The classroom buzzed with noise—chairs scraping, students laughing, the faint hum of ceiling fans barely fighting the heat.
"Sarthak Roy."
His name echoed across the room.
For a brief moment, everything felt… distant.
Sarthak slowly lifted his gaze from the notebook in front of him. His expression was calm, almost indifferent, as if being called out was the most normal thing in the world.
"Yes, sir."
The professor adjusted his glasses and spoke, "Can you solve this?"
He pointed at the problem written across the board—complex, layered… the kind that made half the class avoid eye contact.
A few students turned around to look at Sarthak.
Some curious.
Some uninterested.
And one… already smiling.
Sarthak stared at the board.
He solved it in his head within seconds.
Step by step. Clean. Precise.
Perfect.
"…I don't know, sir."
Silence.
A few students snickered.
The professor sighed, clearly disappointed. "At least try to think, Sarthak. You will not pass by staying like this."
"I will try, sir."
But there was no effort in his voice.
No urgency.
No intention to improve.
Because that answer… was a lie.
"Bro, you seriously did not know that?"
Vansh leaned back in his chair, staring at him like he had just witnessed something unbelievable.
The class had ended. Students were slowly walking out, forming groups, laughing, living normally.
Sarthak closed his notebook calmly. "Yeah."
"Yeah?" Vansh repeated. "That was easy. Even I got half of it."
Sarthak stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Then you should have answered."
Vansh clicked his tongue. "Do not change the topic. You always do this."
Sarthak did not respond.
Because there was nothing to say.
They stepped out into the corridor, sunlight spilling through the open windows, voices echoing from every direction. It was loud. Alive.
And yet—
Sarthak felt completely detached from it.
"You know," Vansh continued, walking beside him, "sometimes I feel you are hiding something."
Sarthak gave a small, almost amused smile. "Like what?"
"Like… you are not actually dumb."
That made him pause for half a second.
Just half.
Then he started walking again.
"You think too much."
Vansh narrowed his eyes but eventually laughed it off. "Fine. Stay mysterious. One day I will expose you."
Expose.
The word lingered longer than it should have.
Lunch break.
The college ground was filled with students sitting in circles, sharing food, gossiping, scrolling through their phones.
Normal life.
Sarthak sat under a tree, slightly away from the crowd.
Peaceful.
Quiet.
Safe.
Vansh sat beside him, already halfway through his lunch. "You should at least pretend to enjoy life."
"I am enjoying it."
"This?" Vansh looked around. "This is not enjoying. This is surviving."
Sarthak did not reply.
Because Vansh was not entirely wrong.
But he was not right either.
A soft breeze passed.
For a moment, everything felt still.
And then—
A vibration.
Sarthak's phone.
He frowned slightly.
No one really texted him.
Not anymore.
He pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen.
Unknown Number.
His fingers paused.
Something felt… off.
Still, he opened the message.
And read it.
"You are still pretending…"
His heartbeat slowed.
"…just like that day."
The world around him blurred.
The noise faded.
The laughter, the voices, the wind—
Everything disappeared.
Only those words remained.
"Sarthak?"
Vansh's voice sounded distant.
"You okay?"
Sarthak did not answer.
His grip on the phone tightened slightly.
That message—
No.
That sentence—
It was not random.
It was not a prank.
It was—
Personal.
Because there was only one "day" that mattered.
One day he had buried.
One day he had decided—
Never to remember.
And yet…
Someone else did.
Sarthak slowly locked his phone.
His face returned to normal.
Calm.
Empty.
Unreadable.
"I am fine."
Vansh stared at him for a moment, unconvinced… but did not push further.
"Alright," he said, stretching. "Come on, next lecture."
Sarthak nodded and stood up.
Same as always.
Same expression.
Same silence.
But inside—
Something had already started to crack.
As he walked back toward the building, his phone vibrated again.
He did not want to look.
But he did.
Another message.
Same number.
"This time… I will not let you hide."
Sarthak stopped walking.
For the first time—
A faint, dangerous emotion flickered in his eyes.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
Something darker.
Who are you?
The question echoed in his mind.
But deep down…
He already knew—
This was not the beginning.
It was the return of something he had tried to erase.
To be continued…