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It's been so long…
Today, I'm going back to school.
And somehow… everything feels strange.
Wearing this uniform again… walking down these same old roads… watching the students around me…
It feels like everyone's staring at me.
There's a strange kind of shame crawling under my skin.
Like I've committed some terrible crime.
But then again… of course they'll stare.
I was in jail.
Trapped in a criminal case.
Now I'm back.
So yes… I've become quite popular.
But there's one thing that still brings me peace —
I was proven innocent.
The case is over.
Yet…
We still lost Khushi.
Now, right beside the photo of my friend Rimjhim on the school wall…
There's one more photo.
Khushi's.
To be honest…
It hurts.
Somewhere deep inside… it hurts.
But Tina? Isha?
There are still so many questions left unanswered.
Being at school doesn't feel the same anymore.
The corridors…
The moment I step into one, everything rushes back —
Blood.
A gun.
Pain.
Panic.
It shakes me to the core.
My head spins just trying to stay upright.
Peeeeeeeeen!
The bell rings.
Here we go again —
Another auditorium meeting, this time on child abuse.
Everyone's heading there.
The moment I step inside, I see a crowd of students standing around.
No teacher in sight, so everyone's chatting, laughing, moving about.
And then —
In the chaos…
I see something.
No —
Someone.
That face —
Chhavi!
The one I'd been searching for all this time.
The one no one could find.
I had finally found her.
This was it.
Now I would ask her everything I had buried inside me.
I feel a jolt of energy rush through me and I push through the crowd, weaving, shoving, struggling…
Chhavi stood right in the center of the auditorium.
Still.
Silent.
Like a statue carved out of stone.
I was just a few steps away from her when—
"What the...??"
"What's happening?!"
Suddenly —
It starts raining blood.
Blood?!
And not on everyone.
Only on Chhavi.
I freeze.
I glance up in horror, trying to figure out where it's coming from —
But I'm too stunned to move.
Chhavi stands there, drenched.
Unmoving.
Unbothered.
Like she doesn't even care.
She slowly lifts her gaze upward.
Her entire body is now soaked in crimson.
And then—
THUD!!!
A body drops from above —
Right between me and Chhavi.
We both stare at it.
It's—
Tina.
"Tina…?!"
Chhavi and I stare at her lifeless body…
Then at each other.
Our breathing turns sharp, fast, heavy.
The entire auditorium erupts into chaos.
Students scream.
Some run.
Others cry.
Panic spreads like wildfire.
But…
We don't move.
Chhavi and I —
We're rooted in place.
Locked in each other's gaze.
As if we both knew something.
Something too big to speak out loud.
---
And then —
Chhavi runs.
Covered in blood,
She sprints through the corridors, leaving a red trail behind her.
Up the staircase.
Toward the roof.
I run after her.
Heart pounding.
Legs trembling.
By the time I reach the terrace, I see her standing at the edge…
Staring down.
Her eyes —
Empty.
Lost.
"Chhavi… no!!
What are you doing?!"
I scream.
"Talk to me!
You can't do this — please!"
She doesn't respond.
She just stares into the void.
Silent.
And then the realization hits me —
She's going to jump.
"Chhavi! Please, stop!"
I try to move closer, cautiously.
But the moment I take another step, she whirls around and yells —
"Stop!!
If you come even one step closer…
I swear I'll jump right now!!"
"Everything's over anyway.
I can't take this anymore…"
"No!"
I shout, panicking.
"Please, don't say that.
What happened?
What's so unbearable?
Tell me, Chhavi… please, we can fix it — we can fix everything."
Chhavi looks at me…
Her eyes full of rage, pain, and helplessness.
And then, in a trembling voice, she speaks —
"I know what you want to ask me…"
---
Her eyes begin to fill with tears.
It's the first time I've ever seen her cry.
"You want to know what happened that day in the corridor…
What happened between the five of us…
Why I disappeared after that…
Why Tina left…
Why Khushi suddenly came back…
Why you were injured…"
She wipes her face, voice cracking.
"But it wasn't all how you think it was…"
"What do you mean?"
I ask, confused.
**"I mean…
The one who killed Khushi…
The one who knocked me unconscious…
The one you were accused of being…
It wasn't the janitor."**
Akshat suddenly appears behind me.
He had heard everything.
"Not him?!
What are you saying, Chhavi?"
Akshat asks, stunned.
"But he confessed!
In court!
He admitted everything!"
Chhavi exhales sharply.
Her voice bitter.
"Exactly.
It was all a lie.
A trap…
A giant trap."
"A trap?
Whose trap?
What are you trying to say, Chhavi?
Who was it?"
She starts shaking.
Her lips tremble.
And just as she's about to turn around and say the name—
Roni bursts onto the roof.
"It was… it was… it was… it waaaa—"
Chhavi starts to hyperventilate.
And then —
She loses her balance.
She falls.
I lunge forward to grab her hand —
But I miss it by inches.
I grab onto the railing, nearly falling myself,
Trying to catch her,
Hold her,
Anything—
But it's too late.
All I can do is watch.
She hits the ground.
Hard.
Her head splits open.
Blood spills out —
So much blood.
The entire ground turns red.
And in that final moment —
I saw her eyes.
Eyes filled with pain.
With secrets.
With things unsaid.
It looked like she wanted to speak —
But never got the chance.
And me…
I couldn't take it anymore.
The moment I saw her like that —
I collapsed.
And everything turned black.
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