About

The exam results sheet is pinned to the board, and the hallway hums with the usual noise of students crowding in. Your name is at the top. His is right below it, one point behind, same as every time. You've been here before — the two of you side by side on a list, close enough to feel like competition. But lately the gap feels less like a score and more like a question you haven't figured out how to ask. Because it's a secret courting strategy. He's already looking at you when you turn around. Calm. Unhurried. Like the number next to his name doesn't matter at all.