Chapter 3: The Calm Before The Perfect Storm
13th September 2020
The sun was already punishing at 9 AM in Jaipur, but Rajat barely felt it. Mask on, sanitizer in pocket, admit card in hand.
He stood in line at the NEET exam center, surrounded by anxious teenagers sweating in their cotton shirts, flipping through last-minute notes and muttering formulas under their breath.
Some prayed. Others panicked.
But not Rajat.
His eyes were calm. Focused. Not a single ripple of doubt in his mind.
He wasn't here to "attempt" NEET.
He was here to claim it.
---
Inside the Exam Hall
He took his seat, adjusted his spectacles, and glanced at the OMR sheet. The invigilator walked past him without a second glance.
He had filled out forms, done biometrics, gone through all the ridiculous COVID protocols. A small price to pay for what came next.
The bell rang.
Paper distributed. Timer started.
Rajat flipped open the paper—and smiled.
> "This is child's play."
---
Physics? Done in 23 minutes.
Chemistry? 18 minutes.
Biology? 12 minutes flat.
Every answer filled with confident strokes. No hesitation. No doubt.
He didn't even second-guess himself.
By the end of the first hour, Rajat had completed the entire NEET paper with absolute certainty.
And in the next two hours? He just sat there. Rechecking. Reviewing. Reconstructing the whole paper in his mind from memory—backwards and forwards.
---
As students around him nervously scribbled and raced against the clock, Rajat leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
His thoughts drifted to the future.
> "Do I go back to SSIMS Bhilai? Pretend to walk the same old path?"
The memories from that life were sharp. Messy. Painful. The betrayal, the loneliness, the slow rot of cancer from the inside.
The life unlived.
> "I could go to SSIMS. Be the best doctor they ever saw. Quiet. Efficient. Unstoppable. Stay invisible. Just enough to save lives but not attract too much attention."
Or...
> "I could aim higher."
AIIMS Delhi.
The Mecca of Indian medicine. A place where the best of the best fought for recognition.
Where people wouldn't question why you were brilliant.
Where he could disappear in plain sight—while quietly mastering everything.
> "Yeah…" He smirked. "Let's go to AIIMS."
---
4:00 PM – Outside the exam hall
Students exited in varying states of despair and relief. Parents swarmed. Questions flew.
"Bio easy tha na?"
"Physics me time gaya."
"Shayad drop lena padega…"
Rajat walked past it all, his phone already buzzing.
Friends: How was it bro?
Cousins: Guess I'm dropping.
His mom: Beta, ho gaya?
He typed a simple message to her:
> "Done. I think it went well."
No drama. No declarations.
Because this wasn't the end of a test.
It was the start of his legend—one no one would ever see coming.