Episode 1: The Day I Noticed Him

There’s nothing extraordinary about a tuition class.

Unless your heart starts to beat a little differently when someone walks in.

August 2024

Our tuition class took place above our sir’s house, tucked into a cozy balcony space covered with plastic sheets. The square-holed steel railings let us peek at the trees dancing in the breeze. Fans hummed lazily above, and when the sky started to dim, sir would stroll around switching on the tube lights—like lighting little stars just for us.

Benches and desks were lined up just like a typical school classroom. We all sat together—boys and girls on the same benches, no one cared. It was chill, noisy, and full of teenage energy and exam tension.

I sat with my chaos crew: Nihala, Devitha, Jumana, and Naznin—each more unhinged than the other. We were the kind of girls who could whisper ten roast jokes in under 30 seconds, draw each other as potatoes in our notebooks, and fight over pens like it was war.

And the boys?

Well, they were no less dramatic.

Sinan the soft-hearted villain.

Rayyan, who walked in like background music should follow him.

Amaan, who laughed halfway through every sentence.

Adarsh, the quiet math genius.

Yasin, who turned every desk into a drum kit.

Aahil, who could win an Oscar for being extra.

Ameer, who had a deep emotional bond with his mysterious water bottle.

Aman P.A., who acted like sir’s assistant but wasn’t even on payroll.

And of course, Emmanuel, who once called sir “Amma” and is still emotionally recovering.

Ibrahim was the one who had a cute little crush on me. He once passed me a pen and said, “Use this when your heart wants to write the truth.” I wanted to throw the pen and myself out the window.

But none of them made my heart stop like Suhail did.

He was from the 12th commerce batch. Two years older. He had his own group of friends who sat separately during their time slot. They were the older-batch cool guys—always laughing about inside jokes and pretending to hate tuition but never missing a class.

Suhail was… calm. Average student. Playful smile. Nothing fancy. But somehow… everything.

He didn’t know I existed.

Never looked at me.

Never said my name.

But I? I knew what shirt he wore on rainy days.

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January 2025

It was test season. Stress, flying papers, and too many pens. That day, sir had asked us to solve a previous year’s Maths board exam paper.

I was late.

Like actually late. Panting-up-the-stairs kind of late.

I pushed open the square-holed railing door, clutching my bag and water bottle, fully expecting sir to give me a lecture.

And there he was.

Suhail. Standing next to sir.

They were discussing something about test papers. I froze at the door, breathless.

Sir looked at me with a classic annoyed-teacher face. But before he could say anything, Suhail turned his head, met my eyes and asked with that half-smile:

> “Why did you come late today?”

Me, internally: IS THIS REAL LIFE???

I blinked. Words? What were words? My brain screamed, Say something smart!

My mouth:

> “Uh… maybe my blanket didn’t want me to leave.”

He laughed.

He actually laughed.

Sir rolled his eyes. “Okay, okay, comedy duo. Sit down and solve the paper. Not a stand-up show.”

I rushed to my usual bench, heart thudding. And guess what?

Suhail came and sat next to me.

Behind me, I could feel the invisible chaos from my girls.

Devitha: “Did he just—?”