Chapter 1

The Broken Umbrella

I stood in front of the long wooden desk in the dark, old staffroom. In my whole school life, I had been here only once—that was for breaking the desk in my class. I was completely innocent, but no one believed me. However, they didn't punish me for that; they left me with a warning.

This time, though, it was pretty serious.

All the teachers were sitting on either side of the desk, and I knew they were all judging me. I was terrified. The building smelled of old books and rats. How old was it? I didn't know, but it felt like the roof with crumbling wooden beams and broken tiles was going to collapse on me.

Straight across the table, Headmaster Vijayan Sir was looking at me seriously. He never spoke loudly or scolded anyone. But legend has it that he lost his previous job because of his very strict punishment methods. So, if he had lost his temper, that would be the end of me.

Four of my classmates—Viji, her best friend Aparna, Mithra, the class topper, and Dixon—were standing beside me. Viji was still weeping. Tears streamed down her thin face. It was her new umbrella—that's right—but why did she have to cry over it for so long?

"So, this time you broke this poor girl's umbrella?" asked Vijayan Sir solemnly.

"I didn't break the umbrella," I muttered, but my throat was dry, and I was desperately trying to take a breath.

"There are witnesses, you know. In fact, the entire class saw that," said our class teacher, Bindu Teacher.

Why is she against me? What have I done to her?

"Dixon, what happened?" she inquired, looking at him.

Of course, my archenemy Dixon Titus! Of all people, she chose him.

"Well, Teacher, it was 1 in the afternoon. Everyone was in the classroom; we were rehearsing for the play for Freshers' Day tomorrow." Dixon started as he had been waiting for it, glanced at me, and continued, "Jithu was playing an old man with a walking stick. We didn't have an actual walking stick, as we would only get it tomorrow from Anand's grandfather. So, he grabbed Viji's umbrella out of her bag without even asking her, and pressed its tip against the floor hard—"

"Not hard…" I interrupted.

Vijayan Sir silenced me with his gaze, and Dixon continued.

"It broke in a moment – broken into two pieces! The entire class saw that."

Everyone was now looking at Aparna, and she gave a confirming nod.

"I didn't break anything! He is just using this opportunity against me. Everyone knows he has issues with me!" I couldn't control my anger.

"Everyone saw you do it!" Dixon pointed at me. "He did it; he broke it with—"

"Enough. Stop, you two," Vijayan Sir silenced us. "Don't point and talk," he said to Dixon. Then he turned to Mithra. "Mithra, have you seen it?"

"I saw Jithu standing with the broken umbrella in his hand," she said, looking thoughtful.

"It was my new umbrella; I got it just three days ago," Viji said, still crying. "Yesterday he—Jithu—took it. I told him not to use it as a prop, but he was so rude to me. He said he would take it again and break it if he wanted to…"

"I also saw him break the umbrella. And I was with her when he threatened her," Aparna added.

Great. That was true. Why did I say that? My god!

"This is the second time, sir. We warned him about the desk incident," Bindu Teacher told Vijayan Sir.

The rain that had just started outside drowned out the voices around me— the messy monsoon was hammering the roof tiles and windows relentlessly.

"Hmm. It's one thing to break the poor girl's umbrella, and another to lie about it." His expression grew more serious. "This is the second time. Apparently, breaking things is your hobby. Do you know how hard it is to make something, son? Since you broke her umbrella, you should get her a new one."

WHAT? How am I supposed to get her a new umbrella?

How can I ask my mother? She always says she struggles to take care of my little brother and me. We are not that poor, but not rich either. How much does an umbrella even cost?

"Accept what you did and apologize to her. We will give you some time to think. Tell me your decision by 3 o'clock. You know there's a PTA meeting at 3:30—if you are not admitting your fault, we will have a serious conversation with your mother and ask her what punishment you deserve!"

"But I didn't…" I tried to say.

"Go to your class!" he shouted.

I glanced at Viji. She tilted her head up and looked at me; her eyes were full of hatred and anger, and there was something more I couldn't comprehend. After all, it's just an umbrella—why is she overreacting? On the way out, I tried to talk to her, but she ran away holding Aparna's hands.

What can I do? How can I prove my innocence before the PTA meeting? It's already 2 o'clock. I know for a fact that I didn't break the umbrella. Then who did?

Chapter 2

The Detective

Anand was waiting for me outside on the verandah, leaning against a pillar. He straightened up and asked,

"So, how did it go?"

"It was bad, really bad," I said. "They are going to tell my mother at the PTA meeting. I have to prove my innocence before that."

"How are you supposed to prove that, I mean, everyone saw that, you-"

I looked at him in disappointment.

"-Well, I believe you, but... I still don't understand how it happened. Maybe somehow it broke itself!" he said mysteriously.

I sighed and said, "It must have been broken already; clearly, someone is trying to frame me."

"Then it must be, you know…Dixon, he's pulled this before."

A chilly wind stung my face; staring into the messy rain, I was thinking …

Dixon and I were friends before; we had a history dating back to kindergarten days. It all started when he deliberately misled me into colouring tomatoes green on an exam, which was, of course, the wrong answer! Obviously, I retaliated by telling on him for cheating on the maths exam. But time resolved it, and we became friends again. Then he betrayed me again, and I reacted, and it went on and on. Last time I checked, it was his turn. He was so angry with me after what I had done to him because he tried to frame me for breaking the desk. You can trust a wolf, but you can't trust Dixon. So, anyway, I was expecting his strike; it was just a question of when.

"I know it's him, but how can I prove it? No one believes me; no one!" I said.

"Clearly, we are not smart enough to prove this. We need a detective. I think we should ask Mithra to help us." Anand suggested.

"Why do you want to involve girls in this, man? All they can do is memorise stuff."

"No, no, Mithra is actually smart. You know my cousin who lives near her house she told me that Mithra reads a lot and is a huge fan of detective stories. You know that detective film we watched last week - the one with the funny hat- it is actually based on some old books, and she told me that Mithra had read like those sixty books!"

"Sixty Books? That can't be true—"

"Yeah… maybe 60 stories. I'm not sure. Anyway, she's familiar with this kind of stuff, and maybe she can help us, and…"

"And ?"

"You know, what teachers say, like they don't have any partiality towards the smart students."

"Yes"

"And you know that's a lie."

"Obviously!"

"So, if Mithra proves you are innocent and tells you are innocent, teachers will believe it because they like her, because she is the class topper."

He's got a point.

"You are not as stupid as I thought," I said. "It's a good idea; let's talk to her, but I am not on good terms with her."

"Who are you on good terms with—"

That annoyed me, and I said, "I don't care even if you don't talk to me."

"Yeah, I am not going to do that; let's go to class."

We started walking towards the classroom - our class IV A was at the other end of the verandah, and Dixon was at the door, staring at me.

"You shouldn't have broken that poor girl's umbrella, Jithu; that's really bad," he said.

I ignored him and entered the class, and at that very moment, a group swarmed me, and they started to clap and chant.

"Kuppi kuppi soda kuppi, Nare varumbol mannenna kuppi."

Which translates to,

Bottle, bottle, soda bottle, tomorrow you're a kerosene bottle!

This was a standard ritual used to mock someone when they were in trouble. What the hell does it mean? I don't know, but I thought it was funny. But it was annoying this time and scary for some reason! Vishnu PS and Vishnu PJ— goes by their initials PS and PJ— were leading the party. They were, of course, just henchmen of Dixon; everyone knows that. Dixon must have clearly thought this out; this is all part of his elaborate plan.

I pushed them away and got inside. They went out laughing. They were shouting on the way out, "You are done!" There was no one else in class except for Mithra, as the preparations for the open day were going on. Most of the students were in the long hall for the rehearsals. The play rehearsals were going on in our class, and under these circumstances, I don't think it's going to happen— it all transitioned into a whole different drama!

Mithra was sitting in the second bench on the girls' side and was writing something. The broken umbrella was still lying there on the floor. I took that and walked towards her.

She looked up, her wide eyes filling her small face. "I'm not going to help you," she said.

"I haven't asked you anything yet, but why?"

"You don't remember? That's very typical of you. Last year, you copied my homework and showed it to the teacher first. You told her that you wrote it, and I copied you when the teacher caught you, and then you acted as if nothing had happened."

"I don't even remember anything like that; that can't possibly be true."

Anand came to us and said: "That's true."

I looked at him. He continued, turning to Mithra, "Well, whatever happened, happened; now only you can help us. He will apologize."

"Me? Why should I?" I shouted. Anand looked at me as though I didn't have any other option.

"Fine, I am sorry, Mithra. It was my fault."

She gazed at me in silence for some time and said:

"It's very hard for you, isn't it — apologizing, saying thanks, considering others?"

I was genuinely getting annoyed, but I didn't have any other choice.

"Would you help?" I asked again and put the broken umbrella in front of her.

It was a crook-handled, blue umbrella with stars and bubbles of various colours on it. It was broken into two pieces. Even though it was a new one, it had dirty mud on it. Definitely, Viji doesn't know how to take care of her stuff.

Mithra was examining it like a crow.

"Now, tell me about the haunted tree," she asked.

"What?" Anand and I exclaimed in unison.

"The haunted tree near the old, unused well behind our school grounds, at the border of the forest."

There was an old, ugly tree in the back of our school. There were many accounts of students seeing something and being scared near the tree throughout the school's history. I heard that twenty years ago, a kid went to fetch a lost ball during a cricket match, and nobody saw him again! That can't entirely be true, but no one dared to go near the tree under any circumstances. But …

"How does this have anything to do with the tree?" I asked.

"Everything! The unused well near it was recently cleaned," she said.

"So?"

"It has everything to do with this."

Anand looked serious and asked, "You mean the haunted tree did it?" He sounded scared.

"No, the tree is the witness!" she said with a smile.

Yeah, that was it for me.

"Okay, now I am pretty sure that you two idiots can't help me. Mithra, you should read ghost stories; that suits you better." I started to walk away.

"I will take the case," she said.

"No, thanks!"

"I know you didn't do it; it's a girl!"

I halted and looked back in surprise! How on earth????

"How do you know?" asked Anand.

"Trust me, we will figure this out, but you have to work on your attitude."

Maybe Mithra had seen someone doing it.

"Sorry, okay, I trust you," I said.

"Let's start the investigation then, shall we?" Her eyes sparkled.

Chapter 3

CID

CLUES, INTERROGATION, DEDUCTION. Mithra wrote three words on the blackboard and underlined them. The chalk squeaked against the board. Anand and I were sitting in front of her curiously. She started,

"Since you kids are new to this, let me explain this in layman's terms."

"What terms?" Anand asked.

"Simple, I meant in simple terms."

"There are three essential steps in any investigation: clue gathering, interrogation, and finally deduction. In the first step, we will collect all available evidence; in the second, we will interview all the suspects; and, finally, if all goes well, we will arrive at the solution. We will start with the crime scene."

We both looked at her inquiringly; she cleared it up: "The place where the crime happened."

She came closer to the desk and said,

"Since it happened in this very classroom, we have to look for any anomalies here, things that are out of place or odd. For example, look at that desk," she pointed to a desk on the left side, and said, "Someone had moved it; you can see the scratching mark it made on the floor while moving the heavy wooden desk across the smooth floor".

"There was a play rehearsal going on; for that, desks and benches were moved. What's so odd about it?" I asked.

"Well, maybe the desk was playing a role," she replied, making a cryptic face.

"Why do you have to talk like this? Why can't you just say what it means?" questioned Anand.

She was a little bit embarrassed, but continued,

"We have to observe everything, all the details. Now coming to the umbrella, as you can see, it has been broken into two pieces."

I had run out of patience.

"Anand wasn't exaggerating; you are brilliant indeed; you were able to deduce that pretty quickly."

She smirked

"And I also know it was broken outside near the haunted tree by a girl, and it was fused and put back in Viji's bag so that 35 students would witness the apparent act of crime during the rehearsals so that you could be framed."

Anand and I looked at each other in utter shock.

"How do you know all this?" I asked.

"Just look at the umbrella; it's a brand-new one, yet it has white mud on it." She scraped some of it out with her fingers and crumbled it.

"Where else do you see this kind of white soil? Normally, nowhere in the school premises, but the old well near the haunted tree had been cleaned a few days ago, and they had dumped all the white mud from it near the tree. Since everyone was afraid of the tree, the culprit took the umbrella, went there, and broke it into two. Now come on, let's examine the tree."

"But how could you tell it was a girl?" I couldn't control my intrigue.

"It's simple; you can see the sandal marks on the umbrella fabric; it's a girl's footwear print, but almost everyone in our class wears that style, and the print is not perfect. Now time to do the groundwork, Anand. You take a notebook; you will be my assistant."

Anand was excited; he took his red notebook and a pencil and quickly sharpened the pencil. In a moment, we marched out and were near the tree.

The tree was tall, bulky, and ugly. It looked as though it had a skull at the top. I could make out melting eyes in the skull. The branches of the tree were snaking around it like twisted limbs. Were those actual snakes?

White mud had been dumped near the tree.

The whole area was deserted; even the rain had left. Faint breezes cut through the foggy atmosphere, chilling me. The wind played an eerie note in the leaves of the monstrous tree. Not that I was afraid of ghosts, but there was something wrong with that place.

Anand moved closer to me, shivering.

Mithra bent over and looked closely at the ground. She said, "Look, we have the same footprints here, but it is not reliable; there are a lot of other prints too, maybe they are from the cleaning crew, and… Look!" She pointed to something.

I saw a rounded, deep impression on the white mud.

"Interesting, it should be the mark left by the umbrella when she pressed it against the ground to break it."

She looked all around, and from there, we could see our classroom like a hundred feet away. She stared at the building.

"No one from our class can see what's going on here; since it is the nearest building, it is safe to conclude that this is a perfect blind spot."

Our class didn't have any windows; instead, it had a peculiar design. The walls were nearly 5 feet tall but never reached the roof; only six pillars did, which ensured proper air circulation and light. So her point was pretty strong, since nobody in our class was taller than 5 feet, no one could see anything. That's why the culprit chose this place!

But…

"What about a taller person? Like an adult, and most of the children are afraid of this place, so?"

"Adults in the school are called teachers; I don't think they had seen it or been involved in this anyway. Come on, we have enough clues; let's move on to the next step. We will start with a suspect list."

We started to walk back carefully because the sandy soil on the ground was still covered with puddles. Thin streams of yellowish rainwater crisscrossed between them; it felt like walking through a maze.

Mithra started her crime lecture again,

"To commit a crime, a person should have: MOTIVE, MEANS, and of course OPPORTUNITY. Let's start with the motive; it's the reason for committing the crime, since it can be assumed that it is to frame you, Jithu. It's simple: who hates you? It won't be a long list, right?"

"No, we can just write, Govt. LP School Niramankara, that would do," Anand said and chuckled.

I should have hit him with a witty comeback, but in a way, he was right. I had way too many enemies in this school.

"Okay, then let's start with opportunity and narrow it down then. Who was there in the class between twelve and one thirty?" asked Mithra

"Why Twelve? Why couldn't someone have broken it before 12 o'clock?" I asked.

"Rain," she said, pointing to the water on the playground. "It hadn't rained for the past three days; it started to rain again at 12 o'clock today; that's why the umbrella has wet mud on it, so obviously someone did it after it rained."

"That won't be a lot of people because most of the rehearsals were going on in the auditorium hall. Jithu and I were outside the hall playing marbles, and I went to the class around twelve to take our lunch box and came back. As far as I can remember, Dixon was there in the classroom, PS and PJ were there, and… one or two girls were there - writing something; who were they?" Anand was trying hard to recall.

"That's good, Anand, and yes, I myself was in the auditorium for the rehearsals; most of our classmates were there with their bags and all. Kili, Ramu, Viji, and Aparna left early for lunch around twelve fifteen; the rain had stopped by then. All the others were in the auditorium and had lunch there. Everyone came back to class at 1:30 to see the final play rehearsal." Mithra added.

Anand took his notebook and started to write the names,

"So, if we assume Viji didn't want to break her umbrella just to frame Jithu, our suspects are Kili, Ramu, Aparna, Dixon, and the two girls who were in the class. Right?

"We are not assuming anything; everyone is a suspect, anyone could have done it, don't trust anyone, that's the first rule of a criminal investigation," said Mithra

First rule of life, I thought; I had grown up with Dixon, after all.

So, Anand wrote:

1. VIJI
2. APARNA
3. KILI
4. RAMU
5. DIXON
6. PS
7. PJ
8. GIRL – X
9. GIRL – Y

He denoted two girls in the class he didn't remember as GIRL– X and GIRL–Y.

Mithra went through the list and said eagerly, "Now, let's start the interrogation. We have to check their alibi."

"Ali-bai?" Anand said, puzzled. It was a new word for me, too.

"No, no, ALIBI - AL-uh-bye - the suspects claim that they were somewhere else when the crime was committed, and it would be impossible for them to do it."

"It's one of those trick words that read differently."

"Now, hurry up, boys; we have only one hour left!"

Chapter 4

Interrogation

Dixon and his two henchmen, PS and PJ, were still in the class. The troublesome trio was notorious for their mischievous activities, such as running around, picking fights with other kids, bullying girls, making them cry, and occasionally scheming against me.

"So where were you between twelve and half past one?" Mithra asked.

"We were in the classroom," PS and PJ responded.

"What were you doing?"

"None of your business," said Dixon. "I don't see the point of this investigation. Everyone saw who did it, so he teamed up with you to prove what? He's more guilty?"

I, too, don't see the point of the investigation; I know who did it - I thought.

"We will see who is guilty and who's innocent. Now tell me who else was in this class with you?"

"Honey and Veni were fighting over some homework or something like that," said PJ.

Anand took his notebook and updated the list. He changed Girl X and Girl Y to Honey and Veni.

"Did anyone else come here while you were here?"

"Aparna came to take a lunch box; no one else- yeah, also, Bindu teacher- she came to collect the dues for the opening day celebrations."

"That's not important." Mithra interrupted them, "Did Aparna take anything from class?"

"Yes, lunch box," Dixon said mockingly

"Apart from that," Mithra demanded in a serious tone

"NO!" said Dixon and PS

"Thanks, that would be all."

"Oh, wait, I remember seeing one important thing," Said Dixon

"What?" We all looked at him expectantly

"I went to the washroom at that time, and also, after about an hour, I saw him breaking the umbrella," He said, slowly pointing at me.

"Let's go," I said

We moved on to the girls' side. Honey and Veni were sitting there writing something. They were the famous studious duos of the class; they worked hard, they never left to play, they kept on studying, god knows whether they took bathroom breaks. They were neighbours, inseparable, yet extremely competitive with each other. If Honey got a mark less than Veni, Honey would cry, and if Veni won some quiz competition, Honey wouldn't talk to anyone for a week. But they were always together! And they had one common enemy, of course, the one they can't beat in any exams, the class topper.

"So, what were you guys doing in the class?" asked Mithra

"Studying, that's why we are…" Said Honey

"Coming to the school," completed Veni

"The school just opened two days ago for the open day preparations; the classes haven't even started. Then what are you guys studying?" Anand asked

"That's what you call prior preparation; it's for the first term exam," said Veni

Anand was puzzled and found it funny too.

"We are going to beat you in this Exam, Mithra," Honey Said. "Right, Veni?"

"I don't know about you, Honey; I am certainly going to do that," Veni said.

"Then I will beat you first." Honey got furious.

"No, I will—"

They were on the brink of a physical fight.

"Chill, girls. Exams are at least 3 months away!" Mithra calmed them down and asked, "So, who else was here when you were studying?"

"Dixon was running around and jumping, doing his usual shenanigans; PS and PJ were there playing pen fight on the desk and …." Honey said

"Bindu teacher came. I had informed her this morning that I would pay all the dues to her after lunch. I don't know why she came—" Veni said

"Anyone else?"

"Aparna, she came to take the lunch box. I saw her taking a lunch box out of a bag," said Honey

"No, she left with an umbrella," said Veni

"Lunch box"

"Umbrella"

"LUNCH BOX!" Honey pulled Veni against the wall. We had to intervene to stop the fight.

"Okay, enough. Were you fighting when she came?"

"Maybe," chorused both.

"After Aparna left, the teacher came. I was talking to her. After about five minutes, Dixon came with an umbrella; I barely noticed." Honey clarified

"Yeah, that may be right. I saw someone with an umbrella; maybe it was Dixon," said Veni

"Yeah, She's not that good at remembering things; that's how she lost 2 marks in the last exam," said Honey

"I had a headache. If you dare to retake that exam-" Veni was starting another one.

"Okay, okay, stop," Mithra interrupted. "Honey saw Aparna taking a lunch box. Did she come back again or something?"

"No, only one time, I am sure about that," said Honey

"Yeah, me too," said Veni

"And," Mithra continued, "You both saw Dixon coming to class with an umbrella; whose umbrella was it?"

"Probably his, duh! It's rainy season; everyone who went out had an umbrella with them," Honey said.

"Can you say for sure?"

"No, I wasn't looking for details; I was talking to Bindu teacher at that time."

"And I was studying; it's just fragments that I remember," Veni Added.

"Okay, thanks," I said

"You don't have to put on any drama. We know you did it," Honey remarked, looking at me, rolling her eyes.

"You called us stupid bookworms in front of our juniors last year; we won't forget that," Honey said.

"You are so mean; only you could have done this," Veni said.

I walked away, and Anand and Mithra followed me.

We were walking towards the Auditorium,

"So, they are contradicting each other; can we believe them?" I asked

"We can't; they hate each other, and they hate me; they wouldn't want me to solve the case, so they may be trying to mislead me purposefully, and they hate you too, so I honestly don't know which leads to follow," Mithra said

"They didn't see Dixon leaving the class. He could have easily taken out the umbrella and broken it, and could have put it back when they were talking to Bindu teacher. PS and PJ will say what Dixon feeds them." Anand was thinking out loud, "But how can we explain the sandal prints on the umbrella?"

"And Anand and I saw Aparna coming back with the lunch box when we were playing marbles near the auditorium, so they were right about that," I said.

Anand confirmed it.

"This is getting more complicated than I thought," Mithra meditated.

Kili and Ramu were sitting outside the auditorium in the shade of a mango tree, resting and drinking water after their practice. Kili, her nickname, literally translated to 'bird' — the word was often used to tease someone absent-minded and slow. The name suited her so much that everyone had forgotten her actual name, Sarika. She was best friends with Ramu; even though Ramu was a boy's name, Ramu was a cute girl. Her father wanted a boy as his second child, but God gave him a girl again, so he called her Ramu anyway. Amritha — her actual name, which meant elixir — was long since forgotten.

Ramu was a shy girl; she wasn't comfortable talking to boys, and she always kept her face down, but she was always well-groomed like a doll. On the contrary, Kili was a social butterfly, but she didn't care about her personal hygiene; she was so confident in her natural beauty and radiant persona to the point that she didn't even care to take a shower or brush her teeth (sometimes). She always looked sleepy, but when she talked, it was like an eruption of a dormant volcano. How did those two become friends? I don't know.

"Well, girls, where were you between twelve and half past one?" Mithra started.

"Oh, I heard you started the investigation. Well, we were practicing. At fifteen past twelve, we went to the water tap for washing our hands. We were there for a few minutes talking; we mean, Viji, Aparna, Ramu, and me. Ramu forgot her lunch box. Aparna had to go to the washroom, so Ramu asked her to get the lunch box on the way. She went to class and came back with the lunch box. We had lunch outside the auditorium," Kili described in detail.

"So, no one else left?" I asked Ramu

Ramu shook her head and smiled.

"Did anyone see Dixon outside with an umbrella?" Anand asked

"No, Dixon was inside the class, I am sure," Kili said.

"What? How can you possibly tell that? You can't see inside our class from the water tap," Mithra countered.

Kili was getting nervous. "I think I saw him, but now you say this? I don't know."

"That's why everyone calls you Kili; you are always daydreaming and imagining things." I chuckled

"And Everyone calls you a LOSER! You just like to hurt others; everything is a joke for you." Kili lost her temper. "I know you tried to start a rumour that I am crazy!"

I started to say it was a joke, but the words got trapped in my throat.

"Did you see Dixon?" I asked Ramu, trying to change the subject.

"No, no," she said, blushing.

"And I myself am thinking of getting into the investigation stuff, you know. One word of advice- if Aparna says anything about Dixon, don't trust it."

Her face was like she just solved a complex maths problem,

"He teased her before the play rehearsal and made her cry. She didn't want to practice after that, so she may be upset with him, you know. We have to take the emotional state of the witness into account"—that was unexpected from Kili.

So, everyone is a detective now. I thought.

"But…" Ramu tried to intervene

"What? What have you got? Mithra encouraged

"No, I mean, Aparna, she's like, sensitive, you know. Even today, she had cried twice in the auditorium before the classroom issue, so Dixon might not have said anything that bad, and she just has a bad temper, and she cries very easily, but she cools down and forgives fast, so that won't be a problem; you can trust her."

Yeah, the quieter you become, the more you can hear, I thought!

"Thanks." We walked away

"Is Kili being absent-minded, or was she trying to cover for Dixon?" Mithra asked

"You can't trust anyone," Anand said.

"Attaboy!"

"This is getting complicated, so I will sketch a diagram to keep track of all of our suspects!"

"Oh, that's great. I didn't know you could draw. That will be so helpful," Mithra encouraged him, holding his hands.

I knew he could draw, but is that worth complimenting? Girls!

He finished the diagram in a few minutes; it was very good. He marked each person with a bubble that contained the first letters of their name.

"Now, it's a good time to update our list- what do you think?" Mithra asked.

"Yeah, I think we can safely cross out Honey and Veni because they were in the class and never left; their alibi is confirmed by Dixon PS and PJ," I said.

"Kili, Ramu and Viji were together confirming their aleeb… alibis; also, Aparna went to take the lunch box. Dixon and his henchmen saw her taking the lunch box and leaving. Honey confirms it's a lunch box, and Jithu and I saw her coming back with a lunch box, so we can rule her out too. Viji was with the others at the water tap, so she can also be ruled out. PS and PJ never left the class, so they couldn't have done it," Anand suggested his theories.

"So, that leaves us with,"

DIXON

"So, we can conclude it's him, but again, the footprint- how can it be explained?" I wondered

"Only one way to find out, come on, we have only two left to interrogate, we will find out the answer soon," Said Mithra.

But we didn't know what awaited us!

Anand's Diagram

VJ - Viji, R- Ramu, A-Aparna, K-Kili, H-Honey, V-Veni, D-Dixon, J-Jithu, An- Anand

Chapter 5

More Than an Umbrella

"We are running out of time; we have only half an hour before the PTA meeting. Even though it never starts at the scheduled time, this is a special PTA for the open day discussions, so I suspect several parents won't be attending this." Mithra said, walking fast.

"My mother will come; she told me," I said.

We were walking towards the auditorium, and Bindu teacher was sitting outside.

"We need to buy some time. Let's talk to Bindu Teacher; after all, she's the one who's going to talk to your mother. We can ask for some time," Anand suggested.

"I don't know; today in the staffroom, she was very angry with me," I said.

"But she's kind, you know, and she has been married for so long, and doesn't have children of her own - we are the closest thing she has, like her own kids, so she will help us!" Anand said in a somber tone.

Mithra and I looked at him in surprise.

"One of my senior friends told me that if we got into any trouble, we could approach her, considering her as our mother, and she would help!"

We were in front of her,

"Teacher, I didn't break the umbrella; I need some more time to…" I started

"It's not just the umbrella, Jithu; it's your attitude. I have been noticing it for a long time; you are just so selfish that it won't get you anywhere in life. You should learn to care about others," she replied, slowly looking into my eyes.

I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I thought I was going to pass out there and then.

"But, in this case… please don't tell my mother that I broke the umbrella."

"Maybe you are innocent; even I was thinking about teaching you a lesson. Well, whoever had that opportunity may have done this. But this is not about the umbrella; you should understand your mistakes; you can be a good person; I believe you will be." She started to walk away. "As for telling your mother, I will think about it."

We stood there in silence for a minute. Then the messy rain started again, and we got inside.

Viji and Aparna stood in front of us, in the auditorium, on the other side of the building. The practices were still going on. They were singing, dancing, and making props. I looked at Viji; she was still ignoring me. Her eyes were clouded, face looked fatigued.

"It was my new umbrella; he just broke it. I don't know what to do; I don't know how I will tell my mother; she will kill me!" She started sobbing.

"I didn't do it, and why are you so upset about this? This is just an umbre…." I started but couldn't finish.

She stared at me. I had never seen anything like that on her face or on anyone else's. It wasn't the anger you came across on the playground during a heated game or after scratching your friend's new watch; she looked at me like I had killed her dog! She pushed me aside and ran away crying.

"What's the matter with her?" I looked at Aparna

"You won't understand; she is very poor. She didn't have an umbrella for all these years because she couldn't afford one. Her father is a drunk, you know; he comes home and beats her almost every evening during her prayers. He spends most of his money on drinking; she uses old textbooks from our senior students. She doesn't even have a nice dress; haven't you noticed?" said Aparna.

I didn't. Are there students in my class who can't afford a textbook? I was thinking.

She continued,

"-My case is not that bad; at least I had an old one. The fabric has been torn a bit, but my sister stitched it for me; Viji and I would share it. Recently, Viji's father became much worse, so her mother started to go to work- like laying bricks – and the first thing she bought was an umbrella for Viji; it's more than an umbrella for her." She started to tear up. "How can she tell her mother that she broke it? How long before she gets another one?"

Her sobs echoed everywhere, piercing the raging rain. She must be really attached to her friend.

"Okay, don't cry; we will find out who broke it, and make them get her a brand new, better one." Mithra hugged her. But it wasn't enough to console her.

"I didn't know any of this. I am sorry, but I didn't break it!"

Anand and I moved away from them as Mithra was trying to comfort her.

"Now I really want to know who did it; this is serious," I said.

Before Anand could respond, someone screamed my name, "JITHU…."

Ramu came to the hall panting. She said, "It's your—MOTHER; she's here; she came a little bit early because she had a family function to attend in the evening. Dixon is talking to her."

I was taken aback and scared to death at the same time, felt like everything had ended in that very moment! Suddenly, even the rain lost its voice. It was subsiding.

"I am going to kill that—," I cried and turned to run out as Anand held my hand.

"Wait, wait, we are already in serious trouble! Don't do anything stupid; calm down! Let's approach this rationally. We can convince her of the truth. Calm down!"

Both of us rushed to our class, and my mother was there! Talking to Dixon and Viji, yeah, she knows everything now; everything has been sabotaged. When I walked towards them, Dixon left, smiling at me.

"I will get you a new umbrella, don't worry," My mother promised Viji

As Viji moved away, I moved step by step towards my mother, gasping. I could hear my own heartbeat even in the middle of all the school noise.

She looked at me in disappointment, but she seemed very calm.

"Anand, will you give us a minute?"

Anand went into the class, nodding.

"What have you done, Jithu? Why did you break that girl's umbrella?"

"I didn't…"

"Yeah, like you ever accepted your mistakes? Every time I come to the school, there are always complaints against you; that's all I hear. Is this what I have taught you?"

I didn't say anything.

"What was it you promised every time, whenever I asked you about your future?"

"I, I am going to take care of you and the brother when I grow up…."

"You can't even take care of yourself, you know that? The world doesn't just revolve around you. You must learn to understand and help others. How many friends have you got here? Like real friends, stop hurting others, and then you can make grand plans for our family.

Her voice was getting even calmer,

"It's okay, I am not going to scold you or anything; I know you can understand your mistakes."

"But I really didn't ….'"

She looked at me, "I know you can." She walked towards the staff room.

Why doesn't anyone believe me? What's the problem with all the grownups?

As I was processing it, Dixon emerged out of nowhere,

"Seems like nobody is believing you, " he said

I tried to ignore him, but I couldn't

"I know I didn't do it; Anand knows, Mithra knows, and soon everyone will know."

"You have got friends now; that's good to see."

"I always had friends."

"Did you really, Jithu? All you could do is use others for your benefit, whether it's for homework or winning a game, whatever it is."

"You are just a liar, and you just like hurting people. I don't care what you say."

"Like you didn't hurt or lie, there was a time we were best friends, brother; that was because you had some qualities I liked, as it turns out they were just bad traits. Last time, you burned all of my notebooks. How evil can you get?"

"You framed me for breaking the desk-"

"I am sorry for that. I was just so scared at that time, and I didn't know what to do. Also, it may be because you are the worst person I could think to blame it on; even then, you didn't have to burn all of the books; that wasn't an equal response. Did you know how hard it was for me to submit my notes for internals and study for the exams?"

"So, this is your revenge."

"I am not saying that; anyway, I am happy. God gave you what you deserved; you are in a worse state than I intended you to be. I will leave you alone, but it ends here. Don't PUSH me any further; you or your stupid 'friends' can't handle that—mind it," he said in a chilling, determined voice and left.

I stared into the sky, and thunder crashed somewhere; rain was growing heavier again.

Anand came back with Mithra and asked, "What did he say?"

"He probably has done that; I don't think we can prove it. Anyway, thank you so much for helping me out; I never had such friends, I never expected..."

I was out of words; Mithra looked at me in delight,

"But he gets away with it in the end; this is just like the time he jumped on that desk and broke it, and I got blamed for that too; he's a wolf in sheep's clothing who knows exactly how to trap his prey. Maybe I am not better either; leave it."

"Is it? Because I think the case has been solved!" Mithra's eyes lit up again with confidence!

Chapter 6

Puddles and Streams

Anand, Dixon, PS, PJ, Ramu, and I were sitting in the class. Mithra stood in front of us to explain her solution.

"So, who did it ?" Anand raised the question.

"I will tell you, of course, but before that I would like to take a look at some fascinating clues and statements in this case." Mithra could barely contain her excitement.

"First of all, there was a desk out of place in this classroom. You guys said it could be moved for the play rehearsals, but was it?"

"You said the desk was playing a role in the play, so you mean it moved itself?" Anand interjected.

Mithra smiled and continued, "And another thing is Kili's strange mention of seeing Dixon inside the classroom; she might have told that to cover Dixon, or what if she was telling the truth?"

"Well, it is not possible, unless she can see through the walls," I contradicted.

"Exactly, these are the fantastical elements I mentioned: a desk which apparently moved itself, a haunted tree that witnessed the crime, and of course a girl who can see through the walls!" She turned to Anand, "These clues are like puddles in the ground, Anand, which trapped the rainwater; interconnecting them are little crisscrossing streams, a chain of events that created a maze-like crime plot; it doesn't make any sense unless you know which stream to follow."

Anand never liked it when Mithra talked like this, but he was hooked.

Dixon was sitting there like he didn't care.

"First of all, let's address the elephant in the room, or the wolf if you will; Dixon didn't break the umbrella." I couldn't believe it. Then WHO?

"It was obviously Aparna!"

"What? Obviously? How is it obvious?" I needed answers.

"All the students present in this class during that crime have seen Aparna come to get a lunch box, and Veni even said that she left with an umbrella."

"But she corrected it," Anand said

"She was confused when Honey mentioned seeing Dixon with an umbrella. She was correct the first time."

"But we saw her coming with the lunchbox," I said.

"She didn't take an umbrella, PS PJ and I saw that!" said Dixon sternly

"And Honey and Veni were so sure she didn't come back!" Anand remembered.

"Yes, she didn't come back because she didn't have to. As for the three eyewitnesses, are they reliable? Let's play a little flashback."

She turned to Dixon and continued,

"This afternoon in the staffroom, while accusing Jithu of breaking the umbrella, what did Dixon say? 'He did it; he broke it with-'-and he stopped mid-sentence, let me complete the sentence for you: he broke it with his leg! What did you mean? Everyone saw Jithu pushing it against the floor like a walking stick, and it came apart. That means you accidentally started to describe another of your vivid memories. It suggested either you broke it, or perhaps you saw a person pressing an umbrella against the ground and breaking it with her legs!"

Dixon was taken aback.

"The footprints on the umbrella strongly suggested it's a girl, and I concluded Dixon somehow saw it and used that opportunity to frame Jithu, but how? I too thought Kili's statement of seeing him inside was absurd at first, because nobody could see anything inside or out of this class through these 5-foot-tall walls blocking the view, unless-"

She raised her index finger.

"They are taller, like I said, if it's a teacher." I highlighted my earlier remark.

"Or? Isn't it clear and simple? Kili sees Dixon in the class. Dixon sees Aparna breaking the umbrella!" She turned to me, "What did honey say about Dixon's activity in the class?"

"His usual shenanigans running around and jumping," I recalled.

"And what was the last time he framed you for?"

"Breaking the desk; he jumped on it and ….." I stopped

"Yes, he had a habit of running around and jumping between the desks. And here obviously he was on top of the desk so that he could see Aparna, and Kili could see him! Dead simple! Now, about the desk, if the desk had been moved for the play rehearsals, as you said, normally two or three people would have lifted it and moved it. However, the heavy desk was moved by a single person, in a hurry, scratching the floor–to get a better positioning to see something clearly. Maybe the pillars were blocking his view, weren't they?" Mithra asked Dixon

Dixon didn't say anything, but his expression confirmed it.

"So, Aparna breaks the umbrella and leaves it near the haunted tree, goes to the washroom through the back of the building, and comes back through the other side, near the auditorium. Thus, Anand and Jithu see her with a lunch box, right?

We nodded.

"Dixon takes this as an opportunity, goes out; he knew Honey and Veni would be concentrating in their studies or fighting whatever. He goes out, fetches the broken umbrella, and fits it back just to hold itself together. Comes back - Honey talking to Bindu teacher sees this, but as soon as her eyes drifted away - he puts it back in Viji's bag! He knew he could make PS and PJ say whatever he wanted, thereby framing Jithu. But he didn't stop there; he's as cunning as a wolf. He would have blackmailed Aparna just before play rehearsals so that she would testify against Jithu as he needed her to. That's why she cried and didn't want to practice."

"But why did she break the umbrella in the first place?" Ramu asked.

"I think there must be some issues between Viji and Aparna; maybe that's why you saw her crying in the auditorium in the morning. When she was explaining why the umbrella was so important, she couldn't control her emotions; she was in real pain and guilt!"

"Yes," Aparna walked into the class, tearful. "I shouldn't have done that! We were the closest friends; she always came and left with me. We were sharing my umbrella, but when she got a new one, her attitude changed…"

She struggled to utter each word,

"...she never let me touch it. I felt like she was using me for my umbrella and being selfish, and now she doesn't want me. I was devastated. This morning in the auditorium, she got angry with me for taking her umbrella. She tried to slap me and told me to leave; I couldn't take it."

Her voice dissolved into tears.

"In a moment of weakness, I broke it!.. But then I thought she may have behaved like that because it was so important to her, more than an umbrella, and I shouldn't have done that. I can't tell her; she won't talk to me again, and I can't afford to get her a new umbrella either."

She looked at us, covering her face with her hands.

"I don't know what to do!"

The whole classroom was mute, except for Aparna's sobbing and the sound of the messy rain outside. The clock struck three. Time to prove my innocence. I ran out of the classroom; Mithra and Anand followed me. Mithra tried to say something, but I couldn't hear it. All of those who falsely blamed me, here I come!

Epilogue

I stood in front of the long wooden desk in the dark old staffroom. Teachers were drinking tea and looking at me curiously.

"So, what's your decision? Are you ready to accept your fault?" Vijayan Sir asked

"Your mother was here; I didn't tell her yet," Bindu teacher said.

Yeah, very helpful!

Anand and Mithra were at the door, waiting for me to call them to explain all the facts. That was my moment. I wanted to see all of them regretting having humiliated the wrong boy!

"I didn—" a crack of thunder interrupted me and echoed everywhere. I looked back.

As a flash of lightning, I saw Viji, standing there leaning against a pillar, gazing into the rain, hopelessly.

"It was just thunder; go on, you -" Vijayan sir reopened the sentence for me.

"I was saying, I did break the umbrella; my mother will be getting her a new one; it was my mistake; I will apologize to her."

I turned back and started to walk. Anand looked at me in disbelief, and Mithra was smiling.

The rain that had just grown heavier outside drowned out the voices around me— the messy monsoon was hammering the roof tiles and windows relentlessly. Wait, was it settling into a new rhythm now?

The End