The sky was clear, and the scent of flowers filled the air, making Islamabad feel alive. But something about today made the area of F7/3 feel extra special. Maybe it was the high boundary wall behind Beaconhouse School — and the girl who had just managed to climb over it after several failed attempts.
Anabiya was drenched in sweat from the effort. Her school bag lay in front of her as she used her left hand to pull off her black ponytail band. She was just about to tie her hair when the bag slipped and fell to the ground.
Staring down, she froze. No way she was climbing back down now.
Just then, a boy passed by, headphones in, school bag on his back.
"Hey! You there!" she called out.
He looked up. Their eyes met — and Anabiya blinked. He was ridiculously handsome.
But when she didn't say anything right away, he resumed walking.
Snapping out of it, she yelled, "Hey, handsome! Where are you going?"
He turned, glanced again.
"Can you please pass me my bag?" she asked with a cute smile.
He stared with a "seriously?"expression... and then kept walking.
Anabiya's jaw dropped. Rage hit her like a wave. How dare he ignore her?
Before she could yell again, another boy and girl walked by. "Hey, can you please hand me my bag?"
They did — without any drama.
As she slung the bag over her shoulder, Anabiya muttered under her breath, "You're not getting away with this, mister..."
She hopped down onto the school grounds — and froze.
Huge shadow were propped up everywhere. Her face fell.
Right in front of her stood Sir Hashim, arms crossed, frown already locked and loaded.
"Where do you even get these ridiculous ideas from?" he bellowed.
Before she could reply, he grabbed her ear and dragged her toward the main gate.
The other latecomers were lined up already. She spotted Mishal and Urhaan. Her frown immediately turned into a smile.
Sir Hashim scowled. "Unbelievable. You're actually smiling?"
"You're such a shameless girl, Anabiya. What am I supposed to do with you? You ever planning on improving?"
"Why only me?" Anabiya shot back. "What about Mishal and Urhaan? Why don't they get punished?"
Mishal and Urhaan gave her a look that screamed, Why are you dragging us into this?!
Anabiya shrugged, grinning.
Sir Hashim twisted her ear harder. "Because they came through the front gate like normal students — not climbing walls like you!"
At that exact moment, the boy from earlier — headphone guy — walked in through the front gate.
Sir Hashim let go of her ear and called out, "Hey! You there! Where do you think you're going? And take those headphones off — this isn't your living room!"
The boy quickly pulled them down. "Sorry sir. I'm new. I'm here to meet Sir Isha in the staff room."
"Newcomer, huh?" Sir Hashim's tone softened instantly. "Alright. Staff room's that way."
Anabiya, still rubbing her ear, exploded. "Sir that's not fair!"
"Excuse me?"
"This is exactly the kind of double standards I'm talking about! One rule for us, another for strangers!"
"He's new, Anabiya."
"Oh, so now it's our fault for being old students? Well, let me remind you — old is gold."
"Enough with the backtalk!"
Urhaan tried to intervene. "Sir, please don't scold her. It's not really her fault..."
"Then whose fault is it?" Sir Hashim asked flatly.
Urhaan hesitated. "Uh... she stayed at Mishal's house and went home to change this morning. That's why she's late."
Sir Hashim sighed. "This is your last warning. Anyone who comes late from now on will clean the entire ground. And Anabiya — you'll clean your classroom today."
"What? Why me?!"
Mimicking her tone, he snapped, "Because you love climbing walls so much."
"Now all of you — go to class!"
As the trio walked away, Anabiya whispered, "This is all that handsome guy's fault."
"Wait, what guy?" Urhaan asked.
Mishal answered, "The one with the headphones!"
Just then, a hand landed dramatically on both Mishal and Urhaan's shoulders.
"And who gave you permission to stare at boys like that?" Zaki teased.
Mishal calmly removed his hand. "First of all, mind your business. Even if I was staring — who are you to question me?"
Anabiya burst out laughing.
Urhaan asked again, "So wait — what did the guy even do?"
Anabiya told the whole story in one breath, ending with a furious:
"If he had just handed me the bag, I would've been down already — Sir wouldn't have caught me! I want revenge now!"
Zaki stepped forward dramatically. "I'm in. No way I'm letting that guy go — he tried to steal my Mishal from me!"
Mishal rolled her eyes. "Since when am I your Mishal?"
"Since three years ago — when I gave you that ring."
She smirked. "Oh, the same ring your mom took back and returned?"
Their banter continued as they entered class. Anabiya was laughing again.
Zaki leaned in, whispering, "Not even my mother — no one can separate you from me."
Mishal glared... but inside, her heart was glowing.
(Zaki and Mishal were cousins. They had been engaged in childhood, but the engagement was broken after a property dispute. Still, deep down... neither of them had ever really moved on.)