The event wound down slowly, but the aftertaste of it lingered long after Karthik returned home. He sat at his desk that night, still wearing the blue kurta, his fingers resting on the edge of his notebook. He hadn't written anything all day—too many feelings, too few words.
But Ananya's world echoed in his mind.
The way she navigated expectations with a smile, the way she carried the weight of everyone's image of her while still finding space for him—it made Karthik feel both honored and painfully small.
Why had she brought him there?
He wasn't from the same world. He didn't know how to talk to relatives or fake polite smiles. He hadn't grown up under scrutiny or in the spotlight. But still, she'd wanted him by her side.
That meant something.
---
The next day at school, things were quieter than usual. The morning assembly droned on, and Karthik's thoughts were far away until a folded note landed on his desk.
"Meet me in the auditorium. Lunch break."
—A
He recognized her handwriting instantly.
At lunch, he made his way to the dusty auditorium. It was empty except for the sound of birds fluttering in the ceiling rafters and the faint hum of a ceiling fan that didn't really work.
Ananya was sitting on the edge of the stage, swinging her legs. Her braid was loose today, and she looked more like the girl from his bus stop than the half-saree princess from yesterday.
"You came," she said, smiling.
"You summoned me."
"That I did."
He walked up, standing a few feet away. "So… what's this about?"
She patted the stage beside her. "Sit."
He did. Their shoulders brushed again. It felt less accidental than yesterday.
"I just wanted to say thanks," she said after a long pause. "Yesterday meant a lot to me."
Karthik gave a half-smile. "Even though I looked like an out-of-place potato?"
"You were my potato."
He choked on a laugh. "Thanks?"
They sat in companionable silence for a few moments. The kind of silence that didn't feel heavy or awkward.
"I saw how you looked at me yesterday," she said softly.
He tensed. "How?"
"Like you were trying to understand something… not judge it."
Karthik turned to her, unsure of what to say.
"I wanted you to see me in that space because… you're the only one I don't have to perform for," she continued. "But also… the only one I want to be seen by."
His heart skipped.
He wanted to say something poetic, something meaningful, but all he could manage was, "Me too."
She laughed. "You're terrible at romantic lines."
"I wasn't trying."
"Exactly. That's why it works."
The bell rang in the distance, signaling the end of lunch, but neither of them moved.
Finally, she slid off the stage. "Come on, dark boy. Back to reality."
As they walked out, side by side, something unspoken hung in the air between them. Not a confession. Not yet. But something real.
A promise that the next step would come soon.
---
End of Chapter 50