Monday arrived faster than anyone wanted.
The weekend had blurred by in a mix of half‑finished notes, lazy scrolling, family calls, twin chaos, and tiny pockets of quiet.
By the time everyone shuffled into Professor Sharma’s lecture, there was a different kind of tension in the room.
Group‑assignment day.
Professor Sharma adjusted his glasses and flipped open the register.
“Alright,” he said, tapping the chalk against the board. “As mentioned last week, we’re starting your first internal group assignment from today. Groups of four. Topics will be allotted, and you’ll have three weeks.”
Groans. Whispering. People already trying to calculate which friend would land with them.
“No requests,” he added, without looking up. “Groups are fixed by roll number sequence. Learn to work with new people. That’s part of the learning.”
He started reading.
“Roll numbers 1 to 4, Group 1. Roll numbers 5 to 8, Group 2…”
Rhea leaned closer to Anaya. “If we don’t land together, I’m dropping out,” she whispered.
“You say that every time,” Anaya whispered back.
“Group 5,” the professor continued. “Roll numbers 17 to 20: Arush Mehra, Rhea Sharma, Anaya Verma, and…Kabir Malhotra.”
Anaya’s stomach dipped.
Rhea went very still.
Kabir.
Of course it had to be him.
The same Kabir who’d tried to block their way in the corridor and invite himself into their time. The same one who looked at Anaya like she was an opportunity, not a person.
From the other side, Kabir straightened in his seat, smirk already forming. “Wah,” he murmured to his friend. “Group with toppers and the quiet one. Full package.”
Arush just made a small mental note: Kabir equals corridor guy.
The professor wrote “Group 5 – Topic: Impact of Social Media Algorithms on Youth Behaviour” on the board.
“Sit together after I finish announcing,” he said. “You’ll decide roles and a basic outline today.”
He continued with other groups. But for the four of them, the room had already narrowed down.
Once the announcements ended, there was a scrape of chairs as people started shuffling around.
“Come on,” Rhea muttered, exhaling sharply. “Before Kabir decides where we’ll sit.”
They moved toward a row in the middle, taking two adjacent seats. Anaya by the aisle, Rhea next to her.
Kabir arrived a second later, sliding into the chair on Anaya’s other side like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Hey, partner,” he said, giving her a grin.
She forced a polite-ish smile and said nothing.
Arush came last, unhurried, opting for the seat next to Rhea rather than the empty space next to Kabir. From the outside, it looked random. To Rhea and Anaya, it felt like a small buffer.
“Okay,” Kabir started, leaning forward, forearms on the desk. “Group 5. Dream team, no?”
Rhea’s eyes were already unimpressed. “Depends who’s dreaming,” she said.
Kabir laughed it off. “Relax, yaar. We’ll finish this smoothly. See, we have toppers,” he jerked his head toward Rhea, “we have quiet but smart,” he nodded at Anaya, “and we have…” He tilted his head toward Arush. “Mysterious comeback guy.”
Arush looked at him, expression calm. “Arush is fine,” he said.
“Arush, haan,” Kabir said. “Everyone was talking about you, bro. You just disappeared and suddenly back like a plot twist. Kaha tha itne din?”
“Personal reasons,” Arush replied, tone polite but closed.
“Haan, but like what?” Kabir pushed, a teasing tone, but his eyes sharp with nosy curiosity. “Business? Health? Secret marriage?” He laughed at his own joke.
“Personal,” Arush repeated, the slightest emphasis on the word this time. Not rude. Just absolute.
Arush pulled the topic toward the middle of the desk. “Let’s start,” he said simply.
Rhea switched into efficient mode. “Okay. Topic: social media algorithms and youth behaviour. We need basic algorithm explanation, pros/cons, mental health impact, academic/productivity impact, and solutions.”
Kabir perked up only at one word. “Algorithm, haan. That I know,” he said. “I can handle the tech stuff easily. Coding, backend, all that—I get it.”
Rhea raised an eyebrow. “So you’ll do the algorithm basics part?”
Kabir shrugged. “Yeah, that much I can do in one night also.”
Lazy confidence. Clearly capable, just not committed.
“Good,” Rhea replied. “Then that’s your part. Algorithm basics and how content gets recommended.”
She continued, “Anaya, you take mental and emotional impact? You’re good with this kind of thing. I’ll take academic/productivity impact. Arush, you can do solutions—how to reduce negative effects, digital literacy, that kind of angle.”
Arush nodded once. “Works.”
Anaya gave a small, “Okay,” and wrote her section down.
They started listing subpoints. Rhea led, Arush added sharp, to‑the‑point ideas. Anaya softly suggested details like anxiety, comparison, and self‑image issues. Kabir half‑listened, half‑drifted, tuning in whenever it sounded like actual work and tuning out the rest.
His focus kept snapping back to Anaya.
“So, youth behaviour,” Kabir said suddenly, turning toward Anaya instead of the page. “We should start with our own behaviour first, no? Field research. Which app do you use the most? Insta? Snap? Reels addict?”
Rhea didn’t even look up. “That’s not in the marking scheme.”
Kabir grinned. “Relax, yaar. It’s relevant. We’re youth. We have behaviour. Right, Anaya?”
She shifted slightly. “I…mostly use Instagram,” she said quietly. "I like to watch dance choreographies sometimes"
“Ahh, dancer,” he latched on. “Nice. You post videos also, or just private? We should see sometime. Live demo.” He chuckled at his own line.
Anaya’s hand tightened around her pen.
Before Rhea could go nuclear, Arush spoke without looking away from the rough outline.
“If we start using our own accounts as examples, it stops sounding serious,” he said. “Better to keep it general. Professors take it more seriously that way—and we all need marks.”
Kabir paused, ego wanting to push, but his brain understanding one word: marks.
“Haan, fine,” he said, leaning back. “General hi sahi. But real examples are more fun, no?”
“They can still be real,” Arush replied. “Just not personal.”
Rhea glanced at him, a tiny appreciative flicker in her eyes.
They went back to dividing the work.
Rhea: “We’ll make a shared doc. Everyone adds research by end of week.”
Kabir: “End of week? So much time,” he groaned. “I can do my part in one night.”
“Do it earlier,” Rhea said. “We need time to make the slides and script.”
Kabir waved a hand. “I’ll send, I’ll send. Tech stuff is easy. You topper types stress too much.”
After a few minutes of semi‑productive discussion, Kabir's eyes slid back to Anaya.
“So, Anaya,” he said, voice lighter, “do you like couple reels also? You know dating, couples..that type of content ” He chuckled. “What type of guys do you like, by the way? Just asking for research. Youth preference.”
“That has nothing to do with the assignment,” she said softly.
Kabir laughed. “Everything is connected,” he insisted. “Algorithms, relationships, attention spans—social media affects all. Right, Arush?” He tried to pull him in.
Arush finally looked at him, gaze steady.
“We’re barely 10 minutes into planning,” he said. “If we start mixing personal questions and flirting into this, it’s going to get messy and awkward by week two.”
Kabir blinked. “Flirting? Bro, I’m just talking.”
“If someone’s not responding,” Arush replied, voice still calm, “that’s your answer. You don’t have to call it flirting if you don’t want to, but it’s still unwanted.”
The desk went quiet.
Rhea’s eyes softened into something like respect.
Anaya focused very hard on the corner of her notebook.
Kabir shifted, ego pricked. “Arre, what is this, moral science class? I was just joking, man.”
“Then joke about the topic,” Arush said. “There’s enough material there.”
Rhea let out a tiny, involuntary puff of amusement.
Kabir looked from one to the other, weighing whether to keep pushing or back off. He settled on a half‑save.
“Fine, fine,” he said. “Work first, fun later. Happy?”
“Yes,” Rhea said. “Very.”
“Okay,” Rhea continued, seizing control again. “Kabir does algorithm basics and recommendation systems. Anaya does mental/emotional impact. I’ll handle academic/productivity. Arush, you take solutions and maybe case studies of how apps are changing designs to be healthier—or not.”
“Cool,” Arush nodded. “We can also add a small anonymous survey link in our class group for data. I’ll make the form.”
Kabir perked up just for the tech part. “Send me the link, I’ll tweak questions if needed,” he said. “Survey logic and all, I can handle. Just don’t ask me to write essays.”
“That’s fine,” Rhea said. “Just actually do your part. Library tomorrow, 2 pm, to combine research and start slides.”
Kabir stretched. “Dekhenge.”
“No,” Rhea replied calmly. “We won’t ‘dekhenge’. You’ll come. Or we’ll tell sir exactly who didn’t contribute.”
Kabir opened his mouth, then closed it. “Theek hai, theek hai. I’ll come. Chill.”
They scribbled numbers so Rhea could make a project group chat.
As they packed up to go back to their original seats, the group shifted, standing in the narrow space between benches.
Kabir stepped into the aisle first, playing casual. “Chalo, ladies,” he said. “Future algorithm experts.”
Rhea gave him a flat look. “We can walk without commentary, thanks.”
She moved past him. Anaya followed, clutching her notebook a little too tight. Arush came last, slinging his bag over one shoulder.
From the outside, he looked exactly the same—blank, composed, detached.
Inside, his reasoning was simple:
He didn’t step in for Anaya because she was special.
He didn’t even know her properly yet.
He stepped in because he’d seen what happened when “just joking” ignored consent. When lines blurred and no one said anything. When someone’s “no” or discomfort didn’t matter.
He wasn’t going to let even the smallest version of that go unchecked if a few words could change the direction.
two weeks.
One lazy flirt with real skills.
One sharp topper who guarded like a lioness.
One quiet girl who loved love but flinched from unwanted attention.
One boy who didn’t believe in love at all, but understood boundaries better than most.
All stuck in the same group.
****************************************************************************
Hie! Your author here 🥲
okay so I really don't know what people study in their 3rd year because main khud hi 1st year me hu hehe...but except for this presentation I will not be adding anything related to their studies so don't worry girlsss. our vese bhi unki padhai se yaha kisko matlab hai
hume toh hero heroine ka romance dekhna hai 🥰
That's all my lord!
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