6 | Challenge

The dreaded day had arrived INTERNALS.

The hallways were a blur of students darting here and there, clutching notes as though they were shields against impending doom. Sharayu and her friends, united by caffeine and sleepless nights, trekked through every possible question, scribbled frantic margins in their notebooks, and even tried to predict what disaster the exam gods would conjure. But now? All bets were off. Split across different classrooms, each of them knew no one could save them now. It was just them, their answer sheets, and that ever-watchful invigilator.

Sharayu sat in the middle row, hand clammy as it gripped her pen. The supervisor stoic and intimidating marched in, question papers stacked like weapons of mass destruction.

"Keep your bags outside, only pens on the desk, and NO TALKING."

The tension? You could slice it with a geometry box.

As the papers were handed out, silence gripped the room. It was so quiet, Sharayu could hear her own heartbeat. Then an audible exhale as students flipped open the paper.

They'd studied exactly this. Sharayu's lips curled into a grin. "Okay, we got this."

Pens scrawled at top speed. Just as she found her momentum, the door swung open with the dramatic tension of a plot twist.

A tall figure stepped across the threshold.

Satish Singh Rajvanshi.

Sharayu's mind went blank. Her fact-perfect answer turned into a tangle of doubts. Her handwriting neat a second ago looked jagged and uncertain. She wasn't the only one. Around her, pens paused. Students stiffened as if they'd just been caught cheating.

Satish exchanged a few quiet words with the supervisor, then simply looked his sharp blue eyes sweeping the room. He didn't need to speak. His presence alone screamed authority. It felt like he could read every mind in the room.

Sharayu mentally pleaded, "Sir, please just leave. Your presence is ruining my thought process."

Just as swiftly as he'd entered, Satish nodded, left the supervisor, and departed. The moment the door clicked shut, the collective tension broke students exhaled, whispering about whether he'd scanned their souls.

"I literally forgot how to spell my own name when he looked this way," one girl muttered, wiping her forehead.

"At least we survived that attack," Sharayu chuckled, diving back into her answer sheet.

After the exams, relief hit like a wave. No more revision. No more panic. The moment they stepped out, there was an unspoken pact-no books for two days.

Sharayu stretched, declaring, "If I even hear the word 'exam' again, I'm dropping out."

Hriday joined in, "Bro, same. My brain has reached its full capacity."

Rutuja rallied, "Guys, I don't care about anything else. Let's just go eat. I have burned all my calories in stress."

They marched to the canteen like warriors home from battle.

But freedom is fickle;

The very next day, lectures resumed as if nothing had happened.

It was painful.

Walking back into the classroom after exams felt like entering a battlefield you thought you had won, only to realize it was just the first half.

As expected, every professor had the same question

"So, how were your exams?"

And every student had the same answer

Good, sir/ma'am! (Even if it wasn't.)

But the real dangerous moment came when the professors started discussing the question papers.

Professor Hrishikesh: "So, the third question was a bit tricky, right?"

Instant panic.

Students wondered aloud what the third question even was, fueling more worry than comfort.

But the real moment of dread still loomed: Satish's lecture.

Entering the classroom, Sharayu and her group traded nervous glances.

"Guys, do we make a run for it?" Hriday whispered.

"We already attended all the other lectures. If we run now, it will be obvious," Gayatri reasoned.

Sharayu grinned, "Wouldn't you rather hear him roast us in person than wait for marks?"

"I don't like how excited you sound," Arohi muttered.

Satish entered. The room instinctively straightened up. Placing his books on the desk, he asked,

"So? How were the exams?"

A moment of pin-drop silence, then a chorus:

"Good, sir!"

Satish narrowed his eyes as if detecting lies.

He smirked. "Let's see if you still say 'good' after your results."

Vrushal whispered, "We are so screwed." Sharayu nudged him, "If we fail, at least we'll have company."

Satish turned to the board.

The class held its breath.

Was he about to analyze every mistake they made? Instead, he adjusted his sleeves.

"Alright, let's begin. Who remembers what we discussed before the internals?"

Pure panic. Rutuja leaned over, "What did we discuss before internals?"

Sharayu squinted, "I don't even remember what I ate for breakfast."

"Uh... Sir, we discussed... taxation?" Hriday blurted.

Satish raised an eyebrow. "Brilliant answer. I was worried we might have been studying botany all this time."

The class chuckled, tentatively relaxing.

But Satish wasn't letting them off that easy.

Almost an hour later,

"Now, let's talk about your internals."

Arohi muttered, "Spoke too soon, Kunal."

Satish scanned the room. "Some of you wrote well," he said. "And some of you wrote... Let's just say you tried."

Sharayu exhaled, "At least we get credit for effort."

He continued, "I will be distributing the answer sheets next week."

Collective panic.

Vrushal groaned, "Why does he have to build suspense like this? Just kill us now, sir!"

Gayatri sighed, "At this point, I just hope my handwriting was legible."

Satish, ignoring the drama, continued. "For now, let's move forward." He began a new topic Income from House Property.

Satish asked, "What do you understand by the concept of Income from House Property?"

A few hands shot up, including Sharayu's.

He nodded at her. "Go ahead."

She cleared her throat. "Income from House Property refers to the income earned by an individual from owning a property, such as a building or land attached to a building, which is let out for rent or used for any other income-generating purpose. This income doesn't come from business or profession, but solely because of the ownership of that property."

A slow smirk appeared on Satish's face.

"Not bad. Seems like you actually paid attention this time."

A few students chuckled.

Unfazed, Sharayu leaned forward slightly. "Sir, you sound surprised. Did you think I wouldn't pay attention?"

Satish arched an eyebrow. "Let's just say... I had my doubts."

A challenge hung in the air.

At that moment, the door creaked open gently. Hrishikesh appeared in the doorway, a little hurried but mindful not to disturb the class more than necessary.

His eyes searched for Satish, and catching his attention with a polite nod, he stepped inside. The students immediately turned their gaze toward the unexpected interruption, their whispers rising softly. Hrishikesh, addressing Satish in a low but clear voice, said he had come to call him to the ongoing meeting scheduled to begin in just ten minutes.

Satish looked at him, nodded, and with a quick hand gesture indicated that he would join in two minutes, before continuing with his conversation with Sharayu

Sharayu tilted her head, smiled slightly, "Maybe you should start expecting more from me, Sir."

The class oohed.

Satish chuckled, shaking his head. "Let's see if you keep up this confidence when your results are out."

And just like that, he moved on.

For the first time, Sharayu felt noticed not just another roll number, but truly seen.

As soon as the lecture ended, Sharayu's friends pounced.

Arohi grabbed her arm. "WHAT WAS THAT?"

Rutuja shook her head. "Girl, that was NOT a normal student-teacher interaction."

Vrushal whistled. "Damn, Sharayu. When did you start flirting with Satish Sir?"

Sharayu rolled her eyes. "That wasn't flirting. That was just... a conversation."

Kunal smirked. "A conversation with eye contact, sarcasm, and a challenge? Even movies don't have that much tension in their dialogues."

Gayatri crossed her arms. "You do realize he notices you a lot more than others, right?"

Sharayu opened her mouth, then stopped.

Rutuja raised an eyebrow. "Why did he only smirk when you spoke?"

Arohi gasped. "And why did he pause before choosing you? It was like time slowed down."

Kunal pretended to wipe a tear. "My friend is starring in her own slow-burn romance and doesn't even know it."

Vrushal shook his head. "You had a power struggle with him in class. The way he looked at you?" He whistled. "Movie-level chemistry."

Sharayu rolled her eyes. "If you spent half as much time analyzing subjects as my life, we'd all be toppers."

Gayatri smirked. "You're just mad because we're right."

Hriday interjected. "Forget that-did anyone else notice how smooth he is?"

All eyes turned.

Hriday shrugged. "Bro, Satish Sir knows what he's doing. He gave her a challenge!"

Rutuja gasped. "WAIT. He just gave her a challenge!"

Arohi clapped. "She can't resist a challenge."

Kunal grinned. "You gonna prove him wrong?"

Sharayu huffed. "You're acting like I have something to prove to him."

Vrushal smirked. "Don't you?"

Sharayu paused.

Maybe she did.

Meanwhile, in the Faculty Lounge

Satish cast a shadow at the lounge door, sipping coffee.

Professor Hrikesh grinned, "So... what's with you and Sharayu?"

Satish raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Hrikesh smirked. "Don't play dumb. The way you banter. You don't do that with anyone else."

Satish sipped and considered. "She's different."

Hrikesh pressed, "Different how?"

Satish looked out the window. "Most students fear me or just follow. She's sharp. Observant. Confident."

Hrikesh nudged, "And?"

Satish smirked. "And I enjoy a good challenge."