Chapter 1
Love Payanam
Early morning.
The streets were still calm as she hurried out of her house wearing her school uniform. With her bag hanging on one shoulder, she quickly adjusted her hair and checked her books once again.
Today was her Maths test.
Even though she had studied the whole night, fear and tension still filled her mind.
At the same time, he was running late.
He packed his lunch in a hurry, grabbed his bag, and rushed towards the bus stop to catch the private bus to school.
The name painted brightly on the bus was:
“Lakshmi Institute of Higher Technology”
The bus arrived with a loud horn. It was already crowded with students and office workers.
She entered first and moved near the window seat while he stepped inside carefully through the rush.
As usual, school students avoided taking tickets, but she always bought one properly.
She turned towards him.
“Which place?” she asked softly.
“Periyapuram,” he replied.
She nodded and bought a ticket for him too.
For a moment, he looked at her silently.
But her mind was somewhere else.
Maths formulas.
Test fear.
Revision.
As the bus moved through the noisy morning roads, she quickly opened her notebook and started revising once again.
