I had no idea what was waiting ahead.
And as it turned out, the days that followed were not as simple as I had expected.
It started with a science group project.
We had been assigned different parts, and I had already completed mine. Inaya had finished hers too, and Sofia had told us that her part was done as well.
We were supposed to present it together.
One day before the presentation, we planned to stay back at school and practise everything once. While discussing our plans, Sofia told us that she hadn't actually completed her part and needed help.
We agreed to help her.
We thought we would finish everything together the following day.
But she was absent.
Inaya and I had stayed back expecting to work on the project. I was already feeling quite sick that day, but neither of us wanted to go home after staying back, knowing our parents might scold us.
So we waited.
My health kept getting worse, and I eventually had to visit the infirmary. Even then, I couldn't leave immediately.
It wasn't the first time something like this had happened, which made the situation even more frustrating.
When we finally got home, I asked Sofia why she hadn't come. I explained that we had stayed back and that I had been unwell.
She told me that she had woken up but gone back to sleep.
I was upset, and I didn't want to continue working in the same group anymore. So I left it.
That led to another argument.
Sofia became upset with Inaya too, questioning why she hadn't made the same decision as me. Somehow, the situation turned into both of us being blamed for staying back.
I didn't understand it.
We had only stayed because we had agreed to help.
The day we stayed back was also the second-last day of school before the Durga Puja holidays. There wasn't much time left to sort things out before the break began.
After the holidays, Inaya and I decided to complete the project ourselves.
We had also started spending time with some other classmates, including Olivia and her group.
Around that time, we came to know that Sofia had spoken to some of our common friends about the situation and had encouraged them to keep their distance from us.
Thankfully, they didn't.
They continued talking to us as they normally did.
That was another thing we hadn't expected.
By then, the situation had become about more than just a school project. There were misunderstandings, disagreements and things being said between people who had once been part of the same friendship.
I didn't know what to make of everything.
Inaya and I eventually decided to bring the matter to our class teacher and science teacher. We explained what had happened because the project was still incomplete and we needed to sort out how we would proceed.
We hadn't presented it yet.
That would happen after the Diwali break.
For the time being, we had decided to work on it ourselves.
Looking back, it still feels strange how something that began as an ordinary group assignment became connected to so many other things.
I don't want to turn this into a story about who was right or wrong. All three of us had been part of the friendship, and whatever happened affected the way things stood between us.
But one thing was certain.
Things were no longer the way they used to be.
And with the holidays still going on, I had no idea what returning to school would bring.