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Fariha never believed in fate, but looking back, she wonders if destiny had been playing tricks on her all along.

It all started in eighth grade, when a boy named Yunis transferred to her school. The whispers followed him—brilliant in science, a rising star. But Fariha wasn’t impressed. She had seen him before, every morning, waiting for his school bus in the same neighborhood. He was just another student… or so she thought.

Until everything started changing.

Her once unshakable friendship with Jiya began to crack, leaving her wondering if she ever truly knew her best friend. A new English teacher arrived—Mr. Rashid—who seemed to despise her for no reason, targeting her with punishments that made her question her own worth. Her rank, once secure, began to slip, and Jiya, once her greatest supporter, now stood on the other side.

And then there was Yunis. Always near, yet always distant. Silent, but observant. A boy who defied punishments and walked out of class without a second thought. A boy who, for reasons she couldn't understand, seemed to be at the center of everything.

With friendships fading, rivalries growing, and secrets lurking beneath the surface, Fariha finds herself tangled in a web of almosts—almost friends, almost rivals, almost something more.

But in a world where nothing is as it seems, will she uncover the truth before she loses herself completely?

The Almosts

Fariha sat at her desk, flipping through the pages of her textbook, but her mind was elsewhere. The words blurred together, drowned out by the weight of everything that had changed in just a few months. Jiya was distant. The English teacher had made it his personal mission to humiliate her. And Yunis—well, Yunis was just there, existing, being annoying without even trying.

She was fine. She was always fine. She had survived worse. But today, something felt off.

The class was unusually silent, a rare moment of peace. Fariha was about to enjoy it when a notebook landed on her desk with a soft thud. She blinked, looking up. Yunis.

She stared at the notebook like it had personally offended her. "What's this?"

"You left yours in the other class," he said, arms crossed.

Fariha narrowed her eyes. She didn't remember leaving her notebook behind. She never forgot things. "I—"

"You're welcome," he interrupted before she could argue, shoving his hands into his pockets and turning to leave.

Her fingers tightened around the notebook as she exhaled sharply. Typical. He acted like he was doing her some grand favor. As if he hadn't ignored her existence for years. As if he hadn't tossed his pen away when she needed one back in the study group.

But she wasn't about to let this go without a response. "Wait," she called, and to her mild surprise, he actually stopped.

He turned his head slightly, waiting.

Fariha tapped her fingers against the cover of the notebook, tilting her head. "You let people walk over you too much." His words from earlier echoed in her mind.

"You think that's my problem?" she asked, voice cool, controlled.

Yunis shrugged, not facing her fully. "It is if you don't see it."

A slow, amused smile spread across her face. "And you think you do?"

He didn't answer, just gave her that unreadable look—the same one he always had. It was frustrating. Infuriating. He made her feel like she was being examined, like he was seeing something she hadn't even realized about herself yet.

But she wasn't going to let that slide.

"You know," she continued, standing up and stepping past him, her voice light but sharp, "for someone who minds his own business so much, you sure have a lot to say about mine."

She didn't wait for his response. Didn't look back.

Chapter 5 – The Notebook and the Nerve