As Preeti went to connect her laptop to the projector, Kabir, Kiara, and Roneet stood near the front.
Kiara quickly leaned toward Roneet. "I'll do the first half, you do the second half," she whispered hurriedly.
"D-don't mess it up. No matter what," she added firmly.
"Y-yess," said Roneet, his voice trembling. My palms were sweating. My hands are shaking… this is too much, he thought, staring at the floor.
Kabir, noticing his pale face, glanced at Kiara. "Don't you think this is too much for him?" he asked quietly.
Kiara turned to him, irritated. "What do you mean?"
"He couldn't even introduce himself earlier. You think he's going to present in front of everyone?" Kabir said flatly.
Kiara rolled her eyes, more annoyed now. "He'll do fine. I explained all the points to him in a simple format."
"I don't think so," Kabir said with a half-smirk. "He's shaking so much, looks like he's about to pop."
"Gross," muttered Kiara under her breath.
"You should've presented next week," Kabir said casually.
Kiara smiled coldly, glancing toward Preeti. "Is that so? Even she's trembling. Maybe you two should've presented next week," she said pointedly.
Kabir leaned closer to her ear, his voice low. "Careful, Kiara. Unlike you, I didn't force my partner to present today."
Then he stepped away toward Preeti, leaving Kiara's face tight with irritation.
"He said something to her," one girl whispered.
"Yeah, looked like a joke," another added.
"They actually look good together… like they're made for each other," a third murmured.
Nikhil watched from the back, his expression darkening as his jaw clenched.
"The PPT is visible on the projector," said Kabir.
"A-alright," said Preeti, her voice trembling.
Kabir turned to her. "You'll do the first half, I'll take the second. Okay?"
Preeti nodded nervously. "O-okay… I-I'm scared."
Kabir gave her a reassuring look. "Hey, look at me," he said softly. "I know your capabilities. You presented to me alone before, remember? You did great. If I thought you couldn't handle this, I'd have told you we'd go next week."
Preeti took a deep breath and nodded, her hands still trembling as she walked toward the front. She opened the PowerPoint — the title 'Radio Research Methodology' glowing on the projector screen.
As she turned to face the class, her knees went weak. She looked down, clutching the paper tightly.
"Once you start," Kabir said quietly from behind her, "your fear will fade away."
Kiara rolled her eyes from her bench. What a drama, she thought with a sigh.
But beside her, Roneet watched silently. She's just like me… shy, introverted, he thought, his palms sweating.
Preeti opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
"G–good morning… e…" she stammered. My voice won't come out, she panicked inside.
The class began murmuring and giggling softly.
Kiara smirked, glancing at Kabir. "And he was telling me to wait till next week," she whispered. "Pathetic."
Roneet looked at Preeti. He felt bad for her — but somewhere deep inside, he felt a strange comfort too. At least someone else knows how this feels, he thought guiltily.
"Calm down," Kabir said firmly from behind. "Why are you scared of them? They don't even have the guts to come on stage!"
The whole class went silent.
"Now, try again," Kabir said gently.
Preeti took a shaky breath. "G-good morning, everyone. I'm Preeti, and me and my group partner Kabir are going to present our PPT on Radio Research Methodology."
Her voice was still soft — but this time, steady.
"I'll start with the introduction," she continued. "Radio has been one of the oldest and most reliable mediums of mass communication. Our research focuses on how radio remains relevant in today's digital age — from community storytelling to audience engagement and technological adaptation."
As she spoke, her confidence slowly returned. Her posture straightened. Her words came out clearer, stronger. The class, which was laughing moments ago, now sat listening quietly.
She stumbled once — losing her line for a moment — but Kabir's calm voice from behind said, "You're killing it."
Preeti smiled faintly and continued.
Even Kiara's smirk began to fade. She crossed her arms, watching silently.
Roneet's eyes stayed fixed on the stage. I was wrong, he thought. She's nothing like me at all.
He looked down at his phone, where their own PPT file was open. His finger twitched nervously over the screen.
Kiara glanced at him — saw his shaking hands — and sighed softly.
When Preeti finally finished, the class clapped politely. She turned back toward Kabir, her face glowing with relief.
Kabir smiled proudly and stepped forward to take over.
"Let's see if you're just a show-off or can actually do something," Kiara thought, watching Kabir walk confidently onto the stage as Preeti stepped down.
"Good morning, everyone," Kabir began. "I'm Kabir, and I'll continue from here."
His voice — clear, deep, and perfectly modulated — filled the classroom with authority. Every gesture was measured, every word confident. He looked like a professional speaker rather than a student.
Roneet stared at him, awestruck. Is this even possible? he thought. We're just students… but this looks like something straight out of a TED Talk.
Kabir finished his part smoothly. "Thank you."
The entire class clapped — some even whistled softly.
"You both have done an exceptional job," said Simran ma'am, smiling. "Kabir, the way you motivated your teammate — I really liked that."
"Thank you, ma'am," said Kabir with a polite nod.
Then she turned to Preeti. "At first, you struggled, but you improved beautifully as you went. That's progress — and I value that the most."
"T-thank you, ma'am," said Preeti, glowing with pride.
"I'm giving both of you twenty-two out of twenty," Simran announced. "Because your presentation was already perfect."
The class gasped in surprise. Kabir smiled confidently, while Preeti's eyes widened.
"You can go now," said Simran.
Preeti gave Kabir a high-five.
"That Preeti's getting too cocky," one girl muttered from the back.
As Kabir and Preeti walked past Kiara and Roneet, Kabir stopped. "Your confidence looks down, Kiara," he said with a teasing grin. "What happened? Cheer up, guys."
"Yes, yes," said Preeti lightly. "My pressure's gone now."
Kiara folded her arms, glaring.
Then Kabir leaned slightly toward Roneet. "Your face looks pale," he said quietly. "Something wrong? Didn't you want to outshine me?"
Roneet froze, heart pounding.
Kabir smirked. "Well, the path's open now. Go on, Roneet. Let's see what you've got."
Roneet's hands were trembling so hard he could barely hold his phone. Sweat rolled down his temple.
Kabir chuckled softly. "This isn't even level two, my friend — this was just level one." He winked and walked off.
Kiara clenched her jaw, furious. She turned to Roneet. "I'll do the entire presentation," she said sharply. "You just stand there — I'll tell ma'am you made the PPT."
"B-but—" Roneet tried to speak, but she was already walking toward the projector with her laptop, her expression tight with anger.
Kiara plugged in the cable, trying to connect it to the projector — but nothing showed up. "Why isn't this working?" she muttered, frustration rising.
Roneet noticed immediately. She's doing it wrong, he thought.
He took a hesitant step forward — but before he could reach her, someone from the back shouted,
"Don't even think about it, bastard!"
"Yeah, stay away from her, stupid nerd!" another voice added.
Roneet froze on the spot, panic flooding through him.
"Silence!" Simran ma'am's voice cut sharply through the chaos.
Kiara, still fumbling with the cable, hissed, "Damn it! Why won't this open?"
"H-hey," Roneet said nervously, his voice trembling. "You're… you're doing it wrong."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Kiara snapped, turning toward him.
"That's… that's the wrong port," he said quietly.
Before she could reply, Roneet quickly stepped forward, switched the cable to the correct slot — and instantly, the PowerPoint appeared on the projector screen.
The class murmured in surprise.
Kiara blinked, momentarily thrown off. Then she cleared her throat. "Alright," she said, regaining her composure. "Now stay behind."
Roneet took a small step back.
"You can start," said Simran ma'am, folding her arms.
Silence filled the classroom.
Kiara took a slow breath, closing her eyes for a second. Her earlier anger and frustration melted into calm confidence.
"Good morning, everyone," she began with a bright smile. "I'm Kiara Malhotra, and today I'll be presenting our topic — Podcasting: The Modern Voice of Media."
Her voice carried through the room, steady and graceful. She spoke with rhythm, her hands moving naturally as she explained each point — how podcasts grew popular, their impact, the different platforms.
Students who were whispering earlier now sat quietly, listening. Even Simran ma'am nodded approvingly.
She's good, Simran thought. Confident voice, clear points… impressive.
But after a minute, something about it made her frown. Wait… she's doing everything herself?
"Stop," said Simran ma'am suddenly.
Kiara froze mid-sentence, startled. "What happened, ma'am?" she asked, still calm.
Simran raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to do the entire presentation by yourself?"
Kiara blinked. "Oh—uh—sorry, ma'am. I just went with the flow," she said quickly, trying to hide her slip.
Roneet's heart dropped. Oh no, it's my turn…
"So from here," Kiara said, turning around and walking up to him, "Roneet will continue." Her voice lowered just enough for only him to hear. "I did seven slides. Only three left. Don't mess it up."
"Ohh God…" Roneet whispered under his breath. His legs felt like stone.
Kabir sat on the front bench, arms crossed, watching calmly with a small smirk.
From the back, Arnav whispered, "Guys, let's play a game. See who can control their laugh when he starts."
"Yeah, yeah!" another boy whispered back, snickering.
Roneet stood up slowly, his palms damp, his throat dry. Each step toward the front felt heavier than the last.
You can do this… you can do this… he told himself.
But as soon as he reached the front, Arnav burst out laughing. "Bwahahahaha!"
The sound echoed through the class, followed by more laughter.
Roneet froze, his face burning red. His heart hammered in his chest. He couldn't even look up.
Simran's expression darkened. "Quiet!" she barked, but the laughter had already done its damage.
Kiara looked at Roneet — a flicker of guilt crossing her face — as he stood there, frozen in the middle of the class, all eyes on him.
"Roneet heard the laughter from behind. Standing once again in front of everyone, he felt the same weight as yesterday — the same eyes, the same silence. So this is what it feels like to play the real game called life, he thought. And this… this is just level one.