Unwillingly, we all left our classrooms and headed towards the auditorium for the workshop.
What an irony.
The students here are suffocating under the very hierarchical system the authorities created… and now they are organizing a mental health workshop.
The moment we entered the auditorium, the system made it's presence clear once again.
The students with golden badges were already seated in the comfortable chairs near the stage.
The silver badge students occupied the middle rows.
And the rest , the bronze badge students, were directed towards the very back.
Even in a workshop meant to talk about equality and mental health...the heirarchy remained untouched.
Every sound in the auditorium slowly faded as a familiar figure walked onto the stage .
Vidyantsh Verma
His presence was enough to silence the entire hall. His golden badge was shining on his chest , he stood behind the podium .
Staring at everyone .
His sharp eyes scanned the hall once before he speak.
"Good morning..students"!!
"On behalf of the golden council, I welcome you all to this week's workshop on mental health and future career options"
" I would now like to announce the names of our guests and I would appreciate everyone here to greet them wholeheartedly and to interact with them attentively"
" If I found any one creating any nuisance , you'll face something very heinous from my side"
His greeting and speech only felt like a warning.
I bet every student out there felt chills throughout there body.
But what scared me the most, was his eyes which were constantly staring at me .
I thought that I'm just thinking too much!!...
But no , his stare left me speechless and I thought to tell it to Rishab.
But ...That extrovert guy...
He literally made new friends and was sitting beside me with them.
I just stared at him and he understood that I'm gonna kill him.
He came forward and sat with me
I was angry and I didn't wanted to talk to him.
At the very moment, the workshop began
About the workshop, I was just sleeping half of the time .
I'm glad that Verma didn't notice me .
Huhh, I'm save.
As the workshop finally came to an end, the auditorium slowly filled with noice again.
Students began to disperse from their seats
Just, when the crowd was beginning to thin, my attention was suddenly drawn to the main entrance of the auditorium.
A tall figure stepped inside with calmness at his face.
He looked completely unfamiliar, yet there was something strangely unsettling about his presence.
My eyes moved to the badge pinned on his uniform.
Rakshat Verma.
That name alone stirred memories I would rather forget-- memories that were not truly mine, yet were connected to someone I missed… someone I admired… someone I loved.
Before I could even process the thought properly, I noticed movement in front of me.
Rakshat Verma was walking straight toward me.
His steps were slow and confident , as if he already knew exactly where he was going.
My heart started beating faster.
Out of all the people in this corridor...
Why was he coming towards me ?
He stopped right in front of me.
For a second , neither of us spoke
Then a small smile appeared on his face.
"So... you're Risha , right ?"
I frowned slightly " And how exactly do you know my name"
He tilted his head and answered my question
" Ohh... that's a nice question , maybe I've heard about you from someone"
My eyes narrowed. " From whom"
Instead of answering, he let out a quite chuckle.
"Relax.You look like you're about to interrogate me "
"But let me tell you one thing… she was hiding something. Something she never told anyone, because she believed it would only hurt all of you."
My mind knew the answer but my heart wanted all of this to be a dream.
A dream where everything was just my hallucination, when I wake up I will be with Kiara and Rishab and everything would be the same.
But no , This was definitely not a dream.
Without another word, he turned and began walking away.
But after a few steps, he paused.
Slowly, he glanced back at me over his shoulder.
There was a strange look in his eyes… almost as if he knew something I didn't.
And then he said --
"Remember… I'm watching you. There's still a lot I need to know about you… and a lot you still don't know about them."
With that, he turned and walked away as if the conversation meant nothing to him.
But I stood there, frozen.
His words echoed in my mind again and again.
Them.
Who exactly was he talking about?
And why did it feel like the answers were somehow connected to a past I had tried so hard to bury?
For the first time since coming to Saint Aurelius Academy, I felt that something far bigger than the academy's hierarchy was about to unfold.