Before Zoology Exam

The campus library was unusually quiet that evening. Most students had either wrapped up their preparations or given up altogether. But for Zoya and Ahmed, the looming Zoology exam meant one last night of relentless study.

They had been classmates for two years, lab partners for one, and occasional friends in moments of academic panic. Yet, despite the late-night texts and shared lecture notes, there was a space between them neither dared to cross.

Zoya flipped through her hand-written notes, her messy bun barely holding back the strands falling onto her forehead. She bit her lip, eyes narrowing as she whispered, "Wait… what’s the difference between a protostome and a deuterostome again?"

Ahmed chuckled softly, sitting across from her, his sleeves rolled up, revealing the veins in his forearms and the small tattoo of a DNA helix on his wrist. “Seriously? After all these weeks? Protostomes develop the mouth first. Deuterostomes, the anus. We’ve been over this.”

She groaned dramatically. “Ugh, don’t say ‘anus’ right now. My brain can’t handle it.”

He smirked. “You’re the one who chose Zoology.”

She smiled, her eyes locking with his for a brief second before darting back to her notes. "Yeah. Maybe because I thought you’d help me survive it."

Ahmed paused, unsure whether to laugh or say something deeper. That line sounded more personal than playful.

As the clock ticked closer to midnight, the campus outside the window grew darker. Streetlights flickered. The silence between them began to stretch.

Zoya finally asked, “Aren’t you tired?”

Ahmed leaned back in his chair. “Of Zoology? Yes. Of you? Not even close.”

Her heart skipped.

She tried to play it off with a laugh. “Very smooth, Ahmed. You’ve been watching those Netflix romances again, haven’t you?”

He grinned. “Only the ones with the smart girls and shy boys.”

Zoya raised an eyebrow. “You? Shy?”

Ahmed shrugged. “Only around someone I like.”

For a moment, she didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. The air between them suddenly shifted. It wasn’t the cold of the air conditioner or the late-night fatigue—it was something else entirely. Something that had been simmering between anatomical diagrams and frog dissections for too long.

“So,” she whispered, “you like someone?”

He nodded slowly. “I do.”

Her voice was soft. “Who?”

He leaned forward, elbows on the table, the space between them now just inches. “She’s sitting across from me, panicking over protostomes.”

Zoya's eyes widened, her pen slipping from her hand.

She had imagined this moment in her head a hundred times—but not now. Not before the exam. Not in the library lit with fluorescent lights and the scent of textbooks and instant coffee.

“Ahmed…” she began.

“It’s okay,” he said quickly. “You don’t have to say anything. I just didn’t want to go into the exam tomorrow pretending I didn’t feel this.”

She looked at him, the sincerity in his eyes cutting through all the nerves and uncertainty.

“I don’t know what to say,” she finally admitted.

“You don’t have to. Just… tell me if it’s a no.”

Zoya exhaled deeply, leaning back. Her mind raced faster than when she tried memorizing the stages of embryonic development. She wasn’t sure if it was the adrenaline from studying or something deeper, something honest.

“It’s not a no,” she said softly.

He blinked. “It’s not?”

“No. It’s… it’s a maybe. It’s a ‘let’s survive Zoology first and see what happens after.’”

Ahmed laughed, the kind that comes from relief. “That’s the most Zoya answer ever.”

She smiled. “You mean practical?”

“I mean adorably cautious.”

The moment lightened. They returned to their books, but the tension had changed. No longer awkward or uncertain—it was full of possibility.

An hour later, Zoya rested her head on the table. “I think my brain is shutting down.”

Ahmed looked at her and said, “Then let’s take a break.”

They stepped outside, the air cool and fresh, the sound of crickets replacing the library hum.

“Remember the first time we studied together?” she asked.

Ahmed nodded. “You cried over taxonomy.”

She laughed. “And you gave me chocolate.”

“It was your reward for not dropping the course.”

She nudged him gently. “You were always the reason I stayed.”

He looked at her, this time not afraid to let the silence hold.

“After the exam,” he said, “how about coffee? Not the library kind.”

She smiled. “Only if you promise not to talk about annelids and nematodes.”

“Deal,” he said, offering his hand.

She took it.

The next morning, their exam hall buzzed with anxiety. Students flipped pages nervously. But Zoya sat beside Ahmed with a soft smile on her face, fingers lightly brushing his under the desk.

Maybe the best things in life didn’t come after exams.

Maybe they started the night before.


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Have you ever fallen for someone during the most unexpected moment—right before something stressful like an exam or big deadline? Do love and pressure mix well, or are feelings best left for calmer times? Share your story—we’d love to hear your take.

Note:
This story was created with the assistance of AI (ChatGPT), then manually edited for originality, accuracy, and alignment with Vocal Media’s guidelines.