###
The shift from Class 11 to 12 was not just a change in syllabus—it was a transformation in mindset. Aditya stood at the edge of something immense. The board exams loomed once again, but now, alongside them, stood the JEE. The Joint Entrance Examination. The gatekeeper to IIT. His Everest.
His school had become a background noise now. The real battlefield was in the mock tests, in the multiple-choice bubbles, and in the ticking timers. Every second counted. Every mistake could be the difference between a seat at a top IIT or nothing at all.
---
Aditya set a rigorous routine for himself. Wake up at 4:15 AM, revise concepts till 6:00, attend school, sneak in naps on the bus, solve previous year papers during lunch, go to tuition classes from 5 to 9 PM, then self-study till midnight.
Zaid would joke, "Tu toh insaan se calendar ban gaya hai."
But even Zaid had quieted down lately. He was applying to film schools in Mumbai. The distance between them was growing—not out of resentment, but from direction. They were sailing into different seas.
---
Anjali had taken the medical stream. They rarely met now. Once, Aditya caught a glimpse of her in the corridor of the library building. Her eyes met his. A brief smile. A shared memory. And then she was gone, pulled by the tide of her own dreams.
---
The syllabus was a beast. Thermodynamics, organic chemistry, electromagnetism, conic sections. Aditya fought through every chapter like a warrior. But the hardest enemy wasn't the content.
It was doubt.
Some days, he questioned everything.
"Am I really good enough?"
"What if I don't make it?"
"Will my parents be disappointed?"
He wrote these fears in his journal and then crossed them out one by one. Fear, he realized, wasn't something to erase. It was something to outgrow.
---
One late winter night, power went out in the entire colony. Aditya lit a candle, opened his textbook, and continued solving problems by hand.
Ramesh watched him silently from the door. Later, he told Meera, "Woh ladka aag se bana hai. Usse koi rok nahi sakta."
---
The first JEE mock test was a disaster.
Aditya scored 56 out of 300.
He stared at the paper, stunned. Everything he'd studied... and still, this?
He walked home in silence, the world muffled. He skipped dinner. Zaid came over.
"Tujhe pata hai Steve Jobs ka first product fail ho gaya tha?"
Aditya blinked. "Kya?"
"Haan. Par usne give up nahi kiya. Tu bhi nahi karega. Score matters, but effort zyada matter karta hai."
That night, Aditya made a new plan. Not just for study. For growth. He would treat every failure as feedback. Every low score as a lesson.
---
The next few months passed like a montage. Books scribbled with notes. Diagrams on walls. Timers on his wristwatch. His name became synonymous with hard work. Even the teachers began calling him "IIT boy."
But he didn't let it get to his head. He knew the real test was still ahead.
---
Then came January.
The JEE Main exam.
Aditya entered the exam hall, heart thumping. He sat down, adjusted his ID card, logged into the computer. When the timer started, he took a deep breath.
Three hours later, he walked out numb.
"Kaise hua?" Ramesh asked.
Aditya shrugged. "Kuch questions ache gaye. Kuch galat ho gaye. Dekhte hain."
A week later, the results came.
198 out of 300.
He qualified for JEE Advanced.
It wasn't a top score, but it was enough.
---
April brought board exams again. By now, Aditya had mastered the art of balancing. He finished every paper with calm precision.
May came with JEE Advanced.
This time, Aditya didn't feel nervous. He was prepared.
He answered with clarity. Skipped what he didn't know. Focused on accuracy.
He walked out with no regrets.
---
Then came the waiting.
Weeks crawled.
When the results were finally announced, Aditya stood before the same cybercafe computer.
AIR: 1452.
His legs trembled. He sat down.
He had made it.
Not just to IIT. But to life.
---
That evening, Meera lit a diya in front of the tulsi plant. Ramesh went around the colony distributing sweets.
Zaid came over, camera in hand. "Tu meri documentary ka hero ban gaya, bhai."
Anjali texted: *"Congratulations. I knew you could do it."
Aditya smiled.
He stepped out on the roof that night, looked at the stars, and whispered:
"Shukriya. Tumne hamesha saath diya."
The leap was complete. From Bhairavpur to the gates of IIT.
But the journey was far from over.
The real world was just about to begin.