Someone Else
The morning light didn't pull Ritesh from sleep.
His body did.
He lay there, sort of tilted - like his own bed but off somehow.
He blinked awake.
The roof stayed just like before.
The walls looked just like before.
The space looked just like before.
Yet as he shifted his hand, the movement made him freeze.
That hand felt heavy.
It didn't shake at all.
Ritesh raised it up near his face, bit by bit.
The fingers looked chunkier. Skin seemed stretched out. As he closed his hand, muscles jumped into action.
He shot upright right away.
Most times, his mind would whirl when things got tense.
Today, it didn't.
He moved his legs from the bed. On the ground, he balanced himself - like his frame remembered standing right away.
Ritesh glanced at the reflection.
The mirror looked strange somehow.
His face looked longer now. Yet his jaw stood out, more defined than before. From neck to shoulders, the curve felt solid, without a break. Although his eyes hadn't changed, that gentle look - the one others used against him - had faded away.
His throat felt parched.
"Is this… a joke?"
He took hold of his wrist - his heartbeat calm, yet slow.
Real.
Last night, he cried himself to sleep right here in this room.
Last night, his shoulders curved forward, while his stance slumped slightly.
He wasn't built the same anymore.
He couldn't move past that point.
The hallway at school popped into his mind.
Back bench.
Eyes lowered.
Yet every time just a single face -
Sanjay.
The familiar heaviness pressed into his gut.
Instinctively, his back curled up tight.
Then he realized it.
No matter the changes in his body… yet he stayed unchanged inside.
Putting on clothes felt tricky. The top didn't fit right - once roomy, now snug. As he grabbed his pack, his grip shifted without thinking. Easy motion. No effort needed.
All this left him feeling even more on edge.
Heading to school, he kept pretending everything was fine.
Look away instead.
Keep quiet.
Don't get noticed.
While he went up the school steps, his breath came faster.
Once he got upstairs, his pace dropped.
Outside the classroom -
Sanjay stood right there.
Ritesh stopped instantly.
He couldn't make himself go any further.
His feet locked.
He looked down without thinking.
He just missed it.
Sanjay did.
Sanjay glanced beyond his own reflection.
He saw how they were standing.
He saw the pause.
"Who are you?" Sanjay asked.
Ritesh paused just a beat past normal before replying.
"New," he said.
He spoke unevenly.
Sanjay moved back, almost like he was making room.
Yet his gaze didn't leave Ritesh.
"Go."
Ritesh stepped into the room where class was held.
Back bench.
Without thinking.
Without looking.
The manner he usually followed.
Voices began murmuring inside, yet Sanjay stayed put by the entrance.
Watching Ritesh's back.
That posture.
That habit.
Sanjay walked in.
Ritesh knew that step right away.
His heart started racing.
"How long have you been here?" Sanjay asked.
"Starting now," Ritesh mentioned.
That exact moment of wait once more.
Sanjay yanked at his collar.
"You're lying," he said quietly. "And you always sit at the back."
The room just got quiet. Everyone stopped talking at once.
The punch came.
This time around, Ritesh was slow to respond.
The punch barely hit his shoulder, then moved on. It hurt - sudden, clear. True.
He jerked backward -
yet he stayed up.
The following second got chaotic.
Ritesh grabbed Sanjay's wrist - his hold wobbled at first. The thumb slid off track. Yet tension snapped tight right after.
Ritesh stood there stunned.
He turned his wrist - just a bit off.
Sanjay lost his balance.
It's not about practice.
Just raw force.
Ritesh swung again - this time his elbow landed close to the chest, just off target. Still, the blow pushed Sanjay backward. Though messy, the move had force behind it.
Sanjay stumbled.
A hush swept through the space.
Ritesh's hands trembled. While his shoulder stung from the hit.
"Don't…"
he said,
"…touch me again."
The tone didn't sound commanding.
Just final.
Footsteps bounced off the hallway walls.
Sanjay turned his gaze toward Ritesh.
Not out of rage this round.
With confusion.
Once the teacher came in, Ritesh finally got it.
This body didn't just show up outta nowhere.
That caused trouble.
And school -
It just wouldn't feel like before from that point on.