Chapter 2: Recess
I tried to compose myself. I took a deep breath. With trembling hands, I clicked on the power button and shoved the phone into the right pocket of my trouser.
Yikes! It got me. The absence of Rick in the classroom provided someone the perfect opportunity to pull off this dirty prank on me, I told myself.
I looked outside the window. The playground was filled with students, sitting on the soft grass, having their tiffins.
The person who pulled off this prank on me had to be someone that is inside this classroom right now, I thought.
The process is simple. The person who pranks you is always watching you while you are being pranked ,so that they can mock you then and there, or perhaps later. He or she is inside this room right now, I told myself.
The calculations were easy. The only time that the sandwich inside my tiffin could be swapped with a smartphone was either the moment when I went out for the morning assembly or the moment everyone went out to wash their hands before lunch. There were five students who did not attend the morning assembly today - Mary, Manas, Rajiv, Daisy and Karan.
The chances of a girl pulling on such a serious prank was already out of question. This left me with three boys that had bunked the morning assembly today.
I also recalled that Karan and Rick had picked up a fight over something the previous day. When I had asked Rick, he told me it was a small issue and that everything had been sorted. Karan had a motive now. He could simply prank the person whom Rick sits with to have a good laugh later. The chances of him being the culprit was extremely high.
With these thoughts, I was still looking outside the window and had started thinking of ways to deal with Karan next, when I suddenly saw Manas staring right at me from the playground with a malicious grin. My blood ran cold as I shifted my focus from the thought process completely to Manas now.
I must be seeing things. He was just looking at a random window while talking to Rajiv maybe. But, that was all the hint I needed. It would have had been more appropriate if Manas had not looked the other way after I gazed back at him.
Now, all the pieces had started to fall to their places. Manas and Rajiv could easily prank me as they sat just behind me. They could easily take my bag anytime during my absence and put a smartphone inside it within a fraction of seconds without anybody in the class noticing it. Also, they could easily see my reaction after getting pranked from the playground outside. As a matter of fact, they always have been the first ones in the class to do mischiefs and pranks. This must have been one of their ugly little tricks.
Not gonna lie~they got me good, I thought to myself.
I won't return them the smartphone ever. If they want it back, they will have to offer me a good deal, I told myself strictly.
But they got me. I would say pretty badly. I mean who would not be scared finding a smartphone that is prohibited in the school instead of food inside his tiffin box. On top of that, you see a message that you have killed the person who sits with you in the class.
I was getting tired of thinking too much. I was also hungry since I was yet to have my lunch.
I'll deal with them after I feed something to my starving tummy, I thought.
I went outside the class and headed towards the canteen.
The dark clouds had started gathering up.
I always brought fifty rupees with me for emergency like this and also to treat myself with something good once in a while. Besides burger, the taste of other food in the canteen was not very satisfactory. For fifty rupees, the burger was also a good deal. I ordered it packed and took it with me for having it inside the classroom.
I glanced at my watch. 12:40 pm. Twenty minutes before the break-time ends.
It started raining heavily so I dashed towards the stairs.
On reaching the first floor, I realised that the floor was unusually quiet for a break-time hours. I did not bother much other than wonder what could have been the matter.
I reached the second floor. It was more quiet than the first floor. I slowly approached towards my class. As I headed towards the door, I saw my class teacher and two more teachers standing near the black-board part that was visible before entering the classroom door. On reaching the door, I could see all the teachers and ,surprisingly even the principal, Mrs Sinha, standing there with a very strange and gloomy look on her face. Not just her, but all the teachers had that same expression.
"May I come in ma'am?" , I said.
"Yes Vicky. We have been waiting for you. Come inside", said the principal.
Waiting for me? Did the teachers find out I had a smartphone with me through the CCTV camera?
They must have or else they would not be here waiting for me in the first place. The last time a student was caught with a smartphone inside the school premises was given a similar treatment. His smartphone was snatched. His parents were called. And the worst he was suspended for over a month.
No, I can't let my mom go through these trouble. I need to make a quick plan. No, it would be better telling them the truth. It was not me but Rajiv and Manas who had put that smartphone inside my bag.
A series of thoughts ran like a mouse inside my head.
Before I could think of anything else, the principal said in a very downhearted tone, "Take your sit Vicky".
And so I did.
What came next was something I could never have expected in my wildest dreams.
The principal then said, "Students bear with me. What I'm about to say next might be hard for most of you to believe. But the truth is, your classmate Rick was found dead inside his room today."
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