The Mischievous Ranker : The Detective Boys - Short Story 5

 

Dhakuria High School had had a very busy month of January 1995. The tenth standard preliminary examination before the board exam had finished some days back and the results were as expected by the school principal, Mrs. Chatterjee.  Not to anyone’s surprise, Sudip Roy had stood first. He had left his competitors far behind lagging for marks. His scores in Mathematics and Science were almost hundred percent. But to Dhakuria High school and to the teachers of the school, this is not something new.  Sudip Roy was one of the naughtiest students of the school. He would often be standing outside the classroom due to some mischief or indiscipline, but when it came to exams Sudip Roy would always top the exams. The tenth standard preliminary exams were no different. Being a resident of the famous Roy pada (Roy lane), Sudip Roy had indeed kept the tradition in place. Sitting on the first bench, both Ritwick and Deep Das wondered that how could someone on earth get a first rank after enjoying the entire year doing mischief. Though Ritwick had never doubted Sudip’s talent, but over the past few months Ritwick had observed many unusual aspects of the ranker’s behavior.

Dhakuria High school was founded in the year 1938 and was situated near the Dhakuria Railway station. Over the many decades it had stood its ground, the school had made a reputation of churning out great scholars who made their name in the respective fields. Ritwick was proud of the school but sadly the opposite couldn’t be said. Ritwick was an average student though very intelligent. This intelligence of his had made him observe some peculiar characteristics about Sudip over the previous few months.

The first aspect which Ritwick had observed was that Sudip switched his walking style every now and then. Some months he would walk care free and straight with an attitude while on other months his walk would be slow and depressed. The confidence in the walk would defer too regularly. His shoes would often attract Ritwick’s attention. During exams and the results his shoes would be shabby and unpolished but during the other months, the shoes would be polished. Every time he shook his hands with Sudip, he could feel contrasting shape of hands. Some days it would be soft and light and other days it would be confident and tight. There were fluctuations in his mood also.  An often-laughing Sudip would suddenly be serious on some days and in deep thought on some other days.

“So are you suggesting Sudip is suffering from multiple personality syndrome?” asked a very confused Deep who really couldn’t get over the fact that he had once again got the borderline passing marks.

Ritwick didn’t utter anything but continued observing Sudip over the next few days until he could again the spot the difference. This time it was the manner in which Sudip held the pen. Some months ago, he recollected that Sudip would hold the pen near the nip but suddenly the grip had changed to the area just above the nip where normally everyone held.

This made Ritwick to change tracks and get into his investigative role.

“My god! I cannot believe, Ritwick, that you are actually investigating someone because he has got better marks than you! Not fair!” uttered an uninterested Deep Das.

On the last day of the week, Ritwick and Deep das followed Sudip from the school towards his home. Ritwick knew that Sudip stayed at the Roy Lane but he had no idea about the house number in which he resided.

The walk was a long one as Sudip took a lot of crisscross and finally reached his house. To him, Ritwick and Deep didn’t seem of any danger or suspicion. Once Ritwick had known Sudip’s house, he hatched a plan to come back that night.

The night was cold with the January chill. Ritwick and Deep Das gathered near Sudip’s home.

“So, what are we going to do here?”

“We are going to the climb the tree at the backyard and peep into the house”

Deep das was uninterested.

As the clock struck eleven, both Ritwick and Deep Das climbed the tree situated just behind Sudip’s home. They could get a good look of the entire house and its rooms.

Ritwick continued to look for some interesting events. Suddenly his eyes fell on a room where he could see Sudip sitting on table and writing on a table. As he was about to turn his eyes, a human figure entered the room and Ritwick was startled. He hit Deep Das on the shoulder signifying to look towards the room. Deep Das couldn’t believe his eyes. It seemed as if both Ritwick and Deep Das were in state of shock to utter any words. That night they walked calmly towards their house at Babu Bagan Lane. They both sat near the turning of the lane and thought for some time.

“I can’t believe it, da,” said a shocked Deep Das.

Ritwick just looked on road ahead and seemed to be in deep thought.

“All these years it was just a sham.”

They both looked at each other and said in a chorus “Damn man, there are two Sudip Roy, twins!”

As the night fell in Ritwick and Deep das recollected everything about Sudip which they had seen over the years.

Everything was in front of everyone but no one wanted to see.

Neither did Dhakuria High school nor did anyone ever know the truth about Sudip Roy who got the tag name “The mischievous ranker”, except of course Ritwick and Deep Das who knew that the mischievous and the ranker were two separate persons.