WebNovels

Chapter 1 - CHAPTER 1 - THE GOLDEN BOY

April 2015, Patna XYZ School.

The atmosphere within Class 3-C was thick with heat and the scent of chalk. Ceiling fans whirred sluggishly overhead above thirty squirmy children expecting the first-period teacher. It was to be another run-of-the-mill morning—until the door swung open and a new boy walked in.

Mayank recalled the time vividly. The boy appeared unruffled, too unruffled for a kid entering a room full of strangers. His uniform was pressed, his bag across one shoulder, eyes studiously scanning the room before the teacher nodded in the direction of the vacant chair next to Mayank.

"Mayank, share your textbook with him today," she instructed.

Mayank nodded, pushing his book halfway down the desk. The boy smiled slightly.

"Thanks," he whispered.

"No problem," said Mayank.

That was the beginning—no grand handshake, no vow of friendship. Just two third-graders getting to share a book on a sweltering April morning.

By the time lunch came around, names had been mentioned and chuckles took the place of stilted silence.

Krishanu.

There was something about the name that stuck. He was reserved, mannered, but quick—answering questions before others could, writing neat and assured. Within a week, the teachers noticed. Within a month, so did the whole class.

Mayank competed without even knowing it. Every quiz, every unit test became an unspoken competition. Sometimes he won, sometimes Krishanu did, and neither could bear losing to the other. But the competition was never bitter. It was enjoyable—two children jostling each other up, like two flames in the same lamp.

When Mayank introduced Krishanu to his other friends, everything just clicked. They played cricket in the dusty schoolyard, traded Pokémon cards, fought over silly things, and always ended up laughing again. "It was like we'd known each other for years," Mayank would later think.

Time, however, liked to shuffle the deck.

Fourth grade arrived, and the school divided them into separate sections. Teachers told them it would "allow other kids to catch up." Perhaps they just needed the two toppers to boost different classes. Whatever, the friendship did not disappear. They continued to meet at recess, continued to discuss marks, continued to walk home halfway together.

Fifth grade also came with the same segregation—separate sections once more, the same running joke that the teachers were doing this on purpose.

And then, at last, sixth grade. Class 6-C.

The roll call had a familiar name, and Mayank had a smile spreading before he even turned.

Krishanu was two benches behind him, that same serene smile from all those years ago.

It seemed like full circle now.

Mayank was unaware of it at that time, but this reunion would be the beginning of it all—the ascendancy, the downfall, and the tempest that one day would descend upon the golden boy of Patna Central School.

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