Power isn't hard to get.
Power getting noticed is.
Ritesh understood that the moment he reached the school gate.
People were not looking at him directly.
But their eyes kept returning to him.
Some moved aside on purpose.
Some acted fake-normal.
Yesterday's incident wasn't over.
It had just changed shape.
As soon as he entered the classroom, Sanjay clapped.
Slow. Mocking.
"The hero is here," he said.
"No bench-breaking scheduled today?"
Two people laughed.
The rest stayed silent.
Ritesh grabbed his seat and sat down.
Replying was easy.
After yesterday, replying had become dangerous.
The teacher started the class.
The board was filling up.
But Ritesh's focus was on his hand.
The moment he gripped the pen, a faint crack appeared.
A hairline fracture in the plastic.
He dropped the pen immediately.
He still didn't have control.
The real hit came during lunch break.
His bag was lying on the floor outside the washroom.
The zipper was open.
Books soaked in water and ink.
For one second, his mind went blank.
No one was around.
Or maybe everyone was, but no one said anything.
Ritesh picked up the bag.
His hand was shaking.
This time, not from fear. From anger.
"Hey," a voice came from behind,
"Looks like it fell."
Sanjay.
Two other boys were with him.
Keeping distance.
Words were free.
Ritesh said quietly,
"You did this."
Sanjay didn't reply immediately.
He just laughed.
"Proof?"
One simple word.
But it shut everything down.
Ritesh couldn't say anything.
And in that moment, he understood.
This wasn't a test of power.
It was a test of the system.
At home, he left the bag in the sun.
The books dried.
But stains remained.
On the pages.
On the uniform too.
Standing in front of the mirror, he looked at himself.
Same face.
Same body.
But there was no confusion in his eyes now.
There was calculation.
Power was not a solution yet.
Power was a risk.
That night, Ritesh made a decision.
Simple. Cold.
He would be neither a hero
nor a victim.
First, he would learn
who crosses the line
and who stays silent and watches.
And once he understood that,
there would be no warnings.
Only results.