Suddenly, a silhouette emerged from the shadows and said, "What! The! Hell! Are you doing?"

As the trio stared intently at the figure before them, the silhouette stepped into the light from a half-open window, illuminating the face of none other than Abhi himself. Standing in a 'combat position', the Agents of Hypotenuse felt their expressions shift from intense focus to stunned amazement as they realized Abhi had witnessed their entire ‘act’.

Tring! Tring! Tring! Before anyone could say another word, the school bell rang, and students began gathering inside the classroom. The trio seized the moment to blend in with the crowd, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Abhi as they sat as far away from him as possible.

‘I can't believe I just did that. No way was I rhyming about exposing Abhi… in front of him!’ Kevin thought to himself, curling up into a ball in the corner of the classroom.

‘No! No! This did not just happen. I was literally screaming, "We can finally see what is the mystery of Abhi's last name." in front of Abhi himself,’ Dep thought, lightly banging her bench in frustration.

‘I will forever cherish the days that are not today, for the embarrassment I faced was unfathomable,’ Veer reflected, still in the throes of his poetic mindset.

As everyone settled in their places, other students also formed groups and switched seats from their morning arrangements, fostering the early seeds of friendship. Amidst this, Abhi sat alone on a bench large enough for four people, isolated and without company.

The next period's teacher barged in, signalling the end of students' gossip and chatter as the lectures resumed.

The hours passed with nothing notable happening, but as soon as the last school bell rang and classes were dismissed, the trio quickly exited the school premises and entered the street outside the gate.

"God, I wish I could turn back time. Or at least erase memories," Dep lamented.

"Well, I'm just never returning to this school again," Veer declared.

"Yup, I'm outta here for good," Kevin added.

"Wait! Hold up!" a voice called from behind.

"Is someone calling us?" Dep asked. The three turned back in shock to see Abhi standing behind them, gasping for air.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Come on, guys! I've been shouting at you for so long that I had to run to catch up," Abhi panted.

The three exchanged silly, tense glances before replying in unison with a robotic monotone voice, "Oh hi, Abhi. Nice to see you again."

"Hey, huff! So… what's up? Are you guys waiting for your bus, or are some of your homes nearby?" Abhi asked, still catching his breath.

"Um… Not really. We can just walk home; it's not that far, but we have a car coming to pick us up," Dep replied anxiously.

"Damn, that's great," Abhi said.

"....."

"....."

"....." Half a minute passed and no one said a word.

Abhi decided to bite the bullet and address the tension in the room. Breaking the awkward silence, he said, “So… I’m not exactly sure what happened in the classroom just before the break ended, but I’m sorry if I somehow offended you guys.”

The trio exchanged confused glances, but then Veer whispered something to Dep.

“This seems like a perfect opportunity for a game: 3Gs—Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss.”

“Noted,” Dep replied in a low, soft voice.

“Oh, it’s alright, Abhi. No big deal, my man; we were just startled when you suddenly appeared out of the darkness, ha ha!” Veer exclaimed in an exaggerated tone, using excessive hand movements—perhaps he has Italian origins.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s not a biggie,” Kevin chimed in, mimicking the dramatic gestures to emphasize his words.

“Ah, great! Thanks, guys; you’re too kind,” Abhi responded.

“Don’t worry about it, cuh; we’re chill like that,” Dep added, also adopting the over-the-top tone and absurdly excessive hand movements.

“Though I do have a question: What did you mean by ‘We can finally see what the mystery of Abhi’s last name is’—and some other things about last names as well?”

The awkward silence returned for round two.

“Okay, we should just make our confessions; there’s no point in hiding it anymore,” Dep suggested, looking at Kevin and Veer.

“Alright, I guess there’s no other choice,” Veer agreed.

“Yeah, you know what to say, right, Dep?” Kevin asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

Dep subtly nodded. She then turned her focus to Abhi and said, “See, we were just really curious about why you were hiding your last name. You didn’t just conceal it in your introduction; you also avoided discussing it with us at lunch.”

“Also, after you revealed you’re from Rakvill, the mysterious aura around you captivated us even more,” Kevin added.

“We apologise for intruding on your privacy, but when you suddenly ran away after we asked about your last name, it only fueled our curiosity,” Veer explained.

“Oh, so did you guys secretly look into the teacher’s register to find my name?” Abhi asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“Perhaps…” Kevin admitted.

“And was that spy part of the act or something, ha ha?” Abhi replied.

“…”

“Come on, that was pretty funny, haha,” Abhi chuckled at his own comment.

“Yeah… ha ha…” the trio echoed awkwardly.

“So, did any of you check the register and find out my last name?” Abhi asked.

……….