Beginning

On May 29, 2018, the bus journeyed through diverse villages. Towards the rear, a lone figure sat in quiet reflection, delving into his thoughts.

"Did I bring my history book with me? I think I did. Well, there's no harm in checking," he mused. Swiftly, he checked his bag.

"Oh, here it is. Thank goodness," he sighed with relief. Five minutes later, despite confirming the presence of the book, doubt lingered. "I checked it; the book was there, but why is my mind unconvinced?" he pondered.

Contemplating whether to check again, he reasoned, "Yeah, here it is, as I thought." However, after ten minutes, frustration set in. "This is messing with my mind. Why does my mind compel me to keep looking in the bag? This OCD always torments me. The nagging feeling persists if I don't check it." Suddenly, he realized he had missed his stop.

As he questioned his situation, thoughts of asking the conductor to stop the bus crossed his mind. However, the words remained stuck, and the fear of making a fool of himself held him back.

After five minutes, the next stop arrived. "Let's go; I'm going to be late for class, but that's okay," he declared, jumping off the bus. At the stop, he observed a kid, a woman, and an old man waiting for the bus.

Reflecting on disturbing thoughts about which one is easy to kill , he recoiled, realizing the darkness of his thoughts. "What the actual heck am I thinking? Maybe that's why life always throws challenges my way. Let's go to college."At 8:30 am, as he checked his watch, the realization hit him – already late, and he gives him a challenge that if he do not reach the collage by 8.50 his parents will die. With that thought, he sprinted at full speed, eventually slowing to a walk. Arriving at college, he glanced at his watch – 8:53. "Nah, that was just a warm-up; the final act is tomorrow," he reassured himself.

Rushing to class at 8:55, he grappled with the decision to enter alone or wait for a companion, dreading the potential embarrassment. Opting to wait, he occupied the front row for 30 minutes until his best friend, Sukh, strolled in at 9:25.

Sukh greeted, "Hey, Karan, how are you?Not taking the class today, huh?"

Karan explained, "I was late, so I thought I'd wait for someone. Going alone would just embarrass me."

Sukh chuckled, "Even if we go together now, we'll still make fools of ourselves. We're almost an hour late. Let's go."

"Where?" Karan inquired.

"Let's grab something to eat from Butta," Sukh suggested.

"Oh yeah, sure, let's go," agreed Karan.

Encountering Butta, a street food vendor, Sukh placed an order for two kulchas( a famous street food from punjab). Butta asked, "Hey, how are you two?"

"Fine, fine," they replied.

Butta remarked, "No class today?"

Sukh explained, "Yep, we were late, so we decided to skip it."

Butta nodded, "Yeah, that's why I'm here."

Karan asked, puzzled, "Huh?"

Butta shrugged it off, "Nothing."

Sukh then pondered, "So, what do you think? Are we gonna pass the exam?"

Karan quipped, "Who knows? I'll find out after looking at the exam."

Sukh teased, "Yeah, that's for sure. But if we keep skipping classes like this, maybe we won't even have to look at the exam after all."

Karan assured, "We won't do that again."

Sukh agreed, "Yeah, man, that's the last time."

Butta interrupted, "Here are your kulchas."

They savored the kulchas, and as they lingered, Karan contemplated asking for more sauce but decided against it. Sukh, however, requested, "Butta, pass me the sauce."

As Butta handed over the sauce, they indulged in conversation while enjoying their meal, spending an hour together.Sukh: "Let's go; it's time for the second class. We don't wanna miss this one, right?"

Karan was deeply lost in thought.

Sukh: "Hey."

Karan: "Yeah, yeah, what?"

Sukh: "Let's go."

Karan: "Where?"

Sukh: "For class, man. I think you do wanna miss this one too, right?"

Karan: "Nah, man. Let's go."

They both took their leave from Butta and ended up in the class, taking their seats at the back. The lecture began, but Karan had no interest. He was lost in his own world, imagining a second identity as a big drug dealer, with police in the class, pointing at him. In his fantasy, he stood up like a hero, declaring it a mistake to come after him.

Suddenly, the teacher's voice interrupted.

Teacher: "Hey, snap out of it and answer my question. Leave the answer; just tell me what was the question."

Karan sat there like an owl, looking at everyone.

Teacher: "You know what, just get out of my class. I've been watching you for the last 20 minutes, and you are in your own world. If you are here physically, better also be here mentally, but you are not. I guess so, get out."

Karan stood up, picked up his bag, told Sukh he was going home, and then disappeared from the class.

Teacher: "I don't know why he is such a fool. Anyway, let's continue."

Karan was thinking, "Why always me? Now I am a joker in front of everyone. That guy... I wish I could cut his throat. No, no, maybe that's too much. Forgive me, God. I will never think like that again."

At 10:50 AM, he was again at the bus stop, waiting for the bus.

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