The class had barely settled when the teacher, Mrs. Nair, strode towards the podium with her ever-present clipboard in hand. The strain of the day was etched across her face. Her usual calm had been replaced by a sharp edge, the looming presence of the inspection committee tightening her tone with every word.
She cleared her throat, tapping the clipboard with calculated precision.
"Roll call," she announced, scanning the room as if daring anyone to fidget.
The class responded with a suffocating silence, the kind that only existed under the weight of impending judgment.
Names were called.
Voices responded in mechanical unison.
"Anaya Rathore."
"Present, Ma'am."
Mrs. Nair's lips twitched into a small, approving smile.
"Excellent. Rathore, as always, setting the example."
Anaya nodded, her expression neutral, though Aarav could sense the faint flicker of tension in her posture.
Mrs. Nair continued down the list, her tone clipped, her gaze scanning for imperfections.
When she reached near the end, her eyes flickered towards the back of the room.
"Aarav Sen."
Aarav raised a lazy hand. "Present, Ma'am."
The response was smooth, casual.
But Mrs. Nair wasn't done.
"Try to look like a student today, Sen. It would be a refreshing change."
The remark wasn't loud, but the ripple it sent through the class was tangible.
Several students stifled their chuckles. Kunal, sitting beside Aarav, coughed into his fist, failing miserably to hide his grin.
Aarav, unphased, leaned back in his chair, his smirk widening.
"I'll do my best, Ma'am. But we both know my charm isn't in appearances."
Kunal choked on his laughter. A few students at the front hid their smiles behind their hands.
Mrs. Nair exhaled sharply, but there was no genuine annoyance in her eyes. Aarav had always been the rogue element in her class. Today, however, her patience was thinner than usual.
"Sen, just survive today without turning it into a circus," she muttered, flipping to the next page on her clipboard.
But Aarav's mind was elsewhere.
As he had delivered his retort, something strange had occurred.
His spine, which he had deliberately kept slouched, had aligned itself perfectly against the backrest of his chair. His shoulders squared naturally, his tone, though casual, had an underlying clarity and resonance that felt unnatural.
He hadn't intended to sit upright.
Yet here he was, posture immaculate, voice sharper than it had any right to be.
It infuriated him.
He immediately slouched again, forcing his body into its usual lazy curve.
But his muscles resisted, as if they had found a new default setting that didn't align with his cultivated nonchalance.
Anaya, seated two rows ahead, had caught it.
Her glance over her shoulder wasn't filled with the usual exasperation.
It was analytical.
Like she had just spotted a glitch in a well-rehearsed play.
Aarav met her gaze with a grin, tilting his head in mock challenge.
Anaya held his stare for a second longer than usual before turning back, her braid swishing with calculated precision.
Kunal nudged Aarav with his elbow.
"Dude, what did you eat this morning? You're sharper than Rathore's haircut."
Aarav snorted. "Maybe it's the inspection air. Gives you superpowers."
Kunal chuckled, tapping his pen against the desk. "Well, if you're going to turn into a superhero, at least get a better costume."
Aarav leaned back, letting Kunal's banter ground him.
But his senses refused to comply.
Every shuffle of a chair, every rustle of paper, even the faint scratching of chalk against the board, reached his ears with surgical clarity.
It was as if his mind had opened a new frequency, picking up layers of sound he'd never noticed before.
Aarav clenched his jaw, massaging his temples discreetly.
Focus.
He needed to stay grounded.
He couldn't afford to spiral in the middle of a school inspection.
Mrs. Nair continued with the morning instructions, but Aarav's attention was split.
He heard two students whispering at the back about the possibility of Aarav messing up during the inspection.
He heard a group near the window discussing Anaya's obsession with perfection.
The voices weren't loud.
But they were clear.
Too clear.
He closed his eyes for a moment, syncing his breath to the rhythm of Mrs. Nair's footsteps as she paced the aisle.
Kunal, noticing the tension, leaned in again.
"You good, Sen? You look like you're about to wrestle the air."
Aarav opened one eye, smirking. "Just practicing my breathing techniques. Might impress the inspectors."
Kunal grinned, clearly not convinced but willing to let it slide.
Mrs. Nair returned to the front of the class, her tone shifting into a more formal register.
"Before the inspection panel arrives, we will conduct a short discipline quiz. It will reflect your attentiveness and behavior."
A collective groan rippled through the class, subdued but present.
Aarav leaned back, feigning boredom, but inside, his mind was already accelerating.
The quiz would begin soon.
And with it, his internal war would only intensify.
Anaya didn't look back again.
But Aarav knew she had registered every slip.
He wasn't sure if that was a victory or the beginning of a problem.