Author's POV:

The break period had filled the school corridors with scattered laughter and idle conversations. Near the front block, Avantika stood leaning slightly against the railing, balancing a few books in her arms. Her laughter rang out—light, genuine—as she spoke to Arjun. He was one of the few people she had come to befriend over the past few months, a connection formed through shared struggles as scholarship students. They weren't best friends, not like Khushi, but there was an ease between them.