[Arc 1] Sandket

Evening, 15th Bloomcrest, 327

Siddharth stepped into the empty classroom, expecting to find Miss Dhwani already there.
Instead—

“Hey! Siddharth!”

A cheerful voice rang out—not from Miss Dhwani, but from behind one of the desks.

He blinked.
“What the...” Her?
“Why are you here?” he asked, eyes wide, face twisted in total disbelief.

Aradhya grinned, practically bouncing up from her seat.
“Why? To take the test, obviously! Miss Dhwani told me to wait here until you came!”

“You? The test?” he stared at her. “Isn’t it, like… dangerous?”

Her face lit up even more—. Now she was glowing like she just won a festival game.

“Aww! Thanks for worrying about me!” she beamed. “But I was worried about you! I couldn’t just let you go alone! So, I signed up too!”

He blinked again.

What? Worrying about HER? Not a chance!
She didn’t come for me. She came to ruin my day. AGAIN.

He sighed, dragging a hand down his face.
“Great. This just got worse.”

Aradhya tilted her head, confused.
“Huh? Worse? Why? Did I… make you feel bad? Did I do something wrong?”

Everything.
He didn’t say it out loud, but it echoed in his skull. Instead, he narrowed his eyes at her.
“Wait… did your parents actually give you permission to take the test?”

She nodded eagerly.
“Yep! I told them about you, so they agreed.”

His brows shot up.
“Just like that? No resistance?”

She blinked innocently.
“Why not? Didn’t yours agree too? I thought your parents were, like, way stricter than anyone else’s.”

Oh.
“Y-Yeah, right,” he muttered, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
She doesn’t know I lied to them. And I’m not about to tell her—she’d probably side with them.

Then something clicked in his mind. He frowned.
“Hold on. How do you even know my parents are strict? I never told anyone. Are you… a stalker?”

Her eyes widened in panic.
“Wha—n-no! I-I didn’t stalk you! I just… watched you! From a distance! Sometimes!”

He stared at her, completely deadpan.
“...That’s literally the definition of stalking.”

“I-I mean—yes, technically—but it wasn’t creepy or anything! I was just… curious!”
She gave an awkward giggle and quickly clasped her hands behind her back, rocking slightly on her heels.

He let out a long sigh.
“Whatever. Just don’t annoy me on the way there. That’s all I ask.”

Right then, the door creaked open. Miss Dhwani stepped inside, holding a small file under one arm, dupatta on her shoulders, her calm expression untouched by the late sunlight on her.
“Alright, you two,” she said with a soft smile. “All set?”

“Yes, Miss!” both Siddharth and Aradhya chimed, standing up straight.

“Good. Then follow me. We’ll be taking the camel cart to Sandket Station.”

“Yay!” Aradhya beamed.

He smiled, determined.
Here we come, Academy!

6.1

Nearly 18’o clock. The sky was painted in soft hues of amber and violet as the sun began its descent behind the distant dunes. Long shadows stretched across the sandy trail as the camel cart trotted rhythmically through the outer edge of Sandket.

“Wow, it only cost 90-Vs for all of us combined,” Siddharth said, surprised, sat with his legs loosely crossed, clutching the edge of the cart with one hand. Aradhya swayed gently beside him, her eyes sparkling in the fading sunlight as she looked around with open wonder.

The desert wind carried a dry warmth, fluttering Dhwani’s dupatta as she sat at the front beside the old cart driver, her calm eyes watching the road ahead. In the distance, the silhouettes of windmills stood tall against the sky—dark figures slowly rotating, creaking faintly in the silence. Their blades caught the dying sunlight like slow-turning clock hands.

“There are sooo many windmills on the way to the station!” Aradhya pointed out, eyes scanning the horizon.

“Obviously,” Siddharth replied, “where do you think the town gets its energy from?”

“You’re really smart!” Dhwani smiled. “But you’ll learn even more at the Academy.”

He grinned. “That’s the whole reason I’m here, miss.”

The old man driving the camel cart chuckled and joined in, “This town’s got more than windmills, you know. It’s the huge lake behind our town—without it, Sandket wouldn’t be the marketplace heart of Vayu Nagri, as the current king would have overlooked it like other smaller villages. The windmills are just a side-effect.”

“I’ve heard about the king,” Aradhya said with a small frown, “but I’ve never seen him. Doesn’t really seem like he cares about people like us.”

“Hah! You’ve got fire in you, child,” the old man laughed.

She looked at him with a smile scratching the back of her head, “Eh-heh~”

“Maybe there’s more to him than we know. This land has deep stories, most of them long forgotten. You might uncover some in Aerox—the central city.” Old man said.

“Yeah,” Miss Dhwani added, “the train fare is too high for most folks, so hardly anyone goes there and no one sits there to listen those stories. Only during the Academy entrance period do they attach passenger coach at the end of the trains. Just enough room for maybe 100 people. Normally, people hitch rides in the engine space... or even in the goods coaches.”

“Then how come we’re going so easily?” Siddharth asked. “You didn’t even take money from us. Are you paying for all this yourself?”

“Not at all,” Dhwani replied with a gentle smile. “During the test period, it’s free for everyone. No worries.”

“Ohh,” Siddharth nodded, relaxing back into his seat as the camel cart rolled on through the sand.

Nearly 19:30 in the evening, sun went down.

The track to the station curved steadily toward a rocky plateau, where the railway lines shimmered faintly in the twilight.

Flickering lanterns on the cart cast soft glows on their faces.

“We’re here. The fee,” the old man grunted, as he reached for the reins.

Miss Dhwani reached into her side pouch and handed him a single coin marked 100-Vs.

He nodded, flicking his fingers once before handing back a smaller 10-Vs coin. Then, pointing toward a narrow winding path that led up the plateau, he said, “There, go that way. Station’s just up ahead.”

Nodding to him, three of them dismounted the cart.

With that, he turned his camel around without another word, letting the creaking cart fade into the growing dusk.

Dust swirled gently in the air, kicked up by the dry evening wind rolling across the plateau. The station ahead looked aged but alive—its structure made of sandstones with patches of rust along the old iron railings and signage. The building had a flat roof with a corrugated tin shed stretching over the platform, offering just enough shade from the harsh desert sun during the day.

A few wooden benches stood beneath the shed, their paint chipped and corners worn down from years of use, but still sturdy enough to sit on. The nameplate above the station entrance was stained and dusty, but its letters could still be read if you squinted. A pair of yellow lights buzzed faintly, flickering every now and then—doing their job, just barely.

On the only track, a goods train stood idle. At the very end, the passenger coach was attached—its body dull with dust, windows shut to block the sand-laced wind. The sliding door was half-rusted, groaning softly as it shifted in the breeze, but it hadn’t given up yet. Like the station itself, it was tired... but still moving.

Siddharth glanced ahead, eyebrows furrowing slightly. “This station looks... kinda weird. This doesn’t look like what I read in books.”

“It’s because the description you saw were of Aerox railway station, I thought same when I first saw this station,” Aradhya said, glancing at Siddharth with a small smile.

He looked at her, surprised. “Wait… you’ve already been here?”

She nodded, her eyes scanning the plateau station. “Yeah. Once, with my family. We went to Aerox when I was six.”

“Oh…” Siddharth mumbled, then fell quiet. For some reason, that simple answer made him feel oddly small, like she’d already touched a world he was only now stepping into.

Still, curiosity tugged at him. He walked ahead, pushing open the rusted door of the passenger coach attached at the end of goods train.

Inside, the air was warm, filled with the scent of dust and old metal. A few passengers were slumped in their seats, asleep. Others silently sipped tea, steam rising in lazy spirals. Some looked up at Siddharth—brief, unreadable glances—before returning to their silence, as if he were a ghost passing through.

He stood awkwardly at the entrance for a second. Then Miss Dhwani stepped in behind him, calm and unbothered as always. She motioned toward an empty bench, and the three of them sat down quietly.

No one paid them any more attention. The world inside the coach moved at its own pace—quiet, indifferent, tired.

6.2

Afternoon, 11th Bloomcrest, 327

Sam was humming a random tune while scribbling in his notebook.

“Sam!” a girl’s voice called out.

“Huh? Who’s that? It’s only 15 o’clock...” He walked over to the window and peeked out.

“Ye…? Oh! Hey, Varsha! Come in, don’t just stand out there in the sun.”

She came up on the first floor and stepped into his room with a smirk. “So, is your little ‘business’ over now? It's the 11th—just like you said.”

“Wha—Oh. Yeah, that. Wait... did you come to invite me to play? It’s only fifteen in the afternoon, no one else would be awake now—”

“Why did Siddharth come here?” she interrupted, her grin sharpening. “What were you two planning?”

Sam froze. A drop of sweat trickled down his forehead.

“W-What?! N-No way! Planning? Me? Haha, what are you even talking about?” he stammered, awkwardly scratching back of his head to act casual.

She sat there on mat, “You really can’t lie, can you?” she said. “Siddharth was the one who asked me for your address. So, I knew something was up. But I stayed out of it—just to see what you two were up to. Now spill it. What did you two plan together?”

“Uhm... I can’t tell you. He gave me 500 Vs to keep quiet!” sitting on the mat he said.

500 Vs?! Her eyes widened in disbelief. “How did he get that kind of money?! And you—you sold yourself for that?”

“N-No! I mean—”

“If what he’s doing is so good, then why hide it from me?” she said, hurt showing in her voice. “Aren’t I your friend?”

“I—”

“If it’s just money you wanted... here.” She pulled out a small pouch and handed it to him. “This is 700 Vs. All my savings I saved up this year. I was saving it for a trip—with you, Raju, and Lalit. But if money talks... then mine should speak louder than his. So, tell me. What did he plan?”

Sam stared at the money, then pushed it back toward her, ashamed. “No... I don’t want you to think I’m the kind of guy who chases after coins. I just... I didn’t know Siddharth well, and he seemed serious. So, I figured... why not?”

“Then why’d you take the money? Is that what you think you're worth? 500 Vs?”

“I-I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought... hey, easy profit.”

Varsha stood up, disappointed. “I really expected better from you...”

“No! Wait—please, I’m sorry! I didn’t think it through. I didn’t realize how bad it was!” He dropped to his knees and clung to her leg, desperate. “Please don’t leave me like this!”

She raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re really sorry?”

“Yes! Please!”

“Then...” she crossed her arms. “Tell me everything.”

And he did. Few moments later, Sam finally finished explaining what Siddharth was up to.

“Hm...” Varsha looked thoughtful. “So, he’s going behind their backs. Maybe because they didn’t allow him to go? And you helped him?”

“...Yeah.”

To his surprise, she suddenly smiled.
“Then let him go ahead and betray them!”

“Wha—what?” Sam blinked. “I thought you’d stop him!”

“Not at all,” she said, clapping her hands with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. “In the whole story you told me... I wasn’t mentioned once. That boy completely ignored me. And that, my dear friend, was his biggest mistake.”

Sam gulped. “You’re... not mad?”

“Oh, I’m furious.” She giggled. “But I won’t stop him now. Let him go take his little secret test. I’ll make sure he remembers me for the rest of his life!”

I really don’t get these two, Sam thought. Siddharth is reckless, and Varsha is... scary. Still, I guess I’m lucky to be her friend.

He caught himself staring.

“Why’re you zoning out while looking at me?” she asked. “Do I look beautiful or something?” giving a side eye with a smirk.

His cheeks turned bright red. “N-No! I was just... thinking!” He frantically waved his hands.
“So… what are you going to do now?” Sam asked, still uneasy.

Varsha turned toward him with a sly smile. “I’ll let you know on the 15th. In class.”

“What?! You’re not telling me now? But I told you everything!” Sam said, panicking.

She leaned closer, eyes twinkling with mischief. “Relax. I’m on your side, remember? Siddharth won’t do anything. Or rather…” she paused, her smile sharpening, “he can’t do anything.”

Sam stared, unsure whether to feel relieved or terrified.

“Anyway,” she said, brushing her hair back with a casual flick, “I should head home. Don’t miss me too much.” She flashed a playful grin and turned toward the door.

“Y-Yeah… sure,” Sam muttered, watching her leave. As she disappeared down the stairs, he let out a long breath.

What is she planning now...? he wondered, heart still racing.

He sat back at his desk, stared at his half-finished homework, and sighed.