Kashik jolted awake, the echo of shouting still ringing in his ears. His small room, crammed with textbooks and clothes strewn across every surface, looked nothing like the opulent setting of his dream. He groaned, silencing the insistent 5:30 AM alarm. Staring at the peeling paint on his wall, he muttered, "What a ridiculous dream. Gangsters? Me?"

In his dream, he, the rotund, spectacled Gangster , was a fearsome Don. He'd faced off against a menacing figure named Rider Kannan, their tense standoff interrupted by a girl named Sivya, who’d dismissed him as a "fat piece of shit." The dream climaxed with Kashik and Kannan drawing handguns, a scene that now seemed absurdly out of place in his reality.

"Gotta get ready for that damn school," he sighed, pushing himself out of bed. Paraopet was a normal South Indian town. Kashik wasn't a gangster. He was just a regular kid who rode his cycle to school every day.

Downstairs, his tall, brown-skinned father offered him a ride in the car. "No, Appa," Kashik declined, grabbing his backpack. "I'll cycle."

At school, his three friends were waiting. Razo, the similarly rotund and bespectacled one, was the first to greet him.

"Yo, Don! The legendary Don!" Razo grinned.

Next to him villai, the tall, studious one, quipped, "Don, where's your helicopter and Rolls Royce?"

Lahit, the quiet, introverted one, simply nodded. "Don is the legend!" He harbored a secret crush on a girl named Sivya, a fact known to everyone but Sivya herself.

Just then, a girl walked by, sneering. "Look at that clown, the fat guy. He simps for me. What can he do? What. Can. He. Do? Loser!"

Razo's smile faltered. He looked dejected.

Kashik clapped him on the shoulder. "Dai, why the long face? I think I should show you what it means to be a Don, Razo!"

Razo's face brightened. "Yeah, Don!"

I wish I wasn't fat, Razo thought to himself.

"Yoo, is it our Don, the legendary one?" a voice boomed.

Kashik glared at Yaser. Yaser was Razo's friend who was as rotund as Razo, except for his penchant for loud, obnoxious pronouncements.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

"Yoo, legend!" Yaser repeated.

Kashik and Yaser locked eyes. Before things could escalate, Yaser launched into a series of ridiculous, self-proclaimed "Chinese John Cena" chops and kicks. Kashik, despite himself, found the display amusing. Their mock fight was interrupted by the sight of a student running from a group of others.

"I think it's BD," Yaser said. "He proposed to the chemistry teacher's daughter while sending the message to the chemistry teacher herself!"

"Yeah, yeah," Kashik chuckled.

Yaser went to Razo and put an arm around him. "Bro, I know it's tough," he said. "You're practically me, Razo."

A few months later, the bell rang on their tenth-grade year. As was common in India, the friends parted ways, each heading to different schools for their higher secondary education. Their paths diverged, each embarking on their own unique journey.

"I wish I could see you guys," Yaser lamented, a rare moment of seriousness crossing his face. "I've decided to stay in this school."

The others exchanged glances.

"Bye, bro," Kashik said, a tinge of melancholy in his voice. "Everyone's going their own way now."

"Bye, bro," Razo echoed, his voice a little shaky.

"Bye, Babu," Yaser replied, using his nickname( Babu bhaiya) for Razo.

And so, the group dispersed. Razo, with a mix of excitement and trepidation, headed north, to a school in a completely different part of India. He had no idea what awaited him there, in this unfamiliar territory.

Raj, the studious one, secured a spot at the top branch of the prestigious "lundammal" school brand known for its studies ( Actually classes are till 8:00 pm ) . These corporate-run schools were common in India, often bearing names that sounded more like companies than educational institutions.

Kashik and Lahit, meanwhile, landed in a well-regarded branch of the same "lundammal" brand, though not the top-tier one that Raj had gotten into. It was a good school for Trauma, nonetheless, and they were relieved to be going together. The future, though uncertain, stretched before them, a vast and unknown landscape.