"Okay, focus," Karthik muttered to himself, flipping through his chemistry notes. "Acids, bases, salts, buffer—wait, what's a buffer again?"
Across the table at the library, Ananya had her head buried in her physics textbook. Her pencil tapped rhythmically against her cheek, lips pursed in concentration.
They were surrounded by silence—except for Vikram's snoring two tables down.
Shruthi whispered, "It's only the midterms, not the NEET exam."
Karthik shot her a glare. "Says the one who scored full marks in the last three math tests."
"Hey, I'm stressed too! Just… less dramatic about it."
Ananya looked up and smiled at him. "You'll be fine."
He sighed. "I don't know. My brain feels like scrambled dosa batter."
She giggled. "I'll help you revise. After dinner?"
"Sure," he mumbled, half-relieved, half-nervous.
---
9:42 PM
Karthik sat cross-legged on his bed, phone in one hand, notes in another.
His screen lit up.
> Ananya: Ready?
> Karthik: Barely.
> Ananya: Okay, quiz time. First question: What's the pH of pure water?
> Karthik: 7. Duh.
> Ananya: Good. Next: Who's your favorite person to study with?
He stared at the message.
> Karthik: Uh… you?
> Ananya: Wrong.
> Karthik: Eh?
> Ananya: Correct answer: me, but not while studying, because I'm too distracting.
Karthik smiled.
> Karthik: Can confirm. You are VERY distracting.
> Ananya: Admit it—you'd rather talk to me than study chemistry.
> Karthik: That's not even a debate.
> Ananya: Goofball. Now focus. Five more questions, then I'll let you sleep.
> Karthik: Deal. But tomorrow you owe me iced coffee.
> Ananya: Done. As long as you get at least 80 on this test.
> Karthik: Challenged accepted.
He grinned at the screen. For once, midterms didn't feel like the end of the world.
Not when she was on the other side of the screen, cheering him on.
---
End of Chapter 41