chapter-1 first day of school

FINDING SOMEONE YOU LOVE IS NOT EASY NOR KEEPING THEM IS.

The first day of a new school was supposed to be exciting — right?

Not for Sanshita.

Her stomach had been in knots since she woke up. She hadn’t touched her breakfast. She'd changed her outfit three times before settling on the safest option: her favorite faded blue jeans and a simple white kurta. Clean, comfortable, invisible.

She sat quietly in the car as her father drove her to Rockford High — hands clenched in her lap, trying not to look too anxious. He hummed some old Kishore Kumar tune under his breath, like everything was normal. Like his daughter wasn’t about to step into a whole new world, completely alone.

“You’ll be alright, beta,” he said softly as they pulled up in front of the school gates. “Remember, no one knows you here. You can be whoever you want.”

She smiled faintly, leaned over, and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, Papa.”

As soon as she stepped out of the car, it hit her — the noise, the energy, the sheer number of students already gathered around the entrance. Some were laughing, some were running around, some looked way too confident for 8:05 in the morning.

Her feet felt heavier with every step.

Don’t look around too much. Don’t make eye contact. Just breathe.

She whispered those thoughts to herself like a prayer and walked toward the main building. But just as she reached the steps

BAM.

She walked straight into someone.

Hard.

Her shoulder smacked into a broad chest, and she dropped her phone. Her bag slipped off her shoulder. She stumbled back, completely thrown off.

“Oh shit,” she muttered under her breath, crouching down to grab her phone.

“Watch it, Tiny,” a voice said. Not harsh — but cocky. Lazy. Amused.

She looked up.

And froze.

The guy she had bumped into was... something else. Tall. Really tall. Probably 6'3. Muscular. Tanned skin. His white shirt was half tucked in, tie hanging loose like he didn’t care about dress codes. And his face — sharp jaw, messy hair, brown eyes that looked right through her — and a smirk that said he knew exactly how good he looked.

He bent down, picked up her phone, and handed it to her.

“You new?” he asked casually, already knowing the answer.

She nodded, cheeks flushing. “Yeah. First day.”

He tilted his head, studied her for a second. “Figures.”

She waited for him to move, but he didn’t. He just stood there, like he had all the time in the world.

“You’ve got that ‘I-hope-no-one-notices-me’ look,” he said.

Sanshita stared at him, unsure whether to be embarrassed, annoyed, or impressed.

“Thanks?” she said, taking her phone.

He chuckled. “Not an insult. Just... good luck.”

And with that, he turned around and walked away, slipping into a group of seniors like a wave disappearing into the sea.

She stood there for a moment, her heart beating faster than it should’ve been. She didn’t even know his name.

But something about him — the way he looked at her, that damn smirk — stuck in her chest like a secret waiting to explode.