1 Reyansh Adani

Reyansh Adani is an awfully lonely, depressed and insecure 17-year-old student studying in a small town in Gujarat, India. Appearance wise, he is skinny and bespectacled. He doesn't have any friends, and he invariably isolates himself from the others. He only likes to read and write.

He selected Physics, Chemistry, and Maths as his subjects which belong to the Science stream. He is trying his finest to pass the year.

Aryan Joshi, on the other hand, is the topper of the class. He belongs to a wealthy Brahmins yet no one knows any detail of his family background. He is also a bully and his prime target has always been Reyansh.

Mrs. Tanya was their class teacher. She was absent that day so Reyansh decided to write. Apparently, this is the only thing that makes him cope up with his issues. Their teacher absent, and nobody coming to teach in place of her gave Aryan the perfect opportunity to bully him.

"Hey, what are you doing?" a heavy voice came from behind. Reyansh promptly realized whose voice it was.

"I-it's none of your business..." Reyansh answered, fumbling.

"You're correct, it's none of my business. It's not like you are doing anything appreciative. You're a failure after all." Aryan replied mockingly. "And you will always remain a failure. I wonder how you will provide for your family."

Aryan was saying the truth. Reyansh could not pass the tests and if he fails to improve in the next exam, he would have to repeat the year.

'He is right... I AM a failure...'

Aryan waited for a few seconds before realizing that Reyansh was not going to reply. "Ah so, your plans for your future? Since I am the topper of this class, I might as well hand you a low-class job." Aryan's associates laughed. Aryan gestured them to stop because he wanted to insult Reyansh more. "But do you even deserve that?" Aryan asked, amusement in his voice.

"I don't have any plans right now. And why do you care?" Reyansh scoffed, not even looking at Aryan.

Aryan got annoyed. "Keep your voice down, you piece of shit!" He warned.

By this point, all the students were witnessing the bullying. Nobody had ever tried to support Reyansh or stop Aryan because they knew that Aryan belonged to a strong family and he had contacts so they never interfered.

However this time, it was different.

Rin Ahuja was the most popular girl in their class because of her looks and charm. She left the class huffily. Both Aryan and Reyansh felt she did it because of them.

Aryan gave a considering look to his best friend Dhairya. "Hey Dhairya, what is up with your girlfriend? Why did she leave like that?" he asked.

"It's weird. Perhaps she needs to go to the washroom." Dhairya replied, being just as surprised as Reyansh and Aryan. For some reason, Dhairya looked extremely concerned and angry regarding Rin's actions.

"Go write on the blackboard: 'I am a failure'." Aryan ordered, turning his attention back to Reyansh.

"What?" Reyansh asked shockingly.

This was different than all of Aryan's previous bullying.

"You heard me, go write on the blackboard: 'I am a failure'!" Aryan ordered him again.

Reyansh thought about it. What was he supposed to do in that situation?

It was always like that - Aryan would find some way to mock, tease or bully Reyansh depending upon his mood. For him, all of this was fun and amusement. It was like a kid taking a break from the hefty study schedule. It was like a hobby to him.

This was going overboard and Reyansh knew that. But he couldn't complain to either his teachers or his parents for reasons nobody knew except himself. It seemed like he had no other choice but to do it.

Before he got up from his seat, Reyansh noticed that his senior and his crush Madhuri was passing by. There was no way he was doing something like that in front of his crush.

"I can't do it. I am sorry. Please forgive me." Reyansh said slowly. He didn't want Madhuri to hear his words.

"What did you say?" Aryan asked annoyingly.

"I said I can't do it. I am sorry." Reyansh repeated, this time in a somewhat higher voice. "I promise I'll do it tomorrow. Just not now. Please." he sounded like he was begging. He really didn't want Madhuri to see him like that.

Aryan slapped Reyansh. He was extremely angry at his reply to his orders. "Who the fuck said you have any choice here, you piece of shit? Go do it right now or I'll fucking destroy you!"

Madhuri heard the slap so she looked inside the class. She noticed that someone was getting bullied. She realized that it was Reyansh, the infamous student in the school. He was famous for his bad reputation - bad-mannered, disobedient, undisciplined and a failure. Nobody liked him in the entire school. He seemed really miserable, like a dead being having no will to continue living.

'Oh, it's him... Why is He the one getting bullied...? Strange...' she thought. '...Who is bullying him? And...' she noticed that Reyansh was looking at her. '... Why is he looking at me like that...? Is he asking for my help? What am I supposed to do here? I am the topper of my class, there is no way I am doing anything for a person like him. And besides, a person who doesn't respect his teachers like him deserves to be bullied!' Madhuri thought. She had gone to the staff room to help her teacher. She then realized that lectures are going on in her class at the moment and she can't afford to miss them, so she went back to her class.

Aryan slapped him again as he was too busy looking at Madhuri go back to his class. That bought him back to the reality and snapped him out of his thoughts. "Now listen, you trash!" he slapped him again. "Pay attention when I am here!" and again. "You will ALWAYS do what I say!" and again. "Otherwise I will kill you!" and again. "And I will kill your mom!" and again. "And I will kill your sister!" and again. "Now write on the blackboard what you are. A fucking loser. Write 'I am a failure'."

Reyansh couldn't say a word. He was embarrassed, humiliated, and hurt in front of the entire class. He didn't have any choice.

'Everyone looks down on me. The teachers, my classmates... Even my family does. I am not even considered worthy of being here. They look at me like I am their slave - no, even below that. Like all these things were not enough, I have to declare that I am a failure in front of the class and make fun of myself. Yeah, I am a failure, so what? You guys hate me? Well, I hate you too! I hate this class, I hate everyone! I fucking hate you all!' Reyansh was crying.

Now that Madhuri was not watching, Reyansh got up from his seat, wiping the tears off of his face and went over to the blackboard. He took up a piece of chalk but before he could write anything, a loud voice stopped him. "Hey, stop! It's enough!"