The classroom smells faintly of chalk and old textbooks, and I feel a weird mix of relief and boredom wash over me. 

Two days ago, I was back in the village, seeing family, dealing with emotions I didn’t even know I had. And now I’m here—back at school, surrounded by the hum of everyday life.

I walk in, dump my bag on my usual spot, and pull out my assignments. The teachers are watching like hawks as we submit our projects, the usual lecture about “last-minute work” droning in the background. 

I’m barely paying attention. My mind’s still kind of stuck on the nightmares, but I shake it off. I can’t focus on that now.

The bell rings for lunch, and that’s when things lighten up. I head to our usual spot—a small bench under the shade of a giant tree in the courtyard. 

Rick’s already there, leaning back with his sunglasses on, looking like he’s ready for some kind of summer photoshoot. 

And Nisha, well, she’s got her nose buried in her phone as usual, probably reading the latest chapter of some manhwa.

"Yo, Azer!" Rick waves me over, flashing that lazy grin of his. "How’s our bro doing after that big family drama?"

I plop down next to them, shrugging. "It’s over. Nothing much to say. You?"

Rick stretches, acting like his arms weigh a ton.

"Me? I barely made it through the last two days. My mom was on some kind of cleaning spree. Had me scrubbing the floors like Cinderella."

Nisha snorts, not looking up from her phone. 

"Your life sounds like a cheap drama. At least mine was productive. I finished three web novels and caught up on *The Knight’s Clumsy Princess.*"

Rick rolls his eyes. 

"Please tell me you’re not still reading those things. Don’t you have, like, real stuff to do?"

Nisha finally looks up, glaring at him over her glasses. 

"Excuse you, Rick, *The Knight’s Clumsy Princess* is a masterpiece. And if you ever bothered to read something other than the back of shampoo bottles, you’d understand."

"Right, right. You and your ‘clumsy princesses,’" 

Rick says with a smirk. 

"Tell me, Nisha, how many knights in those stories have fallen for the most accident-prone girl in the kingdom?"

Nisha narrows her eyes. 

"Shut up. I can’t help it if they’re relatable."

I can’t hold back a smile this time, just thinking of how ridiculous it sounds—and then Rafa pops into my head for a split second. A slight smile lingers on my face as I think about her. 

But then, Rick notices. 

"Whoa, whoa, hold up."

He leans forward, pointing at me. 

"Did anyone else see that? Did our boy Azer just smile? Nisha, did you catch that?"

Nisha’s eyes widen. 

"Oh my god, he totally did! What’s going on, Azer? You’re grinning like you just won the lottery."

I try to wipe the smile off my face, but it’s too late. They’re both staring at me like they’ve uncovered some big secret.

Rick crosses his arms, grinning like he’s got me figured out. 

"Alright, spill. Something definitely happened. What went down back in the village? You’re hiding something, man."

Nisha jumps in, leaning closer. 

"Yeah, Azer, spill! Did you meet a clumsy princess there or something? Some long-lost cousin who’s actually a royal or...?"

I laugh nervously, trying to brush it off. 

'No, nothing like that. You guys are reading too much into this.'

Rick shakes his head. 

"Nah, nah, we’re onto something. You don’t just smile like that for no reason, bro. Something happened. Who was it? What happened? C’mon, tell us!"

I can feel the heat rising to my face. There’s no way I’m telling them about Rafa, not about what we’re going through or that secret relationship. But they’re not letting this go, so I scramble to come up with something.

'Alright, alright,'

I say, holding up my hands in surrender. "Fine, I’ll tell you. But it’s not that big of a deal."

Rick raises an eyebrow. 

"Uh-huh. We’ll be the judge of that."

I take a deep breath, hoping they’ll buy this.

'I... I think I might have a crush on someone.'

There’s a moment of stunned silence, and then Nisha gasps dramatically. 

"A crush? Oh my god, who is she? What’s her name? Where’s she from? Is she in our school?"

Rick’s grinning from ear to ear. 

"Dude, why didn’t you say anything sooner? We’ve been friends for how long, and you’re just now telling us you’ve got a crush?"

I shrug, trying to play it cool. 

'I don’t know, it just... kind of happened. And I didn’t say anything because, well... I haven’t told her.'

Nisha’s eyes light up. 

"You haven’t told her? Azer! You’ve got to tell her! You can’t just sit there with a crush and do nothing about it. That’s like the first rule of romance, according to literally every manhwa I’ve ever read."

Rick nods, looking serious now. 

"Nisha’s right, man. You gotta make a move before someone else does."

I laugh awkwardly. 

'It’s not that easy, guys. I’m not even sure if she feels the same way.'

Nisha waves a hand. 

"That doesn’t matter. You just have to be brave, Azer. Look at the knights in *The Knight’s Clumsy Princess.* They never wait around. They go for what they want."

Rick leans back, giving me a look. 

"Yeah, man. What’s the worst that could happen?"

I try to steer the conversation away, feeling the weight of keeping the truth hidden. 

'We’ll see. Maybe I’ll figure it out after the exams.'

Nisha gives me a playful nudge. 

"You better! Otherwise, we’re staging an intervention."

I just smile and nod, hoping that’s the end of it. They don’t need to know the truth—at least, not yet.