12th April 2024

The warm air carried a faint scent of summer blooms as Keerthi stepped into the classroom, her bag slung casually over her shoulder. It was her first day back at the coaching center after the long Holi vacation. She had spent the past weeks away, traveling with her family, and was finally ready to get back into the rhythm of studies and the familiar banter with her friends.

As she entered, her eyes instinctively searched for her usual corner, the one where her close-knit group sat. Trishita, Vaidehi, and Aditi were already there, their faces lighting up when they saw her. Keerthi greeted them with her signature grin and plopped down beside them, her presence instantly filling the space with energy.

The four of them dived into their usual chatter—updates about the vacation, gossip about the latest class dramas, and shared laughs over inside jokes. Keerthi, however, paid little attention to the subtle changes in the room. She hadn’t noticed the unfamiliar faces scattered among the regulars. To her, they were just another batch of students who came and went, nothing worth a second glance.

What she didn’t realize was that among those new faces sat someone who was going to change her life in ways she could never have imagined.

The classroom buzzed with low conversations until the teacher walked in, silencing the crowd with a single stern glance. The session began, and the air grew heavy with the sound of pens scratching against notebooks. The teacher posed a challenging question to the class, and while most students hesitated, Keerthi’s hand shot up confidently.

She answered with ease, her voice steady and clear, her choice of words precise. There was a certain boldness in her demeanor—a sharpness in her tone and an unwavering confidence in her posture. She wasn’t the kind to shy away or sugarcoat things, and that made her stand out.

At a distant corner of the room, a boy watched her with a mix of awe and apprehension. He was one of the new students, a quiet observer with an unassuming presence. But something about Keerthi’s aura unsettled him. Her confidence, her sharp wit, and the way she carried herself—it was intimidating, almost like staring at the embodiment of boldness itself.

To him, she was the definition of danger wrapped in courage. She didn’t even glance his way, yet she managed to stir something within him—a strange combination of fear and intrigue.

As the class continued, the boy couldn’t help but steal glances at her. She was unaware of the effect she had on him, oblivious to the fact that her presence was slowly weaving itself into his world.

Unknowingly, Keerthi had already become more than just a stranger to him. Little did she know, this was the beginning of something that would bind their lives together in ways neither of them could predict.