After that strange and slightly embarrassing first interaction in the viva room, life moved on as if nothing had happened.

  Arav and Maggie didn’t talk again for months.

  College life has a strange way of separating people into their own small worlds. Arav had his group of friends, and Maggie had hers. Their schedules overlapped, their classrooms were the same, but their circles rarely crossed.

  Days passed in the usual rhythm of college.

  Bunking lectures.

  Sharing snacks in the canteen.

  Laughing over pointless jokes.

  Last-minute assignment submissions.

  Random trips to nearby cafés after class.

  Arav was usually quieter in his group, but he enjoyed the chaos of his friends. Maggie, on the other hand, was always the lively center of her circle—planning small trips, convincing everyone to bunk boring lectures, and turning ordinary moments into memories.

  If someone had asked either of them about the awkward viva day, they probably would have struggled to even remember the other person clearly.

  Maybe they would have forgotten each other completely.

  But destiny had other plans.

  One afternoon, the college had organized a small event. Most students were excited about it because it meant the classes would end early.

  By late afternoon, the campus was almost empty.

  Groups of students had already left to celebrate their unexpected free time. Laughter echoed in the corridors as people rushed out of the building.

  But Arav stayed.

  He had been struggling with a few programming concepts for days, and he had decided that today he would finally understand them. Even though his friends had already left, he quietly walked into an almost empty classroom and opened his notebook.

  Only a handful of students remained inside.

  Some were scrolling through their phones.

  Two students were playing cards on the last bench.

  A couple of girls were chatting loudly near the window.

  Arav sat alone on the front bench, completely focused on his laptop and notebook.

  He was the only person actually studying.

  At the same time, Maggie was sitting a few benches behind with one of her friends. She was in an unusually playful mood that day.

  Her eyes wandered around the classroom.

  And then she noticed him.

  Arav.

  Sitting seriously on the front bench, typing something on his laptop as if the entire world around him didn’t exist.

  A mischievous smile appeared on Maggie’s face.

  She leaned forward slightly and called out loudly,

  “Why are you studying so seriously? The exams aren’t even close!”

  Arav heard her voice but didn’t respond. He simply continued typing.

  Maggie raised her eyebrow.

  Ignoring her? That was interesting.

  She tried again, this time with a teasing tone.

  “Oh! So the topper is studying again. What are you studying? Tell us too… we also want to top the class!”

  A few students chuckled quietly.

  But Arav still didn’t respond.

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  He kept staring at his screen as if nothing had happened.

  Maggie crossed her arms.

  “Wow. Such attitude.”

  Still nothing.

  Finally, after being interrupted again and again, Arav suddenly closed his notebook, stood up, and turned toward her with visible frustration.

  “If you don’t want to study,” he said sharply, “then fine. But please… just let me study in peace.”

  The classroom became silent.

  Then he added, slightly annoyed,

  “Or just go to hell and let me focus.”

  With that, he picked up his notebook and walked out of the classroom, sitting on a bench in the corridor outside.

  For a moment, Maggie sat there in stunned silence.

  Then her expression slowly changed.

  Now she was irritated.

  “How dare he?” she muttered.

  Without saying anything to her friend, she stood up and walked out of the classroom.

  Arav was sitting on the corridor bench, staring at his notebook.

  Suddenly—

  Thump!

  Maggie lightly hit him on the head.

  Not very hard. Just enough to show her annoyance.

  Arav looked up, confused.

  But Maggie didn’t say a single word.

  She simply turned around and walked back into the classroom.

  Arav stared after her for a moment… slightly surprised.

  But he didn’t react.

  He just sighed and stayed quiet.

  Inside the classroom, Maggie sat down again.

  This time, she opened her book.

  “If he can study… so can I,” she muttered.

  She started reading the programming chapter.

  But after ten minutes, she realized something.

  She didn’t understand anything.

  Programming was always a weak subject for her. The theory made sense sometimes, but the practical part always confused her.

  After trying to read the same page again and again, she finally closed the book in frustration.

  “Forget this,” she said.

  She turned to her friend.

  “I’m going to the lab. At least I’ll try to practice there.”

  Her friend nodded.

  Maggie walked out of the classroom and glanced at the corridor bench.

  Arav wasn’t there anymore.

  “Good,” she murmured. “At least I won’t have to see his face.”

  She walked toward the computer lab.

  But the moment she entered…

  She stopped.

  Arav was already there.

  Sitting at one of the computers, typing quickly, completely focused on his code.

  For a moment, Maggie almost laughed at the coincidence.

  Arav noticed her standing near the door.

  He leaned back slightly and said with a small smirk,

  “What now? Did you come here to hit me again… or to annoy me here too?”

  Maggie rolled her eyes.

  “Relax. I have better things to do than annoying you.”

  She walked to another computer, picked up a laptop, and opened her programming file.

  Both of them started working silently.

  The lab was quiet except for the sound of keyboards.

  Arav was extremely comfortable with programming. Coding came naturally to him. Logical problems excited him rather than frustrating him.

  Maggie, however, was still struggling.

  After a few minutes, she started writing a small program.

  But something kept going wrong.

  Error.

  She fixed it.

  Another error.

  She tried again.

  Still wrong.

  After several attempts, she dropped her head on the desk in frustration.

  Arav had been noticing everything from the corner of his eye.

  He knew exactly what the mistake was.

  But he said nothing.

  Instead, he quietly smiled to himself while watching Maggie getting more and more frustrated.

  Finally Maggie noticed his expression.

  She narrowed her eyes.

  “Why are you smiling like that?” she asked suspiciously.

  Arav shrugged.

  “Nothing.”

  Maggie leaned back in her chair.

  “Do you want me to hit you again?”

  Arav quickly raised his hands in surrender.

  “No, no… please don’t.”

  Then he pointed at her screen.

  “But you are making the same mistake again and again.”

  Maggie stared at him.

  “Oh really?”

  She turned the laptop toward him.

  “Then you solve it.”

  Arav moved closer, looked at the code for a few seconds, and started typing.

  Within a minute…

  The program worked perfectly.

  Maggie’s eyes widened.

  “That’s it?” she asked.

  Arav nodded casually.

  “You just missed a small bracket.”

  Maggie leaned back and laughed.

  “You’re actually really good at this.”

  Arav pretended to accept the compliment dramatically.

  “I know.”

  Both of them laughed.

  After that, they continued solving the program together, discussing small mistakes and helping each other.

  The tension from earlier slowly disappeared.

  Once they finished, Maggie stretched her arms and said,

  “Okay. Now let’s do something else.”

  Arav shook his head.

  “I still have to prepare for the viva.”

  Maggie suddenly snapped her fingers.

  “Perfect. I have to prepare for it too.”

  Arav looked unsure.

  “There’s just one problem,” he admitted.

  “I get nervous in front of professors. Sometimes I know the answer… but I forget it while speaking.”

  Maggie immediately said,

  “Same problem.”

  She thought for a moment and then smiled mischievously.

  “Let’s take each other’s viva.”

  Arav looked confused.

  “What?”

  “We’ll ask questions like the professor does,” Maggie explained. “And we’ll even give marks. It’ll help with confidence.”

  Arav considered the idea.

  “Okay… I’m ready,” he said.

  “But on one condition.”

  Maggie raised an eyebrow.

  “What?”

  “You’re not allowed to hit me if I give the wrong answer.”

  Maggie burst into laughter.

  “Deal.”

  Soon the quiet computer lab turned into their private practice room.

  They asked each other questions.

  They argued about answers.

  They copied the strict voice of professors.

  At one point Maggie even imitated the viva professor so perfectly that both of them started laughing uncontrollably.

  For the first time since that awkward viva day…

  Arav and Maggie were actually enjoying each other’s company.

  And without realizing it…

  A simple friendship had quietly begun.

  Do you think this moment is the real beginning of their friendship?