63. Story telling

After they were done, Trayee called for room service to get everything cleared. There were two large sofas and a single sofa chair. Trayee, Abhirup and Surjo were already seated in one, Ritu and Pari went over to sit on the other big sofa across them. Olivia took the single-seater one.

Once they were comfortably nestled on the sofas in different weird poses, Surjo asked,

"Hey, Olly, you said you'd give us the details of the mission once you were back. Come on, spill it. What happened in all these months?"

He was leaning against one side of the sofa, stroking Abhirup's head that was placed on his lap.

Trayee and Abhirup looked at her with expectant eyes.

"Nothing much exciting. Sir basically sent us there for vacation."

Olivia tilted her head backwards, looking at the ceiling. The outline of her sharp jawline became clearly visible.

"Tsk. Anyways, whatever it is. Just treat it like you're narrating a story. Tell us." Surjo said.

Trayee and Abhirup nodded, supporting his words, "Yes, yes. Tell us, please. We want to know the full story."

Olivia propped one leg over the other, sinking deeper into the sofa, "Hmm. Mr Singha Roy owned several types of companies. Pharmaceutical companies and antique houses were two of them. The type of drug that they used boosted energy and concentration as well as memorising power for a short period. Exactly what the applicants for the central examinations needed. Their main target was low-scoring students who wanted some luck to pass the exams, especially rich ones. Thus, they designed a very crafty distribution process."

An ink pen appeared between her fingers. It was similar to the one that Bani had under her pillow.

"You may know the latest trend of students considering bygone stationeries as lucky charms. It's said that those antique materials, when kept close while studying, multiply the performance ability by several folds. So they used this trend as a cover-up for their distribution. They sold artificial as well as real bygone stationeries in their antique houses. The outer covering of these items is highly porous at a microscopic level and these pores contain the drug. Because of the powder-like texture of the drug, if these objects are kept within a radius of twenty centimetres from the nose, the drug gets inhaled inhaled."

Abhirup, Surjo and Trayee widened their eyes.

"Then, what if someone uses it in such a way that it never comes in that perimeter?" Trayee asked.

Olivia smirked and spun the pen in her hand, making it dance on her long and slender fingers.

"Even if the objects are not within that range, the powder sticks to the fingers when the items are touched. However, the amount is very minimal. When the fingers are brought within that range or even better, comes in direct contact with eyes mouth or nose, the drug enters the body. But there are twists too. First of all, it's not as effective as direct inhalation. Secondly, when on the hand, the powder retains its effectiveness for only about five minutes. If it is not inhaled during that period it becomes useless."

"These drugs work at a slow pace but they're very addictive. Only after using it for a week will one get the slightest feeling of addiction. And by a week, I mean the drug has to be inhaled for a total duration of 10,080 minutes. It may not be continuous though. Once they get hooked, they start to buy more and more of these lucky charms thinking they actually work." She scoffed, staring at the pen spinning on her index finger like a chakra.

"These things were also sold in a controlled manner. The sellers kept track of the students who frequented more and increased the price gradually, claiming that they were very popular and sold out quickly. In desperation, the kids spent every rupee they got for pocket money behind them. The rich kids, however, went for the authentic items. Those were more expensive because of the higher quality of the drug that was used. The higher quality was for the rich and lower quality for the poor."

Olivia looked at Parijat who took out a physical notebook made of real paper.

These have been out of use for a few centuries because of the increase in deforestation. Later, synthetic paper was used but since the last century, it has been totally digitalized. But books made of synthetic paper were still there. Only the remaining real items were preserved, some of which were sold at auctions.

"Irrespective of quality, long-term use of these drugs made the consumers drowsy if they're not taken frequently. The most dangerous effect of using them for an extended period of time and suddenly not using them is that they slow down the user's natural response abilities. It's the flip side of the coin. They feel that it's the counter-effect of losing or breaking their lucky charms. In order to not get negatively affected, they keep buying them continuously." Olivia explained.

Abhirup whistled.

"So how did you find out? Drowsiness can also come from studying too much in senior years." Surjo commented.

"Marks," Olivia said.

"Red marks develop on the knuckles. Around the third knuckles of the fingers only and on all ten of them. But they're very faint. A quick glance or even intense staring might not be enough to identify them if the observer doesn't know what they're looking for. The pattern and intervals of them are also very important."

Surjo nodded in understanding.

"And what about the higher-quality ones that you mentioned? How did you come to know about them?" Trayee asked.

"Here comes another trick. Those who were overly addicted, paid for the higher-quality ones. They too came in the same objects but in very little quantities. Their effect lasted for a day or two after one time use whereas the effect of the low quality ones lasted for a few hours. Another difference was, they were a sweet-smelling liquid. The smell did not arouse suspicion as many such goods were scented. The liquid could also be injected directly into the body which could make its effect even stronger." Olivia said.

"How did you know there was a second one?" Abhirup asked.

"It's a common practice of people in this business," Olivia shrugged.

"So, how did you find this one?" Trayee asked.

"Our dear classmate Deepa Singha Roy helped us," Parijat said.

"That idiot?" Abhirup commented.

He was the one to get information on everyone so he knew Deepa's obsession with being seen as a kind hearted and well mannered topper. She either secretly bullied those who were better but weaker than her to clear them out of her path, or pulled them on her side as she did with Shreya so that she was the apple of the eye of all the teachers, students and parents. She wanted to be seen as a model student. She did not even hesitate to use the drug secretly to maintain her position.