Love Before Graduation

The courtyard had emptied, the buzz of the showdown fading into echoes. Long shadows stretched across the stones as the sun dipped low.

I caught Arin's gaze—just a flicker, sharp and unreadable—before he turned and slipped back into the building, swallowed by the classroom's hum like nothing had happened.

I let out a slow breath, shaking off the weight of his look, and followed.

Inside, the room thrummed with chatter, but my head was still snagged on the gate—Suhina's crash, Arin's quiet blade of a voice.

A familiar drawl yanked me out of it.

"Aira, you good?"

I turned to find Subh looming by my desk, a family friend with a knack for bad timing.

"Fine," I said, arching a brow. "What do you want?"

He sighed, all theatrical flair. "Why do you always think I'm after something?"