The next morning, Aarav took his grandmother to the hospital. He had barely slept the night before, his mind clouded with worry ever since she'd complained of breathlessness and fatigue. After a few hours and several diagnostic tests, they finally sat in front of the doctor, waiting for the results.
Aarav's leg kept bouncing nervously. His hand was tightly wrapped around the file of reports, damp from his sweaty grip.
The doctor finally looked up after studying the reports. His face was calm—but unreadable.
“What happened, doctor?” Aarav asked, trying to steady his voice.
The doctor leaned forward slightly. “Aarav… your grandmother has a heart condition.”
That one sentence was enough to turn Aarav cold. His breath hitched, and his heartbeat suddenly felt like a loud thump in his ears.
The doctor noticed the change in his expression. “Don’t panic. As of now, it’s not a situation that requires surgery. There’s a very low chance we’ll need to go that route.”
Relief flooded Aarav’s face, but he still couldn’t relax. “So… it’s not serious?”
“For now, I’d say no. But this condition can be unpredictable. In some cases, medications are enough to stabilize it within a few months. But in others, it might progress. It’s hard to say how it will behave.”
Aarav swallowed hard. “So what should I do now?”
“Stay calm. That’s the most important part—for both the patient and the family. Positivity helps. Take her home, let her rest. Follow the treatment plan strictly. I’ve written down the medicines she needs and also a list of dietary restrictions.”
Aarav nodded quickly. “Yes, doctor. I’ll take care of everything.”
He collected the prescriptions and stepped out. Before heading home, he stopped at the medical store, bought all the prescribed medicines, and took his grandmother home in an auto.
Once they reached, he helped her to the bed gently, tucked her in with care, and handed her the first dose of medicine. She smiled weakly, grateful but tired. Aarav sat beside her until she drifted into sleep.
Only then did he lean back in the chair beside her, staring at the ceiling.
His mind wasn’t quiet.
He couldn’t stop thinking—
How close he had come to losing her.
She was the only family he had left.
And now more than ever, he knew exactly why he needed to keep winning—every competition, every scholarship, every prize. Not for pride.
Not for himself.
But for her.
Aarav quietly stepped out of her room. He felt emotionally drained, but he knew he couldn’t let it show—not in front of her. The doctor had said it wasn’t serious for now, but the uncertainty still clung to his chest like a weight.
He walked into his own room, closed the door behind him, and sat down at his study table. The room was quiet, the only sound was the ticking of the wall clock and the faint hum of the fan. He opened his textbook, trying to focus on the homework he’d been putting off.
Just then, his phone lit up with a notification.
It was Vivan.
“Hey! How’s your preparation for exams going?”
Aarav blinked at the screen. Exams?
His eyes widened.
Exams?!
It hit him like a slap. It was already October, and midterms were just three weeks away.
He dropped his pen and muttered, “No… no no no!”
His heart sank.
“How the hell can I forget that?!” he groaned, pushing the books aside and burying his head in his hands. “I haven’t even studied a single word! What am I going to do now?”
The stress of his grandmother’s health had pushed everything else out of his mind—school, exams, deadlines. And now it was all catching up at once.
For a few moments, he just sat there like that—his hands in his hair, panic rising in his chest.
One crisis at home, and another one waiting at school.
He took a deep breath, trying to pull himself together. This wasn’t the time to panic. He had no choice but to handle both—for his grandmother, and for himself.
The next morning, Ishika reached school earlier than usual. The air was still cool, and the sunlight streamed lazily through the classroom windows, casting long golden beams across the dusty floor. Most of the desks were empty. The usual buzz of students chatting hadn’t yet begun to fill the building.
As she entered her classroom, her eyes landed on someone she didn’t expect to see that early—Aarav.
He was already seated at his desk, head bent over a notebook, pencil moving quickly across the page.
That’s strange, she thought. Aarav Sharma, the boy who always walked in two minutes before the bell—or two minutes after it—was here early?
Her curiosity pulled her in. Quietly, she walked toward him. When she got closer, she noticed the slight furrow between his brows, the way he was biting the inside of his cheek—completely absorbed in what he was doing.
“You’re early today?” she asked with a little smile.
Aarav glanced up for the briefest second, just enough to recognize her.
“Oh, it’s you,” he said in a flat voice before immediately returning his gaze to the notebook.
Something about that tone made her pause.
She slowly pulled the chair beside him and sat down.
“You’re studying?” she asked again, trying to keep the conversation going.
“Yeah,” he said without looking.
“What topic is it?”
Silence.
Ishika blinked, surprised. He hadn’t even acknowledged the question. His eyes were still glued to the same page, and his hand was moving, though his expressions showed more frustration than focus.
A slight discomfort bloomed in her chest. Aarav had never ignored her like this before. He wasn’t the most expressive person around others, but with her… he had always been warm, always smiling, always present.
Now, he felt distant.
“Hey… Aarav?” she said a little more cautiously this time.
He hummed in response but didn’t look up.
“Are you angry with me or something?” she finally asked.
That made him freeze.
He looked up at her, confusion written all over his face. “What? Of course not! Why would you even think that?”
“Well… you weren’t looking at me while talking. And your replies were so short. I thought maybe I did something…” she said, her voice trailing off.
Aarav blinked, then sighed, rubbing his forehead.
“Oh! I’m so sorry, Ishika. Really, it’s nothing like that. It’s just…” He leaned back in his chair, looking frustrated. “Our midterms are in three weeks, and I’ve barely opened my books. I’m totally drowning here.”
She let out a small laugh, relieved. “So that’s what this storm was all about.”
“I’ve been trying to catch up, but every time I open the book, I realize how much I don’t remember. It’s driving me insane.”
“Well, at least I know you’re not mad at me,” she said with a teasing smile.
He chuckled softly. “Never.”
She nodded. “Okay then. You study. I won’t disturb you.”
For the next few minutes, they sat side by side in silence. Ishika pulled out her own book, though her eyes kept drifting toward him every now and then. She could feel the stress rolling off him like heat waves, his foot tapping the floor, his brows scrunching deeper with every turn of the page.
And then suddenly—
“This question!” he mumbled, not even realizing he was speaking aloud. “Why can’t I get the damn answer right?”
Ishika looked over. “What happened?”
He groaned and turned his notebook toward her. “This problem… I’ve done it three times. Still wrong.”
She scanned the question, then the solution he was trying to write.
“Wait—you’re using the wrong equation here,” she said.
“What? Where?”
“Here. You’re applying the formula for uniform acceleration, but this is a constant speed problem.”
He stared at the page, then back at her, then adjusted his steps according to her explanation. A moment later, he looked up with disbelief.
“I got it!” he said, his eyes lighting up like a kid who’d solved a mystery.
“Good,” she said, smiling at the pure relief on his face.
Aarav was staring down at his notebook, eyes narrowed, lips slightly parted in concentration. The scratch of his pencil against the paper had become rhythmic—until, suddenly, it stopped.
Ishika noticed the shift.
Without warning, he looked up—and straight at her.
His gaze locked with hers, intense and unwavering.
For a second, her breath caught in her throat. She could feel the heat rise up her cheeks, her palms suddenly damp, and her heart thudding so loud she wondered if he could hear it too.
“Wha… what?” she stammered, flustered by the sudden attention.
He leaned in a little, still holding that gaze, his face now just inches away. His usual casual expression had vanished. There was a seriousness in his eyes she had never seen before.
“Hey, Ishika,” he said softly.
Her name on his lips sounded different this time. Heavy. Hesitant. Like it carried something more than just syllables.
“Y-Yeah?” she managed to say, barely above a whisper.
Aarav seemed to hesitate, like he was choosing his next words carefully.
“Will you…?”
Her stomach did a flip.
“Yes?” she asked, heart racing.
“Will you be my…”
Time slowed. Ishika’s mind was already spinning in directions she wasn’t ready to admit. Was this it? Was he about to—?
“Will you be my tutor?”
For a moment, her brain didn’t process the words. She blinked.
“What??” she said, half-laughing in disbelief.
He looked completely serious, nodding as if it was the most normal request in the world. “Yeah… I really need help, and you’re amazing at this stuff.”
That was it? Tutor?
She stared at him, stunned. Who looked that dramatic while asking for academic help? For a brief second, she’d genuinely believed he was about to confess something else. Her face flushed again, this time from embarrassment.
“What happened?” he asked, tilting his head.
“Nothing,” she replied quickly, forcing a smile. “I’ll help you with your studies.”
“Thank you!” he said, grinning in relief.
She gave a small nod, but inside, her emotions were tangled. She was relieved, yes. But also… disappointed? She couldn’t explain why. Maybe it was the look in his eyes a moment ago—the way it made her heart flutter in a way that tutoring definitely didn’t.
“But where will we study?” she asked, hoping to distract herself from her own thoughts.
Aarav thought for a second. “How about the café? After school?”
Ishika hesitated, but then nodded. “Okay…”
As she turned back to her notebook, she couldn’t help but wonder what exactly she had just agreed to—a tutoring session… or something more than either of them was ready to say out loud.
That day after school, they sat together at a small café just a few minutes from campus. The wooden table was cluttered with notebooks, pens, and half-drunk cups of coffee. Ishika explained equations with practiced patience, while Aarav nodded, occasionally scribbling down notes and asking questions with a furrowed brow.
They spent nearly two hours like that—her voice low and clear, his attention focused yet sprinkled with the occasional joke that made her smile.
As she closed one of the textbooks, she looked up. “Hey, what about your job?” she asked curiously.
“I’m taking a break until the exams,” Aarav replied, stretching his arms with a tired sigh. “I requested leave yesterday.”
“Oh, okay,” she nodded, impressed that he was taking his studies seriously now.
Just then, her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen—it was a message from her mother.
[MOM]: Your dad is coming home early today, so hurry and come back soon.
She blinked. Now? She typed back.
Ishika: And you’re telling me now?
[MOM]: I just came to know about it.
Ishika: Okay, I’m coming.
She set her phone down and looked at Aarav. “Hey, I have to go. We’ll continue this tomorrow, okay?”
He looked up, surprised. “What happened?”
“Nothing serious. It’s just getting late, and I need to be home soon.”
“Alright,” he said, though his voice carried a note of concern. “See you tomorrow.”
Ishika stood, gathering her books and slipping them into her bag. Just as she was about to walk away, he called out softly.
“Ishika.”
She turned.
He was looking at her—not with confusion or curiosity, but with gentle concern. “Yes?”
“If something’s bothering you… you can tell me,” he said quietly.
Her heart paused for a beat. “Huh? Why do you think something’s bothering me?”
Aarav looked down for a second, then back at her. “I’ve noticed… sometimes you’re laughing one minute, but when you check your phone, your expression changes. You become quiet. And you always leave in a rush, like you’re racing a clock.”
She didn’t realize he had been observing her so closely. For a moment, she stood there, unsure how to respond. There was something about his voice—gentle, careful, and yet deeply sincere.
She felt a small warmth bloom in her chest. “It’s really nothing. You don’t need to worry,” she said, smiling to ease his concern.
But his expression didn’t ease completely.
“Aarav.”
“Yeah?”
“If I ever feel like I need to talk to someone… I’ll definitely come to you.”
That changed something in his eyes. Relief, maybe. Or a quiet pride.
“Anytime,” he said quickly, his lips curving into a soft smile. “Anytime.”
With that, she turned and walked out of the café. The evening air was cooler now, but her chest felt warm. She wasn’t sure what it meant just yet—but she knew she’d remember this conversation for a long time.
