The bell rang.
Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just once, sharp and final.
For a moment, Reva Agarwal didn't move.
Her pen rested between her fingers, the tip hovering just above the paper as if her body hadn't yet accepted that it was over. Around her, chairs scraped softly against the floor. Someone sighed in relief. Someone else cursed under their breath.
Reva blinked, then slowly looked down at her answer sheet.
She had written everything she could.
Every definition she remembered at three in the morning. Every diagram she had redrawn until her wrist ached. Every answer she had second-guessed and rewritten twice.
A small smile tugged at her lips. It wasn't pride. It was relief. The kind that loosened the tight knot sitting in her chest for weeks.
She stood up, submitted her paper, and walked out of the examination hall.
The corridor felt different. Lighter. Louder. Filled with voices that sounded almost foreign after hours of silence. Groups formed instantly. Some people laughed too loudly. Some looked shell-shocked. A few already had their heads buried in phones, probably Googling answers they didn't want to know.
Reva scanned the crowd.
And then she heard it.
"REVA!"
She turned just in time to see Aria Sehgal waving both arms wildly near the notice board, as if subtlety was a personal enemy. Beside her stood Vivaan Singhania, relaxed, composed, leaning against the wall with that effortless calm that made Reva want to push him just to see if he'd wobble.
Her smile widened, and without thinking, she hurried toward her two best friends.
"How was it?" she asked the second she reached them, eyes bright.
Aria let out a long breath. "Ask me again after I survive the result."
Reva laughed. "That bad?"
"I wrote something," Aria said defensively. "Whether it was correct is not my responsibility anymore."
Vivaan smiled quietly, dimples appearing as usual. "It went fine."
Reva shot him a look. "You always say that."
He shrugged. "Because it usually does."
She groaned. "Some people are God's favourites."
Vivaan's smile only grew.
Reva glanced at both of them, suddenly feeling the exhaustion creep into her bones. The adrenaline was fading now, replaced by hunger and that familiar craving she always got after stress.
"Panipuri," she announced.
Aria blinked. "What?"
"Panipuri," Reva repeated, already walking toward the parking area. "I deserve it."
"It's scorching outside," Aria protested, falling into step beside her. "And I'm mentally broken."
Vivaan followed them, amused. "You can't emotionally blackmail us into—"
Reva stopped, turned, and looked at them.
Wide eyes. Slight pout. Hands clasped.
The puppy eyes.
Aria sighed immediately. "I hate how effective that is."
Vivaan laughed. "Fine. Let's go."
They climbed into Vivaan's car, the air inside cool and quiet. Reva leaned back against the seat, finally letting herself relax. The city passed by outside the window, noisy and bright.
Conversation drifted easily.
They talked about the exam. About questions they were unsure of. About that one professor who always scared everyone for no reason. Aria dramatized her near-death experience during the last section, complete with hand gestures.
Vivaan chuckled, glancing at her briefly.
Reva was mid-laugh when she noticed it.
"Vivaan—"
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘬——.
The sound was sharp. Metal against metal.
The car lurched violently, jerking them forward before coming to a sudden stop.
Silence followed. Thick. Unnatural.
Reva's heart hammered as she stared ahead, her smile gone, her breath shallow.
They had crashed.
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