Pratapangar Girls High School.
The 11th grade Pure Science 'A' section classroom.
Second period. Chemistry class.
There was an unusual excitement among the girls today.
As soon as the bell rang, the classroom suddenly fell into a kind of silence. No one shifted their bench, no one spoke. Everyone knew — this was the moment when Anurag Sir would enter.
The fan was spinning slowly in the heat, but nothing seemed to register in their ears — because today, it was Anurag Sir's class again.
As the clock hand passed 11:50, the girls sat up a little straighter. Some opened their notebooks, some fixed their hair. Megha, sitting in the front bench, glanced at herself in the mirror once more before sitting upright again.
Some whispered among themselves—
— "The school used to feel boring, but not anymore. After all, having such a handsome sir teaching us is no small thing!"
When the door opened and Sir entered, the entire class seemed to hold its breath and watch.
White shirt, slate-colored trousers, no bag on the shoulder, just a pen and duster in hand. As usual, Sir looked effortlessly exceptional in his simple attire.
The moment Sir stepped in, his eyes immediately landed on Sneha.
Today too, she was sitting in the last bench, curled up, keeping herself withdrawn.
After taking roll call, Anurag Sir said, "So, last class we studied subatomic particles. Today, we will talk about the Bohr model."
There was a slight seriousness in his expression.
Diya, sitting by the wall, slowly opened her pen, but her mind was far away from writing.
Sir was drawing on the board — the electron's orbit, the nucleus, energy levels...
And the girls in class silently seemed to be discovering themselves within those drawings.
Sneha was watching Sir very attentively.
Whenever Sir turned back to the board, Sneha observed him deeply.
And whenever Sir looked back towards the class, Sneha tried to hide herself.
On the board, Sir wrote:
"Bohr Model of the Atom"
Then, in a calm voice, he began to speak,
"Have you ever wondered why electrons revolve around the nucleus in orbits, and why they suddenly jump from one energy level to another?"
Tonni whispered to her friend Anwesha, "Sir is the center, and we are all… electrons."
With a gentle voice, Sir began to explain,
"Bohr said — electrons revolve in specific energy levels. These are called K, L, M, N… and the energy in each of these levels is different. If an electron gains extra energy, it moves to an 'excited state.'"
At this moment, it seemed as if none of the girls in the class could avoid reaching their own 'excited state.'
Vaishali sat with her head bowed, but her eyes were fixed on the teacher.
Megha bit her lip, drawing circle after circle on her notebook — not really the Bohr model, but her thoughts swirling like electrons.
Anurag Sir drew a neat diagram on the board with chalk and said,
"Look here, at the K shell, there can be a maximum of 2 electrons. Then in the L shell, 8; and in the M shell, 18."
He pointed at each part of the drawing as he explained.
"But electrons don't always want to go outward. Many quietly return to the nucleus. This is called de-excitation. When that happens, they emit light."
Aishika's heart jolted. It felt as if those words were about her — coming to Sir's class every day searching for light, then quietly returning to her place without saying anything to anyone.
Suddenly, Sir said,
"In our lives too, we experience 'excitation'—we get suddenly excited, want something new... and then at some point, return to the center again."
The girls wondered — was Sir only talking about electrons?
Some of them felt a different kind of excitement stirring in their minds. Physical excitement!
Riya, with a mischievous smile, said,
"Sir, you teach really well. But when you get excited, I really want to know what you want."
From beside her, Vaishali giggled and softly added,
"I wonder too, Sir, what calms you down when you get excited."
Sir said,
"Electrons love to stay calm. They find peace by revolving quietly around their center."
The girls whispered among themselves,
"Just like Sir."
Sir continued,
"But if someone touches them a little, gives them a tiny bit of energy... they leap to the upper level."
As he said this, his eyes glanced at Sneha sitting at the back.
"Touch causes them to jump up! How much exactly?"
Diya whispered.
Rimi gave Diya a playful shove and said,
"Are you crazy? What's going on in your head?"
Diya laughed mischievously,
"I'm paying attention, just listen carefully."
"That's when we say the electron is 'excited.' It's in an agitated state. Restless and fidgety… it's no longer itself."
As he spoke, Sir's gaze remained fixed on Sneha with unwavering intensity. His eyes held a strange calmness, but inside something was restless. He never looked away. His lips moved, forming sentences, but his mind seemed trapped elsewhere.
He felt the same restlessness as the electron, until Sneha fully focused on his words — only then would he look away.
Sneha, feeling uneasy, looked around nervously, trying to hide her face behind her book. A familiar discomfort and unknown tremor played across her features. But eventually, she looked back at Sir.
And that was exactly what Sir wanted.
When Sneha truly met Sir's gaze, he looked at her for a moment longer before averting his eyes. Turning away, he faced the board.
Sneha had been scared — she thought Sir might never look away from her. What would the other students say then?
---
Sir drew a large circle on the board and said,
"This you see here is the nucleus at the center of an atom. Around it are the orbits where electrons revolve. Each orbit is an energy level. They are very organized — each has its own designated place."
He paused and spoke in a deep voice,
"But if energy comes from outside — say light, heat, or some form of radiation — then the electron suddenly leaves its old orbit and jumps to a higher level. This is called 'excitation.' It is an excited state."
He drew a continuous spiral from bottom to top on the board.
"In this state, the electron is very restless. This is not its normal condition. It stays in the higher level until it loses the extra energy. Then it comes back down to its place, releasing energy as light or radiation on the way back."
---
Aishika, the class topper who loved taking notes, wasn't writing anything today. She just sat, listening to Sir and looking at his sweet face.
She thought — somehow looking into Sir's eyes gave her a sense of peace.
"He talks about the 'center,' the 'core,' the 'return'—and I wonder, does he know I want to revolve around him every day just like an electron?"
For Aishika, no topic had ever seemed more important than any school subject,
but today, for some reason, Sir himself felt like the most important topic in her life.
Sir wrote the last line on the board—
"Atoms are stable when electrons are in ground state."
Then he slowly said,
"Stability comes when everything is in its place. Like us… if we understand our position, we can radiate light, the light of knowledge."
---
When the class ended, no one seemed eager to leave. Sir put down the duster and walked slowly toward the door. But before opening it, he suddenly turned and said,
"Chemistry is not just about formulas. It's the science of feelings — if you study with your heart, everything will feel like life itself."
Saying this, he walked out.
Behind him, the girls started whispering,
"If Sir wasn't here, life would probably be like a neutron — without any charge."
---
To be continued...