They didn't leave immediately after the class ended. The lecture hall emptied around them, conversations fading like waves pulling back from the shore. Aanya was still zipping her bag, a little slower than usual. He sat quietly, watching dust particles float through the slant of sunlight at the window.
He didn't know why he wasn't moving. Maybe he didn't want to.
Maybe she didn't either.
"You ready?" she asked, standing up with a half-smile, adjusting her dupatta like it was a shield.
He nodded, rising to his feet. "Yeah."
They fell into step without thinking, walking side by side through the corridor. The walls echoed with their footsteps, a kind of silence that made room for thoughts. He didn't look at her, not directly, but he was aware of her. The slight shuffle of her feet, the w
