episode 9
607 Words
The cafeteria was loud, bright, and filled with the kind of confidence Meera never learned to carry. But Riya gently tugged her along, choosing a quiet corner table near the window.
“Here,” Riya said, placing her tray down. “This spot is safest. No mean girls, no gossip hunters.”
Meera sat slowly, fingers wrapped around her sketchbook like a shield.
Riya noticed and smiled softly.
“You like drawing?”
Meera nodded. “A lot. But… my mom doesn’t.”
“Oof,” Riya winced. “Moms and their rules.”
Meera giggled quietly — her first tiny laugh in Rosemary School.
They ate for a minute before Riya asked casually, “So… how was your first day so far?”
Meera looked down shyly. “Umm… strange. I-I mean… I met two boys.”
Riya blinked. “Two boys? Already? Girl, you’re doing better than me.”
Meera waved her hands frantically. “No! Not like that! I just… bumped into them. Literally.”
“Oh?” Riya leaned forward, curious. “Tell me.”
So Meera told her everything —
about stopping Arnav in the hallway,
his cold attitude,
how he assumed she was like all the girls who chased him,
and then…
bumping into Kartik, how he stared at her like she was made of glass.
Riya’s spoon froze in mid-air.
“Wait… wait… you interacted with Arnav Singh Rathore AND Kartik Mehra… in ONE morning?!”
Meera’s eyes widened.
“Are they… um… famous?”
Riya groaned and placed her hand on her forehead dramatically.
“They are LITERALLY the most talked-about boys in Rosemary. Rich, handsome, problematic, and—”
She paused.
“Or at least… they were something else.”
Meera tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
Riya took a deep breath and rested her elbows on the table.
“A month ago, Arnav and Kartik were inseparable. Best friends. They did everything together— football, music, skipping classes, pranking teachers… everything.”
A soft sadness passed in her eyes.
“But then the worst fight happened.”
Meera felt a chill. “What… fight?”
Riya lowered her voice.
“It happened at Arnav’s apartment. They were hanging out… playing video games. Arnav left to get pizza from the kitchen. When he came back—”
She paused for effect.
“—he saw Kartik holding his sister Sanjana’s hand.”
Meera’s jaw dropped. “Holding… her hand?”
Riya nodded.
“And Sanjana instantly ran to Arnav crying, saying Kartik had bad intentions toward her.”
Meera felt her heart squeeze.
Kartik… bad intentions?
He didn’t seem that type.
Maybe rough… maybe rude…
but dangerous?
Riya continued, “Arnav flipped. He didn’t listen. He shoved Kartik out of the apartment and punched him.”
She swallowed.
“It was brutal.”
Meera bit her lip. “Did Kartik explain?”
“He tried,” Riya said softly. “He kept saying there was a misunderstanding. But Arnav refused to hear a single word.”
“Now,” Riya sighed, stirring her drink,
“they haven’t spoken for an entire month. Not one word.”
Meera’s mind raced.
Kartik’s cold eyes…
Arnav’s harsh tone…
The tension she felt between them in class.
It all made sense now.
“But…” Meera whispered, mostly to herself, “what if Sanjana misunderstood?”
Riya shrugged.
“Nobody knows the truth. And honestly… nobody wants to. People love drama.”
Meera looked down at her tray.
Suddenly, both boys felt… heavier.
More real.
More broken.
And somewhere inside her heart…
she wondered what really happened that day.
- Writer
