Meghmala Girls High School
Bhibhas Sir's cabin, the door locked from the inside. Rodela's eyes were full of tears, her voice trembling. Bhibhas Sir sat across the table. Rodela stood in front of him.
Rodela (in a trembling voice): Sir… I… I came to tell you something…
Bhibhas Sir (sternly): What happened, Rodela? Why did you have to come to the cabin at this hour?
Rodela (with tears): I… I made a mistake, Sir… I know… but I realized it too late…
Bhibhas Sir (frowning): Speak clearly, Rodela. What do you want to say?
Rodela (breaking down in tears): I'm pregnant, Sir…
(A moment of silence. Bhibhas Sir slowly stands up. His face is full of intense anger and shock.)
Bhibhas Sir (gritting his teeth): What did you say? Are you crazy? What the hell have you done?
Rodela (sniffling): I know, Sir… I know it was wrong… but I trusted you…
Rodela starts sobbing uncontrollably.
After a brief pause, Bhibhas Sir suddenly speaks with a harsh voice.
Bhibhas Sir (eyes bloodshot): Didn't I warn you to be careful? Didn't I tell you, Rodela—this isn't a game!
Rodela (in a fearful voice): You did, Sir… I… I didn't take proper care…
Bhibhas Sir (slapping the table angrily): What do you mean 'didn't take care'? I told you—don't take a single step without protection! I told you over and over to keep pills! I explained everything to you!
Rodela (trying to hold back tears): Sir, I thought… it would only happen once…
Bhibhas Sir (mockingly): 'Only once won't happen anything'! That thought is the root of all destruction! Don't you understand—just one time can change your entire life! I never talked to you like a child. I thought you had learned to take responsibility…
Rodela (wiping her eyes): I made a mistake, Sir… I just wanted to tell you…
Bhibhas Sir (clenching teeth, voice lowering): I get that you wanted to tell me. Now, we'll see what you do after saying that… But mark my words— I will not take responsibility for this mistake. I am your teacher, Rodela! I am a husband… a father! I have a family… a seven-year-old daughter at home… What did you think? That everything would be fine even after doing this?
Rodela (with a trembling voice): I haven't told anyone, Sir… I just wanted to tell you… I couldn't handle it alone…
Bhibhas Sir (eyes red, gritting teeth): You couldn't handle it, so you're going to ruin my life? I never loved you—just showed a little care, trusted you a bit too much… and this is what you did?
Rodela (voice shaking): I know I was wrong… but I only trusted you…
Bhibhas Sir (frustrated, getting up from the chair): Trust? What if my wife finds out? What if my daughter someday knows what I did! My family will be finished. Then what? Should I go babysitting with you? Thinking that the kid and wife will be taken care of by you?
Rodela (softly): Sir… I hate myself…
Bhibhas Sir (cold but trembling voice): In this situation, there's only one thing— you cannot keep this child.
Rodela (shocked, voice trembling): What did you say, Sir?
Bhibhas Sir (with a piercing look): Yes, you heard right. You have to get an abortion. There's no other way. I can't get involved in this mess.
Rodela (breath catching): But… this is wrong! How can we kill a life? And you are the father! You are a man of morals, a teacher whom everyone respects! A biology teacher! How can you…
Bhibhas Sir (angrily): Enough with this nonsense! You will get the abortion.
Rodela (crying): But Sir, it's my body… my choice…
Bhibhas Sir (furious): Now you talk about your body? When you came to sleep with your teacher, did you think about this? When I warned you again and again, did you think about these consequences? I told you to use protection, to keep pills! You didn't listen!
(Pausing briefly, lowering his voice but sharply)
Bhibhas Sir: You can't even take care of yourself, and now you say you'll keep the baby? How will you take care of it? Feed it? Quit school? What will you say in college? And if you tell your parents, they'll kill the baby. Do you think your parents will allow you to raise your teacher's child?
Rodela (tears in her eyes): I don't know, Sir… but it's a life…
Bhibhas Sir (shouting): That's nothing now! If we don't act now, your life and your family's life will be over! Mine will be ruined too. I'll help you, alright—I'll take you to a doctor, I'll pay the expenses, but you have to do this.
Rodela silently keeps crying. Her heart is breaking in pain.
Bhibhas Sir (cold voice): You have nothing more to say. On the 18th, at 8 a.m., I'll take you to the medical clinic. I'll arrange everything.
(Rodela continues to cry, head bowed. Bhibhas Sir looks away and says)
Bhibhas Sir: Now go back to class. Don't get noticed by anyone. I don't want to see you here anymore.
(Rodela drags her feet towards the door, suddenly stops. Her voice shakes, eyes wet.)
Rodela (whispering): Sir… can I ask you something?
Bhibhas Sir (annoyed): What?
Rodela (softly, holding back tears): Did you… did you ever love me?
(A moment of silence. Bhibhas Sir gets up from his chair. He looks toward the window for a while, then turns his face and speaks in a hard, unfamiliar voice.)
Bhibhas Sir: Love? Rodela, do you still think about such things?
No one loves anyone in this world. Everyone lives for themselves. No one cries for anyone—unless they expect to gain something from that 'anyone.'
Bhibhas Sir (even colder voice): If I said I love you, it would only make you cry more. I'm telling you this plainly.
You were my student, but in your eyes, there was a kind of interest, trust, loneliness towards me—something I needed to exploit. You were just a way to satisfy my bodily desires.
A half-grown girl, wrapped in the illusions of her body, fragile—such a student to be… left with all this. You don't understand. You're still too young to understand all this.
(Pauses, then his eyes blaze with shameless truth.)
Bhibhas Sir: No one is selfless, Rodela. Not even you. You needed something too—love, companionship, maybe a fairy-tale dream. And me? I'm just human, flesh and blood, full of lust. I used you because you were usable.
(Rodela falls silent. Her eyes fill with tears, but she no longer cries. All her tears have dried up. Her face is numb, her heart empty. Slowly she leaves the cabin, as if everything inside her dies silently.)
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Scene Change:
The bell rings. Rodela is walking alone in the corridor. No one understands anything—her face is pale, eyes red. She enters the classroom, sits on a back bench, lowering her eyes. When someone asks something, she just nods.
Two classes pass by. Then Rodela quietly slips away to the rooftop. The rooftop door is open. Her school skirt flutters in the breeze; she stands by the railing.
She looks down. The school ground is empty. Tears roll down her cheeks. She takes out a letter and slips it into a crack in the wall. Then, sighing, she murmurs to herself—
Rodela (to herself):
If love is just about being used... then what's the point of living?
(She closes her eyes and rests her foot on the railing.)
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Around noon, nearly 12 o'clock. The three-story southern building of Meghmala Girls High School is silent. Classes are going on as usual. Suddenly…
Some students are standing in the second-floor corridor. One of them suddenly looks up and shouts—
Student (shouting):
Oh my God! Someone's standing on the roof! Isn't that Rodela?
Another student squints and replies,
Another Student:
Yes! She's on the railing… Rodela's going to commit suicide! She's going to jump down!
The shout spreads through the entire second floor. Inside the classrooms, chaos erupts. Some teachers come out. Even though the bell hasn't rung, the school air fills with murmurs, cries, and panic.
On the third-floor corridor, Anirban Sir, a young and always cheerful teacher beloved by the students, hears the commotion and steps out. He looks up toward the roof.
Anirban Sir (anxiously):
Rodela?!
Seeing the crying girl standing on the railing, his face instantly turns pale. Without hesitation, he runs toward the stairs.
His footsteps thunder as he leaps three steps at a time.
Reaching the roof, he pants heavily and sees—Rodela standing on the railing, her school dress fluttering lightly in the breeze, her face calm in a strange way.
Anirban Sir (softly, voice trembling):
Rodela… please come down… you're standing out there, I can't breathe…
Rodela (slowly turning, eyes empty):
Sir… no one has ever loved me… no one…
Anirban Sir:
I'm here, Rodela… I see you, your pain… you think you're alone? No, you're not…
Rodela (voice breaking):
He said, I was just a body… love never came… he only used me…
(Anirban Sir's eyes fill with tears. His voice thickens. He slowly steps forward.)
Anirban Sir:
Do you know how strong you are? If you give in now, those who tried to break you will win. But I know our Rodela isn't like that.
You can cry, you can break down, but you are not the kind of girl who ends there. Rodela means light… you will overcome the darkness, I know that.
Rodela (tears in eyes, voice cracking):
I didn't make any decision, sir! My body was wanted, not my heart… I am just a mistake… a shame… He said I have to kill my baby.
Hearing this, Anirban Sir's heart shatters into pieces. How cruel can a person be to do this to an innocent teenage girl!
Anirban Sir (slowly stepping closer):
Nothing will happen to your baby, Rodela. And you have nothing to be ashamed of. You are pure. Just like the morning sunlight. You are not wrong, Rodela… you prove how strong a single teenage girl can be. You just didn't receive love—but that doesn't mean you don't deserve it.
(He puts both hands on his chest.)
Anirban Sir:
Look into my eyes… I see you as a human being—not broken, not burnt out… I see a girl who has come so far through tears and yet hasn't stopped…
If you jump now, that story will end—the story that no one would have known if a girl like you hadn't written it.
(Rodela sobs softly. Anirban Sir reaches out his hand.)
Anirban Sir (calmly):
I'm here for you… I will hold all your tears, all your anger, all your mistakes… You just have to hold my hand. You won't have to think about this world anymore. No one will say anything to you. No one will hurt you. I will save you from all your pain. I promise.
(Stepping even closer, he extends his hand.)
Anirban Sir (soft voice, eyes wet):
Please, Rodela… take my hand. If you need anyone, I'm here. I'm really here. No one will ever ignore your tears again. Everyone will love you. I promise. Everyone will love your baby too, I promise.
Rodela, crying, bursts out, "They will kill my baby."
Anirban Sir says, "No one will hurt your baby. I promise. Trust me. Please, trust me."
(Rodela trembles slightly, closes her eyes, two tears fall, and slowly she reaches out her hand toward Anirban Sir. As soon as he takes her hand, he pulls her into a hug against his chest.)
Rodela (sobbing):
I couldn't take it anymore, sir… I really couldn't…
Anirban Sir (stroking her head):
You don't have to bear it alone anymore… Now we'll get through it together… I'm here, the whole school is on your side. No one will say anything to you. I promise.
The students watching from below on the roof shed tears of relief. Several teachers run up to the roof. Rodela rests her head on Anirban Sir's shoulder, crying silently—but with a deep sense of reclaiming her life.
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To be continued...