sat.
Front bench.
Straight posture.
Books arranged neatly.
Completely focused on the lesson.
Rishabh noticed where Aarav was looking.
He leaned closer.
“Again?”
Aarav looked at him.
“What?”
“You’re looking at her again.”
“I’m looking at the board.”
Rishabh glanced toward the board.
“The board is over there.”
Aarav immediately looked away.
“I was.”
“You weren’t.”
Aarav shook his head. “Just listen to the class.” Rishabh smiled.
“Okay.”
But he didn’t stop watching Aarav.
Because Rishabh had already noticed something Aarav hadn’t admitted even to himself.
Aarav liked Anaya.
Maybe more than liked her.
He just didn’t know what to do about it.
The teacher suddenly asked a question.
“Anaya?”
Anaya looked up.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Can you answer that?”
Anaya stood and answered confidently.
The teacher smiled.
“Correct.”
Anaya sat down.
Rishabh leaned toward Aarav.
“See?”
Aarav frowned.
“See what?”
“You like her.”
Aarav immediately shook his head.
“Stop.”
Rishabh smiled.
“You do.”
“I don’t.”
“Then why do you keep looking at her?” Aarav turned toward the board.
“I’m not.”
Rishabh laughed quietly.
“Okay.”
Aarav tried to ignore him.
But a few minutes later, his eyes drifted toward the front again.
Anaya was writing.
A strand of hair had fallen across her face.
She pushed it behind her ear without looking up.
Aarav smiled without realizing it.
Rishabh noticed.
“Again.”
Aarav sighed.
“Rishabh.”
“What?”
“Leave me alone.”
Rishabh laughed.
“Fine.”
The bell finally rang.
Students immediately began talking.
Anaya closed her notebook.
Naina stretched her arms.
“Finally.”
“You weren’t even listening.”
“I listened enough.” Anaya smiled.
“That’s not how studying works.”
“That’s why I have you.”
They packed their books.
As Anaya stood up, her pen slipped from the desk and rolled onto the floor.
She didn’t notice.
Aarav did.
He leaned down and picked it up.
For a moment, he simply looked at it.
It was an ordinary pen.
Nothing special.
But it belonged to her.
He looked toward the door.
Anaya was already walking away with Naina.
“Give it to her,” Rishabh said.
Aarav looked at him.
“I will.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
Rishabh laughed.
“Tomorrow?”
Aarav shrugged.
“She’ll come back.”
Rishabh shook his head.
“You could just call her.”
Aarav looked toward the door again.
“I know.”
“Then why don’t you?” Aarav didn’t answer.
He simply placed the pen carefully inside his notebook.
He would return it tomorrow.
At least, that was what he told himself.
At lunchtime, the courtyard was crowded.
Anaya sat beneath a tree with Naina.
They were talking about their classes, teachers, and everything else that seemed important at fifteen.
Across the courtyard, Aarav sat with Rishabh.
Rishabh noticed that Aarav wasn’t listening.
“You’re doing it again.” Aarav looked at him.
“Doing what?”
“Looking.”
Aarav sighed.
“You’re obsessed with this.”
“Because you’re obvious.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Aarav looked toward Anaya again.
She was laughing.
He smiled.
Rishabh caught it.
“You should talk to her.”
“About what?”
“Anything.”
“Like?”
“I don’t know. Ask her about homework.”
“I know the homework.”
“Then ask her for a pen.” Aarav looked at him. “I already have one.” Rishabh laughed. “The one you picked up?” Aarav looked down.
“Yes.”
“You’ve been carrying that pen for hours.”
“So?”
“So nothing.”
Rishabh smiled.
“You really like her.”
Aarav didn’t answer.
For once, he didn’t deny it.
He simply looked across the courtyard.
Anaya was still laughing.
And he didn’t know why, but seeing her happy made him happy too.
Maybe that was when he first realized that whatever he felt wasn’t just a passing school crush.
Maybe it was something more.
Something he didn’t have a name for yet.
The days continued.
School remained school.
Classes.
Homework.
Exams.
Lunch breaks.
Arguments.
Laughter.
Small victories.
Small disappointments.
And somewhere between all those ordinary moments, Anaya and Aarav slowly became familiar to each other.
Not close.
Not yet.
But familiar.
She began recognizing his voice from the last bench.
He began recognizing the sound of her laughter.
She knew he was always one of the last students to leave the classroom.
He knew she always checked her notebook twice before putting it into her bag.
She occasionally turned around when someone at the back made too much noise.
He always looked away whenever she did.
Neither of them understood what those tiny moments meant.
They were just classmates.
At least, that’s what Anaya believed.
One afternoon, their teacher announced a group assignment.
“Four students in each group.”
The classroom immediately became noisy.
Everyone started choosing their friends.
Anaya turned toward Naina.
“You’re with me.”
“Obviously.”
Rishabh pulled his chair toward them.
“I’m joining.”
Naina smiled.
“Fine.”
They still needed one more person.
Anaya looked around.
Most students had already formed groups.
Then someone stopped beside their desk.
Aarav.
He looked at them.
“Can I join?”
Anaya looked up.
For the first time, she really looked at him.
Not as the boy who sat at the back.
Not as one of the boys who sometimes made the classroom noisy.
Just Aarav.
She smiled.
“Sure.”
“Thanks.”
He pulled a chair toward them.
And for the first time, the boy from the last bench sat beside the girl from the front.
Rishabh watched them and smiled quietly.
He knew something Anaya didn’t.
This wasn’t just a group assignment for Aarav.
It was an opportunity.
A small one.
But enough.
Because sometimes a love story doesn’t begin with a grand confession.
Sometimes it begins with a boy sitting at the last bench…
Finding one small reason to move closer to the girl sitting at the front.
And neither of them knew that years later, when they looked back at 2012, they would remember this ordinary classroom as the place where everything quietly began.
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