After that day, Shabd Heer became a permanent resident in my head.
Me—the girl who scared half the class into silence during tests, who could make even a PE teacher flinch when I argued about unfair grading—was now doodling hearts and helmets in my notebook. Disgusting, right?
I wasn't the type to go soft. I was Vashti Dhiman, the "Hitler of 6-D," the queen of detention threats, ruler of morning assemblies, and defender of classroom justice.
But when I found out he loved Formula One, everything shifted.
I overheard it in the library. Shabd was talking to a teacher—calm, composed, and focused, like always.
"Racing's a science," he said, voice smooth like a polished scalpel. "It's precision, strategy, reaction time… like brain surgery, but at 300 kilometers an hour."
I had to physically stop myself from gasping.
He loved F1. So did I.
Okay… I didn't yet. But I would. Starting now.
That evening, I Googled everything about F1. I memorized race tracks, learned driver names, watched crash compilations until my mom yelled at me to sleep. I made it my mission to be an expert—not because I wanted to impress anyone.
Just him.
The next day, I bullied the class monitor into giving me control of the projector. During our free period, I played a race highlight video.
"This is for educational purposes," I said with a smirk. "Science of speed, idiots."
Everyone groaned. I didn't care. I watched the screen like I was watching Shabd's thoughts unfold.
And somewhere in the back of my mind, I imagined us together. He'd be the calm neurosurgeon with nerves of steel. I'd be the blazing F1 star, breaking records and speed limits—and maybe, just maybe, he'd look at me and see more than a girl who yelled at people for chewing gum in class.
Maybe he'd see the girl who loved what he loved.
The girl who was trying—not to change herself—but to understand his world.
But of course, in reality, he had no idea I existed.
And I was still the same bossy, sharp-tongued, foot-stomping mini-Hitler of middle school…
…just with a much faster heartbeat now.
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