Swetha's POV
The group chat was quiet.
Too quiet.
After the strange message Indhu deleted the previous night, no one pushed her. We all probably thought she'd explain it the next day. Indhu always did. She never left things hanging.
But the next day came.
And she didn't.
I sat at my desk, eyes fixed on the classroom door. Every time footsteps echoed in the corridor, my heart jumped.
Maybe now… maybe she's late…
But every time, it was someone else.
The bell rang. The classroom filled with noise, chairs scraping, voices overlapping—but our corner stayed silent.
Indhu's seat was empty.
Aditya leaned forward from his bench.
"Swetha… she didn't message you?"
I shook my head slowly.
"Nothing after last night. She didn't even read my goodnight message."
Charlotte, doodling absent-mindedly in her notebook, muttered,
"She always comes early. Always. Even when she's sick."
That did it.
Something cold slid into my stomach.
Rohan tried to laugh it off.
"Wow. Okay. Now this is scary. Something's wrong with the universe."
Attendance started.
When the teacher reached Indhu's name, she paused.
"Swetha, any idea why your friend's absent today?"
I stood up, my voice barely steady.
"Ma'am… I really don't know."
She marked an 'A' and moved on.
But Indhu's absence was louder than anything else in the room.
The day dragged. None of us could focus. When the final bell rang, no one rushed out. We walked home slowly, like we were waiting for something to happen.
That evening, I opened my phone, ready to text her again.
Before I could type—
A message popped up.
From Indhu's number.
Hey… I'm really sorry I didn't say anything. I've left the country.
My fingers froze.
My heart slammed against my chest.
Charlotte typed immediately.
WHAT?! What do you mean?! Where are you?!
Aditya followed.
This is a joke, right?
Rohan:
No way. Indhu? You left the country and didn't TELL US?
I stared at the screen, my throat dry, hands shaking.
I typed slowly.
Why didn't you say anything? Not even to me?
Three dots appeared.
She was typing.
I held my breath.
Then—
They disappeared.
She went offline.
Just like that.
We all stared at our phones, stunned.
Her name was still there. Her profile picture. But it felt… empty. Like a piece of us had been cut out.
I didn't sleep that night.
Two days passed. Saturday. Sunday.
Nothing.
Our group chat flooded with messages.
Indhu, please say something…
Are you okay?
At least tell us where you are.
Why would you leave without telling us?
No reply.
Just that one message echoing in my head:
I've left the country.
By Monday, fear turned into frustration.
By Tuesday morning… I didn't know what to expect anymore.
Then—
She walked into class.
Same bag. Same walk. Same Indhu.
For a second, my brain refused to process it.
"INDHU?!" I shouted.
Charlotte jumped up.
"You—you said you went to another country!"
Indhu blinked at us and sighed.
"You didn't even let me talk."
She sat down like nothing had happened.
"Guys, listen. I was kidding. I said another country as a prank. I actually went to my native place for an emergency. And when I wanted to tell you the truth, my phone accidentally dropped while we were travelling."
She paused, then added with a grin,
"Wait… don't tell me you missed me?"
I didn't think.
Charlotte and I hugged her instantly.
The boys stepped forward too—then awkwardly stopped, pretending they weren't about to hug her.
When we pulled back, Aditya stared at her.
"You're serious? Of course we missed you! Do you know what we thought?"
She nodded.
"I couldn't message anyone. You all started assuming everything."
Rohan ran a hand through his hair.
"Oh god… we thought you were gone forever."
Charlotte let out a shaky laugh.
"I was almost crying."
I smiled, relief washing over me.
"Next time… we'll wait before overreacting."
Indhu grinned.
"You better."
We stood there for a moment—embarrassed, emotional, relieved.
And in that moment, I realised something very clearly.
She mattered.
To all of us.
And no prank, no silence, no distance could change that.
V5 was back.