Chapter 39 – An Awkward Introduction
The first few weeks at the new school passed quickly.
For most students, school life followed a simple routine: classes, homework, and social circles that rarely changed. For Anshul, however, things were slightly different.
Even though he tried to behave like a normal student, the announcement during the assembly had made sure everyone knew who he was.
Many students recognized the name StudyFlow.
Some approached him out of curiosity.
Others simply whispered when he passed by.
Anshul didn't pay much attention to it.
He attended classes, completed assignments, and occasionally spent time in the computer lab reviewing the latest reports from his company.
Meanwhile, the startup continued operating normally.
The San Francisco office handled customer communication while the development team in Pune worked on improving the platform.
Over the past few weeks, the numbers had continued to rise.
StudyFlow now supported more than 170,000 students across nearly 500 schools.
The steady growth reassured Anshul that the company was moving in the right direction.
Still, despite running a growing startup, he had deliberately chosen to remain here.
Inside a school.
Because understanding real students was still the best way to improve the system.
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One afternoon, as classes ended for the day, Anshul walked toward the courtyard.
Students were leaving in groups.
Some were heading toward the parking lot, while others gathered near the benches to talk.
That was when he heard a sudden noise behind him.
A loud metallic clatter echoed through the courtyard.
Anshul turned around.
The small scooter he had seen earlier that morning had tipped sideways.
And beside it stood a girl with messy curly hair and oversized glasses, staring at the fallen scooter in horror.
Several nearby students had already started laughing.
The girl looked completely embarrassed.
She quickly tried lifting the scooter, but it was heavier than she expected.
Before she could struggle any further, someone stepped forward and grabbed the handle.
"Here."
Anshul lifted the scooter upright with ease.
The girl blinked in surprise.
"Oh—uh—thanks."
Up close, she looked even more awkward than he remembered.
Her curly hair refused to behave, and the large glasses hid most of her face.
Still, there was something genuine about her nervous expression.
"You're Mia Thermopolis, right?" Anshul asked.
Mia froze.
Her eyes widened behind the glasses.
"How do you know my name?"
Anshul smiled slightly.
"We're in the same history class."
Mia looked momentarily confused.
"Oh… right."
She paused awkwardly before adding,
"Sorry about the scooter. It does that sometimes."
"Falls over?"
"Yeah."
She pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"That… happens a lot."
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Then Mia suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Oh!"
She pointed at him.
"You're the StudyFlow guy!"
Anshul laughed softly.
"That's one way to describe me."
Mia looked slightly embarrassed again.
"I didn't mean it like that. I just… heard the principal talking about it."
She hesitated before continuing.
"My friend Lilly actually uses StudyFlow to organize her homework."
"That's good to hear."
Mia nodded enthusiastically.
"She says it helps her stay ahead of deadlines."
Then she paused and looked slightly curious.
"So… do you actually run the whole thing?"
"Mostly."
Mia stared at him for a moment, clearly impressed.
"That's kind of amazing."
Then her expression quickly turned shy again.
"I mean—not amazing amazing. Just… impressive."
Anshul chuckled.
"You're not very good at compliments, are you?"
Mia groaned softly.
"No. I'm really not."
For a brief moment, the awkwardness between them turned into quiet laughter.
Then Mia looked down at her scooter again.
"Well… I should probably go before it decides to fall over again."
"Good idea."
She carefully adjusted the scooter before climbing onto it.
Just before leaving, she looked back.
"Thanks again for helping."
"Anytime."
Mia nodded before slowly riding toward the gate.
This time she managed not to crash into anything.
Watching her leave, Anshul smiled slightly.
Mia Thermopolis.
At the moment she was just an awkward high school student struggling with a scooter.
But soon, her life would change in ways she couldn't even imagine.
And somehow, his own path had already started crossing with hers.