Chapter 213: The verdict
"Enough!" Ratan said sternly, standing up abruptly and slamming his palms firmly onto the polished wood of his desk. "Quiet. All of you."
The room plunged into an immediate, suffocating silence. He leveled his sharp, furious gaze at Shweta first.
"Listen to me, girl. I have been running this institution since long before you even learned how to speak. Do not dare lecture me on how to manage my own campus."
Shweta’s jaw tightened, and she tried to press on. "But sir, the evidence—"
"I said quiet," the principal cut her off, his voice dropping into a harsh register that left absolutely no room for negotiation. "If you think I am in the wrong, then don’t stop at the Education Bureau. Go file a complaint with the Prime Minister for all I care. But as long as you are under this roof, this school will run exactly the way I decide. Understood?"
Shweta let out a sharp huff, visibly frustrated as she snapped her head sideways to avoid his glare.
A faint, smug smile began to bloom on Rosalyn’s lips. But before she could utter a single word to celebrate, the principal snapped his attention straight to her.
"And you, Mrs. Briganza, let me make this abundantly clear to you one last time. I am the ultimate authority in this building. Do not cross your boundaries again unless you are fully prepared to face the consequences."
The color drained from Rosalyn’s face. She instantly straightened her posture and lowered her head. "Forgive me, Principal Ganguli. I will keep that in mind."
"Good." Ratan exhaled, looking thoroughly satisfied now that he had successfully broken everyone’s momentum and reestablished his dominance. Finally, he turned his eyes to Rohit.
"And as for you, Rohit Singhania. Guilty or not, you had the audacity to disrupt this academy in broad daylight, right under my nose. For that public spectacle, you are suspended for two days."
He leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. "Be exceptionally glad that I am aware of your current situation and choosing to be merciful regarding your transgressions. Otherwise, forget about passing this year—I wouldn’t even allow you to sit for your final examinations."
Rohit straightened up and said calmly, "Thank you."
In truth, Rohit knew exactly what the principal meant.
His prior attendance record was already dangerously low. If it dipped even a fraction below the mandatory board threshold, he would be legally barred from his exams.
The principal wasn’t being merciful out of the goodness of his heart; he was doing it because of the massive financial donation Ragini had recently funneled into the school’s accounts on Rohit’s behalf.
At least he has the priviledge to take half a day and get it marked as full.
The principal then turned a cold, menacing gaze onto Rocky. "As for you, Rocky... I will deal with you personally. Everyone else, out of my office. Now."
Rosalyn’s face paled completely. "But, Principal Ganguli—"
Ratan shot her a sharp, warning look. "Do you still have something to say, Mrs. Briganza?"
She swallowed hard, dropping her voice to a whisper. "No, sir."
"Excellent. Now move."
Everyone left the chamber one by one, except the principal and trembling Rocky inside.
As soon as they came out, the principal burst on Rocky. His voice was loud and angry.
Rohit chuckled softly as he knew it was all a show for the girls, and it looked quite effective. Both Shweta and Seo-yeon looked quite pleased, while Rocky’s friends looked tense, waiting. Apparently, all were waiting for the verdict.
But for him, waiting there was pointless as classes were still going on, so he moved ahead "I won’t be waiting. I’ll leave first."
The duo girls nodded, and Rohit went alone.
After passing through the empty corridors, an idea struck him and he decided to call. If executed properly, it can sort out both the principal and Seo-yeon problem in one go.
"Hello, Robin. There is a task for you."
***
By the time Rohit finalized his instructions and ended the call with Robin, he had already arrived outside his classroom door.
He slid the door open slightly and paused. Surprisingly, Karishma was the one conducting the lecture. She stood at the front of the room, her back partially turned to the class as her chalk clicked sharply against the blackboard, scrawling complex equations.
Looking at her, Rohit felt a brief, passing pang of pity. The guilt tied a knot in his heart as he remembed his mis-judgement. He had completely misunderstood her motives in the past and treated her brutally. The poor woman had been driven to such a dark, desperate state of despair that she had actually attempted to take her own life.
But his pity was quickly replaced by his usual cold logic. Her past actions were the root cause of his own suffering; she had ultimately reaped exactly what she deserved.
Even though they had formed a temporary alliance, Rohit knew it wasn’t built on genuine forgiveness. It was a transaction, based purely on how useful she could be to his grander plans.
Seeing that several students had already noticed him lingering by the entrance, Rohit cleared his throat and called out, "Ma’am, may I come in?"
Karishma’s chalk froze mid-equation. For a long second, she didn’t turn around. Rohit noticed the tips of her ears flushing a nervous pink.
When she finally spoke, her voice was clipped and brief. "Come in."
Rohit stepped inside and walked down the aisle, sliding into his familiar seat next to Akhil.
Akhil looked visibly awkward, his eyes darting nervously between Rohit and his past lover at the front.
Rohit simply gave his friend a reassuring nod and settled into his desk, quietly observing the room.
A few minutes later, Shweta returned from the principal’s wing. As she walked past Rohit’s row, she caught his eye and offered him a small, supportive smile before taking her own seat.
Throughout the remainder of the lecture, Karishma did everything in her power to actively ignore the existence of both Rohit and Akhil. She kept her eyes glued to the blackboard or her textbook, her voice steady but tightly controlled.
The only time she was forced to look anywhere near their direction was when she interrupted the lesson to introduce a newly arrived student.
Because the classroom was nearly packed to capacity, the only open desk left in the entire room happened to be situated right near Rohit’s row.
The new guy quietly moved down the aisle and took his seat.
Soon the bell rang and the rest of the curriculum continued.
***
The cafeteria buzzed with its usual lunchtime chaos. Students filled every table, laughter blending with the constant clatter of trays and overlapping conversations.
"Man... look at this kick!" Jignesh shouted, replaying the video on his phone for what felt like the hundredth time. "He absolutely folded him!"
Arvind leaned over, adjusting his glasses to peer at the screen. "Is this really from this morning?"
Jignesh nodded vigorously, stealing another handful of fries from Arvind’s tray. "Straight from my group chats. Full HD."
He hit replay, looping the exact second Rohit’s knee smashed brutally into Rocky’s stomach. Arvind winced at the sound. "Damn..."
He glanced across the table at Rohit, who was eating quietly. "You really fought all eight of them by yourself?"
Rohit gave a single nod without looking up from his phone. "Hm."
He continued eating as if the conversation had nothing to do with him.
Honestly, he just wanted to disappear. From the first bell to lunch, he had already answered the same topic at least ten times. This was round eleven.
Beside him, Akhil sighed helplessly. "You know... if you just gave them a proper answer once, they might stop asking."
"They won’t," Rohit replied, taking another spoonful of rice. "They’ll just ask different questions."
"...Fair point," Akhil muttered.
Across the table, Subhojit dipped a piece of Manchurian into sauce and snorted. "I knew that football team was brain-dead. They literally chased him in a straight line like a bunch of NPCs."
Arvind pushed his glasses up. "Easy for you to say."
"I’m serious!" Subhojit pointed his fork at Rohit. "The moment they panicked and started acting like human shields to protect Rocky instead of attacking together, the fight was already over."
Jignesh nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly!" Then he turned to Rohit. "Bro."
Rohit didn’t respond.
"...Bro."
Still nothing.
"...Brother."
"What?"
"Teach me that split kick."
"No."
"Why?"
"I don’t want you killing yourself."
The whole table burst into laughter.
Akhil quickly changed the subject. "So... what happened after the principal called everyone?"
Rohit shrugged. "I got suspended for two days."
"And them?"
"I left early. The girls probably know."
Arvind grinned mischievously. "The girls." He emphasized the word. "Our young master has become quite popular."
Jignesh leaned in. "I get Seo-yeon... but Shweta too? How?"
Rohit sighed. "I don’t know. I’ve only spoken to her like three times."
"That’s even worse," Arvind laughed.
Before Rohit could reply, Subhojit suddenly froze.
"...Guys."
No one reacted.
"...Guys."
Still nothing.
He slowly raised his hand and pointed toward the cafeteria entrance.
"I think... they’re coming here."
Everyone instinctively turned.
Sure enough — Seo-yeon and Shweta had just entered together.
Both carried lunch boxes. Neither was with the rest of their friend circle. Instead, they were walking directly toward their table.
The surrounding conversations noticeably quieted. Heads turned. A few students exchanged knowing looks.
Even Jignesh straightened his posture. "Oh shit."
Arvind fixed his glasses. "They’re actually coming."
Within seconds, the two girls reached their table.
Jignesh was the first to recover. He flashed a bright smile. "Hi!"
Arvind nodded politely. "Hello."
Akhil smiled as well. "Hey."
Seo-yeon smiled back before instinctively stopping beside Rohit.
She waited. He didn’t react.
After an awkward second, she quietly moved around him and sat across from him diagonally, beside Subhojit instead.
Her cheeks carried a faint pink tint as she opened her lunch box. Even then, her eyes drifted toward Rohit every few seconds.
Rohit finally looked up. "...You two?"
Jignesh kicked him hard beneath the table. "Oye!" he hissed under his breath. "Can you sound any more welcoming?" He immediately turned back to the girls, his enthusiasm exaggerated. "Please ignore him. Welcome to our humble headquarters. Seats are always reserved for beautiful guests."
Akhil nodded with an apologetic smile. "Please don’t mind him. He has been in foul mood throughout the day."
Shweta smiled politely. "Don’t worry." She placed her lunch box down. "Actually... every other table was full."
Jignesh looked around. "...Hey. They actually are."
The awkwardness gradually disappeared as Arvind and Jignesh naturally pulled Shweta into conversation. Only Rohit quietly continued eating.
Shweta noticed. Seriously...?
Not even a greeting. Not even a thank you. This morning Seo-yeon had insisted they come thank him over lunch. And this was the reception. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
Meanwhile, Seo-yeon secretly kept glancing past Subhojit toward Rohit. Subhojot completely misunderstood. She’s... looking at me...? His ears slowly turned red.
Akhil noticed everything — Seo-yeon sneaking glances across the table, Subhojit blushing, Shweta repeatedly looking toward Rohit as if checking on something, and Rohit acting as if none of them existed. ’...What in the world is happening at this table?’
Before anyone could speak again, a familiar topic returned.
"So..." Arvind looked toward Shweta. "What exactly happened in the principal’s office?"
Shweta sighed and began explaining everything — the accusations, Rohit’s defense, the witnesses, and the final decision. Jignesh and Arvind listened intently, occasionally interrupting with questions.
By the time she finished, Jignesh blinked in disbelief. "So Rocky got suspended for a week?"
Shweta nodded. "The entire football group. There were additional warnings too."
Akhil let out a low whistle. "...That’s rough."
Rohit finally paused eating. Seven days... Huh. He quietly returned to his meal.
The others continued chatting. No one noticed the figure who had stopped beside their table.
A polite voice interrupted them.
"...Excuse me."
Everyone looked up simultaneously.
A lone boy stood there carrying his lunch tray. He smiled politely.
"Mind if I sit here?"