The first day after exam holidays always felt strange—too quiet, too bright, too normal for Suniti’s chaotic life.
She walked along the footpath, eyes glued to her phone, scrolling through the new timetable like her degree depended on it.
It took only one second of distraction.
One second for a shadow to rush toward her.
One second for a harsh screech of brakes to rip through the morning.
THUD.
Her phone almost flew out of her hand as she fell backwards, pain shooting up her spine.
For a moment, everything blurred—the sky, the footpath, the sound of her heartbeat.
Then the anger kicked in.
“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! Who the hell rides a bike on the FOOTPATH? Are you trying to kill someone?! Idiot! Psycho! Roadside maniac—”
The rider removed his helmet slowly, like a villain in a dark romance story.
Tall.
Sharp jaw.
Eyes that looked like they could slice her in half.
And he wasn’t even apologetic.
He scoffed. “Relax, drama queen. If you weren’t walking like a zombie glued to her phone, you’d have seen me.”
She blinked. “What did you just call me?”
“A zombie,” he said lazily. “A clumsy one. And before you yell again—yes, the road isn’t your living room. Walk with your eyes open.”
Suniti pushed herself up, brushing dirt off her clothes like she wanted to scrub the moment off her memory.
He watched her with a raised eyebrow.
Too calmly.
Too intensely.
“Unbelievable…” she muttered. “Some people’s confidence is bigger than their brain.”
“Some people’s mouth is faster than their brain,” he shot back.
Her blood boiled.
She looked up—and caught his gaze dropping to her chest.
That was it.
Before he could open his mouth, before he could blink—
SMACK.
Her slap echoed across the quiet street.
He froze, jaw clenched, eyes darkening like someone had flipped a switch inside him.
Suniti didn’t wait for the explosion.
She turned around and stormed away, not knowing he hadn’t been looking at her chest at all—
only reading the small text on her coat pocket:
CSE • 2nd year
And she didn’t see him exhale sharply, touch his cheek, and mutter—
“… what the hell was that?”
---
By the time she reached the college gate, her friends were already in full interrogation mode.
“You’re late again.”
“Did you fall?”
“Why are you walking like you got into a fight with gravity?”
Suniti inhaled dramatically.
“Girls… I just met the biggest jerk of humanity—”
And she narrated everything with hand movements, acting, curse words, and the full Oscar-winning performance.
Her friends gasped at all the right moments.
“HE CALLED YOU A ZOMBIE?”
“You actually slapped him? In public?”
“God bless that man’s future.”
By the time they entered the classroom, everyone had settled into their usual chaos—
chatting, laughing, gaming, complaining about life.
The lights were off as usual, because darkness somehow made every classroom feel like home.
Suddenly—
CLICK.
The tube lights flashed on.
Everyone straightened like soldiers as the HOD walked in with his “I hate all of you equally” expression.
“Why do you all sit in the dark? Are you bats? Anyway—listen up. A new faculty is joining us today for Software Engineering.”
Suniti barely cared.
Her brain was still replaying the morning incident like a glitching reel.
“Please welcome—Mr. Sohum.”
A pair of footsteps entered the room.
Slow.
Confident.
Too familiar.
Suniti turned—and the world paused.
The same guy.
The same eyes.
The same morning villain she slapped without mercy.
Helmet-hair enemy.
Footpath rider.
Her personal nightmare.
He looked straight at her.
Not at the class.
Not at the HOD.
At her.
The air between them thickened, sharp like electricity.
Her jaw tightened.
His eyes narrowed just a little.
And in that single silent second…
…Suniti realised she hadn’t just started her semester.
She had started a war.
---
ns216.73.216.33da2
and then Add to home screen.