The bell rang.
Chairs scraped. Boys moved. Voices filled the air.
But no one spoke to her.
Ishi sat frozen at her desk, clutching the edges of her notebook like a lifeline. Her gaze flicked around the classroom — clusters of boys gathering in their usual groups, joking, laughing, tossing wrappers, trading food.
No one looked at her.
No one offered a smile.
No one asked her anything.
The seat beside her remained occupied — by silence.
Reyan Kashyap sat still, earbuds in, head turned away, gaze locked on the window.
[Ishi's Thoughts]
So this is Section C. A class full of noise — but not a single voice for me.
Even the teacher just placed me here and left. Like I was a forgotten file.
Am I invisible? Or just... unwanted?
She opened her lunchbox slowly — the scent of warm rice and spices mixing with the classroom air.
A few boys wrinkled their noses.
"Ugh, what's that smell?" someone muttered.
"Foreign food alert," another snorted under his breath.
She said nothing.
The words didn't sting as much as the silence from the rest of the room. No introductions. No curiosity. Just a wall of indifference.
And Reyan — he hadn't spoken a single word since "Share your desk."
He hadn't even looked at her.
[Reyan's Thoughts]
This class was built for silence, order, and distance. No drama. No distractions.
We made it clear: no girls in Section C. That was the deal.
But now she's here — quiet, neat, soft-spoken.
Wrong section. Wrong timing. Wrong surname.
Reyan leaned back in his chair, arms folded. His stare drifted to the back wall, but his mind wasn't calm.
Because there was something familiar in her name.
Ishita Ryu Joshi.
Joshi.
He narrowed his eyes.
Across the room, someone had begun murmuring — a quiet conversation near the water bottles.
"Hey... did you hear the new girl's full name?"
"Yeah. Something Joshi."
"That name... it sounds like..."
The bell rang again, cutting the moment in half.
Everyone moved back to their seats.
Ishi looked up from her sketchbook, where she had been drawing shapes and shadows.
She could feel it — the moment before something cracked open.
But no one asked.
No one confronted her.
Not yet.
Only Reyan looked over his shoulder once, briefly — not at her, but at her name on the corner of her notebook.
[Reyan's Thoughts]
If she's who I think she is... this isn't over. It's just starting.
End of Chapter 2
❤️ If the silence felt loud.
🖤 If Reyan's stare gave you chills.
🔥 If you're ready for what's coming next in Section C.
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