The Day Everything Changed

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The weather outside was perfect—neither too hot nor too cold. The gentle wind carried the smell of blooming jasmine, and the soft rays of the sun peeked through our curtains. Inside our little house in India, I sat with my twin sister, Naina. For once in our lives, the two of us were actually studying quietly, without throwing sarcastic remarks at each other or getting into silly arguments. That alone was unusual enough to make the day memorable.

Tomorrow was our exam, and as always, we were those students who believed in the ancient Indian tradition of last-minute studying. We had a whole year to study, of course, but why bother when one night of panic could do the trick?

But despite the calm atmosphere, something weighed heavily on both our minds. We missed our parents terribly.

Our parents lived in South Korea, far away from us. It had been years since we had lived together as a complete family. Father had been practically absent from our lives—over the last nine years, we had seen him only twice. It was hard to build a bond on such rare encounters. Mother, however, tried her best to fill the void. Every two or three months, she would visit us in India and stay for a week. Those weeks felt magical, like little pieces of paradise. We would try to make time stand still, wishing she never had to leave.

But life doesn't listen to wishes. It had been six months now since we last saw her. For Naina, it was unbearable. I could see the sadness in her eyes, though she tried to cover it up with silly jokes. I felt the same emptiness, but we both knew what we had to do: study well, pass our exams, and someday convince our parents to let us join them in Korea.

Next Morning

I woke up with a start. My eyes shot to the clock on the wall.

"Oh no..." I groaned.

Only thirty minutes left before school started.

I quickly shook Naina awake. "Naina! Get up, we overslept!"

We had clearly fallen asleep while studying the night before. The books scattered around the bed and floor were enough proof. In a flurry, we washed up, threw on our uniforms, and dashed out of the house, barely having time to breathe.

The only good part about being twins was that we always had each other—in school, in class, in trouble. Sitting together in the same class was our comfort zone. And yes, we weren't the smartest kids, nor the toppers. We were the backbenchers. But we had mastered two very special survival arts:

The Art of Writing Anything Convincing.

The Art of Cheating.

And in both of these, we proudly held the gold medal.

We had our secret codes—eye signals, pencil taps, little coughs—that allowed us to pass answers back and forth. Exams never scared us much. With our combined brain cells, we always managed to scrape through with good marks.

That day's exam went smoothly, thanks to our synchronized "twin telepathy." After submitting my paper, I rushed to the washroom. As I stepped out, loud shouting from the playground caught my attention. Curiosity always got the better of me, so I hurried toward the noise.

There, I saw Akash, one of the notorious boys of our school, gripping Nikhil by the collar.

Before I could move, Naina appeared beside me. "Yah! Geetanjali, don't you dare interfere in their fight!"

I froze for a moment, considering her words. But then, my instinct kicked in. Without a second thought, I sprinted toward them and aimed a strong kick right at Akash's groin.

He collapsed, groaning in pain.

Within seconds, his girlfriend Radhika stormed toward me, eyes blazing. She raised her hand to slap me—but before she could, Naina swooped in and slapped her across the face.

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