"Good, I'm glad you finally understood," Maya said.
Before she could finish her sentence, the classroom door swung open.
Everyone turned toward the door.
"Namaste! How are you, my children?" a loud and heavy voice echoed through the room.
All the students stood up and bowed. At the door stood the school principal—black and white hair, light brown skin, deep brown eyes, 6'0" in height, dressed in white Indian clothes—along with a few other people.
Who are these people? Akash wondered.
The principal spoke in a calm voice, "Children, meet them. They are officials from the Indian government. They have come today to conduct a small examination on behalf of the government. If any of you pass this exam, you will receive a permanent job with a very high salary."
A smile spread across every student's face. Whispering filled the room.
"A job in 12th class?"
Akash started thinking,
What? A job in 12th grade, that too after a single exam? Something is off. I need to find out what's really happening.
Before he could finish the thought, Dhruv nudged him hard.
"Bro, this is amazing! If we pass, our entire life will be set!"
"Dhruv, don't you think something is wrong?" Akash said.
"Leave it, Akash. What do you keep thinking all the time? Focus ahead."
Dhruv replied with a grin.
"Why don't you ever think?" Akash said.
Just then, one of the visitors stepped forward. He was wearing black clothes, had fair skin, black hair, light brown eyes, and was also 6'0" tall.
"Thank you, Principal Raghav Thakur, for the introduction. I will speak from here," he said.
"My name is Aditya Thakur. This is Ratri Thakur ji" (black hair, brown skin, deep brown eyes, black clothes, 5'7" height), "this is Ayush Sharma ji" (black hair, brown skin, deep brown eyes, black clothes, 5'9"), "and this is Mehak Sharma ji" (fair skin, deep brown eyes, black hair, black clothes, 5'7").
"As the principal said, we are here to conduct your examination, and yes, whoever succeeds will receive a permanent job. Now let's talk about the structure of this exam.
"There will be four stages. Details will be given at the beginning of each stage. In the first stage, you will attempt a written test in pairs. The test will contain questions related to different jobs. Based on which job's questions you perform best in, the next stage will be decided. It's simple, and I'm sure all of you understood. If anyone has questions, you may ask."
Akash stood up.
"What kind of exam is this? Don't you think a test like this can send the job to the wrong person? I mean, just answering job-related questions and passing—how does that decide anything? What if a student simply memorizes everything? According to your system, they would pass and get the job."
Aditya smiled.
"Very good question. Let me answer that. Yes, students who memorize can pass—but only the first stage. After that, there are three more stages, and at the end, the selected students will receive additional training for a few years to make them capable of their jobs. And this isn't happening only in your school; it's happening across many schools in the country."
"But why?" Akash asked.
"What's your name?" Aditya asked.
"Akash," he replied.
"Akash, where do we live?" Aditya asked.
"We live in India, in the Kullu district of the state of Himachal Pradesh," Akash said.
"Correct. India. Our country has the highest population. That gives us advantages, but also many problems. To increase employment, this program has been implemented by the government," Aditya explained.
The entire class began murmuring.
Then, a girl stood up and asked, "Can you tell us how many students can actually pass this exam?"
All four officials laughed lightly.
"Very good question," they said, "and the answer is: only four."
Silence fell over the entire classroom.
"Only four?"
"Yes, only four. The four who score the highest overall. The first stage begins tomorrow. All of you must come prepared."
As soon as they left, the entire classroom burst into noise.
"Only four? What will we do?"
"Akash! Akash! What are we going to do?"
Dhruv said.
"Akash, are you even listening?"
Akash finally replied,
"Don't worry. Everything will go exactly as I want."
"What?" Dhruv stared at him.
Akash smiled and said,
"Looks like something exciting is finally about to happen in my life."