The studio was already half full when Aarohi pushed the door open with her shoulder, both hands occupied by a large rolled drawing and a coffee cup that was dangerously close to the edge.

Maya jumped up. “You’re carrying too many things again.”

“I have excellent balance.”

The coffee cup tilted.

Neha lunged and grabbed it just in time. “You have excellent luck.”

Kabir didn’t look up from his model. “One day that luck will run out and we’ll all be covered in coffee.”

Aarohi dropped the rolled drawing on the table. “Today is not that day.”

Maya unrolled it carefully. “Did you finish the screen detail?”

“I finished three versions. One of them is actually good.”

“Which one?”

“I’ll know when he hates the other two.”

The door opened.

Conversations stopped.

Arjun walked in, black shirt, sleeves rolled, a single black folder under his arm. He looked the same as always — calm, precise, impossible to read.

He never rushes, Aarohi thought. Even time seems to wait for him.

Arjun placed the folder on the front table.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, sir.”

Aarohi raised what was left of her coffee. “Morning, Professor.”

Arjun’s eyes moved to her. “Miss Sharma. Four minutes late.”

“I was two minutes late when I reached the stairs. The other two minutes were spent convincing the drawing not to roll back down.”

“Hold your drawings properly.”

“I’ll add it to the list.”

“What list?”

“The list of things you tell me to do better.”

A few students coughed to hide smiles.

Arjun ignored them. “Today is progress review for the pair project. I will look at every group. Have your plans, sections, and any details ready. Begin with the groups near the window.”

He started walking.

Aarohi leaned toward Maya. “He’s going to hate the second version of the screens.”

“Then why did you bring it?”

“So he can hate it and I can look responsible for bringing options.”

Maya sighed. “You’re impossible.”

Arjun moved slowly through the room. His comments were short and exact.

“This corridor is still too narrow.”

“Yes, sir.”

“This bathroom has no ventilation.”

“We’ll fix it, sir.”

“This staircase wastes twelve percent of the floor area. Reduce it.”

“Yes, sir.”

When he reached their table, Aarohi sat up straighter.

Arjun looked at the drawings. “Show me the screen detail.”

Aarohi spread three sheets side by side. “Version one is full metal. Version two is wood with metal frame. Version three is aluminium with thermal break and adjustable wooden louvers.”

He studied them in silence.

She prepared three options, he thought. Most students bring one and defend it until the end. She brings three and waits to see which one survives.

He tapped the third sheet. “This one.”

Aarohi blinked. “Just like that?”

“The first one will overheat. The second one will require too much maintenance. The third one balances both problems. Detail the connection to the floor and ceiling properly. I want to see how it meets the slab.”

“So you like it.”

“I selected it.”

“That’s the same thing.”

“It is not.”

Maya whispered, “Stop.”

Arjun continued looking at the plan. “You shifted the staircase.”

“Yes. To the side wall, like you suggested.”

“And you kept the open screens around it.”

“Yes. So light still reaches the rear.”

He was quiet for a moment. “The idea is working better than I expected.”

Aarohi turned fully in her chair. “Was that a compliment?”

“It was an assessment.”

“I’m keeping it as a compliment.”

“You may keep it however you like, as long as the detail is correct on Monday.”

She smiled. “Yes, Professor.”

Arjun moved to the next group.

Kabir waited until he was far enough. “He almost said something nice.”

Neha nodded. “I heard it too. Write it down. It might never happen again.”

Aarohi leaned back. “I’m framing it in my mind.”

They worked for the next hour. Arjun continued his slow circuit of the room. Every few minutes his voice would cut through the noise with a short correction.

Near the end of the class he returned to the front.

“Listen. Next Thursday I will not be here for the first hour. You will continue working. I will arrive for the second half and look at progress. Use the time properly.”

Aarohi’s hand went up.

“Yes, Miss Sharma.”

“Where will you be?”

A short silence.

“That is not relevant to your project.”

“I’m just curious.”

“Curiosity is useful when applied to design, not to my schedule.”

“So you won’t tell us.”

“No.”

“Mysterious.”

“Practical.”

She grinned. “You’re no fun.”

“I am not here to be fun.”

“I noticed.”

Maya covered her face with one hand.

Arjun closed the folder. “Submit what you have today. Class dismissed.”

Students began packing up.

Aarohi stayed seated a little longer, adding notes to the screen detail.

Maya stood. “You’re going to talk to him again.”

“I have one more question.”

“You always have one more question.”

“It’s a small one.”

Maya shook her head. “I’ll wait outside. Try not to get detention.”

“Architecture schools don’t give detention.”

“He might invent it for you.”

Aarohi walked to the front table.

“Professor.”

Arjun looked up from the sheets he was collecting. “Miss Sharma.”

“About the connection detail.”

“Yes.”

“If the screen meets the slab directly, there might be thermal bridging.”

“Then introduce a thermal break. A simple polymer spacer will do. Research the standard thickness and show it in the detail.”

“You already knew I would ask that.”

“You ask about problems before they become mistakes. That is useful.”

She tilted her head. “That almost sounded like praise.”

“It was an observation.”

“I’m taking it as praise.”

“As you wish.”

A small silence settled between them.

Aarohi adjusted the strap of her bag. “I’ll bring the revised detail on Monday.”

“On time.”

“I’ll leave early.”

“That would be new.”

She almost laughed. “I can be early.”

“I have not seen evidence of that yet.”

“Then I’ll give you evidence.”

Arjun closed the folder. “I will believe it when it happens.”

She looked at him for a second longer.

He’s not as cold as he pretends, she thought. He just doesn’t waste words. It’s annoying. And somehow not annoying enough to stop me from talking to him.

She nodded. “See you Monday, Professor.”

“On time, Miss Sharma.”

“No promises. But I’ll try harder.”

“Do better than try.”

She smiled, turned, and walked out.

Maya was waiting in the corridor with Kabir and Neha.

Maya raised an eyebrow. “Well?”

“He told me to research thermal breaks.”

“And?”

“And he said it’s useful that I ask about problems early.”

Kabir stared. “He praised you?”

“In the most Arjun Malhotra way possible.”

Neha shook her head. “I’m writing this day down. History was made.”

Aarohi laughed. “Come on. I’m hungry and I still have graphite on my hands.”

They walked toward the canteen.

Inside the empty studio, Arjun stood alone at the front table.

He opened Aarohi’s latest sheet again and looked at the three screen options she had brought.

She doesn’t just push back, he thought. She pushes forward. Even when she is late. Even when she is covered in graphite. Even when she talks more than necessary.

He closed the folder slowly.

Outside, the corridor had gone quiet.

Arjun turned off the lights and left, the door clicking shut behind him with the same quiet finality as always.

But for the first time in many weeks, the silence he left behind felt slightly less empty.