Debdeep Banerjee 1 The bell rang like a verdict, harsh and metallic, echoing across the sterile halls of Vidya Central Institute-93. Pratik Sen remained seated, hunched over a tablet that had just blinked red, displaying the same damning notification he had seen every day since he was old enough to read: “Rank: 1000000 – Terminal Track.” Around him, the classroom buzzed with muted chatter as other students filed out, their faces glowing with quiet pride or sullen resignation, depending on where their numbers fell. Rank was everything here. From seat placements to lunch portions, from air-conditioned exam halls to future…