It was a cloudy Monday morning as Veer Sharma walked toward BSS School, dragging his feet as usual. His shirt was already untucked, bag bouncing against his back, and sweat collecting on his forehead—not from rushing, but from just existing in the bhopal heat.
Beside him walked Aaradhya Mehta, his childhood friend. Slim, sharp-eyed, and always ready for a fight, she walked like she owned the road. Though they were in different classes now, they always met at the school gate.
"Don't skip gym again today," she warned, nudging his arm.
"Gym's not my thing," Veer muttered, looking away.
"Yeah, yeah. It never is." She rolled her eyes.
They entered through separate doors, each headed to their own class. But fate had other plans for the day.
It was lunch break when Veer heard the shouting.
He was sitting alone near the water cooler, chewing on a paneer sandwich, when he noticed a crowd forming near the back of the school building. Curiosity turned into alarm when he heard Aaradhya's voice—angry, sharp, and… afraid?
He dropped his sandwich and ran.
Pushing through the students, he saw two senior boys cornering Aaradhya, demanding money. One of them had grabbed her bag. She was struggling, trying to push them off.
Without thinking, Veer jumped in. "Leave her alone!" he yelled, shoving one of them.
The taller boy turned and punched Veer straight in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. Before he could react, an arm wrapped around his neck from behind—tight, choking. Veer gasped, kicking and flailing, the world going blurry around the edges.
And then—a sharp scream. A flying kick.
The boy holding Veer was knocked flat by Aaradhya, who had broken free and struck him in the face with her full force. Blood burst from his nose.
The crowd gasped.
The other bully looked up, stunned. "Whoa," he muttered. "Are you even a girl?!"
Before anyone could react, a teacher's voice thundered from the corridor.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!"
The crowd scattered instantly. The boys backed off, clutching their faces. Aaradhya helped Veer to his feet.
"You okay?" she asked, brushing dust off his shoulder.
Veer nodded weakly, still coughing.
After school, they walked out together, both silent.
"You sure you don't want to come to the gym this time?" Aaradhya asked again, her tone gentler now. "You fought today. That means something."
Veer hesitated. "I just got lucky. That's not really me."
She looked disappointed, but didn't push. "Someday you'll stop running."
He gave her a small wave and walked home alone.
That night, Veer lay on his bed scrolling through memes, and. The fan spun above him lazily, lulling him to sleep.
Suddenly—BANG! BANG!
"VEER!" his father shouted. "Where are you?!"
His bedroom door burst open.
Veer sat up, dazed. he sees that his phone was on dnd and 6 miscall from dad
"What happened?"
His father's face was pale, panicked. "It's Aaradhya. She's in the hospital—emergency surgery!"
The phone slipped from Veer's hand.
"What…? How?!"
"She was attacked after school. On her way home. They... they did something to her leg. It's bad."
Veer didn't stop to wear shoes. He ran barefoot into the night, across alleys and streets, straight to City Hospital.
He reached just in time to see Aaradhya's parents outside the operation theater, crying.
Her mother sobbed into her dupatta. Her father sat on the bench, frozen.
Veer stood there, speechless. His heart pounded, his chest ached—not from the run, but from the weight of guilt.
"It's my fault," he whispered to himself."Because of me... this happened."
He stared at the red light above the operation room door, fists clenched.
And that's when the fire began to rise.
End of Chapter 1