The classroom was empty except for the five of them. The last lecture of the day had ended twenty minutes ago, and the other students had filed out with the usual chatter and scraping of chairs. Aditi had stayed behind as she always did when she needed to talk about her final-year project. She stood near the teacher’s table, notebook pressed to her chest, waiting for Professor Harish to finish packing his papers.

Harish looked up first. His eyes moved slowly over her simple cotton kurti and the jeans that hugged her hips. Vinay closed the door behind the last departing student and turned the key with a soft click. Suresh and Prakash were already standing on either side of the long wooden table, watching her.