The lab was alive.
Swords clashed on the screens. Villagers shouted as they ran between farms and lumber camps. Fingers flew across dusty keyboards, voices overlapping in panic and excitement.
"Sir! Blue team is flanking!" Amit shouted, half-standing from his chair."They're sending elephants!"
"Walls," Varun said calmly from the back of the room. "Chokepoint. Archers behind. Don't split."
For a brief moment, the West Delhi Vocational Training Institute disappeared.
There was only strategy. Focus. Twenty-five minds working instead of waiting.
Then—
THUD. THUD. THUD.
The door shook violently.
The sound cut through the room like a blade. Game audio died mid-command. A priest's "Wololo" echoed awkwardly once before silence swallowed everything.
Students froze.
Varun didn't need to look at the HUD to know what this was.
He walked to the door and unlocked it.
It flew open.
Mr. Saxena stormed in first—face flushed, lips thin with irritation. Mishra hovered just behind him, already nodding, already satisfied. Further down the corridor stood Ramu, leaning against the wall and coughing theatrically.
Saxena ignored Varun completely.
His eyes locked onto the students.
"What is this circus?" he shouted.
The room shrank instantly.
"Is this why your parents send you here?" Saxena roared, pointing at screens, wires, chairs. "To play games? To waste government electricity? To shout like animals?"
No one answered.
"STAND UP!"
Chairs scraped backward in panic as all twenty-five students jumped to their feet.
"You don't even know basic manners," Saxena continued. "Head of Department enters and you remain seated? No respect? No culture?"
Amit stood stiffly, eyes fixed on the floor.
Saxena stalked down the aisle.
"You four," he barked, pointing at the back. "Outside."
The four students who had moved the charpai froze.
"I said OUT!"
They stepped forward slowly.
"You think you are heroes?" Saxena sneered. "Throwing people out? Creating drama? I will call your parents. Let us see how brave you are then."
One of the boys swallowed hard.
Saxena turned sharply toward Amit.
"And YOU. Why are you touching your face?"
Amit flinched.
Instinctively, his hand rose to his cheek—the same cheek that had been slapped earlier that morning.
Saxena's eyes narrowed.
"Oh," he mocked. "Now you remember discipline? At home you get beaten and learn manners. Here you become lions?"
Amit's hand trembled before dropping back to his side.
Varun stood at the back of the room.
Silent.
The HUD flickered violently in his vision.
[STUDENT MORALE: -45% → -72%][EMOTIONAL STABILITY: Amit — CRITICAL][INSTRUCTOR AUTHORITY: 3% → 2%][ENVIRONMENT STATUS: BUREAUCRATIC OVERRIDE]
This was not a confrontation.
This was an execution.
Saxena finally turned toward Varun.
"And you," he said coldly. "Remember your place. Visiting faculty. Daily wager. You are here to follow instructions, not create experiments."
He leaned in slightly.
"We will discuss your conduct officially."
He turned away.
"Come," Saxena snapped at Mishra.
The four students were already being pushed toward the door. Ramu coughed again, louder this time.
The door was halfway shut.
"Sir."
Varun spoke.
Not loud.Not emotional.Carefully timed.
Saxena stopped.
Varun stepped forward and inclined his head—not submission, but acknowledgment.
"I apologize, Sir," Varun said evenly. "This is my first day in your department. I should have welcomed you properly."
The students looked up, confused.
Saxena turned back.
"The students did exactly what I instructed," Varun continued. "If there is any mistake, it is mine. I request you—please don't punish them for following orders."
Silence.
Saxena studied Varun, recalibrating.
Varun turned slightly toward Mishra.
"Mishra-ji," he said politely, "Sir has come to our class for the first time. Please bring tea and biscuits from the canteen."
He took out a ₹500 note and placed it openly in Mishra's hand.
"And please," Varun added, glancing toward Ramu, "get something warm for him too. His cough sounds bad."
Mishra nodded quickly and disappeared down the corridor.
Varun already knew how this would play out.
Tea and biscuits worth maybe a hundred rupees.A paper cup of tea for Ramu, if anything.The remaining money quietly divided.
He also knew something more dangerous.
If I let this repeat, it becomes expectation.
He had studied in government institutions once.He knew how "one-time gestures" became daily habits.
This was damage control.
Not surrender.
Saxena cleared his throat.
"At least," he said, "you understand protocol."
"Yes, Sir," Varun replied immediately.
Saxena glanced once more at the students.
"Next time," he warned, "there will be consequences."
He turned and walked out.
The door closed.
Not slammed.
Just shut.
Silence returned.
The computers hummed softly.
No one spoke.
The HUD shimmered faintly.
[CRISIS CONTAINED][STUDENT MORALE: -72% → -63% (Stabilized)][RESOURCE LOSS: ₹500 — PERSONAL FUNDS][WARNING: REPEAT COMPLIANCE WILL TRIGGER EXPLOITATION PATTERN]
Varun exhaled slowly.
He hadn't won.
But the students were still here.
Amit hadn't been dragged out.
For today, that was enough.
Varun looked at Amit.
"Sit," he said quietly.
Amit obeyed.
Varun turned back toward the machines.
One time, he thought.This only works once.
The system wasn't broken because of men like Saxena.
It was broken because of habits.
And Varun knew—breaking habits was harder than fixing machines.