The next morning at school, excitement buzzed through the air. The four friends had arrived early, gathered in a quiet corner of the courtyard, whispering final touches to their plan.
Mishal checked her watch. "Five more minutes. He should be here any second."
Zaki cracked his knuckles. "This is going to be fun. No one messes with my girls and walks away peacefully."
Urhaan smirked. "Relax, soldier. We're not starting a war."
Anabiya's eyes were sharp, focused. "I just want him to know — don't mess with Anabiya Sikander."
Right on cue, Mahir walked through the school gates, his earphones in, looking every bit like the cool new kid. He headed toward the class building, unaware of the eyes following him.
Just as he passed by, Anabiya casually stuck her leg out in his path.
Mahir stumbled slightly but didn't fall. He paused, took one earbud out, and looked straight at her.
"Plz madam,look where are u going?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
Anabiya gave him an innocent smile. "Oops. My leg must've slipped."
Mahir looked at her for a second longer, then just walked off without another word.
Urhaan leaned toward Anabiya. "That... didn't go the way I imagined."
Anabiya huffed. "He thinks he's too cool to react. But he'll slip up. Just wait."
They all headed toward the classroom, still giggling and whispering about Mahir's expression.
When they reached their class, Miss Reshail was already inside, checking the attendance sheet. As they settled into their seats, Mahir walked in behind them, calm as ever.
Miss Reshail looked up. "Good morning, Mahir. Please take your seat."
He glanced around — the only empty seat was behind Anabiya.
He walked over and sat down quietly.
Anabiya didn't turn around. But she couldn't stop the smirk forming on her face.
After a while, she leaned back just a little, tilted her head enough for only Mahir to hear, and whispered,
"Game on."
Mahir didn't respond. He simply smiled — the kind of smile that says challenge accepted.
And just like that, the real war had begun.
Everyone was seated as Miss Aisha conducted the math class. A long and complicated equation was written on the board, and she was in the middle of solving it. The looks on the students' faces clearly showed they had no idea what was going on.
Urhaan was seated right next to Mahir. He sneakily pulled a safety pin out of his pocket and poked Mahir on the hip.
Mahir immediately jumped from his seat and let out a sharp "Ouch!"
Miss Aisha turned around at once. Seeing Mahir standing, she said,
"What happened, beta? Didn't you understand again? How many times do I have to explain it? Come to the board and solve it yourself so maybe you'll finally understand."
Mishal, Anabiya, and Zaki were doing everything they could to hold back their laughter.
Mahir glanced at both Anabiya and Urhaan, then walked calmly to the board. Without saying anything, he solved the equation flawlessly.
Everyone stared in surprise — how had he solved such a difficult question so easily?
Miss Aisha smiled and praised him.
"Very good. Go sit down now."
As Mahir walked back to his seat, he leaned in close to Anabiya and whispered near her ear,
"Nice move. But next time... play better."
Hearing this, Anabiya's blood boiled. She stood up, about to give him a piece of her mind, when Miss Aisha called out,
"What happened, Anabiya? Do you also want to solve the next question?"
Anabiya gave a nervous laugh and replied,
"No, ma'am... I just felt something on my chair. That's all."
Miss Aisha frowned.
"Anabiya, please focus on your studies."
Embarrassed, Anabiya ran a hand through her hair and sat back down quietly.