Chapter 41 – A Growing Friendship
Over the next month, life at school slowly became more comfortable for Anshul.
The early curiosity surrounding him had mostly disappeared. Students had gotten used to the fact that one of their classmates happened to run a small technology company.
To most of them, he was now just another student who attended classes, completed assignments, and occasionally spent time in the computer lab.
Which was exactly how Anshul preferred it.
---
During this time, StudyFlow continued growing quietly in the background.
The company team in San Francisco handled partnerships and customer communication, while the development team in Pune continued improving the platform.
New features were being tested, and server infrastructure had recently been upgraded to support more schools.
The latest report showed that the platform had reached another milestone.
More than 200,000 students were now using StudyFlow.
Over 520 schools had adopted the licensed version.
For a startup that had barely existed two years earlier, the numbers were impressive.
But Anshul didn't let the success distract him from his daily routine.
School remained an important part of his life.
---
Meanwhile, his friendship with Mia Thermopolis continued to grow slowly.
It wasn't anything dramatic.
Mostly small conversations between classes or during lunch breaks.
But compared to their first meeting, Mia seemed much more comfortable talking with him now.
One afternoon after school, Anshul was walking toward the gate when he noticed Mia struggling with her scooter again.
This time, however, the problem was slightly different.
She was staring at the engine with a frustrated expression.
"Let me guess," Anshul said as he approached.
"The scooter betrayed you again?"
Mia looked up and sighed.
"It refuses to start."
Anshul examined the scooter briefly.
It didn't look broken.
"You might have flooded the engine."
Mia blinked.
"You can do that?"
"Very easily."
He adjusted the ignition and tried starting the scooter again.
After a moment, the engine finally started.
Mia's eyes lit up.
"You're a lifesaver."
"I only turned the key."
"That still counts."
She paused before adding,
"Honestly, if this thing ever stops working permanently, I might just start walking everywhere."
"That might be safer."
Mia laughed.
"You're not wrong."
---
As they stood near the school gate, the conversation slowly drifted to other topics.
Classes.
Homework.
School events.
Mia even talked about her best friend Lilly, who was known for speaking her mind about almost everything.
"She's the one who convinced me to try StudyFlow," Mia explained.
"She says organization is the secret to surviving high school."
Anshul smiled.
"That sounds like good advice."
Mia nodded.
"It actually helped a lot."
Then she looked slightly curious.
"So how did you come up with the idea for StudyFlow anyway?"
Anshul thought for a moment.
"Mostly because students forget things."
Mia laughed immediately.
"Okay, that's definitely accurate."
He continued,
"I wanted something that could automatically organize assignments and study schedules."
Mia nodded thoughtfully.
"That explains why it's so helpful."
For a moment, the conversation paused.
Then Mia suddenly glanced at the sky.
"Oh no."
"What?"
"I'm going to be late getting home again."
She quickly climbed onto the scooter.
"But thanks again for fixing it."
"No problem."
Mia smiled before starting the engine.
"See you tomorrow, Anshul."
"See you."
---
As she rode away down the street, Anshul watched for a moment before turning toward his car.
Their friendship was still simple.
Just casual conversations between classmates.
But slowly, Mia was becoming one of the few people at school he genuinely enjoyed talking to.
And although she didn't realize it yet, her life was approaching a turning point.
Soon, her grandmother would arrive from Europe.
A shocking secret would be revealed.
And the awkward girl who struggled with a scooter would suddenly become the future ruler of an entire country.
But for now, Mia Thermopolis remained exactly what she appeared to be.
Just another student trying to survive high school.
And that made these quiet moments feel surprisingly normal.