On the other hand, Dev and Zaid were sitting in their school, chatting about random things. In the middle of their conversation, Zaid said, "Next year will be our last in this school." Zaid really liked his school. It wasn't too big or too small — just a normal place built in a two-story building. It had around 300-400 students, 20-25 teachers, and classes from nursery up to 12th grade.
Zaid had been in this school for a long time, but even so, he never really connected with most of his classmates — except for a few. His classmates found him strange for many reasons, but the biggest one was that he was different from everyone else. The things that interested other kids didn't matter to him at all.
Dev had come to study here about three years ago, and since then, he and Zaid had become very close friends.
While the two of them were working quietly, someone suddenly covered Zaid's eyes from behind — it was Nidhi, one of their classmates and one of their closest friends. Nidhi was very special to Zaid, but he recognized her easily and said, "Nidhi, come on, drop these old tricks. I can recognize you just by your footsteps."
Just then, the school bell rang, and everyone started settling into their seats. Zaid and Dev sat on the same bench, and Nidhi sat in front of them.
A few moments later, their teacher arrived in class with the attendance register. Their first lecture was with Prem Sir, who was both their math teacher and class teacher. As soon as he entered the room, everyone stood up — partly out of respect, and partly because everyone liked him a lot. He had a pleasant personality, students enjoyed his talks, and he was quite good-looking too — smart like a movie hero. His teaching style was fun, and he treated students like friends, which is why everyone loved him.
He had just started taking attendance and called out the first name when suddenly there was a dramatic entry — it was Abrar. Abrar was the class sports champion and the fittest among them all. Academically, he was average, and no one even remembered the last time he came to school on time. But Abrar was a good guy. He wasn't into nonsense or unnecessary things and kept to himself — only interacting with a few people.
Panting, Abrar said, "Present, Sir." His condition made everyone laugh, and even the teacher smiled and nodded for him to sit. Attendance continued, and Abrar took his seat.
Suddenly, a soft voice from behind teased, "Came early today, huh?" Abrar turned to see Dev and Zaid smiling at him.
Did I mention that Abrar was the fourth member of their group and their closest friend? He didn't like being around anyone else. The four of them had been together for a long time, and their bond was so deep they'd do anything for each other.
Looking at the two, Abrar said, "You both know how strict my daily routine is. I can't skip it even for a day, but somehow I didn't wake up this morning. And when I finally did, I was already half an hour late. I finished my routine and literally raced to school."
Zaid looked at him and asked, "What were you doing last night?" That question shook Abrar to the core. He turned slowly, trembling, to find Dev, Zaid, and Nidhi all staring at him.
Feeling their stares, he confessed, "Bro, I found a new game last night, and I didn't even realize it was 1 AM by the time I stopped playing."
Zaid smiled and said, "How many times have I told you — everything has a limit. But you never listen."
Abrar replied, "Sorry, man. I'll be careful next time."
Dev added, "Cut the drama. We'll deal with that game of yours later. Let's focus on the class for now."
Soon, attendance was over, and Prem Sir started teaching. Most of the students in Zaid's class were quite smart, and some were really skilled. There was always healthy competition among them. Prem Sir enjoyed teaching here too — even though he had only been at the school for two years, he had already won everyone's hearts.
After some time, Prem Sir's lecture ended, and the next one began — it was the sports period, the most favorite and exciting class for everyone. It was the highlight of the day. And today was even more special — a friendly football match was scheduled between classes 11A and 11B.
Everyone was very excited because moments like these were rare — when the school's best players gave it their all.
Abrar was the captain of 11A, being the best player in the school and an all-rounder. But 11B wasn't weak either — they had great players too, and their captain was Harshit. In the entire school, the only one who could challenge Abrar was Harshit.
Now Dev and Abrar were in a bit of a dilemma. Dev said, "Bro, what do we do? One of our players didn't come to school today."
Abrar was already thinking about it. He said, "There's no other option now. We need another player."
Dev replied, "But how? Our class only has 30 students — 12 girls and 18 boys. Out of them, 10 are already in our team, one didn't come, and five others are already participating in other games."
Just then, Prem Sir called out to them. He had come to watch the match too. As they turned around, they saw Prem Sir standing with Zaid. Abrar lit up with joy as if he had just found the solution to his problem.
TO BE CONTINUED...