Chapter 10
At exactly six o'clock, Meera stood outside the mall entrance, staring up at the glass doors.
She still couldn't believe she had actually come.
All the way there she had been replaying the classroom scene in her head.
Below-average intelligence.
The words still made her angry.
"Unbelievable," she muttered to herself.
Taking a deep breath, she walked inside and headed toward Starbucks.
Hirsh was already there.
Of course he was.
He was sitting at a table near the window with his laptop open and a notebook beside him. A half-finished iced coffee sat next to his hand.
He looked up when he saw her.
"You're late," he said calmly.
Meera dropped her bag on the chair across from him.
"It's been two minutes."
He shrugged.
"Still late."
She crossed her arms and glared at him.
"You know, you have a lot of nerve asking me to meet you after what you said today."
Hirsh leaned back slightly in his chair.
"What did I say?"
Meera stared at him in disbelief.
"What did you say?" she repeated. "You literally told the teacher I had below-average intelligence."
Hirsh looked completely unbothered.
"Well," he said casually, "I didn't lie."
Meera slammed her hand lightly on the table.
"That was so rude!"
A couple sitting nearby turned to look at them.
Hirsh sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Lower your voice," he said quietly. "You're making a scene."
"Oh, I'm making a scene?" Meera said sarcastically. "You humiliated me in front of the entire class!"
For a moment, Hirsh didn't reply.
He simply watched her.
Then, unexpectedly, his tone changed.
"Sit down," he said.
Meera blinked.
"What?"
"Sit down," he repeated. "We're here to finish the project, not to fight for two hours."
She hesitated for a second, then reluctantly sat down.
Hirsh turned his laptop toward her.
"I already started the outline," he said.
Meera looked at the screen.
To her surprise, everything was neatly organized.
Sections. Notes. Sources.
"You… already did this?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Hirsh gave her a slightly confused look.
"Because it's a project."
Meera didn't know what to say to that.
For the next few minutes, they quietly discussed the topic.
Hirsh explained things clearly, sometimes even slowing down when she didn't understand something.
At one point, he even pushed the notebook toward her.
"Write this part," he said.
Meera frowned. "You trust me with that?"
"If you mess it up, I'll fix it," he replied simply.
She expected sarcasm in his voice.
But there wasn't any.
That surprised her.
After a while, the tension between them slowly faded.
Meera noticed something strange.
Hirsh was… actually helpful.
He explained things patiently, corrected her notes without insulting her, and even ordered another drink for her when the waiter came.
"You didn't have to do that," Meera said when the drink arrived.
"You looked thirsty," he replied.
She stared at him.
This was not the same Hirsh who had embarrassed her in class.
Finally, she couldn't hold the question anymore.
"Why are you so different here?" she asked.
Hirsh raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"At school you act like I'm the most annoying person alive," she said. "And now you're… normal."
For a moment, Hirsh didn't answer.
He tapped his pen lightly against the table.
Then he said quietly,
"School is different."
"That doesn't explain anything," Meera said.
Hirsh looked out the window for a second before speaking again.
"Let's just say I don't like people assuming things about me."
Meera frowned.
"What things?"
But Hirsh had already turned back to the laptop.
"Focus on the project," he said.
Meera watched him for a moment.
She was still annoyed at him.
Still angry about what he had said earlier.
But now…
She was also confused.
Because somehow, the Hirsh sitting in front of her at Starbucks was nothing like the one she thought she knew.