The sound of waves filled the silence.
Kabir stood facing the sea, a cigarette between his fingers.
Roneet sat on the rocks below, staring down at the sand.
Kabir flicked the lighter. Click… click… The flame caught.
"What are you doing?" Roneet asked quietly.
"Smoking," Kabir said, taking a drag. "You want one?"
"N-no… I just didn't know you smoke."
Kabir shrugged. "Started recently."
"It's not good for your health," Roneet muttered.
Kabir let out a short laugh. "Didn't I come here to die yesterday? What's the point of health anyway?"
Roneet nodded slowly. "Mm… you're right. But… I'm not thinking about dying anymore."
Kabir glanced at him.
"I promised my mom and dad," Roneet continued softly. "I want to make them proud."
Kabir exhaled smoke, a small smile forming. "That's good… for you."
Roneet looked up. "What about you? Do you still want to die?"
Kabir took another drag, eyes fixed on the sea.
"I don't know," he said quietly. "My mom and dad are too busy with their own lives. I went home yesterday like it was just a normal day. Nothing special."
He laughed bitterly.
"Dad was out for business… and Mom came home after I'd already fallen asleep."
Kabir looked down at the cigarette burning between his fingers.
"Feels like… even if I disappeared, they wouldn't notice for days."
"I'm sure they love you," Roneet said gently.
"They're your mom and dad. You told me that yesterday."
Kabir let the cigarette dangle from his fingers.
"Of course they love me," he said quietly. "I know that."
He kicked a small stone into the water.
"But the thing is… they think I'm strong."
He paused, voice tightening.
"They think I can handle everything."
Kabir looked away, blinking hard.
"But I'm not strong, Roneet," he whispered.
"I'm really… not."
"You can tell me," Roneet said quietly.
"I'm here."
Kabir paused, looking at the waves.
Roneet hesitated, then asked softly,
"Is it… a girl?"
Kabir gave a short, humorless laugh.
"You won't understand, Roneet. Not this one."
Roneet looked down, embarrassed.
"Let's drop it," Kabir said, taking another drag from the cigarette.
"I'm not gonna die now… but that doesn't mean I want to live either."
Roneet didn't know what to say. The breeze was the only sound for a moment.
Kabir looked sideways at him.
"I saw you earlier… getting messed up by that idiot."
He shook his head.
"I would've never imagined you'd fight like that."
Roneet exhaled slowly.
"I was just angry," he admitted.
"I just… I wanted to kill him."
Kabir chuckled darkly.
"Haha. And then what? You want to make your mom and dad proud, right? Ending up in jail won't help with that."
Roneet's jaw tightened as he stared at the sand.
"It felt good," he murmured.
"Every time my fist landed on him… it felt good. For a moment I didn't care about anything."
Kabir watched him quietly—almost worried.
After visiting his grandma—the woman they had helped yesterday—Roneet and Kabir finally went their separate ways.
Roneet walked home slowly, his body aching from the fight.
When he reached the door, it opened almost instantly.
His mom stood there, eyes widening the moment she saw his face.
"Roneet… what happened? Your face looks hurt," she said, voice tight with worry.
Roneet forced a smile.
"W-we were just playing, Mom. Nothing serious."
He tried to walk past her, heading straight to his room, but she gently grabbed his arm.
"Playing? Roneet… look at you."
He paused.
Her worry was written all over her face.
"Mom," he said softly, turning toward her.
"I'm alright. Trust me."
She stayed silent, still searching his expression.
"If… if I ever get into any real trouble," Roneet continued, "I'll come to you. I promise."
His mom's shoulders relaxed just a little.
She sighed, brushing his hair gently—something she hadn't done in years.
"Okay," she whispered. "I trust you."
Roneet nodded and slipped into his room, closing the door behind him.
But inside, he collapsed onto the bed, his chest heavy—
because lying to his mother hurt more than Nikhil's punches.
He started panicking.
"Anxiety comes from fear. The more you fear it, the stronger it gets," the lady in the video said.
Roneet immediately typed, "I have anxiety issues how to get rid of it?" and searched.
If it's genetic, you can't get rid of it easily, but you can lower it to a point where it won't bother you much, the site said.
Roneet kept scrolling.
Things that may help reduce anxiety:
Proper sleep — try to sleep between 9–11 PM and wake up between 4–6 AM.
Avoid junk food; eat healthy.
Meditate.
Exercise.
Breathing practice.
Early morning walks.
Watch the sunrise.
Roneet felt overloaded reading all of it.
Another line stood out:
Anxiety can also occur due to insecurities. If you have any insecurity, work on it. If your insecurity is that you are fat — get leaner. If you are too slim — build muscle. If you work on the things you fear, your anxiety will reduce significantly.
"I can do it," Roneet whispered.
"No… I have to do it," he corrected himself.
Then he saw another point:
Try doing more daring things.
He immediately scrolled to Kiara's contact.
His finger hovered over the call button. He hesitated… then finally tapped it.
The call started ringing.
The silence in his room grew heavier and heavier.
Roneet felt his chest tightening again.
Damn it… why am I scared? Why is my heartbeat like this? he thought.
She picked up.
Roneet panicked instantly.
"H–hi…" he managed to say.
Before he could say anything else, a girl's voice cut him off.
"Who are you?"
Roneet froze.
What? That's not Kiara's voice… he thought, stunned.
"I–I'm Roneet," he stammered.
"Roneet… Kiara's classmate."
There was a pause on the line.
Then a girl laughed teasingly.
"Classmate? Really? You expect me to believe that?"
Roneet froze.
Before he could say anything, another voice shouted in the background—
"HEY! What are you doing with my phone?!"
Roneet's heart jumped.
That… that sounded like Kiara.
The girl on the call clicked her tongue.
"Who is this boy, huh? It's been only two days and you're already getting calls from boys?"
"Huh?! Kiara, it's none of your business—just give me my phone back!" Kiara snapped in the background.
What's going on…? Roneet thought, confused.
A rustling sound.
Then finally—
"So… where should we start?" Kiara asked.
Roneet swallowed.
He stayed quiet, listening carefully to every word.
Kiara clicked her tongue.
"Umm… still thinking…" she muttered to herself.
Then, suddenly decisive:
"We should start from you," Kiara said.
Roneet blinked.
"M-me?"
"Yes, you."
Her tone was sharp but not cruel.
"Because the biggest enemy of our internals is… you."
Roneet's face fell instantly.
His shoulders lowered.
Kiara noticed.
She sighed.
"I'm not saying it in a bad way, Roneet."
Her voice softened just a little.
"I'm giving you a reality check."
She leaned against something; Roneet could hear the movement over the call.
"I want you to improve your speaking skills."
There was a pause.
Roneet breathed in slowly.
"Y… yes," he said quietly.
"I understand."
"Understand??" Kiara repeated, annoyed.
"Your voice is stumbling, Roneet. You don't sound confident at all."
Roneet swallowed.
"I–I understand… I'll work on my speaking skills," he said quickly.
"Woh, woh—slow down," Kiara snapped.
"You're talking too fast. Calm down."
"S-sorry…"
Kiara sighed loudly.
"Alright. Now switch to video call."
Roneet froze.
"V-video call?"
"Yes. Do it fast."
His heart punched against his ribs.
"S–sure…"
Video call? With her? No way… he thought, palms sweating.
He switched to video.
The screen loaded—
—Kiara appeared.
She was sitting comfortably on her bed, hair slightly messy, light hitting half her face.
Roneet's entire body went pale.
No way… she looks… she looks too good… I'm so nervous I can't even look at her…
Kiara squinted.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"I… I'm good," Roneet lied.
"You don't look good," Kiara said bluntly.
Roneet stared anywhere except her eyes—her wall, her pillow, even her ceiling.
Kiara watched him, eyebrows raising.
"You can't even look at me," she said.
"How are you supposed to face a whole crowd?"
Roneet felt heat rush to his face.
Why am I like this? Why am I so shy? Damn it…
Kiara's tone changed—soft, patient.
"Roneet…"
He froze.
"Just look at me," she said gently.
A tiny smile played on her lips.
"I'm not gonna eat you."
Roneet hesitated…
and finally lifted his eyes.
He looked at Kiara properly for the first time.
And in that moment—
—his breath caught.
She's… so beautiful.
I've never seen anyone this beautiful in my life…
He didn't blink.
He didn't breathe.
Kiara tilted her head slightly, noticing his stunned expression.
"Just keep looking at me… try to calm down," Kiara said softly.
Roneet nodded, but the moment his eyes met hers, his heartbeat doubled. His chest felt tight, not from fear — from something he couldn't name.
"Calm down," Kiara repeated, her voice low. "Look into my eyes, Roneet."
He did. And slowly… the panic began to loosen. His breathing steadied.
Kiara watched him carefully, her expression shifting as she noticed something she hadn't earlier.
His eyes… they're actually kinda attractive, she thought.
Why am I staring at his eyelashes?
Stop, stop, stop—
Kiara quickly looked away, her cheeks warming.
What am I thinking?! she scolded herself internally.
"I—I think that's enough, Roneet," Kiara said suddenly, clearing her throat.
"Y-yeah…" Roneet replied, equally flustered, looking anywhere except at the screen now.
The tension between them hung in the quiet night — soft, confusing, and completely new to both.
Kiara took a slow breath, calming herself, pushing away whatever strange flutter she felt a moment ago.
"Okay, Roneet," she said, returning to her practical tone. "I need you to introduce yourself properly in Simran ma'am's next lecture. I've seen you struggle a lot while doing that."
Roneet nodded quietly, embarrassed.
So Kiara spent the next several minutes giving him a proper structure —
his name, his background, interests, how to speak slowly, where to pause, how to keep eye contact.
After a while, she exhaled. "I think that's enough for today."
Roneet blinked. "Oh… okay."
"For today I just gave you the lecture," Kiara continued. "Next time, we're doing it practically."
"P-practically?" Roneet repeated, nervous again.
"Yeah," Kiara said, almost casually. "Meet me in the library after class tomorrow."
"S-sure," Roneet answered instantly.
Kiara ended the call.
The moment the screen went black, she dropped her phone on the bed and lay back, staring at the ceiling.
Ughh… I have to waste my time on him like this for days, she thought, annoyed at herself.
Why am I even doing this the hard way?
"What hard way?" her roommate asked from the other side of the room.
Kiara jumped. "W—WTF! Why are you here?!"
The roommate stared at her like she'd grown two heads. "What do you mean? I've been here from the start."
Kiara's eyes widened. "You heard everything?!"
The roommate smirked. "Oh, I heard more than enough."