The Girl Who Was Invisible: Chapter 3

“Sia,” Laranya whispered, her voice cutting through the monotony of the Hindi lesson. She leaned over from her desk, her expression far too knowing. “Why are you two acting so weird? You’re staring at each other like you’re trying to read each other’s minds from across the room.”

I felt my face heat up, a burning, painful red. “We’re not,” I lied, my voice cracking. “We’re just… we’re fine.”

But Laranya wasn’t the only one who had caught on. A few days later, at dispersal, the classroom was nearly empty. Only Ahana Bhutani was still packing up, and Krish—one of Mohan’s closest friends—was lingering by the door. He didn’t even try to be subtle.

“So,” Krish said, his eyes darting between me and Ahana with a smirk that felt like an accusation. “What’s actually going on?”

I didn’t answer, just grabbed my bag and hurried out, my heart hammering against my ribs. It felt like everyone had a magnifying glass aimed at my chest, trying to see the secret I was trying so hard to hide.

Then came the crew activity in math. Fate, it seemed, had a cruel sense of humor. We were assigned to the same crew, and to make matters worse, we were sitting directly opposite each other. The lesson was on geometric construction, and for the first time in weeks, the tension broke. He was struggling with the compass, his brow furrowed in genuine frustration.

“Here,” I whispered, the urge to help overpowering my need to stay invisible. I leaned over his desk, my shoulder brushing his. I pointed to his notebook. “You have to put the needle here, and then swing the arc like this.”

As I adjusted his hand, our fingers brushed against the metal of the compass. The contact was brief—a heartbeat—but it felt like an electric shock. He looked up, our eyes locking for a second too long. For the first time in weeks, he didn’t look away.

It was enough to fuel me through the final stretch of 7th grade. It was my birthday, and I had brought a stash of chocolates for the class. I was trembling as I stood in the hallway at dispersal, my heart in my throat.

“Ahana,” I hissed, grabbing my bestie’s arm. “I want to give him an extra one. Can you call him?”

“Mohan!” Ahana shouted.

He stopped, turning around with a few of his friends. He looked startled as he walked back toward us.

“Ummm,” I started, holding out a chocolate like it was a lifeline. “Do you want some more? I’ve got a lot of extras.”

“Sure,” he said, taking it with a small, easy smile.

“Also,” I blurted out, my brain malfunctioning, “did you steal Riya’s chocolate? She was saying that.”

He laughed, a genuine, warm sound. “No! She gave it to me.”

“Well, okay,” I managed. Then, he and his friends walked away.

I was buzzing, my head spinning with the adrenaline of it all. Ahana started elbowing me, her voice dripping with teasing. “Oh, wow, Sia! I think you just made this the best day of his life!”

I looked over and saw Krish standing nearby, his shoulders shaking as he fought to hold in his laughter. I wanted to crawl into the floorboards, but for the first time, the embarrassment felt almost… sweet.