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 night juggling with various disturbing thoughts.
During the lunch today, Priti asked me to carry her bag back to the classroom as she was getting late for her badminton practice. After reaching an empty classroom with her bag, I carelessly placed down her bag on the desk. The result was her bag slipping to the floor within seconds. And there it was, her diary. I can not be sure what I thought within those quick seconds before I picked her diary and opened it to see what's inside. What I do remember is glancing towards the classroom door sheepishly every other second to ensure no one is approaching. What I did, can not be undone and I am not sure if I am brave enough to tell her the truth.
When long hours of pondering somehow couldn't justify my actions, I moved my thoughts to the graver matter of what to do next. Even though I was ashamed, I did not regret knowing what was troubling Priti in slightest. Upon recollecting my memory of what I read earlier today, I realized that it was not very explicit:
“I can’t believe she will blackmail me like this. How can she stoop so low? I am so scared. Why did I ever lie and why did I ever confide in her? Her extortion has made me steal from my own house now. But stealing from my neighbors! Where will this end? What am I going to do? Should I come clean? But I can’t risk losing what I love most. God, please forgive me and help me.”
`There are too many unknowns here. So, let me start with what I can deduce from it. Priti lied about something in order to not lose something she loves the most and confided in someone about this. This someone now is blackmailing her and it has led Priti to steal something from her house and now, she is supposed to steal something from her neighbor or possibly neighbors. Now, the unknowns: What did Priti lie about? Who did she lie to? Who is her blackmailer? What did she steal from her house? and finally, What is she suppose to steal from her neighbors?. So, she lied in order to not lose something she loves the most. What does she love? Well, is it about a boy from the class? Nah, it seems unlikely. What then? Urgh! How little I know her even after sharing the same desk every day. She clearly loves her soft toys and her badminton. But what can she possibly lie about these? and to whom? It is all too baffling. If I wasn’t too cowardly, I could have just confessed and asked her. Ironically, her actions that have landed her in this mess also appear to be far from ideal. However, I should resist any judgment.
The next question about who she lied to is intrinsically related to the first one. So skipping this one brings me to the blackmailer. Maybe this is where I should focus. Clearly the blackmailer is a girl. For the sake of simplicity, let me assume, she is in our class. Out of 16 girls in our class excluding Priti, it is unfathomable to think, anyone will do such thing. But undoubtedly this is happening. Ok, given that Priti confided in this girl, she must be someone Priti considered her good friend at least before the blackmailing started. This narrows down to around 4 suspects: Richa, Juhi, Neelam and Anu. How do I narrow it down further, though?
The next few questions about what she stole and what she is supposed to steal seem even more complicated. Money can definitely be the real possibility. But knowing the answer to these question won’t do any good for now. What matters is to resolve Priti’s problem before she has to steal again. Time is clearly not on my side. Therefore, my first and foremost plan must be to find out who is blackmailing Priti. Priti can not possibly be comfortable around this jane doe. I will observe Priti around my four suspects tomorrow. Once, I have figured this out, I will have to solve the other parts of the puzzles along the way. But in the meanwhile, I will have to find some dirt on this person to use as leverage in this game. However, difficult this seems right now, but I will certainly make this blackmailer to taste her own medicine.
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