Chapter 1

The Boy Everyone Feared

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"Every school has a story. Ours had a warning."

"Stay away from Rajvansh."

It was the first sentence Naina Joshi heard before she even stepped inside St. Xavier's Senior Secondary School.

The words came from two girls standing near the entrance. They weren't whispering because they wanted to gossip.

They were whispering because they were afraid.

Naina adjusted the strap of her backpack and looked toward them curiously.

"Who is Rajvansh?" she wondered.

Before she could ask, her father's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Naina?"

She turned around.

Her father smiled warmly as he straightened the collar of her neatly ironed school uniform.

"You'll do great."

"I hope so."

"You always do."

She smiled, though butterflies fluttered inside her stomach.

Changing schools in the middle of senior secondary wasn't easy.

New classrooms.

New teachers.

New friends.

A completely new life.

She had topped every class she had ever studied in, but marks couldn't guarantee acceptance.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped through the massive iron gates of St. Xavier's.

She had no idea this school would change her life forever.

---

Class XII-A buzzed with excitement.

Some students compared holiday photos.

Others complained about board exams.

Someone had already started collecting notes.

Naina quietly entered the classroom after the peon directed her upstairs.

Almost every seat was occupied.

Dozens of unfamiliar eyes turned toward her.

She suddenly wished she could disappear.

Thankfully, a cheerful girl waved from the second row.

"Hey! You're the new student, right?"

Naina smiled.

"Yes."

"I'm Siya."

"Naina."

Siya immediately shifted her bag.

"Sit here until ma'am comes."

Relieved, Naina thanked her and sat down.

"So..." Siya grinned.

"You really topped your previous school?"

"I was lucky."

"Lucky?" Siya laughed.

"People don't score ninety-eight percent because they're lucky."

Naina laughed softly.

Maybe making friends wouldn't be so difficult after all.

Just then...

The classroom door opened.

Mrs. Meera Kapoor walked inside carrying attendance sheets.

Everyone stood.

"Good morning, ma'am."

"Good morning, class."

Her eyes found Naina immediately.

"You must be Miss Joshi."

"Yes, ma'am."

Mrs. Kapoor smiled kindly.

"Come forward and introduce yourself."

Naina walked to the front of the classroom.

She could feel everyone's eyes on her.

"I'm Naina Joshi. My father recently got transferred here, so I joined this school. I love reading novels, painting, and biology."

She smiled nervously.

"I hope we'll all become good friends."

The class welcomed her with applause.

Mrs. Kapoor nodded approvingly.

"Thank you, Naina."

She glanced around the classroom.

"The only permanent seat available is..."

She paused.

"The last bench."

The room instantly fell silent.

Some students exchanged awkward glances.

Someone muttered,

"Oh no..."

Naina frowned.

Was sitting on the last bench really such a big deal?

She picked up her bag anyway.

As she walked toward the back of the classroom, Siya looked as though she wanted to stop her.

But she didn't.

The seat beside the window was empty.

Naina smiled to herself.

Perfect.

She loved sitting near windows.

The gentle morning breeze carried the scent of rain through the open frame.

She unpacked her books carefully.

Maybe this school wasn't so bad after all.

---

Mrs. Kapoor had just begun explaining the year's syllabus when loud footsteps echoed through the corridor.

Everyone looked toward the door.

Nobody spoke.

The footsteps grew closer.

Then...

The classroom door slid open.

A tall boy stood there.

Untucked white shirt.

Loose tie.

Messy black hair.

A black wristwatch.

A faint scar above his eyebrow.

He wasn't trying to look intimidating.

Yet somehow...

He was.

His expression remained completely unreadable.

Not angry.

Not happy.

Nothing.

Mrs. Kapoor closed the attendance register with a sigh.

"Late."

The boy shrugged casually.

"There was traffic."

Several students exchanged amused looks.

Everyone knew he lived less than ten minutes away.

Mrs. Kapoor folded her arms.

"I've heard that excuse at least twenty times."

No reply.

The boy simply looked out of the window.

Almost as though the conversation bored him.

"Take your seat, Arav."

So...

This was Rajvansh.

Arav Rajvansh.

The name everyone whispered.

Without looking at anyone, he walked toward the last bench.

Toward her.

For the first time since entering the classroom...

His eyes met Naina's.

Dark.

Calm.

Impossible to read.

Neither smiled.

Neither spoke.

He placed his backpack on the desk with a heavy thud.

The impact shook the table.

Naina's notebook slipped off the edge and landed on the floor.

Pages scattered everywhere.

She bent to collect them.Arav didn't move.Not even an inch.

She looked up.

He had already taken out a black notebook and was staring out of the window as though nothing had happened.

Naina waited.

Surely...

He would at least say "sorry."

He didn't.

She picked up the last page herself and placed the notebook back on the desk.

Then she looked straight at him.

"You could've helped."

For the first time...

Arav turned his head.

His expression didn't change.

"You dropped it."

Naina frowned.

"No."

She held his gaze.

"Your bag did."

Silence.

For a second, the entire classroom seemed to disappear.

Two strangers.

One last bench.

And a conversation that neither of them knew was only the beginning.For a brief moment, neither of them looked away.

The silence between them was almost uncomfortable.

Then Arav leaned back in his chair, his expression unchanged.

"So?" he asked.

Naina blinked.

"So?"

"You said my bag dropped your notebook."

"It did."

"And?"

She stared at him, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"And... you could've said sorry."

A faint smirk appeared on his face.Not an apologetic one.

One that somehow managed to annoy her even more.

"I don't apologize for accidents."

Naina folded her arms.

"I guess basic manners aren't taught to everyone."

For the first time, a few students turned around to watch them.

Siya's eyes widened.

"Is she seriously arguing with him?"

Arav looked at Naina for another second before opening a notebook.

The conversation was over.

At least for him.

Naina let out a quiet sigh.

"Impossible."

She had met stubborn people before.

But this boy wasn't just stubborn.

He acted as though the entire world existed somewhere very far away from him.

---

Mrs. Kapoor continued explaining the syllabus for the board exams.

"The coming months will decide your future. I expect complete discipline from everyone."

Most students nodded seriously.

Arav rested his chin on his hand and looked out of the window.

Naina noticed.

"Does he ever pay attention?"

She quickly looked away.

It wasn't her concern.

Or so she told herself.

---

Forty minutes later...

The mathematics teacher entered.

He wrote a difficult calculus problem on the board.

"Let's see who remembers this from Class 11."

Silence.

Students exchanged nervous glances.

No one raised a hand.

Finally...

Naina stood.

She solved the question confidently, explaining every step.

"Excellent," the teacher praised.

"Very good."

She smiled politely and returned to her seat.

As she sat down, a quiet voice reached her ears.

"Show-off."

She turned immediately.

"What?"

Arav was still looking at the board.

"I didn't say anything."

"You just did."

"Did I?"

His face remained completely expressionless.

Naina narrowed her eyes.

"You know what's your problem?"

He finally looked at her.

"No."

"You think being rude makes you interesting."

For the first time, his expression changed.

Just slightly.

One eyebrow lifted.

"And you think being perfect makes people like you."

The words hit harder than she expected.

Before she could reply-

"Mr. Rajvansh."

The teacher's voice echoed through the classroom.

"Since you seem free, why don't you solve the next question?"

Soft laughter spread across the room.

Someone whispered,

"He's done."

The teacher stepped aside.

"Come."

Arav didn't move.

For two long seconds...

The classroom waited.

Then he stood.

Without carrying a notebook.

Without asking for chalk.

He picked up a piece of chalk from the tray and looked at the question.

The class watched silently.

Naina crossed her arms.

"Let's see how the famous troublemaker handles this."

Arav wrote three short lines.

No hesitation.

No rough work.

He placed the chalk down.

"Done."

The teacher looked at the board.

His eyes widened.

Silence filled the room.

Finally, he nodded.

"Correct."

Several students looked at one another in surprise.

Naina frowned.

"Lucky guess?"

The teacher smiled faintly.

"Very good."

Arav simply returned to his seat.

No smile.

No pride.

Nothing.

Naina glanced sideways.

He was already staring out of the window again.

"Strange..."

Maybe it really had been luck.

---

The lunch bell rang.

Students rushed outside.

Siya grabbed Naina's wrist.

"Come quickly."

As they entered the canteen, Siya lowered her voice.

"Promise me something."

"What?"

"Don't fight with Arav."

"I wasn't fighting."

"You called him rude."

"He is rude."

Riya joined them carrying a cold drink.

"You argued with Rajvansh on your first day?"

Naina nodded.

"Someone had to."

Both girls looked horrified.

"You don't know him."

"Exactly," Naina replied.

"And from what I've seen, I don't want to."

The conversation shifted.

Rumours spread faster than the smell of samosas in the crowded canteen.

"My cousin says he was suspended."

"I heard he beat up three seniors."

"Someone told me he nearly got expelled."

Naina listened quietly.

Every story sounded different.

Yet everyone spoke with complete confidence.

She glanced across the canteen.

Arav sat alone near the window.

No friends.

No conversation.

Just a half-finished sandwich and a pair of earphones.

He didn't seem lonely.

He simply seemed...

Distant.

As though the noise around him couldn't reach him.For a brief second...She wondered if he had heard the rumours too.

Then she shook the thought away.

"Why am I even thinking about him?"

---

The final bell echoed through the school.

Students hurried home.

Dark clouds covered the sky.Within moments, rain began pouring over the campus.Naina searched her bag.

"No..."

She had forgotten her umbrella.

The rain grew heavier.

Students laughed as they ran toward waiting cars and buses.

She stepped beneath the school porch.

"I guess I'm stuck."

The familiar sound of a motorcycle engine broke through the rain.

A black bike stopped near the gate.

Arav adjusted his helmet.

Started the engine.

And rode away without looking back.

Naina watched him disappear through the curtain of rain.

She folded her arms.

"What a jerk."

Somewhere down the empty road...

The black motorcycle slowed for only a second before disappearing into the storm.

Neither of them knew it yet.

But the last bench had already begun weaving their stories together.

And sometimes...

The people we dislike the most become the ones who change our lives forever.

End of Chapter 1 ✨

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