The fluorescent lights of the examination center cast an unforgiving glow over the rows of desks, each one occupied by a student hunched over their paper, scribbling furiously. Seema’s focus wavered as the whispers reached her ears. She had grown accustomed to the stares, the sidelong glances at her growing belly, but today felt different. The murmurs were louder, more insistent. She clenched her pencil, her knuckles turning white, and tried to ignore the heat creeping up her neck.