The next day.

“...Have you heard this?”, someone asked.

“Heard what?”, the other asked back.

“...The group seems to be splitting up..” a student spoke.

“What!!! No way… this is not possible!” the other replied back.

“It’s true. Just now I saw them but it was as if nobody was talking to each other and were purposefully ignoring each other. And you know what!? Amish was absent… I could not see him with them!” the first student said.

“Wha—” the student was suddenly blocked from saying something.
“Shhh! Look…” the first one pointed somewhere.

There was the group huddled together waiting for some kind of message. All of their faces were filled with distress….

“You see…. Don’t you think something is odd going on with them…” the first person whispered.

“Yeah…. I guess so…” the other person replied back. He had all his eyes concentrated on the group as if he was looking through them, finding some clues… of what actually happened. And why… Why was Amish not present there…. This thing was bothering him so much.

“Karan and Pratik!? What are you doing brats?” another voice creeping behind spoke.

“Ahh Vineet bro… you scared me!” The first student, Pratik spoke, “we were just playing detectives to one of the most crucial incidents going on now and investigating the roots of it! Right Karan?” he laughed and swung his hands on his friend's shoulder.

But it felt like Karan didn’t pay any attention to it. He was already far too hung up in his head that he didn’t realise that his expressions gave that he….. Maybe he knew what was up with them…. Or maybe it was Vineet’s illusion…. Who knows…

“Karan!? Hey! Heyyyy! Do you hear me bro? Oyee dumbo? You hear me?” Pratik keeps on shaking karan.

“Oye dumbass! Stop shaking me! What am i? Your rag doll?" Karan replied surprisingly in quite a calm manner.

“Oh so you are alive? I thought you were in the Andromeda galaxy already haah! Would have been nice if you were there…." Pratik shrugged.

“You…. ahhh such a dumbass!” karan just sighed. He was already used to Pratik’s questionable behaviour.

Karan and Pratik are really some young and energetic teens one could ever meet. Thay are classic examples of young lads always enjoying their time. A classic backbencher duo. They both have been friends since their inevitable discussion of porn from class 5. Just a bunch of normal boys hitting puberty together. For them life is always a mystery and it’s better to explore them and live all of it in the present rather than just reminding yourself of the already gone past.

All of it did not mean life easy for them. They all learned it from experience…. Especially for Karan. He still has something which he never shared it to his best buddy Pratik. It’s something which he could never express it to anyone. So he buried it all. Buried them deep inside the ground pretending it to be the new soil, where a new seed, a new hope was sowed.

After all, even we are afraid of ourselves aren’t we? We are afraid of what people would think… so we go on craving a perfect mask for us to hide in and forget the side of us which once made us happy.

While doing so, we unfortunately keep regretting the past and are trapped in the thorns of the past rather than realising that…. What was done was already done.

Or is it just the toxic us who just can’t see us happy and moving on. So we keep punishing ourselves for something… something that was really inevitable…. Who knows?

Anyways… All of these depend on us humans. After all, we are social creatures aren’t we?

While karan and Pratik were spouting nonsense, there was one student. One student forgot to pay attention to….

Vineet was still there watching them and observing all of their actions. And he noticed something so off. It was as if he could sense the trouble. His heart was already warning him off. His eyes were twitching as if he could sense the danger. So he stood there impatiently shaking his legs. He was there to check on his good friends but he didn’t realise that somehow… in one way or the other, he would be dragged into this.

The thing is…. While Pratik kept joking, he missed something. But Vineet could catch it… he definitely picked it up at once. Karan's eyes never left the empty spot that was left for Amish in the famous group of five. He had his eyebrows scrunched and mouth twisted into a big frown.

But it’s strange…

Strange because, wasn’t Karan the one who disliked Amish wholeheartedly?

The whole school knew the unknown animosity between karan and amish. Nobody knew what happened. But as soon as both the boys met each other in class tenth, they started fighting.

It wasn’t those nasty fights of school kids throwing punches and kicks and getting suspended. No! How could they fight these small kids fights. It was way worse. If they would bump each other in hallways, they would simply have the worst insults saved for each other. They never went too extreme but it was bad.

Oh how bad you would ask?
Bad like the rotten eggs kept in the fridge and you find it out just when you crave for an omelette. Bad like when you suddenly stub your toes near the corners of chairs and doors. Bad like how one would feel after getting slapped for something which was never their fault.

That’s how bad it was. They practically lived to mentally abuse each other.

Amish on one hand was the bright young bubbly student who was one of the top students of the class. And karan on the other hand was the street smart back bencher, lively energetic and also one of the top students of the class surprisingly. This always made them fight against each other.

But one thing that didn’t make sense to Vineet was… nobody knew why they hated each other. The moment they saw each other's face they hated it.
It was strange because Amish wasn’t one of those who would hate on anyone. Nah the dude was too good. If you beat him for your own fun, he will come back to say sorry and would instead ask if there was something wrong with him or if he somehow pissed the other guy off. Almost everybody loved amish. They still do.

Meanwhile with karan, it’s a bit debtable. He has had fights with some students before. But it was just because those kids were bullying him and others…. Specifically Pratik, and he couldn’t just stay back and watch it. So he fought to keep others safe. Although he is a backbencher, he is a funny guy and has got a very complex superhero personality. Dude’s own idol is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. So it’s weird that someone who loves justice too much to just go and hate someone without any particular reason.

Now that Vineet is thinking about it. It was as if seeing Gandhiji and Netaji fighting with each other in their own ways almost everyday!!

So what happened that made karan and amish hate each other so much?

And why right now karan is looking as if he knows something and is almost worried about Amish!?
What is even going on?

While the three of them are here talking and wondering what the hell is going on… there the four of them were already worried and were discussing something… something that was never for others to know or listen to.

But then in some other corner… there was already someone watching them…

“Heh! Interesting…. So we have some more questioning figures in this story huh!” the unknown shadow grinned.

“Ohh oops… should i call them my new preys?... or the new petals needed to be plucked out….?” the person just grinned and left the scene with the black diary in his hands.

.....................................................

That's it for today guys!

So... Till now what do you think this story is about?;)

Lemme know it in the comments.

Till the next chapter then!
Live, love and laugh always!
Stay safe...
And see ya soon.

P.U <3