The walk to Detention Room 17 was painfully quiet.

No one spoke.

Only the sound of their footsteps echoed through the old corridor.

Ayaan finally broke the silence.

"So... are we introducing ourselves, or are we pretending this is a funeral?"

No one laughed.

"Well," he sighed, "tough crowd."

Mrs. Sharma unlocked the old wooden door.

"Inside."

The room was nothing like the regular classrooms.

Seven desks were arranged in a circle instead of neat rows. A dusty bookshelf stood in one corner, an old clock ticked lazily on the wall, and sunlight slipped through the worn curtains, filling the room with floating specks of dust.

"Phones on the table."

Everyone obeyed except Ayesha.

"I don't have one."

Mrs. Sharma raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"You'll stay here until the final bell. No shouting. No sleeping. No leaving this room."

The door shut behind her.

Silence returned.

Ayaan leaned back in his chair.

"So... since we're all criminals now, I should probably know your names."

"I already know yours," Vihaan replied.

"The whole school does."

"Famous already?" Ayaan grinned.

"No," Vihaan smirked.

"Infamous."

For the first time, someone smiled.

Akruti quietly opened her sketchbook.

Reyansh buried himself in a chemistry guide.

Aashi looked around the room, still feeling like she didn't belong.

Yash sat with his hands folded, hoping no one would notice him.

Ayesha stared out of the window.

Minutes passed.

Then Ayaan sighed dramatically.

"This has officially become the most boring punishment in the history of punishments."

Without looking up from his book, Reyansh replied,

"Then maybe stop talking for five minutes."

The room fell silent again.

No one realized it then...

but this awkward silence was the beginning of a friendship none of them had expected.