Monday mornings were never kind to Karthik, but this one felt different.
The echoes of applause from the culturals still lingered in the hallways. People greeted him—smiling, nodding, clapping him on the back. It was unfamiliar. It was overwhelming.
But Ananya walked beside him, unfazed by the sudden spotlight on them.
"They're looking at you," he muttered.
"They're looking at us," she corrected, her voice calm.
He gave a hesitant smile, one he didn't entirely feel.
Inside the classroom, the attention didn't fade. Some classmates whispered. Others stared outright. Karthik sat at his desk, feeling the old unease crawl under his skin.
"You okay?" Ananya asked, sliding into the seat next to him.
"I should be," he admitted. "But I feel like… I've stepped into someone else's life."
Ananya tilted her head, watching him. "Because this version of you is confident?"
"Because this version of me isn't scared," he said quietly.
Silence stretched for a moment.
"You're allowed to feel scared, Karthik," she said. "But don't let that fear tell you who you are."
That line stuck with him the whole day.
During the break, he caught a glimpse of himself in the windowpane. Same hair, same glasses, same slightly hunched posture. But the boy staring back had a softness in his expression—a shadow of a smile he hadn't seen before.
Not fake.
Not forced.
Just… quietly real.
Later, when Ananya caught him sketching something on the corner of his notebook, she leaned in.
"What's that?"
He hesitated, then showed her.
It was a rough drawing—two figures under a small umbrella, rain falling around them. Her smile bloomed slowly.
"You drew us."
He looked down, shy. "I don't always know how to say things. So I draw them instead."
Ananya reached out, gently tapping the edge of the sketch. "Well, you said a lot."
And for the first time in a long while, Karthik felt seen.
Not for his silence.
But for the quiet truth beneath it.
---
End of Chapter 76