The classroom had emptied like a broken promise.
Chairs hung half-pulled, a chalkboard sat half-erased, and Section C felt half-asleep. But Ryu — Ishita Ryu Joshi — remained seated, her sketchbook spread open like armor.
She wasn't drawing to impress.
She was drawing to breathe.
Lines curved into faces. Not perfect. Not polished. But alive.
Two boys lingered near the back, their voices low and uncertain.
"Should we go?" one asked.
"Wait," the other replied. "She's... kind of interesting."
Ryu didn't look up. But she heard them approach.
"Hey," the boy with the Rubik's cube said. "You're Ryu, right?"
She paused her pencil, then nodded. "Yeah."
"I'm Kabir Ahlawat," he said, raising the cube like a hello. "And that goofball is Avyaan Pratap Singh — we call him Avi."
"Only my enemies call me Avyaan," Avi smirked. "You can call me Avi, Ryu."
[Ryu's Thoughts]
They're using my real name. Not Ishita. Not Joshi. Just... Ryu.
She looked up cautiously.
Avi tilted his head. "You really drew all that?"
Kabir leaned in. "You've sketched half the class. Including us."
Her cheeks flushed slightly, but she didn't close the notebook. Instead, she turned the page — revealing a sharp jawline, glasses, and a resting-annoyed face. Kabir.
Next page — messy hair, mischievous eyes, a crooked grin. Avi.
Avi whistled. "I look hot in charcoal."
Kabir chuckled. "That's the art, not the subject."
Ryu gave a faint smile. "I'll draw better ones. If you want."
Avi grinned. "Deal. But only if you take payment in food."
Ryu hesitated, then quietly unwrapped two warm parathas from her lunchbox and slid them between them.
Kabir blinked. "For real?"
She nodded. "I made them."
Avi grabbed one dramatically. "Ryu, artist and chef? Who even are you?"
She laughed softly — her first laugh in Section C.
Minutes passed like moments.
Avi shared stories of how he once nearly got suspended for replacing the morning assembly prayer with a rickroll audio. Kabir solved his Rubik's cube three times without looking. Ryu, for once, listened without shrinking.
For the first time, Section C wasn't cold.
It was warm parathas and real names and laughter between sketches.
Outside the door, Reyan returned to grab his forgotten charger — but froze.
There she was. Ryu.
Talking. Laughing. Belonging.
With Kabir and Avi, of all people.
Something twisted inside him.
[Reyan's Thoughts]
Ryu Joshi. I should've known she'd find a way in.
That name... that face...
Why do I remember her like a ghost I never met?
Back inside, Ryu closed her sketchbook and looked at the two boys.
"Thanks," she said.
"For what?" Kabir asked.
"For staying."
Avi bumped her shoulder. "That's what friends do, Ryu."
She blinked.
Friends.
✨ Should Ryu trust Kabir and Avi? Or is this friendship too easy in a class like Section C?
💬 Comment what you think — and vote if you felt even a spark in that little trio moment.
🔥 More twists coming in Chapter 4!
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