CHAPTER 18 – “The Name Behind S.M.”
Rusty key Dipti ke haath me chamak rahi thi—jaise uski khamoshi me bhi koi secret chilla raha ho.
Ishu ek dum blank ho gayi.
Sohail ne key lete hue deep breath li,
“This… this is not random.”
Alina glare:
“Excuse me, yeh sab kya ho raha hai? Kaun S.M.? Kyun mujhe messages mil rahe?!”
Dipti:
“Hold up, Miss Drama Queen, pehle Ishu ko saans lene do.”
Ishu ne finally poocha—
“Sohail… tumhe kis par doubt hai?”
Sohail ne Ishu ki aankhon me seedha dekha,
aur sab ek second ke liye silent ho gaye.
“Mujhe lagta hai… S.M. koi teacher ho sakta hai.”
😳 Shock Round 1
Dipti chilla gayi,
“TEACHER?! Kaun sa teacher S.M. banega?!”
Alina confused,
“Kya tum pagal ho? Teacher kyun hume follow karega?”
Ishu: “Which teacher…?”
Sohail ne jawab diya,
“Shaurya Ma’am.”
Sab freeze.
Alina ne disbelief me bola,
“She’s our English teacher… why would she—??”
Sohail ne explanation diya:
“Uske naam ke initials match hote hain… S.M.”
“Usne recently staff room ka extra cupboard shift kiya. Waha diary ka extra duplicate ho sakta hai.”
“Aur usko back building ki keys bhi milti hain.”
Ishu ne doubtfully poocha,
“But… she’s always sweet. Usme creepy vibe nahi aati.”
Dipti sarcastic:
“Sweet log sabse badi mystery hote hain.”
Sohail ne key ko light me check kiya.
“Ye key old staff storage room ki lagti hai… jise sirf Shaurya Ma’am use karti hain.”
Ishu ka heart uneasy ho gaya.
❤️ Love + Jealousy Vibes Upar
Jab sab staff building ki taraf ja rahe the,
Alina intentionally Sohail ke paas chalne lagi.
“Tum hume warn kyun nahi karte, Sohail?
Tumhara involvement suspicious lag raha hai…”
Sohail irritate ho gaya,
“Alina, bas. Tum bina baat ke drama mat karo.”
Ishu ne side eye diya—
Par uske andar thodi jealousy ignite ho gayi.
Dipti ne elbow mara,
“Jealous ho rahi hai kya?”
Ishu:
“NO! Tum hamesha bekaar bolti ho!”
Dipti:
“Haan haan, but face pe likha hua hai.”
Ishu ne lips tight kar liye.
Sohail unhe dekh kar thoda smile kar gaya—
wo smile jo sirf Ishu ke liye hota hai.
Ishu ka heart thoda melt hua.
🏫 Dark Storage Room Ka Darwaza
Back building ka old storage room ka darwaza locked tha.
Rusty, silent, creepy.
Key bilkul perfect fit hui.
Click.
Darwaza dheere se khula—
andar darkness, dust, aur purane wooden shelves ki smell.
Dipti ne torch phone me on ki.
“OMG… is jagah me murder bhi ho sakta hai.”
Alina:
“Shut up Dipti!”
Sab andar gaye.
Room chhota tha,
par ek shelf par kuch neatly arranged books aur notebooks rakhi hui thi.
Ek stack par label tha:
“Archived Confiscated Items – S”
Ishu ka heart jump hua.
“S? Means kya?”
Sohail whisper:
“Maybe Shaurya Ma’am…”
Dipti ne ek old register uthaya.
“Guys… iska date 2017 ka hai.”
Alina:
“School ne kabhi bola hi nahi ki woh students ke confiscated items store karte hain.”
Ishu ne ek notebook uthai—
jo bilkul diary jaisi thi.
Uske cover pe same triangle-circle symbol.
Ishu:
“Guys… I think we found something…”
💥 Major Reveal Clue
Notebook kholte hi first page par likha tha:
“School Monitoring Protocol – S.M.”
Ishu: “Monitoring???”
Sohail: “S.M. matlab Shaurya Ma’am ka naam? Ya koi school system?”
Dipti pages palat rahi thi.
Ek page par line thi:
“Student movement tracking is mandatory.
Keep the cross-marked ones under watch.”
Alina: “Cross-marked… matlab kaun?”
Dipti ne ek aur page nikala.
Us par teen names:
Ishu Sharma
Dipti Singh
Sohail Malhotra
Aur teeno ke names ke saamne red cross mark.
Ishu ke haath se notebook gir gayi.
“Kya…? Hum teeno? Kyun?!”
Sohail ka face freeze.
Dipti panic:
“Mujhe koi follow karta hai kya?! Main kya crime kiya?!”
Alina confused:
“But mera naam nahi hai? Kyun??”
Ishu deep breath:
“Shayad… humare group ko hi target kiya ja raha hai.”
Sohail ne notebook ka last page dekha.
Ek incomplete sentence likha tha:
“One of them has the key to the past.
And the one closest to her is the real danger.”
Ishu ka throat dry ho gaya.
“The one closest to her”
means… closest to Ishu.
Dipti immediately:
“That’s Sohail!”
Sohail:
“WHAT?! Are you serious???”
Alina smirk:
“Makes sense… he always knows everything before us.”
Ishu ne loudly bola,
“STOP! Nobody talks until we know the full truth.”
Sohail ne Ishu ke saamne aakar bohot calmly bola:
“Do you… think I’m dangerous?”
His eyes were soft, scared, vulnerable.
Ishu ka heart sank.
Before she could answer…
🔥 The Real Threat Arrives
Storage room ke bahar footsteps.
THUD
THUD
Dipti:
“Omg omg someone aa raha hai!”
Light off.
Sab silent.
Door handle move hua—
Click—clack—clack.
Sabka heart almost stop.
Darwaza khula.
Torchlight jaisa bright beam andar gaya.
Aur bahar se ek voice aayi:
“What are you all doing here?”
Sab freeze.
Pal bhar me Dipti scream karne hi wali thi—
Voice ne phir kaha:
“Turn around.”
Sab slowly turn hue…
Aur waha khadi thi—
Shaurya Ma’am.
Uske haath me wo same symbol carved iron ruler tha.
Aur uske chehre par koi smile nahi—
sirf ek cold, emotionless stare.
⭐ END HOOK (Chapter 19 setup)
Sohail, Ishu, Dipti, Alina ek dusre ki taraf shock me dekh rahe the.
Shaurya Ma’am:
“Aap logon ne storage room kaise open kiya?”
Ishu whisper:
“Sohail… you said she wasn’t dangerous…”
Shaurya Ma’am khud hi aage boli:
“You shouldn’t have come here.
Specially you, Ishu.”
Lights flickered.
Room ka darwaza automatically lock ho gaya.
And then she said—
“It’s time you know the truth.”
Chapter end....!!