"Adi, did you see the latest bombshell in Bollywood? She is, practically, loaded with sexiness from top to bottom. She is nailing the athleisure look and the seductive pose for the camera. One can't have enough of those leg muscles..." Kranthi excitedly said as he showed an image to Aditya.

Aditya was paying attention to selecting a big cockroach from the basin when Kranthi nudged him. The bowl was full of chloroform-dipped cockroaches, and they were as good as dead. Everyone was wearing latex gloves and disposable masks. Aditya could see the girls grouping in one place and maintaining a distance from these cockroaches. Cockroaches and girls do not get along with each other.

Aditya took a glance at the picture of an actress who was flaunting her athletic physique, wearing a racerback white sports bra. She paired the bra with satin silk flare pants with thigh-high side slits. With her pink lips, dewy make-up and an effortless look, the actress looked alluring. She rounded off the glamorous yet laidback look with open tresses and soft dreamy curls.

"I know her, she is Shraddha Khanna, right?" Aditya said as he went back to selecting a cockroach. Even though this actress has not yet bloomed in the Bollywood industry, it would change in the coming years. Aditya knew that she would be one of the leading actresses in Bollywood for at least eight years and would even leave a mark in Hollywood. Aditya could not say that the same would repeat now as times were changing.

"Yes, so you too got your eyes on her? Isn't she gorgeous?" Kranthi chuckled as he checked other pictures of the same actress.

Aditya smiled when he saw the revolting expressions of the girls of his class as he held the cockroach. Aditya was reminded of a joke; he had heard in the dream world. A cockroach's last words to a married man who was about to kill him - " Go Ahead and kill me, you coward! You are jealous of me because your wife is afraid of me and not afraid of you." Aditya chuckled as he shook his head.

Aditya held a cockroach by its antennae and placed it on his dissection board. He held the forceps in his left hand as he looked at Rahul and asked, "Rahul, could you please hold the head of this cockroach while I removed the mouthparts?"

"Sure," Rahul smiled as he delicately positioned the head of the cockroach between his thumb and index finger.

"Awesome," Aditya praised as he slightly squinted his left eye. Even though Tya's 'Cellular Regulation' ability was lost, the biological modification of his left eye remained intact. This transformation gave him both telescopic as well as microscopic vision abilities. Tya had constructed new nerves which controlled the positioning of these unique lenses and connected them to the visual cortex of the brain.

Aditya was able to look at the mouthparts magnified many times without losing visual clarity. He could also see the segregation joints of the different parts as he held the forceps and started the process.

Aditya poured glycerin on a glass slide on which he started placing the various parts one by one in position. Kranthi also put down his mobile phone and started following Aditya's actions. Aditya would guide them from time to time.

Kumari was not in the lab along with them as she had not opted for 'Biology' subject. She was clear about what she wanted to become, i.e. an engineer. Kumari also raised a ruckus about Aditya's wounds but calmed down after making sure that he was fine. She also stated that Aditya's accident was nothing in comparison to her being almost killed by a terrorist.

Aditya grinned and nodded when she expounded the philosophies of life that Kumari had comprehended when she was in the life and death situation. "Adi, life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced. You have to be thankful for the present," Kumari stated as she looked at Aditya with an 'all-knowing' gaze.

Aditya had to expend a lot of energy to stop himself from laughing in front of Kumari. He knew that Kumari did not genuinely get these ideas and was merely quoting some memes. But as she went on narrating the 'deep mysteries' of human existence, Aditya could not hold himself any longer and burst into a peal of laughter. That was the last time that Aditya saw Kumari as she stormed off with a look that told Aditya that he was in deep trouble.

The teacher, who was supervising the process sternly ordered the girls to pick up cockroaches and do the required procedure if they hoped to avoid failing the assignment test. The girls grudgingly complied, but frequent high-pitch squeals of girls filled the lab as they saw the legs of some cockroaches twitching.

The teacher was impressed with Aditya's quick and perfect presentation of the different parts and praised him in front of the girls. This praise won Aditya quite a few glares from his female classmates.

The class was about to be completed, and the teacher, who was responsible for the practical lesson, informed the topic of the next course. "We will be studying the identification of stages of gamete development, i.e., T.S. of testis and T.S. of ovary through permanent slides (from grasshopper mice) (T.S. - Transverse Section). I don't want anyone to be absent for that class as it is an important topic for the exam." The teacher glanced at Aditya when he said those words as he was the most irregular student in his class.

Aditya wryly smiled as he packed his dissection set and disposed of his mask and gloves. "Adi, do you know that your friend Anupama's mother, Vandana Sharma, has become the new Chief Minister of our state? I had forgotten to tell this important piece of information after seeing you injured," Kranthi asked as he also packed his tool kit.

Aditya raised his eyebrows in surprise when he heard Kranthi's words. He did not expect that Vandana Sharma would be able to bank on this misfortune. Aditya knew from his dreams that Vandana Sharma had always been an ambitious woman and would rise to a vital position at the national level in the future. But because of the sudden death of the Chief Minister, she was able to grow quicker than the dream timeline.

Aditya shrugged as he did not think that this change would affect his plans in any way. Rahul said, "many exciting things have taken place in the last few days. Elder brother Kranthi, don't you think so? Remember the gunfight on the NH-47? I heard that even a chopper was taken down along with many cars. This incident took place minutes after the death of the Chief Minister."

" I had never heard of such an incident before. Also, I heard that a new variety of rice is now available in the market. It is called 'African Rice', and I heard that it is highly nutritious and cheap at the same time. I heard that one could not eat more than fifty grams of that rice..."

Kranthi cut off Rahul as he said, "forget those things, Adi I heard that the new mathematics teacher is beyond gorgeous and is in a separate league of her own. It's lunchtime, let us go see if the rumours are true."

Kranthi did not wait for Aditya's approval as he started dragging him along. Rahul also forgot about his conversation and followed Kranthi. Aditya did not have much interest in the beauty of the mathematics teacher as long as she did not turn out to be another terrorist. After Aditya's multiple experiences, both in real life and in his dreams, he did not get as excited as his previous self at the sight of exquisite women. He didn't know if it was a good thing or not.

On the other hand, Aditya was more interested in 'African Rice'. But he did not need to ask Rahul about more information as he had more reliable channels of information.

Kranthi stopped at a distance where one could get a clear view of the Principal's office. Aditya did not know whether to laugh or cry when he saw a group of boys waiting as they chatted excitedly about the new teacher. It looked like they were as excited about the new teacher as Kranthi and Rahul.

Aditya was about to sit near a bench as his right leg started to pain. Just then, he heard Kumari's voice behind him, "look, didn't I say that Aditya would definitely come here as well. You did not believe me when I said."

Aditya's heart skipped a beat when he turned his head to find Kumari and Anupama looking at him with different reactions. Kumari had an evil grin on her face while Anupama had a complicated expression in her eyes. Even though Aditya did not care about Anupama's impression of him, he felt like spanking Kumari's buttocks until they blossomed.

"Adi, how are you doing? I heard that you have met with an accident," Anupama asked with concern as she approached him. Aditya could tell that her concern was genuine. He smiled as he said, "I am fine. I will be alright in a week. I heard that your mom had become the Chief Minister, congrats."

Anupama shook her head and continued to inquire about Aditya's body condition. She did not talk about her mother, and Aditya knew that Anupama did not have a healthy relationship with her parents. It would remain that way in the future unless there are drastic changes in this timeline. Even when Anupama had been hospitalised in the US (in the dream world), it was Aditya who had spent six months with her. On the other hand, her mother had only come to visit a handful of times.

While Aditya was conversing with Anupama, he heard gasps of shock and surprise from his behind. What surprised him was that even the expressions of Kumari and Maahi had changed. Kumari had shock written all over her face while Anupama's look was mixed with some anger along with astonishment.

"Aditya, did you know this?" Kumari asked as she looked at him. Aditya was puzzled as he turned, "What do you mean..."

Aditya's words stopped when he saw a stunning woman walking out of the Principal's office. She was dressed in a maroon kurta with an off-white scarf (Dupatta) draped around her neck. The woman looked like a flawless sculpture carved out of the most beautiful jade without a single blemish. A pair of maroon tasselled drop earring dangled from her delicate, pale pink ears. Aditya did not imagine that 'she' would take up teaching in this school as he muttered, "Maahi."

That's right; it was Maahi. Aditya remembered when he asked Saira about the absence of Maahi when he was getting checked in the hospital. Saira had mysteriously smiled and evaded the question. Aditya also did not delve deeper as he thought Maahi must have been busy. It looked like she wanted to surprise him. Aditya was shocked, to say the least, at Maahi's decision.

"Tya, were you aware of this?" Aditya asked as he looked at Maahi's exquisite figure.

"Yup, but Maahi did not want to reveal it to you," Tya replied in a timid voice as if he was afraid that Aditya would get angry at him. Aditya did not get mad at her. Instead, he felt warm in his heart as he gazed at Maahi.