Mathematics period had started becoming the worst part of Anaya's day.
Not because mathematics was difficult.
But because of him.
The classroom buzzed with noise before the lecture began.
Some students laughed loudly at the back benches while others copied unfinished notes hurriedly.
Anaya sat quietly near the window, staring at a half-solved question in her notebook.
No matter how many times she tried,
the answer kept turning wrong.
She pressed the pen harder against the page irritably.
Wonderful.
Again wrong.
"Still stuck?"
Alisha leaned toward her notebook casually.
Anaya immediately closed it.
"I'll do it."
"You know you can just ask sir."
That sentence alone ruined her mood.
Ask him?
As if he would answer.
Before she could reply,
the classroom suddenly became silent.
Aarav entered calmly,
holding a few books in one hand.
Same expression.
Same cold eyes.
Same silence around him.
Without wasting a second,
he started writing formulas on the board.
No greetings.
No unnecessary words.
The lecture began immediately.
Anaya tried focusing sincerely this time.
Really.
But midway through the explanation,
she got confused again.
The same step.
The same question.
Her fingers tightened around the pen slowly.
For several seconds,
she hesitated.
Then finally—
"Sir…"
Her voice was soft,
yet audible enough.
Aarav continued writing on the board.
Maybe he did not hear.
"Sir…"
This time,
even nearby students looked toward her.
But Aarav simply walked past her desk.
No pause.
No glance.
Nothing.
And two minutes later,
he stopped beside another student and explained the exact same solution calmly.
Anaya stared at the notebook silently.
Something inside her chest hardened immediately.
Fine.
She would solve it herself.
The rest of the lecture passed painfully slowly.
Every small thing irritated her now.
His calm voice.
His footsteps.
Even the way the classroom listened to him quietly.
Why did he behave like this only with her?
If he disliked her that much,
he could simply say it directly.
Instead,
he behaved as though she did not even exist.
And somehow,
that felt worse.
Near the end of class,
Aarav suddenly turned around from the board.
"Test."
Groans immediately spread through the classroom.
A short written test began.
Students hurriedly started solving questions while nervous whispers filled the room.
Anaya looked at the paper once and froze slightly.
The difficult question from before was there.
For one second,
frustration returned.
Then slowly,
she picked up the pen.
Fine.
If no one would help her,
she would still solve it herself.
Twenty minutes later,
answer sheets were collected.
As Aarav walked between desks,
his eyes briefly stopped on Anaya's paper.
Only for a second.
Then he moved away normally.
No expression changed.
Nothing unusual.
Yet strangely,
Anaya felt as though he had noticed more than he showed.
The thought irritated her instantly.
Why was she even thinking like this?
After class ended,
students surrounded Aarav with questions.
He answered calmly.
Explained doubts patiently.
Anaya quietly packed her bag without looking up.
That was better anyway.
She did not need anyone's help.
While leaving the classroom,
a group of boys near the corridor started speaking loudly on purpose.
"She thinks she's too special."
"Attitude without reason."
"Doesn't even talk to anyone."
Laughter followed immediately.
Anaya kept walking silently.
This was normal.
Whenever she ignored people,
they became irritated.
Still,
the words stayed somewhere inside her mind.
At home that evening,
relatives had gathered for a small family visit.
The house was full of voices,
laughter,
and conversations.
Yet strangely—
Anaya could not feel part of any of it.
She sat quietly for a while,
then suddenly stood up.
Walked toward the doorway.
Returned again.
After two minutes,
she stood up once more.
Restless.
That strange unbearable restlessness had returned again.
And this time,
it felt heavier.
Her younger sister noticed almost immediately.
"What happened to you?"
"Nothing."
"You've been walking around for the last fifteen minutes."
"I said nothing happened."
But even while speaking,
Anaya realized something felt wrong inside her chest.
As though something important had been left behind somewhere.
And no matter how much she ignored it,
the feeling refused to disappear.
Late at night,
she sat near the balcony quietly while cool air touched her face.
The entire house had gone silent.
But her mind remained restless.
Again and again,
the same classroom scenes replayed inside her head.
The ignored question.
The silence.
The way he walked past her desk.
Why did those things bother her this much?
She did not understand.
And honestly—
that frightened her more than anything else.