Charlotte's POV
The late afternoon sun was doing too much—golden, dramatic, full-on movie lighting. If someone yelled "Action!" I wouldn't have been surprised. Juniors were laughing somewhere nearby, but my attention? Completely elsewhere.
Indhu and I were under the neem tree, waiting for Swetha, who had gone off on one of her "just five minutes, miss" missions with a teacher. I yawned, swung my bag, and observed the scene like a professional critic.
That's when Aditya arrived.
Oh.
Oh.
His walk was slower than usual. Suspiciously slower. Like he'd rehearsed this moment in his head and was now buffering. He stopped near Indhu, cleared his throat—once, twice—and spoke as if he were addressing a conference.
"Indhu… about tomorrow's class plan…"
I raised an eyebrow internally.
"…do you think we should… reorganize it a bit?"
Reorganize the class plan?
Sure, Aditya. Totally believable.
Indhu looked up, confused but smiling. "It's just class planning. You don't have to be this formal."
She laughed.
He didn't.
Instead, he looked at her like she'd just said something profound. Too careful. Too quiet. Too many pauses.
I saw it. Crystal clear.
K-drama mode: activated.
Before I could comment out loud, my eyes drifted to the other side of the ground—and wow, what a contrast.
Rohan and Swetha.
No hesitation. No awkward pauses. Just chaos.
"If this were a drama," Rohan was saying, smug as ever, "I'd be the male lead."
Swetha didn't even blink. "You'd be comic relief."
I bit my lip to stop laughing.
"This face deserves top billing," he insisted.
"Blooper reel," she shot back.
Fireworks. Banter. Perfect timing.
C-drama energy at its finest.
And there I was—standing exactly between two genres.
I spread my arms dramatically. "This," I announced, "is peak drama. Left side—K-drama. Right side—C-drama. And me? Where is my popcorn?"
Indhu blinked at me like I'd switched languages. "What popcorn?"
Rohan burst out laughing. Swetha covered her face. Aditya tried to stay serious and failed immediately.
For one perfect second, it didn't feel like school.
It felt like a split screen—slow glances on one side, rapid-fire chaos on the other.
The bell rang, rude as always, breaking the moment.
As we walked back, Indhu muttered, "You're so weird sometimes."
I smirked.
"Weird? No," I said. "Just tuned into the drama channel before anyone else."
And honestly?
Best episode of the day. 🍿✨