The next Physics class began with the chapter they had started yesterday.
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Motion
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The heading was still written across the top of the board.
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Aarav placed the register on the desk and picked up a piece of chalk.
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"Open your notebooks."
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Pages turned.
Pens clicked open.
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Anaya opened hers to the last page of notes.
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"Who remembers the definition of motion?"
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Several hands went up.
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Aarav pointed toward the front row.
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Alisha stood.
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"Motion is the change in position of an object with time."
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"Good."
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She sat down.
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Aarav turned back toward the board.
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Uniform Motion
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"An object covers equal distances in equal intervals of time."
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Students immediately began writing.
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The classroom settled into its usual rhythm.
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Question.
Answer.
Notes.
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A few minutes later—
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"What is non-uniform motion?"
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A hand rose from the second row.
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"When an object covers unequal distances in equal intervals of time."
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"Correct."
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Pens moved again.
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Anaya copied the definition.
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Halfway through the sentence—
a small sound came from the front row.
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The pen slipped from Alisha's hand.
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Nobody reacted at first.
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Then Naina turned.
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"Alisha?"
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No answer.
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A small frown appeared on Naina's face.
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"Alisha."
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The girl beside her looked over too.
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"Sir—"
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Aarav stopped writing.
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By then two students had already stood up.
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"What happened?"
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Alisha pressed a hand against her forehead.
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"I..."
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The sentence never finished.
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Her chair shifted slightly.
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"Alisha!"
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Several voices came at once.
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Aarav was already walking toward the desk.
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"Move."
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Students immediately stepped aside.
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"Water."
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The demand came so quickly that three bottles appeared at once.
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Someone from the second row was already beside the desk.
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"Give her some space."
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"Move back."
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The front row turned chaotic for a moment.
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Anaya had stopped writing.
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Her notebook remained open.
The pen rested across the page.
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Ritu half-rose from her seat.
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"What happened to her?"
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"I don't know."
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Anaya's eyes remained fixed on the front row.
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Aarav crouched slightly beside the desk.
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"Alisha."
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A weak response.
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"Look at me."
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She did.
Barely.
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"Can you stand?"
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Alisha nodded.
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Tried.
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Almost lost her balance immediately.
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Several students gasped.
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Naina grabbed her arm.
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"Careful."
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For a moment it looked like half the class was ready to rush forward.
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"Stay back."
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Aarav's voice cut through the noise.
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The room quieted slightly.
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"She's okay."
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Nobody looked convinced.
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Including Anaya.
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Her fingers tightened around the edge of the notebook.
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The door.
Alisha.
Aarav.
The students around her.
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Her eyes moved between all of them.
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Aarav picked up Alisha's bag.
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"Naina."
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"Yes, Sir?"
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"Come with us."
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Then they left.
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The door closed behind them.
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The classroom exploded into whispers.
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"What happened?"
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"Did she faint?"
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"She looked really pale."
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"Maybe she has a fever."
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"No, she was fine this morning."
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Nobody was looking at the board anymore.
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The unfinished definition remained there.
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Uniform Motion
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Half-written.
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Ritu turned toward Anaya again.
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"Do you think she's okay?"
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Anaya looked toward the closed door.
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A small crease appeared between her brows.
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"I hope so."
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The door remained closed.
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A minute passed.
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Then another.
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A few students kept glancing toward it.
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Anaya did too.
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Once.
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Then again.
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The notebook sat forgotten in front of her.
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Eventually the door opened.
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Every head lifted at once.
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Aarav stepped inside.
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The room immediately fell silent.
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"She's alright."
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Several shoulders visibly relaxed.
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"What happened, Sir?"
someone asked.
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"She's feeling better."
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A few relieved smiles appeared around the classroom.
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Aarav placed the register back on the desk.
Looked around the room.
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Nobody was focused anymore.
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Not a single student.
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The tension had already carried the lesson away.
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Aarav picked up the chalk.
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Turned toward the board.
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Under the unfinished heading, he wrote:
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Uniform Motion
An object covers equal distances in equal intervals of time.
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Non-Uniform Motion
An object covers unequal distances in equal intervals of time.
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"Revise these."
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Students immediately copied the points.
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No questions.
No discussions.
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Just the scratching sound of pens across paper.
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Aarav closed the register.
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"We'll continue tomorrow."
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Several students looked up in surprise.
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The bell hadn't rung yet.
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Aarav picked up the register.
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"Class dismissed."
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Chairs moved instantly.
Bags zipped shut.
Conversations restarted.
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Most of them were still about Alisha.
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By the time Anaya left the classroom, the definitions were written.
The notes were complete.
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But the image of the crowded front row remained somewhere in the back of her mind.