The night sky hung like a dark curtain over the city.
The cool breeze swept through the streets, making the leaves on the trees rustle softly.
Inside a small house, the young man was sprawled across his bed, drifting off to sleep.
He had fair skin, thick eyebrows, sharp brown eyes, a strong jawline and a sturdy frame.
At the moment, his hair was a mess from tossing and turning in his sleep.
Yet his face wore a serene and blissful expression, as sleeping was probably the most enjoyable thing in the world to him.
The phone on his bedside table suddenly started ringing, playing a romantic love song.
The peaceful expression on his face broke into a frown.
He clamped a hand over his ear, trying to block out the noise.
After a moment, the ringtone stopped.
As the quiet returned, his furrowed brow relaxed, and his expression returned to its previous peaceful state.
But just as he began to drift off again, the phone started ringing a second time.
With a heavy groan, he sat up, grabbed the phone, frustrated that someone had the audacity to call him repeatedly while he was deep asleep.
When he saw the caller, his expression changed from frustration to annoyance.
He answered the call with barely concealed anger.
What greeted him from the other side was the enthusiastic voice of a young man.
“Hey, Akhil, want to play a ranked match?”
Furious at having his sleep disturbed, Akhil snapped at him.
“You motherfucker!
Don’t you know when to call?
You’re always disturbing my sleep!”
As he spoke, he glanced at the clock in his room and bellowed,
“It’s already about 9 o’ clock.
When my father finds out I was playing games at night, he’ll skin me alive.”
But on the other side of the phone, Akhil’s friend, Sanjay, did not seem bothered by his tone.
He waved his hand and spoke with the air of a scholar.
“In life, my friend, we always have to take risks.
Take me, for example.
Taking risks is as easy as eating biscuits for me.”
Akhil felt his forehead twitched and retorted mockingly,
“Is that so?
If I recall correctly, the last time I visited your house, I think the same person who said this got a severe beating from his father for buying a watch without permission.”
His voice was low and deliberate, as if he were savoring the moment of mocking his friend.
Sanjay’s face darkened as he remembered his painful memories of getting beaten by his dad when he bought the new watch.
He shuddered inwardly and struggled to stammer out a few words, but ultimately failed to form a sentence.
“Y…
you!
“Don’t bring that up again.
Honestly, just thinking about that day makes me shiver.”
As he spoke, he regained his confidence and even teased him.
“Well, I even had the guts to do that.
But can you?
You’re such a coward.
Unlike you, I’m brave.
You’re nothing but a scaredy-cat.”
Akhil was left speechless.
After a moment, he spoke,
“Let’s set that aside.
Didn’t you call me to play a game?
I’m in.”
Sanjay sensed an evasiveness in Akhil’s tone but he called Akhil to play a game, he let it slide, sparring his friend some dignity.
“Okay!
Come online quickly.
I’m already itching for the game.”
Akhil hung up the phone and logged into his game account.
The phone screen displayed the game “Free fire”, accompanied by a background music.
He and Sanjay played for an hour before deciding to end their gaming session for the night.
He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and saw that it was already 10 o’ clock.
He yawned, covering his mouth and lay down on bed.
He slowly drifted off to sleep.
………..
The morning light streamed through the window, illuminating the room.
The light fell across his face, causing Akhil to wake up.
He rubbed his eyes and got up to get ready for college.
He freshened up and stepped out of his room.
When Akhil stepped into the kitchen, he found his mom setting up breakfast while his dad sat at the table, reading the newspaper.
He greeted them with a warm smile.
“Good morning, Mom!
Good morning, Dad!”
When his mother, Rhea, saw him.
She greeted him back with a warm smile.
“Good morning, Akhil!”
His father, Ramesh, simply gave him a small nod in greeting.
The three of them started eating breakfast while chatting about random things.
The atmosphere was very lively and warm.
A warm feeling spread through his Akhil’s chest.
Whenever he spends time with his family, he was always happy and hoped it would continue.
After eating breakfast, he bid farewell to his parents.
He walked to the bus station at a leisure pace.
In the college, the college was divided into multiple blocks for each department, along with dormitories.
The college pathways stretched ahead, flanked by lush green lawns on either side.
On the second floor of the Information Technology block, a classroom was bustled with the cacophony of student’s chatter.
Akhil stepped into his classroom at an unhurried pace and sat down on his bench.
Sanjay, who was chatting with others, noticed Akhil’s arrival and asked him with a smile.
“Akhil, yesterday was a blast, right?
I even reached Diamond rank.
Today, Mukhi and Rajesh will also be joining us.”
Akhil answered with mock seriousness,
“Mukhi!
Rajesh!
You better play well.
If my rank drops, forget about teaming up with me again.”
Mukhi sneered, “As if we don’t have anyone else to play with.
Akhil, you’d better not forget who taught you this game.”
Rajesh chuckled and said with some amusement,
“Honestly, where do you even get the energy to bicker from morning till evening?”
Sanjay sighed dramatically and shook his head,
“Right.
Now you know understand the difficulties of raising them?
I’m already exhausted.
I can’t take it anymore.”
As he spoke, he suddenly noticed that his three friends were staring at him in bewilderment.
Akhil and Mukhi erupted simultaneously,
“What did you just say?
you raised me?
Go to hell!
They both attacked him from his either side, making him yelp in pain.
Rajesh pursed his lips but ultimately said nothing.
He simply lowered his head onto his desk, pretending he had nothing to do with the three of them.
The whole class already saw their banter but they resumed their own work while shook their heads inwardly.
Soon, the bell rang, signaling the start of class.
The female teacher with an ordinary-looking face entered the classroom.
She wore a red saree embroidered with delicate floral patterns, paired with a matching red blouse.
She seemed to be in her thirties, her face stern and her presence commanding.
The classroom fell into a complete silence.
All the student who had been laughing and chatting, now sat on their benches with respectful expressions.
Even Akhil and his friends were the same.
Seeing the students, the female teacher, Akira, felt a surge of satisfaction.
She smiled inwardly.
She always liked seeing her mischievous students behave well in her class.
She spoke, her voice cold.
“Okay.
Let’s start the attendance.”