****Abigail****

I sighed in relief as the bell rang, signaling the start of break, and I began packing my things. The room buzzed with chatter as my classmates hurried to leave.

"Abby, why are you taking so long? I'm starving!" Naina complained, already slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"I'm done, let's go," I replied, zipping my bag shut.

Just as we were about to leave, a loud thud echoed through the room. Alex had slammed his hand down on a desk. The sudden noise made me jump, my heart skipping a beat. I shot him an annoyed glance, but Alex, as usual, was unfazed. "Alright, settle down, everyone!" he called out, scanning the room.

That's when I noticed Jeremiah standing near the front, looking like he was about to make an announcement. The classroom gradually quieted, though the tension was palpable. Jeremiah looked exhausted—dark circles shadowed his eyes, his hair slightly tousled. Was the weight of his responsibilities as Student Council President finally catching up to him? The sight of him like that stirred an unease in me, but I quickly pretended to be absorbed in the book on my desk.

He cleared his throat, and the room fell into a near-hushed silence, the occasional rustling of papers and whispers adding to the tension. "Hey, everyone. Just need your attention for a couple of minutes," he started, though his voice lacked its usual confidence.

I glanced up, and there it was—Jeremiah's gaze, steady and unblinking, locked onto mine. His expression was unreadable, his eyes lingering in a way that made my heart flutter. I felt a knot of discomfort tighten in my stomach, but I kept my eyes on him, refusing to be the first to look away.

The room seemed to blur around us, the dull hum of chatter fading as the connection between us stretched, taut and unspoken. My fingers drummed lightly on the cover of my book, a nervous habit I hadn't noticed until now. He still didn't look away, his stare persistent but not intense—just enough to keep me off-balance.

Then, thankfully, someone broke the moment. "So, what's the selection process for the student council this year?" a voice asked from the back.

Jeremiah blinked, as though waking from a daze, and quickly turned his attention to the question. I exhaled softly, finally looking down at my book, pretending I hadn't just been completely rattled by a simple stare.

Jeremiah answered a few more questions, his voice steadier now, but the unease from our brief exchange lingered. When he finished, he left without looking in my direction again, but the aftertaste of that moment stayed with me.

Naina tugged at my arm, snapping me out of my thoughts. We made our way toward the kiosk, the lively hum of the hallway pulling me back to the present. Naina chattered away about Diksha, pulling her lunch out of her bag. I grabbed an egg puff from the nearby shop, trying to focus on her words, but my mind kept drifting back to Jeremiah.

"I really don't get how you survive on just an egg puff," Naina said, shaking her head in disapproval.

"I'm not that hungry," I muttered.

Naina rolled her eyes dramatically. "Please, you always say that, even when you've skipped breakfast. Oh, and by the way, Diksha totally ignored me this morning. She's so rude, bro."

I nodded absentmindedly, my eyes scanning the crowd. There he was—Jeremiah, surrounded by people, cheerful as always. It was a stark contrast to the weary boy I'd seen just moments ago in the classroom. The shift was unsettling.

"Abby, what are you even looking at? You're not listening to me!" Naina's voice cut through my wandering thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah, Diksha was rude. That's not new," I said, though my focus was still elsewhere.

Naina followed my gaze, and her face lit up with exaggerated exasperation. "Oh my god, Abby—seriously? It's been a year. You need to move on. Is that why you were acting so weird in class earlier?"

"I wasn't acting weird," I said defensively.

Naina raised an eyebrow, her smirk growing. "Oh, you totally were. You were squirming in your seat every time he spoke." She began dramatically reenacting what I supposedly looked like, shifting around in her seat with an exaggerated expression of discomfort.

"Oh my god, stop! I wasn't doing that," I said, laughing despite myself.

"You so were!" she insisted, still grinning. "All that for the guy who looks like a bus driver."

I laughed again, but as Naina kept talking, my thoughts drifted back to Jeremiah. Even in the lively hallway, surrounded by friends, the unease I'd felt in the classroom lingered.