Indhu's POV
It all started because of that stupid "Chutney Clash" video.
None of us knew it at the time...
But after secretly recording the entire fight, Leonore had rushed home with revenge already planned.
She created a fake account.
A dramatic username.
An even more dramatic description.
And a thumbnail that made it look like V5 had started a huge street riot instead of defending ourselves.
To her...
It was the perfect plan.
To us...
It became a nightmare.
---
The very next morning, my mom was casually scrolling through her phone.
Suddenly...
A notification popped up.
"You won't believe what these kids did today!"
Curious, she tapped on it.
Within seconds...
I heard her gasp.
She watched the entire video.
There I was.
Shweta.
Rohan.
Charlotte.
Aditya.
All of us looked like we were fighting in the middle of the road.
The video showed only the chaos...
Not the reason behind it.
Before long, the video spread from one parent to another.
Neighborhood WhatsApp groups became filled with shocked messages.
"Is this really our children?"
"They've completely lost their minds!"
Parents everywhere were confused and worried.
The video made everything look much worse than it actually was.
---
I took a deep breath.
There was no point panicking.
I calmly looked at my mother.
"Mom..."
"It's not what it looks like."
She silently listened.
"That gang cornered us."
"They threw our bags."
"They tried to start a fight."
"We only defended ourselves."
"I promise..."
"We didn't do anything reckless."
Slowly, I explained everything from the beginning.
How Rohan had jumped in without thinking.
How Shweta refused to let anyone bully us.
How Charlotte somehow turned into a commentator instead of a fighter.
How Aditya stayed calm and tried to stop things from getting worse.
And how the fight had only happened because we were forced into it.
My mom remained quiet for a few moments.
Then...
She slowly nodded.
Around us, the other mothers exchanged worried looks.
They whispered among themselves before finally beginning to understand what had really happened.
---
Later that evening, all five of us gathered at my house.
Everyone sat silently for a few minutes.
I couldn't stop thinking about the video.
Finally, I broke the silence.
"Who could've uploaded it?"
Shweta folded her arms.
"Maybe one of those boys?"
Charlotte slowly shook her head.
"I don't think so."
"This feels intentional."
"Someone wanted to make us look bad."
All of us looked toward Aditya.
He was already sitting in front of my laptop.
He leaned back confidently.
"If it's a fake account..."
"I can find out."
Rohan blinked.
"But it doesn't even have a real name."
"How are you going to find it?"
Aditya smiled slightly.
"Don't underestimate me."
"I'll check."
"That's what I'm good at."
The next few hours felt endless.
The room became completely silent except for the sound of typing.
Lines of code filled the screen.
Different pages opened and closed.
Sometimes Aditya sighed.
Sometimes he frowned.
Sometimes he typed even faster.
The rest of us simply waited.
Then...
He suddenly stopped.
---
Aditya slowly looked up from the screen.
"I found it."
All four of us immediately stood up.
He turned the laptop toward us.
"It's coming from..."
"...Leonore's address."
For a second...
I couldn't even believe what I was hearing.
"Oh."
"My."
"God."
"I'm going to kill that girl!"
I shouted before anyone could stop me.
Shweta immediately clenched her fists.
"I'm coming with you."
Rohan quickly stepped between us, laughing nervously.
"Easy!"
"Easy!"
"Let's not give her what she wants."
Charlotte crossed her arms calmly.
"Well..."
"At least now we know the truth."
I stared at the laptop screen.
I wasn't surprised anymore.
Just disappointed.
---
The next morning at school...
Our teacher called us aside.
"Indhu."
"Shweta."
"Charlotte."
"I heard about the video."
"Can you explain what happened?"
I looked at my friends.
Then all three of us explained everything honestly.
From the spilled chutney...
To the boys blocking our way...
To Leonore secretly recording the fight...
And finally uploading an edited version to make us look guilty.
The teacher listened patiently without interrupting.
When we finished...
She nodded slowly.
"I understand."
"I think Leonore crossed the line."
"You acted in self-defense."
"That is understandable."
"But next time..."
"Please be careful."
"And avoid getting involved in situations like that whenever possible."
A wave of relief washed over me.
Finally...
Someone believed us.
---
Meanwhile...
Far away from us...
Leonore stared at her phone.
Her eyes widened.
The video was gone.
Deleted.
Her fake account had failed.
"Impossible..."
she muttered through gritted teeth.
Her plan had completely fallen apart.
As for me...
I simply smiled to myself.
Sometimes...
The truth takes time.
But eventually...
It always finds its way to the surface.