The peaceful morning ended the moment Aanya looked at the clock.
Silence.
A blink.
Another blink.
Then—
"Sagnik."
"Hm?"
"We have twenty minutes."
He looked up from the pan.
"For?"
"College."
The spatula froze.
For the first time that morning, Sagnik actually looked alarmed.
Aanya pointed dramatically at him.
"This is your fault."
"My fault?"
"Yes."
"You requested a three-course breakfast."
"It was pancakes."
"There was coffee."
"Coffee is not a course."
"There was toast."
She narrowed her eyes.
"You're arguing instead of moving."
That finally got him moving.
The next ten minutes were absolute chaos.
Aanya couldn't find her notebook.
Sagnik couldn't find his keys.
The notebook was under the keys.
Neither of them understood how.
By the time they left the apartment, both were half-running.
"Faster," Aanya said.
"We're already running."
"Run faster."
"That's not how physics works."
"It does today."
They reached the college gates with barely enough time to spare.
Students were still flowing through the entrance in scattered groups.
Aanya slowed slightly, trying to catch her breath.
A familiar voice called out from behind.
"Wait!"
She turned.
Aditi was sprinting toward them, bag bouncing violently against her shoulder.
Her hair looked like she had lost a fight with the wind.
"Please tell me," she gasped dramatically as she reached them, "that I am not the only person who almost died trying to get here."
"You are not," Aanya replied.
"Good."
Aditi pointed accusingly at her.
"You."
"What?"
"Late."
"Observant."
Aditi's eyes slid toward Sagnik.
Then back to Aanya.
A grin appeared.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
"Oh."
Aanya immediately knew that expression.
"No."
"Oh yes."
"No."
Aditi moved closer, lowering her voice.
"You know, most people call it 'going home.'"
Aanya frowned.
"What?"
"You basically live with him."
Aanya nearly choked.
"We do not."
"Really?"
"We don't."
Aditi's grin widened.
"You spend more time with him than with me.. your roommate"
"That's not the point."
"It feels like the point."
"It is absolutely not the point."
Ahead of them, Sagnik continued walking, entirely unaware of the conversation.
Or at least pretending to be.
Aanya wasn't sure anymore.
Aditi bumped her shoulder.
"So when are you two finally going to admit whatever this is?"
Aanya groaned.
"Not you too."
"What?"
"Everyone keeps asking."
"That's because nobody understands."
"Neither do we."
Aditi laughed.
"That's actually worse."
As they crossed the central courtyard, a few students glanced their way.
Nothing unusual.
Just quick looks.
A whisper here.
A nudge there.
Most people looked away immediately.
Aanya didn't notice.
Aditi didn't either.
But Sagnik did.
His gaze lingered for half a second on a group near the canteen.
Long enough to understand.
Not long enough to react.
He simply kept walking.
Calm.
Unreadable.
As if the whispers belonged to someone else.
Aanya caught up beside him.
"What are you looking at?" AskedAanya, while gasping for air
"Nothing." Sagnik replied casually, almost nonchalantly
Aanya narrowed her eyes
"You're lying." .
"Probably."
"That's not reassuring."
"It wasn't meant to be."
Aditi groaned.
"I hate both of you." Aditi blurted.
"You say that every week." Sagnik says, trying not to laugh
"And one day I'll mean it." Aditi said in response
"You won't."
"Unfortunately." Aditi give up, she loved both of them as her own family
The three of them climbed the stairs toward their classroom, the noise of the campus fading behind them.
Inside, students were already settling into their seats.
Bags dropped onto desks.
Books opened.
Conversations softened.
Aanya slid into her chair with a dramatic sigh of relief.
"Made it."
"Barely," Aditi said.
Sagnik took the seat beside her, setting his notebook down with his usual calm precision.
For the first time that morning, everything felt still again.
The rush.
The teasing.
The running.
All of it settled into the familiar comfort of routine.
The professor hadn't arrived yet.
The classroom buzzed softly around them.
And for a brief moment, the three of them simply sat there, catching their breath, unaware that half the room had already noticed exactly who had walked in together.