My little brother was watching cartoons on my phone while I studied. He was stuck with me because my parents went to a relative's funeral. I didn't have class for the last year of high school thanks to covid. My exams were also canceled. I still had to study for college entrance exams though.

When I heard the rain pattering, I went ahead and closed the only window that was opened. When I was done I noticed my palms were wet as the petrichor smell permeated within my room. I didn't feel like studying at the time so I sat near my brother on the sofa to take a peek at whatever he was watching. I lost interest after a while so I switched on my laptop to watch an anime. When I was about to press the play button I felt a tug on my shirt.

"Thaagi, Someone's calling."

When I took my phone, I almost didn't want to pick it up when I noticed it was from an unknown number. The only people who called me were my parents and my best friend. 99% of the time unknown numbers were either from sim companies or wrong numbers.

Maybe they're calling from a friend's phone. Let's take it just in case.

"Yo, Thaagi bro."

the last time I heard his voice was before the quarantine. He was one of my roommates when I had to stay in a hostel. Back then whenever someone reminded me of the days I spent there would make my heart would skip a beat. It was an uncomfortable feeling.

I sighed and then replied.

"It's been a while, Suhail."

"yep."

"SO, uh, What's up?"

"Did you see the results?"

"Is it released?"

"Yah."

"Hmm."

"Hmm."

"Uh, How much did you get?"

"95%"

"whoa."

"Well.... it's only because they canceled the exam."

"Mmm."

"Uh."

"I'll call after checking my result."

"Mmm, fine."

I cut the call and caught my brother staring at me.

"Gimme your phone." he said

"wait for a bit. Your brother have something important to do."

"then turn on the TV on."

"Its raining. we'd be fucked if a lightning hits while the TV is on....AAAHH." he bit me.

If I hadn't restrained him he would have bit a chunk off my hand.

"Get off you little.... hrrrrmm." I groaned.

"turn the TV on."

"DO IT YOURSELF." I yelled.

"Hmmp."

If only he was born 5 years earlier I could have at least slapped him.

I sighed as I looked at the red bite mark on my brown skin. He was at the age he started losing teeth so there were gaps in the markings.

I didn't pay my brother much attention while he turned on the TV.

My heart beat aberrantly when I turned to my laptop. Since the exams were canceled. marks were based on what I got in class 10, 11 and the model exams of class 12. I got Full A+ in all of them so I expected my marks to be above 90% but now that the result is difficult to not be nervous. I went to the website and typed in my credentials though it only asked for my registration number birthday. I took a deep breath and clicked on the submit button.

That can't be.

I refreshed the page.

I couldn't take my eyes off the top right part of my result. It stated only one thing.

[FAIL.]

This has to be a mistake. I told myself

Ever since I noticed my results I have been breathing heavily. When I noticed it, I tried to keep myself calm by controlling my breath. I concluded something may be wrong with the servers. though, something felt off. I could only think of one thing to do.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I scrolled through my contacts to find my home teacher's number. When I saw her number I felt my body turn light and cold. It was like getting a brain freeze throughout my body. I blankly stared at my phone for a few minutes and hesitantly touched the call icon.

As the phone rang, I walked out of my room. When I reached the stairs my brother climbed out of the sofa and hugged my leg.

“I'm scared. Don’t go outside.” he looked so cute.

“Sure” I patted him in the head and sat on the sofa with my legs crossed.

She didn't take my call.

I regained a bit of my strength and proceeded to call her again.

“Hello.”

“Uh, hello.”

“Who is this.”

“Well um, uh…. Good evening mam. I'm Thaagi Murali from 12-D”

“You dare call me at this time of the day, boy”

“I’m really sorry mam but there seems to be something wrong with my res….”

“You failed and that's it” she said impassively hiding her disgust.

“What, how di….

“I was the one who failed you”

“B-but i uh, had a full A+ in class 10th and uh…. Yeah, um…. In class 11 als….”

“So what”

“Excuse me”

“Everyone attending our prestigious school had similar results in their previous classes. They wouldn't be fit to be here any other way. won't you agree?”

“What does that have to do with any….”

“You failed because you didn’t deserve to pass”

“What”

“If you have any issues with our judgment then take it to court”

“Wha….”

She cut the call.

What the fuck did just happened. I asked to myself

My mind began pulsating with throbbing anger and uneasiness. I clenched my teeth and my grip on my phone strengthened enough to break its protection glass. I was angry enough to kill a child.

I knew she hated me, but why would she fail me? I never did anything to deserve this. It was the central government who decided to give marks on the basis of previous results. What right do they have to override that? Just …. FUUUCK. FUCK.

I put my right hand on my forehead and clasped it.

I always had excellent scores so I've never known what it's like to fail. More importantly, what to expect afterwards. It was frightening. The thought of what my parents would think about me was painful. Before I knew it, I was hyperventilating.

“Gimme your phone” my brother asked me.

I punched him in the face.

It took me a few seconds to get back to my senses. I was too late before I saw my little brother lying there unanimated.

My throat felt dry and wet at the same time.

I quickly went by his side and leaned closer to him. It was a horrible site. His jaw was broken in half and deformed. He might have hit head while falling because he was bleeding from it and his tongue.

no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no…. What did I just do? Okay….breathe. SHIT….SHIT…. I need to check his pulse.

His veins were pulsing but it wasn’t strong.

I need to get him to a hospital.

There was only one thing in my mind. An instinct to save my brother, my blood. It was like I forgot about my results, my parents and everything else that mattered to me. My breathing turned back to normal. Adrenaline moved both my body and mind.

I picked him up in both arms. Both of us got drenched immediately when I opened the front door. My parents took the bike so our car was parked right outside.

I tried to open its door.

“It's locked. Shit”

I ran back into the house. I laid my brother on the floor. He was unconscious and drenched in blood, mucus and blood. I couldn't bear to see his distorted face. I rushed to my parents room and took the spare key my father keeps near their bed.

I put my brother in the car and opened the gates as quickly as I could. It had only been around 2 months since I received my learners permit. My driving skills were lacking in every aspect. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and looked straight ahead. Then I exhaled while recalling my driving lessons.

Put it on neutral before starting the engine. Push the clutch and move to first gear. Then slowly release the leg from the clutch.

Thankfully the engine didn't turn off while I slowly released the clutch. The car started moving forward but it wasn’t fast enough. So I accelerated but it was a bit too much causing me to rub against my neighbors wall and lose my right headlight. I wanted to stop and check on my brother but I didn't, realizing it would be a waste of precious time.

It was difficult to drive when it rained causing my detest towards it to multiply. I drove like a maniac through the highway till I saw a stop sign. My instincts cried that it would be too late if I stopped there. But to my regret it was wrong. I crashed into a tanker truck. I could have avoided it if I heard its noise but the rain and its best friend thunder made it impossible. The rain truly was nature's ugliest joke.

If i hadn't worn my seatbelt I might have been thrown out of the car and the airbags prevented me from losing consciousness. When I got outside the car my surroundings were filled with dense black fumes and fire from the tanker truck. I could faintly smell burning flesh coming through the truck. Its driver must have been caught in the fire. I could also make out some pedestrians who were caught up in the accident. It was too difficult to count but there were at least 6 of them burning to their death and a few of them trying to crawl and limp away from the site.

I didn’t care about any of them or their screams. The only important thing there was my brother. The black fumes were getting thicker and the flames were spreading. I needed to get my brother out of there before I ran out of breath or burned to my death.

I pulled him out of the car and held him in my hands as close to my chest as I could. I coughed vigorously but I couldn't afford to go unconscious. The fumes took away my sense of direction and the sound of the rain vaporizing against the fire took my sense of noise. I put one of my palms on his face to cover his face and mouth from the fumes. I relaxed a bit when I felt his breath. I walked hopefully to the direction emanating the least heat.

“I promise to get you to a hospital, my broth….”

Before I finished my promise the truck exploded. Both of us were sent flying and were set on fire. I dropped my brother because of the pain. I couldn't feel my legs after the fall and my hands felt distorted. Staying still resulted in excruciating suffering, trying to move caused much more suffering. I wanted to scream but I was struggling to breathe through the flames. I could feel the fire vaporizing my bodily fluids. I crawled towards my brother's burning body but before I reached him, I died from shock.