Rohan POV
The class felt wrong.
Not loud-wrong.
Not chaotic-wrong.
Just… empty.
We had just gotten Indhu back. After days of confusion, worry, and that awful silence, things were finally normal again. The jokes were back. The laughter too. Even the chaos felt comforting.
And then—
Swetha didn't come.
At first, I told myself it was nothing. She's late sometimes. She oversleeps. She forgets her phone. Normal Swetha things.
But she didn't text.
Not in the group.
Not privately.
Not even a single emoji.
Charlotte sent a casual "You okay?"
No reply.
Indhu tried next.
Nothing.
Aditya, being Aditya, dropped a stupid meme in the group chat:
"Missing person alert: Seen this chatterbox?"
Unread.
I didn't say anything.
I just kept looking at the door.
Day Two
Still no Swetha.
Teachers noticed her absence now, marking the register twice, frowning slightly. But no one noticed how quiet I had become.
I didn't joke.
Didn't tease.
Didn't touch my lunch.
She's the one who tells me everything. Even the useless stuff. Even when she has nothing to say, she tells me she has nothing to say.
Silence wasn't normal for her.
From across the class, I could feel Charlotte watching me. I didn't look up.
"He's not okay," she whispered to Aditya.
And Aditya—annoyingly observant—said softly,
"They're not just normal friends. She's his calm."
He wasn't wrong.
Day Three
Indhu placed a chocolate bar on my desk.
"For your grumpy face," she said gently.
I didn't smile.
"She never vanishes like this," I said. "Not without telling me."
Indhu sat beside me. "You think something happened?"
"I don't know," I replied.
"And that's what scares me."
I stared at my phone. Still unread.
"I'm not angry," I said quietly. "I just… miss my best friend."
The words hurt more than I expected.
That night, the group chat stayed silent. No one wanted to break it.
Then—
12:38 a.m.
A voice message.
From Swetha.
I sat up so fast my heart slammed against my ribs.
Her voice was weak. Tired.
"Hey… I'm sorry I scared you all. Something happened at home. We had to leave suddenly — an emergency at my grandma's village. No signal. No power. My phone died. I didn't even get to tell anyone… especially you, Rohan."
My chest tightened.
Oh great, I thought bitterly.
First Indhu. Now Swetha. History really likes repeating itself.
There was a pause.
"I knew you'd be the most worried. I didn't want to do this to you. You didn't deserve the silence. I'm sorry."
I stared at the screen for a long time before typing.
"You're safe. That's all I needed to hear."
Next Morning
She walked into class like everything was normal.
But it wasn't.
I didn't run up to her.
Didn't tease her.
Didn't pretend nothing happened.
I walked over slowly.
Looked her straight in the eyes.
"Please don't disappear on me again."
She nodded. No jokes. No smile.
"Never."
No big reunion.
No dramatic hugs.
Just two best friends—
standing in a silence that had said far too much.