They didn't make any plans.
That was the strange part.
For months, every day had been divided into something.
Study.
Class.
Revision.
Exam.
Sleep.
Repeat.
Now there was nothing.
No paper tomorrow.
No chapter waiting to be finished.
No alarm that needed to be set.
Aanya stood outside the examination building with her bag hanging from one shoulder.
She looked at Sagnik.
"So..."
"So?"
"What now?"
He shrugged.
"I don't know."
She stared at him.
"You've been saying that a lot today."
"Because I genuinely don't know."
Aanya smiled.
Then looked around.
The campus suddenly seemed different.
The same buildings.
The same pathways.
The same trees.
But without the constant pressure of an examination hanging over them, everything felt strangely spacious.
"Can I come over?"
Sagnik looked at her.
"Yeah."
Just that.
No hesitation.
Aanya smiled.
"Okay."
By the time they reached his place, Aanya had already started talking.
She didn't even know what she was saying.
Something about one of the questions.
Then something about a professor.
Then an argument she'd had with Aditi three weeks ago.
Then a completely unrelated thought about how she had always hated the sound of alarm clocks.
Sagnik listened.
Occasionally smiling.
Occasionally asking a question.
Mostly letting her talk.
The moment they entered, Aanya dropped her bag onto the floor.
Then looked at the couch.
Then at him.
"I'm tired."
"I know."
"Very tired."
"I know."
"Don't make me move."
"I wasn't planning to."
She smiled.
A few minutes later, they were sitting together on the couch.
A blanket had somehow found its way over both of them.
Aanya shifted closer.
Then closer again.
Until her head rested against his chest.
Sagnik looked down at her.
She seemed completely comfortable.
As though this had always been where she was supposed to end up after a long day.
His hand moved into her hair.
Slowly.
Gently.
His fingers ran through it once.
Then again.
Aanya closed her eyes.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then—
"Do you know what I was thinking during the exam?"
Sagnik smiled.
"No."
"I was thinking about food."
He laughed quietly.
"Of course you were."
"No, listen."
"I'm listening."
"I was thinking that after the exam I wanted something ridiculously unhealthy."
"That explains why you looked so determined when you walked out."
"I was determined."
"To eat?"
"Yes."
His fingers continued moving through her hair.
Aanya smiled against his chest.
"And then I was thinking about how weird it is that we're done."
"Yeah."
"It doesn't feel real."
"It doesn't."
"I thought I'd feel happy."
"You are happy."
"I am."
She paused.
"But I'm also confused."
"About what?"
"I don't know."
She shifted slightly.
"Everything, I guess."
He didn't interrupt.
So she continued.
"I spent so long thinking about exams that I forgot there was supposed to be something after them."
"There is."
"What?"
"Tomorrow."
She laughed.
"That's not helpful."
"It wasn't supposed to be."
She lightly hit his chest.
He laughed.
Aanya settled back down.
"And I want to sleep for approximately three years."
"I'll allow two."
"How generous."
His fingers moved gently through her hair again.
She became quiet for a few seconds.
Then started again.
She told him about a book she'd once wanted to write.
A song she'd heard years ago and still remembered.
A place she wanted to visit.
A ridiculous childhood memory.
Something Aditi had done.
Something she'd noticed about one of their professors.
A completely pointless question about whether he thought people could recognize each other after years apart.
Then she answered her own question before he could.
"I think they could."
Sagnik looked down at her.
"Why?"
"Because some people become familiar."
She paused.
"Even if everything else changes."
His hand slowed for a moment.
Then continued.
Aanya didn't notice.
Or perhaps she did.
She simply kept talking.
Her voice became softer as the evening stretched on.
She wasn't trying to say anything important.
That was the point.
For once, she didn't have to.
She could talk about nothing.
And he would still listen.
Every now and then, he answered.
Sometimes with a word.
Sometimes with a laugh.
Sometimes with an actual thought that sent her off on another ten-minute tangent.
He never told her she was talking too much.
Never checked the time.
Never reached for his phone.
He simply stayed there.
Listening.
His fingers continued moving through her hair in slow, absentminded strokes.
Eventually Aanya's words began to slow.
She yawned.
Then immediately started another story.
Sagnik smiled.
"You can finish that tomorrow."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I might forget."
"I'll remind you."
She looked up at him.
"You'll remember?"
"I remember a lot of things."
Something about the way he said it made her smile.
She lowered her head again.
"Okay."
A few minutes passed.
She began talking again.
And Sagnik listened.
Because there was nowhere else either of them needed to be.
No exam tomorrow.
No chapter waiting.
No clock to race.
Just the two of them.
And for the first time in months—
tomorrow could remain completely empty.