The Last Normal Day
Rourkela, Odisha
The school ground was unusually loud that morning.
It was the annual sports day, and almost the entire school had gathered around the track. Students were cheering from the stands, teachers were moving around with clipboards, and the speakers kept playing music between events.
Zoya stood near the starting line of the 100- metre race, stretching one leg while looking around the ground.
She wasn't nervous.
At least, she didn't want anyone to think she was.
Her eyes moved across the crowd automatically, taking in little details- the teachers arguing over the event list, younger students waving handmade flags, and the runners in the other lanes trying to look confident.
Then her eyes stopped.
Lane four.
Aryan.
Of course.
Her classmate looked completely relaxed, as if he had already won.
He notice her looking and smirked.
" Ready to lose?"
Zoya stared at him for a moment.
" That's a weird way of asking if you're ready to lose."
Aryan's expression changed.
A few students nearly laughed.
" Very funny", he muttered.
Zoya simply turned away.
She and Aryan had never really gotten along. Maybe it was because they were both competitive. Maybe it was because neither of them liked backing down.
Whatever the reason, every competition somehow turned into a competition between the two of them.
And today was no different.
" Zoya!"
She heard a familiar voice behind her.
She turned and saw Arav standing near the barricade, holding a water bottle.
" You forgot this".
Zoya took it from him.
" I didn't forget it."
" You literally left it on the bench."
" I was coming back for it."
" Sure."
She rolled her eyes.
Arav laughed.
" You better win. I've already told everyone you're going to."
" That's sound like your problem."
" It becomes my problem if you lose."
Zoya smiled despite.
With people she trusted, she was different. She could talk endlessly, joke around, and forget about everything else.
But around unfamiliar people, she usually stayed quiet.
She watched first.
Trusted later.
The referee walked toward the runners.
" Positions!"
Zoya handed her water bottle back to Arav.
" Wish me luck."
" You don't need luck."
She raised an eyebrow.
" That's supposed to be reassuring?"
" I'm saying you're going to win."
Zoya smiled.
" Better."
She moved toward the starting line.
The crowd grew louder.
Aryan stepped into his lane beside her.
The referee raised the starting pistol.
Zoya took a breath.
She lowered herself into position.
For one brief moment, everything around her seemed to disappear.
The shouting.
The music.
The teachers.
All she could hear was her own breathing.
Then-
A loud mechanical sound came from above.
Zoya looked up.
A helicopter was flying over the school.
She frowned.
That was strange.
Before she could say anything, another helicopter appeared behind it.
Then a third.
The entire ground slowly became quite.
Students stopped cheering.
Teachers looked towards the sky.
Even Aryan looked confused.
" What the hell ?" Someone whispered.
Zoya watched the helicopters carefully.
They weren't flying like normal news helicopters.
They were moving quickly, almost as if they were heading somewhere.
Then the sirens began.
One .
Then another .
Then several more in the distance.
WEEE-OOOOO
The sound echoed through the school grounds.
Zoya stood up from her position.
The referee lowered the pistol.
Nobody knew what to do.
" What is happening?" a student shouted.
A teacher hurried toward the principal.
Phones came out everywhere.
Zoya immediately took hers from her pocket.
No signal.
She frowned and tried again.
Nothing.
" That's weird."
Arav came closer.
" What?"
" No network."
He checked his own phone.
" Same."
Before anyone could say anything else, the school's speakers crackled.
" Attention, students...."
The principal's voice sounded unusually tense
" Please remain calm and stay inside the school premises. We have received instructions to -"
The speakers suddenly cut out.
Silence .
Then hundreds of voices erupted at once.
" What happened?"
" Why did they stop?"
" Are we allowed to leave?"
" Call my parents!"
Zoya's grip tightened around her phone.
She opened her contacts.
Her thumb stopped over one name.
Mum.
She called.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
No answer.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
Her chest tightened slightly.
Maya always answered her calls.
Always.
" Zoya?"
Arav's voice pulled her attention back
She looked at him.
" My mom isn't picking up."
" Maybe the network is down."
" Maybe."
She didn't sound convinced.
A teacher suddenly shouted from across the field.
" Everyone stay calm! Go back to your classrooms!"
But nobody was calm anymore.
Something had changed.
Zoya could fell it.
She didn't know what was happening, but
She knew one thing -
This wasn't normal.
The school dismissed the students less than an hour later
Teachers tried to keep everyone organized, but the moment the gates opened, the crowd rushed outside.
The roads around the school were already chaotic.
Cars were stuck in traffic.
People were running towards shop and homes.
Several stores had bold town that shutters, nobody seems to have a clear answer.
Zoya store near the school gate, steering at her phone.
Still no signal.
Still no answer from Maya.
" I'm dropping you home ".
She looked up.
Arav stood beside her, keys in his hand
" I can go myself."
" I knew."
He pointer toward his car.
" But I'm going that way anyway."
Zoya hesitated for a moment.
Then she nodded.
" Fine."
The drive was unusually quiet.
The radio kept losing its connection.
For a few seconds, a news broadcast came through.
" ... Authorities have adviserd residents to remain indoors...."
Static.
Then another fragment.
" ..... Multiple incident reported in-"
Static again.
Zoya looked out of the window.
Rourkela didn't look like the city she knew.
People were rushing.
Ambulance moved through traffic.
Somewhere far away, another siren sounded.
Zoya check her phone again.
Nothing.
She opened her messages.
She typed:
Mum, are you okay?
The message wouldn't send
Her stomach sank.
Arav glanced at her.
" Don't worry. We'll reach your house soon."
Zoya nodded.
She didn't answer.
A few minutes later, Arav stopped his car outside Zoya's house.
Zoya unbuckled her seatbelt.
" Thanks."
" Call me once you're inside."
" I will "
She opened the door and stepped out.
Arav waited until she reached the gate before driving away.
Zoya watched his car disappear down the road.
Then she turned toward her house.
And stopped.
The front door was slightly open.
Her expression changed.
It was strange.
Maya always locked the door.
Especially when she was home alone.
Zoya slowly walked toward it.
" Mum?"
No answer.
She pushed the door open.
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
Zoya stepped inside.
" Mum?"
Still nothing.
She took another step.
Then the door behind her slowly moved shut.
Click.
Zoya froze.
Something was wrong.
