It's the next day,
Vyani was at school, back in the class after half of lunch, trying to complete the biology homework she had left pending. Everything around her was as loud and messy as her mind. Her body sat inside the class, listening to what Amisha was saying to the other girls, but her head—her head was somewhere else, somewhere it shouldn't have been.
How could it be Apoorva? Why would it be her? This isn’t possible. It was probably a coincidence...
A web of thoughts tangled in her already tired mind, and she didn’t even notice when the girls, who had been deep in conversation with Amisha, left the class—until someone smacked the back of her head.
“Why aren’t you listening to what happened to me?! It’s a big deal!!!” Amisha yelled.
“What—what happened? Why are you shouting?” Vyani asked, looking at her.
Amisha looked her in the eye, her face pale and her wide eyes hiding panic behind those small black glasses. She said slowly, “I can’t find the original 10th result copies Asmita ma’am gave me in the morning. I don’t remember where I kept them. She told me to distribute them once everyone was in class. They were important—really important, Vyani.”
“Calm down. Do you remember the last place you had them in your hand?” Vyani asked.
“I put them under my desk. But they’re not there anymore! What should I do?” Amisha replied, clearly panicked.
“Did you check your bag? The classroom cupboard? Maybe you kept them there?”
“No—no! I didn’t even take them out after placing them under this very desk! And now they’re gone! They were the original copies. What are we going to do now?!”
“Look for them, obviously. You check the cupboard, I’ll check inside everyone’s desk.”
The two of them got to work, searching every possible spot: under desks, inside the cupboard, checking Amisha’s bag again and again. But not a single piece of the result documents was found.
The lunch bell rang, marking the end of the break—but still, no sign of the documents. It was like they had disappeared into thin air… like the evidence in a crime involving the rich and famous.
Fifth period. Sixth. Seventh. Just one more bell, and the school day would be over—with the original CBSE board result documents still missing.
Harsh Sir, the work experience teacher—whom no one ever really took seriously—was sitting on the front chair, scrolling through his phone. Vyani lifted her head from her book and looked around for Amisha, who had suddenly disappeared from the seat next to her. She spotted her soon enough—on the second bench, laughing with Anirudh and Ekaant.
Vyani silently walked toward them and pulled Amisha away before asking, “It’s the last period. What about the result sheets?”
Amisha’s face changed from the bright smile she had just moments ago, she looked at Vyani and replied, “We literally checked everywhere, Vyani. There’s nothing more that can be done. I’ll just tell Asmita ma’am everything tomorrow.”
“They’re not simple copies—they’re the original papers from the board. You know that, right? She’s going to kill you.”
“I know! It’s my fault. I lost them. But I tried—I looked everywhere. I did everything I could. Now I’ll just leave it to God,” Amisha said, adjusting her glasses.
“Tch, no, Amisha. We have to look for them,” Vyani said, clicking her tongue.
“But where? Where else is left? We checked everywhere. I don’t think we even missed a spot,” Amisha replied, clearly irritated now.
“Let’s just go over everything again. Maybe—”
“Oh wait! My Hindi notebook! I submitted it to Dheeraj sir during the third period. Oh my God—they might be inside the notebook!!” Amisha squealed.
“What? What?! And you’re just remembering that now?! Let’s go, come on! We’ll check it in the staffroom—now!”
“Yes—wait... we aren’t even sure,” Amisha said, glancing back at Anirudh and his friends, who were laughing and joking again. “We just need to check, right? One of us can go. Can you check for me, Vyani? Please?”
“Eh? Why? We should go together. Come on, before the bell rings,” Vyani urged, grabbing her wrist.
Anirudh stepped in between them. “You guys still haven’t found the sheets?”
“They might be in the staffroom,” Vyani replied. “Amisha thinks so.”
“I’m not sure, it’s just a guess,” Amisha added quickly. “We just need to check. But only one of us has to go. Go, Vyani—fast.”
“But you should come with me!”
Anirudh placed his hand gently on Amisha’s wrist. “Vyani, she’s not in a good mood today. She’s been stressed about this since morning. I was just trying to lighten her mood, and now you’re bringing it all up again. Can you just go and check it?”
Vyani looked at them—at the way they turned back to the group. She blinked away the sting behind her eyes, quickly packed her books, and walked up to the teacher.
“Sir, may I go to the washroom?” she asked.
The teacher nodded without looking up from his phone.
But Vyani didn’t head for the washroom.
She walked straight toward the staffroom.
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Just a few hours ago, while Vyani had been hunched over her biology homework in a half-empty, silent classroom, the cafeteria had been anything but quiet.
The air was thick — the scent of open lunchboxes mixing with cafeteria oil and sweat. Some students huddled near the junk food bar, others hovered over fruit stalls, while the rest tore into homemade tiffins like wolves who hadn’t eaten in weeks.
Srinadh — curly-haired, school chess champion, and Avni’s cousin — sat in the far corner, shoulders hunched like prey sensing blood. Next to him lounged Raghav — the guy no one liked but who acted like the school revolved around him. With oily fingers and a glint of mischief in his eyes, he tossed a crumpled paper at Srinadh, who was too busy laughing to care.
“Change Mr. Chadda’s phone wallpaper,” Raghav said, voice low enough that no teacher could hear, but sharp enough to slice straight through Srinadh’s gut. “To that pic from Google. You know the one.”
“But I said no yesterday,” Srinadh whispered, panicked. “That’s Sir’s official phone. And it’s locked—”
“Password’s 2002. Duh.” Raghav rolled his eyes. “You think I’d give a dare without the cheat code?”
The boys around them burst into laughter, slapping the table like it was all a comedy show. But Srinadh wasn’t laughing.
He knew what was at stake. He shouldn’t have joined them for truth or dare the day before, but if he hadn’t, Raghav would’ve found another way to get back at him — for not letting him cheat during the last exam. Because of Srinadh, Raghav barely passed from the compact. That humiliation clearly hadn’t been forgotten.
One wrong move now, and he wouldn’t just be a joke. He’d be dead meat. Suspended. Or worse.
But then came the idea.
He stood up, wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, and made his way to a corner table — where Nishkarsh was eating quietly. Ayaan and Pratham sat beside him, laughing over some inside joke, careless as ever.
“I know something about Avni,” Srinadh said, just loud enough to be heard.
Nishkarsh looked up. “Who’s Avni?” he asked casually, eyes narrowing.
Srinadh smirked. “Don’t act. I’ve seen you staring at her in the morning assembly. Every. Single. Day.”
“Tch. Chess players,” Nishkarsh muttered under his breath. Then added quickly, “Look, I’m not gonna make any moves or whatever. I’m not that kind of gu—”
“I just need help with one dare,” Srinadh cut him off. “You help me, and I’ll tell you who her secret boyfriend is.”
A beat passed.
Nishkarsh cleared his throat. “…What’s the dare?”
“Just change a wallpaper. On Mr. Chadda’s phone. The passcode’s 2002.”
“Where the hell did you get that?”
“Raghav. Please, man. Help me this one time. I’m moving cities in a week — I don’t want any more problems.”
“Raghav?” Nishkarsh raised an eyebrow. “You mean that guy who looks like someone’s vomit? Bro, you know how much he hates me ever since I stole his pen-pencil box in sixth grade.”
“I already talked to him,” Srinadh said, practically begging now. “Please, Nishkarsh.”
Nishkarsh groaned. “Fine. But you better tell me who her boyfriend is. I’ve only ever seen him from the back, but I need to— you know... confirm things.”
In the distance, the bell rang. Lunch was ending.
The deal was sealed.
Nishkarsh stood up and sprinted toward Ayaan.
“Bro! Bro, help me. This one time, please!”
“What now?” Ayaan said lazily, washing his hands. “What were you talking to Vishwanathan Anand over there for?”
“Listen,” Nishkarsh panted, “he said he’ll tell me who Avni’s boyfriend is if we change Mr. Chadda’s wallpaper—”
“What the hell does Avni have to do with Mr. Chadda’s phone, man?”
“I’ll explain later — during 8th period PE. You, me, and Raghav. He’s going to watch to make sure we actually do it. You’ll go in.”
“I’ll go in?! Why am I doing it?”
“Because you’re the Albert Einstein of these things and we all trust you! Please, bro. Just help me out this time.”
“No—”
“Okay, fine. Then I’ll just tell your mother that you actually bought that football kit even though you weren't allowed to.”
“…What the hell, man—”
“8th period. Staffroom. Done.” Nishkarsh was already halfway to the washroom.
And just like that, the plan was set.
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