Indhu's POV
I was officially regretting every life choice I had made that morning.
Amma and Appa had gone out and actually asked me to come along. I said no.
Instead, I came to school.
Worst. Decision. Ever.
My head throbbed, my body felt heavy from the fever, and I was slumped against my desk like gravity had personally declared war on me. Swetha sat beside me, holding my water bottle like it was her life mission to keep me alive.
"Drink," she ordered softly.
I took a few sips, sighed, and glanced around the classroom. Everything felt normal—the noise, the chatter, the teachers' voices drifting in—but my brain was clearly not functioning normally.
That's when the thought slipped out.
"Swetha," I whispered suddenly, "maybe we should tell him."
She turned to me slowly. "Tell… who? Tell what?"
I tilted my head slightly toward Aditya, who was sitting quietly, flipping through his notes like a model student. My voice dropped even lower.
"I mean… maybe it's time."
Swetha's eyes widened so fast I thought they might fall out.
"Indhu! Are you serious? How can I even—"
Too late.
Aditya looked up. Straight at us.
"Okay," he said, suspicious. "Why are you both staring at me like that? What should you 'tell me'?"
Great. Fever + zero filter = disaster.
Swetha looked completely helpless. I exhaled, leaned forward, and decided to just… jump.
"You know Naira, right?" I asked carefully, pointing subtly to the girl sitting in the front row.
Aditya frowned. "Yeah…?"
I paused for exactly one dramatic second.
"There was a rumor last year… that she liked you."
Silence.
Pure. Absolute. Silence.
Swetha buried her face in her hands, half-laughing, half-dying of embarrassment because I had actually said it.
Aditya froze.
"Wait—WHAT?! Naira… liked me?" His voice cracked. He shook his head violently. "Oh my God. What is wrong with that girl?!"
From the next bench, Rohan exploded.
"HAHAHA! Aditya, you finally have a secret admirer story too! Welcome to the club!"
Charlotte, who had just returned from sports duty, leaned over the desk with a wicked grin.
"So this is why you two were whispering. Aditya, I think you should go thank her."
"THANK HER?!" Aditya groaned, hiding his face behind his book. "Are you all insane? Don't spread this!"
I leaned back slowly, trying to look calm—but failing miserably.
"Relax, bro," I said in my most serious tone.
"You're not that handsome. This isn't love—it's just poor eyesight and low standards working overtime."
I tried not to laugh.
I failed.
Completely.
I laughed recklessly, fever and all.
By then, the damage was done. The moment had already crowned itself as the highlight of the day. I giggled into my sleeve, Swetha attempted (and failed) to look strict, and Rohan started mimicking Aditya's shocked face so accurately that people two rows away started laughing.
Aditya was mortified.
The rest of us?
We knew this was going straight into our forever-memory folder.