After stepping off the plane and reaching the university campus, Sneha looked around in awe—vast white buildings dotted with sleek modern glass structures, sprawling green lawns everywhere, and students strolling about.
She then headed to her dorm.
In the graduate housing complex, she had been assigned a shared apartment-style suite with four bedrooms, a common kitchen, and a living area.
On her very first day, as soon as she entered the dorm lobby, a few international students came forward to greet her.
One American girl—Emma—tall with long blonde hair, smiled brightly and said,
"Hey! You must be Sneha, right? Welcome! Oh my god, you're so pretty! Like, seriously, your skin is glowing. And… wow, that figure! You look like a model or something."
Sneha smiled shyly. "Thank you… I'm just normal."
Next came a Chinese girl—Li—who widened her eyes and said,
"Hi Sneha! From India? Your eyes are so big and beautiful. And your… um… chest is really… impressive. No wonder guys will stare!"
Sneha felt a wave of discomfort. She knew her body type drew attention here, but hearing it said so bluntly made her blush with embarrassment.
Another girl—Maria, Latina—laughed and added,
"Girl, you're gonna break hearts here. But be careful, some guys are total creeps. Just saying."
One boy—the boyfriend of one of the roommates—walked over, locked eyes with her, and remarked,
"Damn, India sends the hottest girls, huh?"
A couple of girls nearby whispered—one said, "She's so curvy! My boobs are nothing compared to hers." Another added jealously, "Yeah, probably gets all the attention. Typical."
Sneha stayed quiet, lowered her head, and slipped into her room.
Inside were two Bengali girls—Ahona and Prakriti. Both were Chemistry PhD students like her.
Ahona was bubbly and friendly. Prakriti was quieter, though not as reserved as Sneha.
Ahona said cheerfully, "Hey, come on in! Another Bengali girl—we hit the jackpot! How are you finding America so far?"
Prakriti added gently, "It might feel a bit strange at first. People here are really open. Some speak very directly—they'll even comment on your body. You'll get used to it."
The three of them sat down and talked for a long time.
Prakriti continued, "The lifestyle here is completely different. Everyone is super independent. No one's going to cook for you—you have to handle the kitchen yourself. The grocery store is pretty far; if you don't have a car, you'll need to take the bus. And the weather—freezing in winter, hot in summer."
Ahona chimed in,
"Yeah, everything's different here. Parties, drinking, dating—it's all normal. But we Indians tend to stay a bit careful. What about you?"
Sneha listened quietly, then replied, "I'm just going to focus on my studies."
They chatted about American food, the weather, and the heavy academic pressure.
Prakriti suddenly said,
"The workload is intense. Feels like we'll be living in the lab day and night. But on weekends, I really want to go hiking—or hit the Indian grocery store for fish and rice. You in?"
Sneha nodded.
Ahona grinned and added,
"The professors here are pretty cool. But in our department, there's this one Indian professor—he's insanely handsome! Every girl shows up for his classes. His name is Anurag… Banerjee, I think."
Sneha's heart skipped a beat, but she said nothing.
**The next day—University Orientation and Class**
In the morning, Ahona took Sneha around the campus for graduate school orientation: ID card, library access, lab safety rules, academic integrity, and the sexual harassment policy. Professors emphasized, "Plagiarism is zero tolerance. Any relationship involving power dynamics must be reported."
Then came the first class—Advanced Organic Chemistry Seminar. Ahona sat right beside Sneha and whispered,
"Look, today's the day our handsome Indian professor shows up!"
The door opened, and Anurag Sir walked in. Light gray shirt, dark pants—he looked even more mature and strikingly attractive now.
Sneha was stunned. Her eyes widened in shock.
Anurag Sir froze the instant he saw her. His gaze locked on Sneha without blinking. Sneha! His student! The most important person in his life!
Sneha stared back, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. Every single day, every night, every lonely moment of the past seven years—all of it flooded back in that one look.
A deep, overwhelming joy surged through Anurag Sir's heart.
Back then, for the sake of her future, he had forced himself to stay away. Even so, he had missed her terribly! He had convinced himself that by now she must have moved on and started a new life. But seeing her now, every buried feeling for her came rushing back to life!!
A murmur rippled through the classroom.
One girl whispered from the back row,
"Look! The professor is staring at that girl!"
Another added,
"I think he likes her! Look at the way he's staring."
A third said, "Oh my god, he's looking at her… and I don't think it's her face! But at her boobs!"
Students, watching a professor stare at an attractive student, began whispering all sorts of things.
"Yes, when someone has curves like that, anyone would look!"
One boy chuckled, "Damn, she's hot. No wonder the prof is frozen."
A girl burned with jealousy and muttered, "Such a nasty girl!"
But none of it mattered to Sneha or Anurag Sir. In their eyes, there was only seven years of waiting and love.
After a long, unbroken stare, Anurag Sir somehow pulled himself together. He cleared his throat and said,
"Good morning, everyone. Let's… start the class."
Yet every time his eyes drifted to Sneha, he felt a rush he couldn't control. He desperately wanted to walk over and pull her into his arms, but he knew it was impossible. He fought to stay composed.
Whispers continued from the back rows, but Sir's serious gaze made everyone fall quiet.
He walked slowly to the podium, opened his laptop, and the first slide appeared on the projector screen—**"Advanced Organic Chemistry: Stereoselective Synthesis and Asymmetric Catalysis – Recent Advances"**.
Taking a deep breath, Sir began,
"Good morning, class. I'm Professor Anurag Banerjee, and this is CHEM 712: Advanced Organic Seminar. Today we'll begin with a quick overview of the semester's focus—primarily on enantioselective transformations, organocatalysis, and transition-metal mediated asymmetric reactions. By the end of the term, each of you will present a critical review of a recent JACS or Nature Chemistry paper of your choice."
His voice had steadied, but inside, a storm of emotions still raged.
He moved to the next slide.
"First, let's quickly revisit the fundamentals. We all know how crucial chirality is in pharmaceuticals. Take the thalidomide tragedy—racemic mixture versus single enantiomer. That's why asymmetric induction isn't just an academic curiosity; it's literally a matter of life and death."
He displayed a diagram of Evans' oxazolidinone auxiliary.
"Many of you used this in undergrad labs. But today we move beyond auxiliaries to truly catalytic methods. We'll start with List and MacMillan's organocatalysis work—proline-catalyzed aldol reactions—then the Hajos–Parrish–Eder–Sauer–Wiechert reaction as a historical precursor."
Sir's teaching style was exactly as Sneha remembered—calm, clear, and deliberate, every word meant to stay with the students. But today his eyes kept returning to her. Sneha watched him anxiously, barely blinking.
From the back row, a girl whispered again,
"Look, he keeps glancing at her. Definitely something there."
A boy laughed softly,
"Bro, if I had a student like that, I'd be distracted too. Those curves in that dress… damn."
One girl rolled her eyes and muttered,
"Gross. But yeah, he's staring way too long!!!"
Ahona leaned toward Sneha and whispered in her ear,
"See that? Sir keeps looking at you! You're so lucky!"
Suddenly, Sneha remembered the very first day Anurag Sir had walked into their school.
_
_
_
When class ended, students slowly filed out. Ahona put a hand on Sneha's shoulder and said,
"Come on, let's head to the library."
Sneha, her face pale, replied softly,
"You go ahead… I'll come in a bit."
Ahona looked surprised but left without pressing.
One by one, the classroom emptied. Anurag Sir noticed Sneha still sitting in her seat, tears shimmering in her eyes.
The room was nearly empty now. Only two students in the back were packing up their laptops. Sir stood at the podium, closing his laptop. Sneha rose slowly and walked out.
He noticed.
He followed her.
Sneha walked quietly down the corridor, unable to hold back her tears any longer.
Anurag Sir broke into a run, caught up, and grabbed her hand firmly.
Sneha startled, but before she could react, he pulled her toward him and wrapped her tightly in his arms.
"Sneha…" His voice broke as he whispered only her name.
With that single word, seven years of waiting, pain, and love all came rushing out at once.
His arms tightened around her even more protectively.
Sneha buried her face in his chest, her whole body trembling. With every ounce of strength, she hugged him back fiercely.
"Sir…"
The End.
(I will write a second season of this story.)