Pains Transformed into Laughter

Chapter One (last part)

Monday morning arrived with unusual excitement.

Bright banners decorated the Faculty of Engineering.

Students gathered around the notice board, eager to read the latest announcements.

Kane adjusted the strap of his backpack as he made his way through the crowd.

"Excuse me... sorry... can I pass?"

Someone suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Congratulations!"

It was Amara, his cousin.

She hugged him before he could ask why.

"What happened?"

She pointed at the notice board.

"There!"

Kane squeezed through the crowd until his eyes found the list.

Engineering Innovation Challenge

Approved Project Teams

His team had been officially accepted.

He smiled.

"That's wonderful."

But just below the list was another announcement.

Faculty Academic Excellence Award

Current First Position

Kane Williams

The crowd applauded as soon as they saw him.

"Congratulations, Kane!"

"You deserve it!"

"You're making Petrochemical Engineering proud!"

Kane smiled shyly.

"Thank you, everyone."

At the back of the crowd, Brandon watched silently.

Every word of praise felt like another spark falling onto dry grass.

His jealousy was becoming impossible to control.

---

Later that afternoon...

The project team gathered once again in Laboratory Three.

Kane connected his laptop to the projector.

"I've completed the refinery simulation."

A three-dimensional model appeared on the screen.

The room fell silent.

Even Brandon couldn't hide his surprise.

The design was exceptional.

Gas emissions were reduced.

Production costs were lower.

Energy efficiency had improved dramatically.

Professor Okafor, who had stopped by unexpectedly, folded his arms and smiled.

"This..."

He looked around the room.

"...is the kind of innovation our country needs."

The professor turned toward Kane.

"Excellent work."

Kane immediately shook his head.

"It wasn't just me, sir."

"We all contributed."

Brandon forced a grateful smile.

"Thanks, bro."

Professor Okafor nodded approvingly.

"A true leader always shares the credit."

As soon as the professor left, Brandon's smile vanished.

He stared at the projected design.

"You even give us credit for work we didn't do."

"Why do you have to be so... good?"

---

That evening...

Rain poured heavily over the campus.

Most students had already returned to their hostels.

Only a few remained in the engineering laboratories.

Kane packed his books and looked at Brandon.

"Are you coming?"

Brandon shook his head.

"I forgot a few notes."

"I'll catch up."

"No problem."

After Kane left, Brandon waited until the hallway was empty.

He slowly walked to Kane's workstation.

Victor emerged from another room.

"Is the coast clear?"

Brandon nodded.

Kelvin locked the laboratory door from inside.

Desmond connected another laptop.

For nearly an hour they copied every remaining file from Kane's computer.

Research.

Calculations.

Design drafts.

Presentation slides.

Everything.

When they finished, Brandon deleted the security camera recordings from the laboratory corridor using a password he had secretly obtained from a careless student assistant.

Victor looked nervous.

"Are we really doing this?"

Brandon zipped the flash drive into his backpack.

"We're already halfway."

"There is no turning back now."

---

Unknown to them...

Someone had seen enough.

Not from inside the laboratory.

But from outside.

Liana had been walking back from the library when she noticed lights still on in the laboratory.

Curious, she glanced through the glass window.

She couldn't hear their conversation.

But she clearly saw Brandon copying files from Kane's laptop.

She quickly hid behind a nearby pillar.

Her heart pounded.

"No..."

"They're stealing his work."

She carefully raised her phone.

Click.

One photograph.

Click.

Another.

Brandon holding the flash drive.

Victor using Kane's laptop.

Kelvin standing by the door.

Desmond watching the hallway.

She captured everything she could before quietly slipping away unnoticed.

As she hurried across campus in the rain, she whispered,

"Now I have proof."

For the first time since she suspected Brandon, she finally had evidence.

Not enough to expose the whole conspiracy...

But enough to know she had been right all along.

---

Meanwhile, Kane arrived home completely unaware of what had happened.

He changed into comfortable clothes and made himself a cup of tea.

His phone buzzed.

A message from an unknown number.

«The people you trust the most are preparing your downfall. Open your eyes before it's too late.»

Kane frowned.

He read the message again.

Then a third time.

After a moment, he shook his head.

"Probably another prank."

He deleted it.

Outside his apartment window, the rain continued to fall.

Somewhere across the city, Liana sat at her desk, looking at the photographs she had taken.

She knew she couldn't stay silent any longer.

Whether Kane believed her or not...

Tomorrow, she would tell him the truth.

She had no idea that Brandon had already made the next move.

A move that would turn a simple university project into a battle for Kane's reputation—and change all their lives forever.

The following afternoon, the sky above Evergreen University was painted with soft shades of orange as the sun slowly drifted toward the horizon.

Students filled the campus walkways, some hurrying to evening lectures while others relaxed beneath the large mango trees that surrounded the Engineering Faculty.

Kane had just finished a tutorial class when his phone vibrated.

It was an unknown number.

«"Meet me behind the Central Library at 5:30 p.m. I have something important to show you. Please come alone."»

There was no name.

No explanation.

Just the message.

For a moment, he considered ignoring it.

But something about it felt... different.

---

At exactly half past five, Kane arrived behind the Central Library.

The area was quiet.

A gentle breeze rustled the leaves overhead, and the distant sound of students playing football drifted across campus.

"Kane."

He turned.

Liana stood a few steps away, holding a brown envelope close to her chest.

"You sent the message?" he asked.

She nodded.

"I didn't think you'd come."

"I almost didn't."

She smiled faintly.

"Thank you for coming."

There was an awkward silence before she finally spoke again.

"Kane... everything I'm about to tell you may sound unbelievable."

He folded his arms.

"I'm listening."

Liana took a deep breath.

"Your friends are planning something against you."

Kane sighed.

"We've talked about this before."

"I know."

"And I wish I were wrong."

She carefully opened the envelope and removed several printed photographs.

"I didn't want to accuse anyone without evidence."

She handed them to him.

Kane looked at the first photograph.

Brandon stood beside his laptop.

The second showed Victor connecting a flash drive.

The third captured Kelvin locking the laboratory door.

His smile slowly faded.

"What is this?"

"I took those pictures two nights ago."

"They were copying files from your laptop."

Kane stared at the photographs for several seconds.

His heart wanted to believe her.

But his mind resisted.

"There has to be another explanation."

Liana's shoulders dropped slightly.

"Kane..."

"They're my teammates."

"They had permission to use the laptop."

"They've been working with me for weeks."

Liana looked at him with quiet disappointment.

"Did you give them permission to copy every file?"

He hesitated.

"No..."

"Then why are you defending them before asking questions?"

Before Kane could answer—

"Well..."

"What an interesting meeting."

Both of them turned.

Brandon walked toward them with Victor, Kelvin and Desmond behind him.

He looked from Kane to the photographs in his hands.

Then to Liana.

His expression slowly changed from surprise to sadness.

"So..."

"This is what you've been doing."

Kane frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Brandon looked directly at Liana.

"I honestly thought you'd stopped."

Liana blinked.

"Stopped what?"

"Trying to destroy our friendship."

Kane looked confused.

Brandon sighed dramatically.

"I didn't want to tell you this, Kane."

"But she's been following us around for weeks."

Victor nodded sadly.

"We noticed her outside the laboratory."

Kelvin added,

"She even questioned one of the administrative staff about our project."

Desmond shook his head.

"We ignored it because we didn't want trouble."

Brandon looked at Kane with the expression of a wounded friend.

"But now she's editing pictures and accusing us?"

He let out a painful laugh.

"I never imagined someone could hate us that much."

Liana's eyes widened.

"Editing pictures?"

"They're real!"

"I took them myself!"

Brandon calmly stretched out his hand.

"Kane..."

"May I see the photographs?"

Without thinking, Kane handed them over.

Brandon glanced at them for a few seconds before laughing.

"These?"

He showed them to the others.

Victor immediately shook his head.

"That's from the day we were backing up the presentation."

"Exactly," Brandon replied.

"Kane asked us to help him."

He looked back at Kane.

"Didn't you?"

Kane searched his memory.

He remembered asking Victor to copy one presentation file several days earlier.

Not the entire project.

But the memory was enough to create doubt.

"I..."

Liana saw the uncertainty in his eyes.

Her heart sank.

"You don't believe me."

Kane remained silent.

She gave a bitter smile.

"I understand now."

"No, Liana..."

"You've known them for years."

"You've known me for weeks."

"I shouldn't have expected anything different."

She carefully took the empty envelope from his hands.

"I just wanted to protect you."

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and walked away.

Kane instinctively took a step after her.

"Liana..."

She didn't stop.

She kept walking until she disappeared beyond the library.

For several moments, no one spoke.

Brandon gently placed a hand on Kane's shoulder.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"I don't know why she keeps targeting us."

Victor sighed.

"Some people can't stand seeing true friendship."

Kane looked in the direction Liana had gone.

Something didn't feel right.

For the first time since meeting her...

He wasn't sure who was telling the truth.

---

That same night...

Long after the campus had gone quiet...

Brandon unlocked his laptop.

A wicked smile spread across his face.

He uploaded Kane's complete project to the Engineering Innovation Challenge portal.

Team Leader: Brandon Cole.

Team Members: Victor James, Kelvin Adams, Desmond Parker.

Kane Williams' name was nowhere on the submission.

When the upload reached 100%, Brandon leaned back in his chair.

"It's done."

He closed the laptop.

Outside his window, thunder rolled across the night sky.

Somewhere else on campus, Kane lay awake in bed, unable to sleep.

Liana's disappointed expression haunted his thoughts.

He whispered into the darkness,

"I hope... I'm not making a terrible mistake."

Neither of them knew that by sunrise, Kane's life would never be the same again.

End of Chapter One.