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Chapter 9: A step forward

A step forward For the whole of last week, Richa and Tarun had acted out their part as a well-oiled machine in complete synchronization with each other. However, after their discussion last night, both of them were out of sync today. Richa was increasingly worried and annoyed due to Tarun’s non-committal stance about grabbing hold of Priti’s diary. On the other hand, Tarun did not appreciate Richa’s lack of faith in his suspicion of Priti’s substitute badminton coach. As a result, unlike every other day, they avoided exchanging any glances towards each other during the school. When Priti went to the restroom in between the second and third periods, Richa hopefully looked in the direction of Tarun expecting him to try to reach out for Priti’s bag. But Tarun did no such thing. He seemed lost in some thought with his gaze fixed on the blackboard in front. Richa wanted to go shout at him right that instant. But she did no such thing and muttered under her breath. “Such an idiot”.
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Chapter 8: The Plan

Tarun’s ability to lay out several scenarios and potential solutions were useful, but he had blind spots. He usually missed something quite obvious such as, how the anonymity of his letter to Richa wasn’t foolproof. In the new circumstances, his former adversary’s astute skill of being a keen observer helped discover loopholes of his plans. The complementary nature of their skills had a synergistic impact on the simplicity and effectiveness of their plan. The plan was simple. Richa will keep an eye on Priti’s movements outside the school, while Tarun will do the same in the school. They both agreed that this is what made the most sense. As Richa and Priti lived in the same gated community, following Priti to and from the school would not be that hard for Richa. Moreover, they both went to the same evening mathematics tuition class. Apart from this, Priti did not have any routine activity on weekdays outside the school. Tarun’s duty was not very different. The idea was to kee
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Chapter 7: Encounter

Never before had Tarun felt such chill running down his spine as it did just that moment. He was face to face with his prime suspect, but no words came out of his mouth. He kept looking at her for what seemed like an eternity before Richa’s booming voice interrupted the seemingly perpetual silence. “What’s wrong with you? Tell me why you threatened me? What do you know?” Whatever do you mean, what letter? I don’t know anything about it, denied Tarun sheepishly. It irked Richa, but she realized that the moment morning prayers end, her chance to talk to him will be lost. Also, she was not really expecting him to trust her at first. So unlike her usual demeanor, she said calmly: “Look, I know you want to help Priti. But it’s not me. Even though she wants nothing to do with me, I can’t let something untoward happen to my best friend. I am sure she is in trouble as well, I can see it on her face. Please let me help you help her” Tarun experienced a sudden sense of unexplained relief
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Chapter 6: Richa

Oblivious of the additional content in her school bag, Richa was despondently walking towards her home. It wasn’t that Richa was an ignoramus person, she realized that her tendency of loudly putting across her point was often perceived aggressive by other people However valid her arguments may have been, they usually found deaf ears because people didn’t like the way she communicated. This aggravated her further. And once she was angry, the logic took back seat and any chance of real communication was lost. As a result, she earned a reputation of being an ill-tempered person, even scary perhaps. She did not have any close friends. Her relationship with her closest friend, who not only tolerated her, but even enjoyed her company had gone sour too. ‘Thanks to my temper, I chased Priti away too’, she use to murmur exasperatedly. Not long ago, Richa and Priti were inseparable. But after that incidence, Priti did not want to do anything with Richa. Richa was so angry, but as always, aft
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Chapter 5 The Wait

Tarun was lying in his bed and bouncing his rubber ball to the ceiling of the room. But he wasn’t paying attention to it, because he was lost in his own thoughts. Overall, he was pleased with himself about how the day had unfolded today and the letter he had dropped inside Richa’s bag today. But he was still restless about things to come. He was thinking of several scenarios that might play out tomorrow in response to his letter. One by one he was thinking about them and deciding how will he proceed following such a scenario. The letter he had written wasn’t very complicated. I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE MAKING PRITI DO! THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU DON’T WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW EITHER. IF YOU DON'T WANT YOUR OWN LIFE TO BE A MOCKERY, TELL PRITI THAT SHE IS OFF THE HOOK. INDICATE THAT YOU WILL STOP BOTHERING PRITI BE THE LAST ONE TO ENTER THE CLASSROOM AFTER PRAYER TOMORROW. The first scenario that Tarun thought was the optimistic one. Or at least he thought so in the beginning. In this
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Chapter 4: The suspects

The sound of the morning alarm had little to no impact on him on most days. The only way it used to serve its purpose was by waking his mom instead, in the adjoining room, who in turn would ensure with her resounding voice that Tarun doesn’t get late for his school. On this day, however, when she did not hear the booming sound of the alarm even after 6 am, she wondered if the alarm was out of battery. So, dreading the possibility of having to drive him to school, still slumberous, she dragged herself to his room. To her surprise though, Tarun was already in the shower. Certainly relieved, she couldn’t help but wonder: how??.  His mind was flooded with numerous thoughts, plans and anxiousness to put them to test.  When he finally crossed the gates of his school and looked at his watch, he realized that he must have walked fast today. Oblivious to the wave he just got from Rahul and Ketan who were strolling towards the classroom, he walked past them, still fast paced. To them, he seem
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Chapter 3: Questions

It is said that integrity is, what you do, when no one is looking. And I for one, don't have it decisively. It is just next to impossible to put snooping into someone's personal diary just out of curiosity as an action of a person with any integrity. If for instance, Priti's unusual behavior from past few days (which I had failed to notice completely) had me worried and led me to this act, I could have attributed it to my caring nature and desire to help a friend in need. However, one could argue that a much straightforward approach would have been to confront Priti about her mystifying behavior, show genuine concern and then hope for her to open up. Countering this point would have been hard, but by submitting oneself to lesser of the sins like impatience to know and awkwardness to talk to her would have let me sleep in peace tonight. As it stands, I pried into her personal affairs simply because I knew no one will know. For this reason, I have to endure this sleepless ni
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