Rhea's pov
It was our first exam, and the back benches were already a disaster.
Neel and Samar wouldn't shut up.
"Bro, tell me honestly," Samar whispered, leaning across the desk, "have you ever actually finished a syllabus?"
Neel scoffed. "Have you ever opened the book before exam day?"
They started bickering again—low voices, sharp nudges, exaggerated sighs. I tried not to smile. Tried.
In front of us, Kabir was… calm. Annoyingly calm.
Notebook open. Pen moving. No unnecessary drama. He didn't turn around even once, like the chaos behind him didn't exist. Samar clicked his pen on purpose, just to get a reaction.
Nothing.
"Does he even breathe?" Neel muttered.
I leaned forward slightly. Kabir's notes were neat. Too neat. I caught myself staring and quickly looked away, pretending to reread the same question for the tenth time.
Teacher walked in. Silence dropped like a switch.
Five minutes later, chaos returned—quiet version.
"Rhea," Samar whispered urgently, "which question number is this?"
"Three," I hissed back.
"No, I mean on which page?"
I closed my eyes. Neel smothered a laugh.
Kabir finally turned. Just for a second. Looked at them. Looked at me. Then back to his paper. No comment. That somehow felt worse than being scolded.
When the bell rang, Neel stretched like he'd run a marathon.
"That," he announced, "was unnecessary stress."
Samar nodded. "Next exam, I'm sitting in front."
I didn't believe him.
Kabir packed quietly and left first.
As we stood up, I realised something—I hadn't panicked once. Not because I was fully prepared, but because the chaos, the bickering, the normal mess of it all… made it feel survivable.
First exam done.
Somehow.