ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙᴇᴀᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀʟʟᴡᴀʏꜱ

.Truth Revealed༊˚

AUTHOR'S POV :

Before Avni could respond to Nidhi, Ishan and Aaron arrived and inquired about what had happened.

Aaron said jokingly, "Why do you look like an angry bird right now? What happened?"

Hearing no response from either Avni or Nidhi, Ishan asked, "What's wrong? Why are you two silent?"

Avni’s head was down. She glanced at Nidhi, who was already looking at her. Nidhi sighed and, standing up from her seat, said, "We know who locked you two up yesterday."

"Who?" Ishan and Aaron asked in unison.

Nidhi exclaimed, "Neha!" She then explained everything to both of them and said, "Someone among you, please explain to her that she should go and complain to the teachers. She isn't listening to me. She- She's gone insane."

Avni, still facing the ground and sitting in her place, said, "Calm down, Nidhi. It isn’t that serious."

"What do you mean it’s not serious? Do you want to wait until she does something worse? You might not think of me as your friend, but for me, you are my best friend, even though it's only been one day." Saying this, Nidhi sat down in her seat.

Avni remained silent. Aaron said, "I seriously agree with Nidhi this time. You guys should inform the teachers."

Ishan had been silent the entire time, perhaps trying to process everything. As soon as he made a move, Avni stopped him. She took Ishan’s hand and said, "Don’t create a scene now. The teacher will be here in a few minutes," and added a soft "please."

Avni anticipated what Ishan might do, so she thought it would be best if she intervened to prevent any further escalation.

All the students returned to class, including Neha, as the break ended. Nidhi, Ishan, and Aaron stared at Neha when she entered the room, laughing with her friend. Meanwhile, Avni kept her head down. Noticing Ishan clenching his fist, she placed her hand on his to prevent him from exploding. Soon, the teacher entered, and the entire hour of the lecture was tense. Avni focused intently on her books, neither lifting her head nor interacting in class. Ishan, Nidhi, and occasionally Aaron glared at Neha throughout the lesson.

As soon as the class was over, Ishan left the room. With it being the last period, games period, everyone headed towards the ground. Avni, who had been glued to her bench after the earlier event, finally got up and said, "Let’s go to the ground, Nidhi."

Nidhi didn’t say anything to Avni and headed to the ground alone, followed by Aaron. Avni felt a bit sad but knew she deserved it. She also made her way to the ground.

The basketball team started a match, although Ishan wasn’t present. Nidhi sat on one side of a bench on the ground, while Avni sat on the other side, keeping her distance. Aaron was playing in the match. And Ishan was nowhere to be seen.

Nidhi stared at Neha with eyes full of anger, who was laughing happily while watching the match with her friends. Nidhi looked like she could strike at any moment. Meanwhile, Avni had her head down, her mind racing with thoughts. She pondered how to make Nidhi happy, where Ishan was, whether she should inform the teacher, if she was doing the right thing, what was wrong with her, and more.

The match was midway. Nidhi continued to glare at Neha, while Avni was lost in her thoughts. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Avni’s and helped her stand up. It was Ishan. He led her away, and despite her asking twice where he was taking her, he remained silent. They stopped in front of the staff room. Ishan looked at Avni, then took her inside the room.

The teacher looked at both of them and remained silent, waiting for someone else to arrive. Avni’s mind raced with various thoughts: Why is the teacher silent? Is he going to scold her? Is she going to be suspended? And more. She was overthinking the situation but still remained quiet.

After a few minutes, Neha entered the room. Avni looked at her, and as the teacher remained silent for a few more seconds, Avni's overthinking continued.
In that short span of time, she even found herself silently cursing Ishan for bringing her there.

The teacher glared at both Avni and Neha, making Avni scared and overthink.

The teacher finally spoke, breaking the silence. "Neha, do you have anything to confess?" he asked.

Neha replied, confused, "I don't know what you're talking about, sir."

Ishan stepped forward and said, "It was you who locked us in the sports room yesterday."

Neha responded defensively, "What? You’re lying... What proof do you have?"

Mr. Gupta said, "We have proof, Neha. Just accept what you did."

Ishan pulled out his phone and showed a video from the school's CCTV footage. The video clearly showed Neha locking the door and walking away with an evil smile.

Neha cursed in her mind, "Shit! I forgot to ask the security to delete the footage. I’m done for, for sure."

Neha said, "Sir, it was a mistake. I promise it won’t happen again."

Ishan said, "A mistake? It’s clear th-"

The teacher interrupted him and said, "We’re letting you off this time, Neha. If this happens again, I won’t hesitate to report it to the principal and your parents. You may leave now."

Neha nodded and then left.