The first day of the winter semester at Delhi Public School, East Wing, was exactly as miserable as Aarav had expected it to be.
Three hundred and forty-seven students.
Three hundred and forty-seven streams of consciousness.
Three hundred and forty-seven internal monologues running simultaneously like badly tuned radios in a room with no off switch.
He stood near the back of the assembly hall, hands in his pockets, letting the noise wash over him.
"can't believe summer break is over"
"did I finish the chemistry homework? No, wait, I didn't"
"she's looking at me oh god oh god don't look at me"
"hungry"
"bored"
"I wonder if Aarav can tell I'm thinking about him right now"
That last one came from a girl named Meera in the row ahead. Aarav shifted his gaze to the ceiling. Yes, Meera. He could tell. He always could tell. And no, he wasn't interested. He didn't have to say it out loud. She'd figure it out eventually.
Principal Mehta was droning on about "excellence" and "discipline" and "the bright future that awaits each and every one of you." Standard fare. Empty words. The thoughts beneath the words were more interesting:
"my wife forgot to pack my lunch again"
"I need to retire, I'm too old for this"
"that boy in the third row is going to be trouble, I can feel it"
Aarav smiled slightly. Being a mind reader was exhausting, but it was never boring.
The assembly ended.
Students flooded toward the exits like water through a broken dam. Aarav let himself be carried by the current, not fighting it, not resisting. He had learned long ago that resistance only made the noise louder. Surrender was easier.
His first class was Physics with Mr. Venkatesh, which meant two hours of electromagnetic theory and a room full of students thinking:
"when will this end"
"I should have taken arts"
"why does he talk so slowly"
"Aarav is sitting two seats away don't look at him don't look"
He sighed.
It was going to be a long semester.
Lunch arrived like a rescue boat.
Aarav sat at his usual table in the corner of the cafeteria—not because he was antisocial, but because the corner had fewer people, which meant fewer thoughts. He could almost hear himself think here.
His friend Rohan dropped into the seat across from him, tray clattering.
"Bro, you will not believe what happened."
Aarav raised an eyebrow. "Ananya finally noticed you exist?"
Rohan's mouth fell open. "How did you"
"Lucky guess."
Rohan stared at him for a moment, then shook his head. "You're creepy sometimes, you know that?"
"I've been told."
Rohan's thoughts were already spilling out: "how does he DO that? It's like he reads my mind. No, that's stupid. Mind reading isn't real. He's just observant. Yeah. Really, REALLY observant"
Aarav bit into his sandwich and said nothing.
The cafeteria was loud today. Louder than usual. The start of a new semester always brought fresh waves of anxiety, excitement, and fear. New students meant new minds to process, new frequencies to filter.
He closed his eyes for a moment and let the thoughts come.
"where do I sit"
"I hope no one talks to me"
"I hope SOMEONE talks to me"
"my parents are getting divorced"
"I think I'm going to fail this year"
"I think I'm in love"
"I think I'm going to be sick"
And then
Nothing.
Aarav's eyes snapped open.
That wasn't right.
There was never nothing. Even in an empty room, there was always something—the hum of electricity, the whisper of distant thoughts, the faint static of unconscious minds dreaming in daylight. Silence wasn't possible. Silence was a myth.
But for one brief, impossible moment
There had been silence.
He looked around the cafeteria, scanning faces, searching for the source.
There.
A girl.
She was standing near the entrance, holding a tray, looking at the sea of tables like she was trying to solve a puzzle. Dark hair, pulled back in a simple ponytail. Brown eyes. Ordinary uniform. Nothing remarkable about her at all.
Except
Except Aarav couldn't hear her.
He tried harder. Focused. Pushed past the noise of three hundred other minds, searching for hers.
Nothing.
Complete and total silence.
It was like she wasn't even there.
Like she had no thoughts at all.
The girl moved. She walked toward an empty table near the window, sat down, and began to eat her lunch. Normal. Ordinary. Unremarkable in every way.
But the silence around her was screaming.
Aarav stared.
Rohan noticed. "Dude. You're staring."
"I know."
"It's creepy."
"I know."
"Are you going to stop?"
Aarav didn't answer.
Because the girl had just looked up.
Directly at him.
Their eyes met across the crowded cafeteria.
And she smiled.
A small smile. A knowing smile. A smile that said: Yes, I see you. Yes, I know you're watching. And no, you're not going to figure me out.
Aarav felt something cold slide down his spine.
For the first time in his life
He was the one being read.