The school campus was buzzing with its usual morning chaos. The zero period had just begun.
Some students were busy chatting with their friends, while others revised their notes before the first class.
At one corner of the classroom...
Anaya was patiently explaining an Accounts question to Myra.
On the other hand, Anay and Shaurya were busy talking about anyhing and everything except studies.
"Aree yaar... mujhe ye Admission aur Retirement bilkul samajh nahi aata," Myra groaned dramatically as she shut her book.
Anaya sighed.
"Samajh aayega bhi kaise? Madam ko bas novels padhwa lo. Academic books kholte hi inhe neend aa jaati hai."
Myra pouted.
"Drama mat kar."
Anaya shook her head with a smile.
"Chal, ab dhyaan se sun. Main step by step samjhati hoon."
She reopened the book and patiently started explaining every concept.
A few minutes later...
Someone stopped beside their desk.
"Ms. Rulebook."
Anaya looked up.
Anay was standing there with a small smile, holding out her notebook.
Without saying a single word...
She quietly took the notebook from his hand.
Not even a thank you.
Not even a glance.
She simply resumed teaching Myra as if he wasn't standing there.
For some strange reason...
Anay didn't like being ignored.
He couldn't understand why.
All he knew was...
He wanted her to argue with him.
Tease him.
Say something.
Anything.
But her silence bothered him far more than her taunts ever had.
He stood there for another second before silently walking away.
•••
A few hours later...
It was lunchtime.
Myra wandered through the school corridors, looking for Anaya.
"Kahan chali gayi ye kutti?" she muttered dramatically.
"Ab kis teacher ne bula liya isse? Pura school dekh liya... mil hi nahi rahi."
She looked around once again.
That's when her eyes fell on an unfamiliar scene.
A senior boy had blocked a girl's path.
The girl looked visibly uncomfortable.
She tried to move aside...
But the boy stepped in front of her again.
Without thinking twice...
Myra walked straight toward them and stood beside the frightened girl.
She looked directly into the boy's eyes.
"Side hato."
The boy frowned.
He didn't move.
"Suna nahi? Raste se hato. Isse aage jaana hai."
This time her voice was louder.
The boy smirked and took a step closer.
"Na hatun toh kya kar logi?"
Myra crossed her arms.
"Isi waqt Principal Ma'am se complaint karungi. Aur jab unhe pata chalega ki tum school mein ladkiyon ko pareshan karte ho... tab ghar jaakar apni family ko bhi explain kar dena."
The boy's expression darkened.
"Ae ladki... zyada zubaan mat chala. Apne kaam se kaam rakh."
Myra didn't even flinch.
"Abe oye... dhamki kise de raha hai? Itni hi mardangi dikhani hai na... toh ghar jaake dikha. School mein ladkiyon ko dara ke hero mat ban."
She then turned toward the frightened girl.
"Tum jao. Iski complaint main karti hoon."
The girl nodded gratefully before hurrying away.
Myra also turned to leave.
Suddenly...
The boy grabbed her wrist tightly.
She winced in pain.
"Complaint karegi meri?"
"You don't even know who I am."
"H-Haath chhodo mera!" Myra struggled, trying to free herself.
Before she could do anything...
Another hand tightly gripped the boy's wrist.
His hold on Myra loosened instantly.
Shaurya.
His jaw was clenched, and his eyes burned with anger.
He forcefully pushed the boy's hand away before stepping protectively in front of Myra.
"Aaj ke baad agar kisi ladki ke saath aisi harkat karne ki himmat bhi ki na..."
He pointed a finger at him.
"...toh tu soch bhi nahi sakta main kya karunga."
Then his voice turned colder.
"Aur ek baat..."
"Myra se jitna door reh sakta hai... utna door rehna."
The boy glared at him for a few seconds before walking away in frustration.
As soon as he disappeared...
Shaurya immediately turned toward Myra.
His anger was gone.
Only concern remained.
"Tum theek ho?"
Myra nodded softly.
"Tha... thank you."
She couldn't even meet his eyes.
Shaurya noticed the red marks forming on her wrist.
His brows furrowed.
"Kya zarurat thi usse akele bhidne ki?"
His voice wasn't angry.
It was worried.
"Woh us ladki ko pareshan kar raha tha," Myra replied quietly.
"Main kaise ignore karti?"
"Tum kisi teacher ko bula sakti thi."
She looked at him.
"Tab tak pata nahi woh us ladki ke saath kya kar deta."
Shaurya fell silent.
She wasn't wrong.
But...
"What if he had hurt you?" he asked softly.
"What if I hadn't reached here on time?"
For the first time...
Myra noticed the genuine fear hidden behind his words.
A small smile appeared on her lips.
"I'm okay now."
Before either of them could say anything else...
Tring... Tring...
The recess bell rang.
Students immediately started rushing back toward their classrooms.
Just then...
Anaya reached there.
"Kahan thi tu? Kab se dhoondh rahi hoon."
Before Myra could answer, Shaurya spoke politely.
"Hello... I'm Shaurya."
"Oh... hello," Anaya replied.
He glanced at Myra before looking back at Anaya.
"Please inka dhyaan rakhiye."
"Aaj ye ek badtameez ladke se akeli bhid gayi thi. Main time par aa gaya, isliye baat badhi nahi."
He looked at Myra once again.
"Agle baar aisa kuch ho... toh khud hero banne ki zarurat nahi hai."
"Pehle kisi teacher ko batana."
His tone was firm...
Yet filled with concern.
Without waiting for a reply...
He quietly walked away.
The moment he disappeared...
"Oye... kya scene tha ye?"
Anaya looked at Myra.
"Har jagah Jhansi Ki Rani banne ki kya zarurat hoti hai tujhe?"
Myra rolled her eyes.
"Baad mein lecture dena."
Anaya grabbed her wrist.
"Ab chal. Class shuru hone wali hai."
A few moments later...
The English period was in full swing.
The entire classroom was unusually quiet as everyone busily copied the notes from the blackboard into their notebooks.
Anaya reached for her notebook and opened it.
The moment she flipped through the pages...
Her smile disappeared.
Several pages had been torn out.
Some pages were scribbled all over with blue ink.
And on a few of them...
Someone had even drawn ridiculous cartoon monsters.
Her hands clenched around the notebook.
She didn't need anyone to tell her who had done it.
She knew exactly who was responsible.
Taking a deep breath, she controlled her anger.
'Not now...'
Without creating a scene, she quietly took out another notebook and completed her classwork.
But the moment the teacher left the classroom...
She stood up.
Her eyes burned with anger as she marched straight toward Anay's desk.
She slammed her notebook on his table.
"What is this?" she demanded loudly.
The entire classroom fell silent.
Everyone's attention shifted toward them.
Shaurya looked up in confusion.
"Kya hua?"
Anaya didn't even look at him.
"Apne dost se pucho kya hua hai."
She opened the notebook in front of everyone.
"Dekho isne meri notebook ka kya haal kiya hai!"
Everyone leaned forward.
Half the pages had been torn.
Several pages were ruined with random pen marks.
And the remaining ones were filled with childish sketches.
Anaya looked back at Anay.
"What the hell is this?"
Anay leaned back in his chair as if nothing had happened.
"So?"
"So?" she repeated in disbelief.
"This notebook wasn't just paper! I spent hours making these notes!"
Anay simply shrugged.
"Haan, maine kiya."
His voice was calm.
"Tumne meri complaint ma'am se ki thi na?"
"Bas... ussi ka badla liya hai."
A wave of disbelief crossed Anaya's face.
"Seriously?"
"You destroyed my notebook..."
"Just because I complained about you?"
"Haan."
He looked straight into her eyes.
"Ab bolo."
"Kya kar logi?"
"Phir se ma'am ke paas jaogi?"
"Jaana hai toh jao."
His arrogant smile only made her angrier.
"Do you even realize how much hard work was in this notebook?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"I stayed up late completing these notes."
"And you ruined everything just to satisfy your ego?"
Anay smirked.
"Mujhe farq nahi padta."
That was enough.
Before anyone could react-
SLAP!
The sharp sound echoed throughout the classroom.
Silence.
Complete silence.
The smile vanished from Anay's face.
His head had turned slightly because of the impact.
Slowly...
He looked back at Anaya.
No one dared to speak.
Even the students sitting at the back had frozen in shock.
Anaya's chest rose and fell heavily.
Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
Not because she regretted slapping him...
But because her notebook meant so much to her.
She looked straight into his eyes.
"Enough."
Her voice was calm...
But every word carried pain.
"You can make fun of me."
"You can argue with me."
"You can even hate me."
"But you have no right to disrespect my hard work."
Her hands trembled as she held the damaged notebook close to her chest.
"This notebook wasn't just a bunch of papers."
"It was my time..."
"My effort..."
"And my dedication."
She took a step back.
"Don't you ever dare repeat something like this."
The burning sensation on his cheek was nothing compared to the guilt slowly settling inside him.
Without saying another word...
Anaya wiped away the tears that had escaped her eyes, picked up her notebook, and walked back to her seat.
The classroom remained silent.
No one knew what to say.
And for the very first time...
Anay Ranawat realized that some pranks went too far.
For a few moments...
Anay stood there without moving.
No one had ever dared to slap him before.
His hand slowly moved to his burning cheek.
His eyes remained fixed on Anaya as she walked away.
The entire classroom was silent.
Shaurya knew something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Because for the first time...
Anay wasn't smiling.
He wasn't joking.
He wasn't arguing.
He was simply staring at Anaya.
A dangerous calm settled over his face.
Slowly...
The shock in his eyes disappeared.
It was replaced by something far more terrifying.
His ego had been hurt.
He clenched his fists tightly.
"So..."
"You slapped Anay Ranawat."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"Fine, Ms. Rulebook."
"You've declared war."
"And now..."
"I'll make sure you remember this slap every single day."
His eyes unknowingly shifted toward her debate notebook lying on her desk.
A new plan had already begun to take shape.
"Now..."
"Let's see how you win that Speech."
Sometimes, a single slap doesn't end a war...
It becomes the reason a new one begins.
*********************************************
Helloooo, my lovely readers! 🥹💖
Well... I don't think anyone was expecting THAT slap. 👀🤭
So tell me honestly...
✨ Was Anaya right to slap Anay?
OR
✨ Do you think she overreacted?
And one more question...
After this incident, what do you think Anay is going to do?
😏 Will he calm down?
😈 Or will he make his revenge even bigger?
Alsoooo... 🫣
How did you like Shaurya's protective side towards Myra? Are you starting to ship them already? 🤍
Drop all your opinions and theories in the comments. I seriously LOVE reading them! 💕
Don't forget to:
⭐ Vote
💬 Comment
📚 Add the story to your library
See you in the next chapter! 🤍✨
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