Chapter 5: The Breaking Point

9:00 AM – The Mock Test That Feels Like a Death Sentence

Debasish sits in the exam hall, gripping his pen so tightly his fingers ache. The question paper stares back at him, but his mind is blank.

"Focus. This is your chance to improve."

But the words don’t mean anything. His heart pounds, his breathing is shallow. He scans the first question—organic chemistry, a reaction he should know. But the answer dances just out of reach.

He marks an option.

Doubt creeps in.

He erases it. Marks another.

Doubt. Again.

Minutes slip away, the ticking clock growing louder. He jumps to physics. A simple mechanics problem. But even as he writes an equation, his hands tremble.

The panic tightens around his chest like a noose. The more he tries to focus, the worse it gets.

And then—time’s up.

He puts his pen down, already knowing.

He failed. Again.

---

3:00 PM – The Score That Destroys Him

Debasish sits on his hostel bed, staring at his phone screen.

398.

Lower than before. Lower than his worst nightmare.

His breath catches. He was supposed to improve. NEET is in two months.

Instead, he’s getting worse.

He clenches his fists. His mother is sacrificing everything for him—her health, her happiness—and this is what he’s giving her?

He buries his face in his hands.

"Why am I like this? Why can’t I just… be better?"

Regret crushes him. If only he had started earlier. If only he had been more disciplined. If only he could turn back time.

But he can’t.

---

7:00 PM – The Call That Changes Everything

Debasish steps out of his room, hunger gnawing at him, but pauses near the hostel balcony.

A familiar voice drifts from the corridor. Ankita.

She’s on the phone, her voice sharp, urgent.

> Ankita: "Maa, you need to rest. You can’t keep doing this."

Meera: "Beta, I have no choice. The doctor said—"

His stomach tightens. Doctor?

> Ankita: (Angrily) "You’re sick, Maa! You can’t just ignore it."

Sick? His blood turns cold.

> Meera: "I don’t want to tell Debasish. He already has too much pressure."

A lump forms in his throat. His mother is sick. And he was too busy failing to notice.

The realization crashes down on him.

"I’m the reason she’s pushing herself so hard."

His hands shake.

He walks away before Ankita can see him, his legs unsteady beneath him.

---

10:00 PM – The Spiral

Debasish grips his phone.

He should study. He should do something—anything.

Instead, he opens YouTube.

"Just one video to clear my mind."

One video turns into ten.

Ten turns into hours.

The guilt gnaws at him, but the escape is easier. It always is.

The videos blur together, his mind numb. He knows he should stop, but what’s the point?

His mother is sick. His score is a disaster. He is a disaster.

At 2:30 AM, his phone slips from his hands. His eyes burn. His body is exhausted.

And for the first time, he wonders if he’ll ever break free.

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