Chapter 79: Gulmohar
Lunch bell rang, and the kids rushed out as if it wasn't a school, but a prison.
Each pair of eyes held the same exhaustion, the same helplessness—as if even during lunch break, life trailed behind them like a burden.
I was sitting under the gulmohar tree. The tiffin was open, but hunger was wandering somewhere far away. The sight of roti made me nauseous. The wind was running its fingers through my hair—and I felt like flying away with it. Anywhere. Just far from here.
"You're not looking at him, but you're definitely thinking about him."
Nami arrived and sat beside me without asking for permission. As if she knew—this was the perfect moment to pry.
I turned my head, pretending not to understand.
"What?"
"Aarin," she said his name like she was scratching open something buried inside me.
"You're ignoring him. But you're doing it so loudly that even if Aarin doesn't notice, the whole universe can hear it."
I tore off a piece of roti and shoved it into my mouth—didn't chew, didn't taste. Just wanted to run away from the question.
"Aira..."