E06 : After Effects

DATE: September 8, 2012

“Wot are you doing?”, the carpentry workshop incharge  spit the words out in an insulting tone, addressing them to Rashika. He took her ‘carpentry job’ - a wooden block, in his hands; and observed it carefully. “Areey!!!! how many times I’ve told you! First, fix the job properly in the clamp, like this”, he placed the job in ‘his-proper-way’, “And now, move the handsaw, that way. God knows how you peoples are going to become engineers.” He literally banged the handsaw on Rashika’s table and left for inspecting other wooden blocks. “And, aye Ishaani! Help that girl after you are done with your job.” he ordered.

“Okay sir”, Ish replied edgily.

Ishaani had become a ‘dude’ in the carpentry and welding workshops. She would first complete her quota effortlessly and quickly before the rest of the class, and then would go about helping her batch-mates.

But no matter what, she would never help Rashika, not even in the situations like today. Ishaani loathed her. To her, Rashika was ‘A Perfect Bitch’ in every sense.

“Um, Ishaani... can you help me with my job?”, Rashika asked her in a cheeky and cheesy manner.

“Um, no Rashika I am busy completing mine.” Ishaani mimicked her style, just garnishing it with a little bit of rudeness.

Rashika made an annoying face and walked to Rudra. He too was on the same table, busy cutting his wooden block. “Hey Rudra... I am sure you won’t deny helping me.” She said sharply while eyeing Ishaani from the corner of her eyes.

“Yea, sure, just gimme 5 minutes.” Rudra replied.

“No problem. And by the way... Congratulations... Mr. Fresher huh! I knew you would win!” Rashika said in a captivating way.

“Hmhm...Thanks”, Rudra smiled politely.

“But Miraya did not deserve it as much as you did.”, Rashika continued, “ I was so badly wishing that the hosts would come and choose me as a contestant. If they would’ve chosen me, then it would be me who would’ve been crowned as ‘Ms. Fresher’!!.”

Ishaani couldn’t control her temper anymore then, “Your problem actually. If you were so confident about yourself, you should have volunteered like Rudra.”

“Well, Nevermind Ish. Listen...Rudra; can you sit next to me in the Maths lecture? I am kinda weak in that subject actually. And I know you can help.”  Helplessness was pouring out of Rashika’s voice.

“Sure, my pleasure. Okay, gimme your job now, I’m done with mine.” And Rudra was left with no choice but to listen to Rashika’s radio for the next half an hour.

Meanwhile in Electrical Workshop:

A1 batch was having some free-lecture time – they were done with their experiment within half hour. Hence, they had no work to do, except chit chatting.  

“...that is how got my admission in our college on 27^th August. I then said goodbye to Lodhana. Since 28th I’m here. Huh. So...... that was my story!” Miraya was surrounded by Aryan, Hari and Navya. "Woah! Quite Filmy.", Aryan complimented. Miraya simply shrugged.

“We don’t know much about you Aryan, tell us your story na.” Hari asked anxiously.

“Yea exactly, you are sucha brilliant boy... I mean sucha brilliant student, always answering in Maths, Physics, BEE and Mechanics lectures. Then... why are you in SCOE? And not in some IIT or a government college?” Navya was curious.

“Well uh... Simple. That is because I suck in Chemistry.”

Navya agreed, “Yea I’ve never noticed you questioning or answering in chemistry lecture.” Both Hari and Miraya took a notice of Navya’s notice and giggled.

“Well, you are right”, Aryan smiled his half curled smile.”I scored 150 in EET: full in maths section, 42 in physics, and just 8 on 50 in chemistry section. So you see, something similar happened with me in IITJEE. My rank went down to 7000s because I did not attempt much in chemistry. And frankly, I neither was nor am fond of chemistry at all. So I invested that time in learning computer languages like C, C++, Java and app development.”

“Amazing!! Too good!” Navya’s eyes shimmered.

“Ooooo I see. Don’t worry, we are your friends, we’ll teach you ‘chemistry’. Not the bookish one ofcourse.”, Hari winked and started laughing loudly on his lame joke.

“But hey, wait a second! Then you should be in Comps or IT branch, what are you doing in EXTC??”Miraya asked, she thought that was a point to ponder.

“Because I don’t want to waste time learning the things that I already know or the things that are not required. Instead, I want to learn this interface of communication and coding, and develop something reeeaaaaaaally...uh... mind-blowing.”

“Dude you are Aryan, Dude you are!” Navya chirruped.

“Ha-ha... No yaar. I knew, that if I would’ve given a try to chemistry I would’ve definitely been in some IIT, but then I just did not devote my time to it. And I’ve no regrets for that. After all, SCOE is the 4^th best Engineering College in Mumbai.” Aryan smiled and said.

“Yeah true”, Miraya did not sound true. There was something else to whatever he said, she sensed that, but then she resisted to interrogate further.

Later that day, in the second floor corridors after the last lecture...

“Heyyyyyy! You’re Miraya right?” out of nowhere, a girl suddenly stood before Miraya and asked.

“Uh, yeah, I am”, Miraya forced a smile.

“Congratulations!! You were fabulous last night!! Enjoyed watching you dance, really”, the girl said heartily.

“Yo! You dance beautifully!” a guy beside that girl agreed.

“Oh... Thankyou guys!”, Miraya said gracefully. She had a smile on her face when she had started walking ahead.

“Someone is getting famous.” Miraya heard the whisper of a familiar voice near her ears.

“Ha-ha-ha. Look who’s talking.” Miraya replied, even without looking at the face of the whisperer. “So what? ... Are you jealous of my dance?”

“Nah. Never. Dance is my loyal lady, so why should I be jealous? But I was atleast expecting a ‘thanks’ from you, you know. If I wouldn’t have chosen you as a contestant, you wouldn’t have won. So the point is, that you are getting famous only because of ‘me’.” Rudra teased her.

“You are either a forgetful person or someone who always likes to take credits” Miraya declared, “because as far as I remember, I had already thanked you once yesterday.” she said in a taunting, yet a sweet way.

“And, you are so mean, you can’t even thank twice?! Tell me frankly, is arrogance your nature or something that is reserved specially for me?” Rudra too played with words.

“Umm, the truth be told, my arrogance is reserved only for you! Now don't ask me why, coz even I don't know!” Miraya laughed a confused laugh.

They were climbing down the stairs...

"Well that makes me special."

"Stop thinking that you are so spe....AAAAaaaaa...aa!”

Something happened that shouldn’t have.

“Noooo...” Rudra screamed. He held out his right hand, but that did not help, he was a bit too late. Miraya’s foot slipped and she came dangerously rolling down the stairs. 

(To Be Continued...) 

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E05 : The Freshers Eve

DATE : SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. The drumsticks clicked to mark the start of performance. The Bass guitar started charging the air with it's string, and so did the keyboard keys. The lead guitar joined in with its notes too. There was a blackout on the stage.  Only the rhythm of instruments was dancing in the air. And then, a yellow spotlight fell on the singer who was adorned in a beautiful flowing black gown. The crowd of 600 FE’s roared and hooted loudly with a new energy level. The girl started singing Adele’s most famous song- ‘Rolling in the deep’ in a powerfully strong voice. Slowly with the song, more spotlights were added on the stage and all instrumentalists were revealed one by one. The loud live performance was thumping the hearts of both the audience and the performers. Happiness and the awe of the moment were getting reverberated from every corner of the auditorium and spreading a magical aura.

After the songs ‘Rolling in the Deep’ and a Metallica song, the official college band melted the stage with an all time hit song – “Hotel California”. As the guitarist with long silky hair- that fluidly fell till his shoulders, came ahead to play the famous guitar lead of that song; the 150 FE girls went crazy and when he started headbanging, the whole crowd cheered till the end.

The colorful audience applauded when the performance ended. After the performance the headbanger, who was also the chief of the team, introduced himself and the other team members.

A girl and a Boy walked to the centre of the stage when the team ­­­­­­­­‘Octavium’ had left.

“Good Eeeevning People!!” the girl said melodiously.

“A very warm welcome to all the FEs to....The..... FRESHERS EVE!!!” the guy in grey blazer announced in a charming style.

“I am Aashna and he is Faizal” the girl said. “And we are going to be your hosts for the evening”

Faizal: Yes! This is going to be one the most memorable and fun packed evening that will be cherished and remembered forever!

Aashna: Well, you all have been officially welcomed and very well introduced to our college in the Orientation Programme. So now that you are in SCOE; where fun, academics and co-curriculars will go hand in hand; the next four years are promisingly going to be the Best Four years of your life!

Faizal: Super chilled students, beware, you all are going to start studying seriously here!!

Aashna: And dear Bookworms, you all are definitely going to bring out your coolness, I assure you that!

Faizal: New friends, unpredictable professors.....

Aashna: Awesome moments in Canteen, our Amphitheatre, Maggie house and Slope, would 

make your time worth wasting!

Faizal: Numerous outings with friends, the cultural events, technical workshops, Symphony, Abhiyantriki...and a thousand memories! The projects, teamwork and that team spirit... Ahh, you are gonna enjoy learning it all!

Aashna: And how can you forget, the results?

Faizal: Oh yaa, the peculiar result time, some of you would surely get heart attacks, because either your grades would be like unexpectedly Bad...

Aashna: And sometimes unexpectedly too good too!!

Faizal: Today, all the cultural teams would be introduced, so that you would find, in which 

team you wish belong to. Because at SCOE, every talent is valued, supported and encouraged.

Aashna: Well... we’ve got too senti Faizal. So, without wasting much time, Let the fun and Freshers eve Begin!!!

Faizal: You’ve already been introduced to the Music team. After the lighting ceremony, get ready, because the next dance performance is going to make your mind blow!!

The whole world seemed to be lying under the roof of the auditorium of the SCOE that evening. Life seemed like a celebration. Dance, music, drama, and fashion show were setting up on the stage one after another, while the dreams of being a part of those teams were being setting up in the minds of the audience.

 Till then, 7 teams had been introduced ‘Gyrations‘- the dance team, ‘Rhapsody‘-the drama team, ‘Octavium‘- the music team, ‘Glitterati‘- the fashion team, ‘Shutterbugs‘- the photography team, ‘Insignia‘- the Arts team and ‘Neotons‘–the UV light dance team.

And it was time for the trademark event of the evening: ‘Mr. and Ms. Fresher’

“We are beginning with Mr. and Ms. Fresher, so who would like to volunteer for it?” Aashna asked with a bright smile. But all of a sudden the crowd become chilled and no hands were raised. “Last call folks”, Faizal announced. They waited but no one responded.

“You’re all sucha boring bunch of fellas!  I guess we will have to come down in the crowd to hand pick you guys”, she said in an annoying tone. As soon as they got down the stage, they saw a raised hand in the audience.

“Oh I see someone, please come forward.”Aashna said,” Let’s have a big round of applause for this man.”

The ‘man’ came forward. He was tall, fair and had worn a green-and- white chex shirt on a white Tee, a dark blue jeans and Woodland shoes.

“What’s your name Mr. ?”, Aashna tried not to be awestruck.

“Rudra.”

“Full name Sirji.”, Faizal teased.

“Rudra Agnihotri.“

“Not a very cute name for a cute guy.,” Aashna smiled.” Anyways, since you volunteered first, you are allowed to choose a nominee for Ms. Fresher. So, come on, choose one from the crowd.”

Rudra’s eyes were searching the crowd, they found many pretty girls but not the one he was wishing to find.

“I would like to nominate Miraya.”, Rudra declared, he wasn't even sure if she was present in the Auditorium.

The heads in the crowd started turning here and there, searching this girl named Miraya. “Come on Miraya, if you are out there, don’t be so shy. Come out.”, Faizal said on his mic.

Then a girl stood up and shouted from one of the last rows. It was Ishaani. ”She’s here!!” she shouted.

“Great, looks like we've found her. Please come up to the stage Miraya.”Faizal said.

With angry eyes Miraya stood up. She was in no mood to contest for Ms fresher, but then she also did not want the crowd, and most importantly her classmates to think that she was egoistic. This Rudra is going to ruin my image. Everytime he is before me, he makes me angry, I say stuff and then others say I have attitude problem! She tried to calm herself down, took few deep breaths and started walking towards the stage.

She was wearing a simple white dress, with delicate designs that were embossed on it in dark blue. Her long wavy hair was open and held by a white hair band. She was looking too simple, but pretty.

“Everybody, a round of applause for Miss Miraya. You and Rudra, up on stage!”, Faizal said.

Rudra winked at Miraya when their eyes met.  

“You’re gonna pay for this. Soon” Nodding her head, Miraya warned  Rudra while climbing up to the stage.

Within the next 5 minutes, Aashna and Faizal picked up 5 more girls and guys and made them stand on the stage one by one.

“Okay, so let’s begin! The first round is Introduction Round, it does not have any eliminations. What everyone on the stage is supposed to do is a RAMP WALK first!”, Aashna smiled and cheered the crowd up , “Come forward and introduce yourself in the best possible way, and walk back to your place. Everyone got it? Do you need a demo?”

“ Yes! ”, the shy bunch of people on the stage exclaimed.

“Okay!”

Then the beautiful Aashna in red dress ramp walked and went to the stage’s centre and said on her mic in a cheesy way, ”Good evening guys and gals, I am Aashna Avasthi from Second year IT. I am good at hosting events and writing plays. The good thing about me is that I can easily make friends with literally anyone and the thing people don’t like about me is that sometimes what I say, doesn’t make any sense. That’s it. Thankyou.” She smiled and walked back.

The crowd, especially guys hooted and clapped. ”Okay. I am sure everyone just got it, so the girl in yellow top, you are the next.”

The girl in yellow walked too boldly and stood up for introduction and started speaking really too fast animatedly, “ Hello fellas, I am Sarika, a first year Comps student. My hobbies are speaking anywhere and everywhere. I am good at Entertainment, Entertainment and Entertainment! And frankly, there is nothing I would like to change about myself. I can talk for hours at length and I am so sure that no one would get bored.  I was always a topper in my school even though I talked a lot. It was like every teacher used to, you know, make me stand up and punish me all the times. And,” she giggled “once, a teacher was fired by principal because I was talking with her and the rest of the class was doing nothing fruitful. You know people actually gift me mobile talktime. You all know? Once, it happened that,”

“Ahem Ahem Sarkia! You were brilliant dear, we all will listen to your story once are done with the rounds” Faizal took her by arm back to her place.

“Miraya, come up”, Faizal said.

Miraya walked in her normal way that was as good as elegant and introduced herself,

"Hi everyone”, Miraya smiled coyly,”I am Miraya, FE EXTC. Well, I am a classical dancer and I play keys. People say I write well and the thing I would like to change about myself is control my anger on some crazy people. Thankyou. ” Rudra smiled at the anger part.

One by one, everyone introduced themselves. The last turn was Rudra’s.

Rudra actually walked like a male model, and then did a signature Michael Jackson step and the famous moonwalk.

“Woooooo”, the audience shouted.

“Hi this is Rudra Agnihotri again and all I love is – DANCE!”, he said charismatically,” I am good at influencing people and shaking their thoughts about really anything, and well, I am bad at disappointing my friends.” Rudra grinned and winked, and walked back to his place.

 It was time for second and final round then- ‘The Q & A Round‘. One by one the hosts were asking hilarious questions to the contestants. They were...

“Tell us a way you in which would like to rag a junior”, a contestant was asked. He replied that he would make him dance on an item song. And his fate was bad, because his seniors- the hosts, ragged him by making him dance on an item song.

“Sarika, tell us, who is more good looking, Tushar Kapoor or Himesh Reshamiya?”

“Okay. First of all none of them is good looking, but since you want an answer, I would say 

Tushar Kapoor, because Himesh Reshamiya looks old and....”, and Sarika went on and on and she had to be paused again.. Yet she smiled and thanked the audience.

Other questions were,

” If you fall for you best friend’s boyfriend, what would you do?”

“If Sunny Leone asks you for a date, would you go?”

“Two reasons why would you end up in heaven or hell.”

“What makes you think you deserve Miss Fresher title?”

"Ravi, what do you think, should inter-sex marriage be legalized in India?"

"How would you flirt with a nerd?"

And so on...

Only Rudra and Miraya were left. “We have something different for you both. We have seen Rudra dance already and Miraya claims to be a trained classical dancer. So, what about jamming then?”

“I am ready.”, Rudra was excited.

“But the song choice will be mine.”, Miraya said stubbornly. Before the hosts could say anything, Rudra agreed and the stage was then set up for the jam.

The song was Madhuri Dixit’s ‘Hey Ke-sara sara’. The truth be told, it was a beautiful performance. Both were dancing on that song for the first time. Without any collaboration, it seemed coordinated; without any prior rehearsals, it looked perfect. Both were dancing different genres, one Bharatnatyam and other Hip hop and freestyle, that too in two different corners of the stage, yet their energies matched. Miraya’s graceful body movements mingled with her naughty aggressive eyes and Rudra’s coolness and dudeness made their performance a complete thumbs up.  

Audience went crazy over this performance and showered many claps in the end. Finally Miraya had a smile on her face, not because of the claps; it was because of the joy that she had just got out of dancing. Rudra looked at Miraya and saw what he wanted to see – her real smile.

All the contestants were again invited on the stage to give away Mr.and Ms. Fresher badge of honour.

“Any guesses who the winners are?” Faizal asked the audience. Rudra had won many hearts; his name was taken the most. To Miraya’s surprise, she heard her name too.

“We don’t have much surprise element this time, so I’ll declare results straightaway. Mr. Fresher is Rudra, and Ms. Fresher is his dance opponent, Miraya.” Aashna announced grandly.

Both Miraya and Rudra were crowned and the college photographers took their pictures.

“Thankyou”, Miraya smiled and whispered to Rudra, and then all the contestants left to be the part of audience again.  

Rest of the time spent beautifully for Miraya. After the incident that had occurred in her life a few months ago, she had never really enjoyed anything, she never really thought she could and she had not gotten a chance to dance since then. Later that evening, she could effortlessly laugh on jokes cracked by Hari and also on Hari, she could dance like a party queen in the DJ and even eat heavily and heartily the dinner that was served after the DJ. 

Even if only a bit, she was herself again.

(To Be Continued...)

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E04 : The Haunted Room

 Every person who is full of life and has had great deal of fun agrees to the fact college days can be tagged as the best days of his/her life. But, the first few days are the most cherished and even more memorable!! New College, New Place, New Environment, New Friends, New Subjects, New Dreams, New Crushes, that new look and style, and that different kind of enjoyment begins. Literally, everybody changes inside out! Just getting into college gives you that sense of achievement even when you haven’t achieved anything yet, but you just feel the new air and fall in 

love with it; and you smile and talk and laugh more often. Right?

“Hari...Wake up!!” Anshul whispered in a tense voice in Hari’s ear. Hari was drowned somewhere in his deep sleep on his bed in the room no. 31 of the Boys Hostel. He was sleeping with his mouth wide open, which made his round chubby face look even rounder.

“Hari, hurry up yaar! Get up! Come on!” Tension in Anshul’s voice was rising. He poked him, stirred him with a lot of effort, but Mr. Hari remained loyal to his sleep.

“Hari the whole college is coming to beat you!! Run, get up!!”

 Anshul tried such many more lucks.

“The hostel is hijacked! There’s a firing! Wake upp!!”

“Hari! I just came to know, that IT bomb Shanaya likes you and wants to go on a date with you!! Get up you fat ass!”Anshul slapped him on his cheek. Yet, Hari refused to click his eyes open.

“Hari! Your mom is on phone!”Anshul said in a low voice, he had given up. But, the next moment saw Hari sitting upright in full consciousness.

“What? ... Maa called? Give me the phone!”, if there was anyone for whom Hari could live or die for with all his heart, it was only his mother.

“Thank You MAA!!” Anshul shouted, joining his palms and looking up at the sky. “No, it was not your mom. It was Ravi. He needs our help.“ He told Hari.

“Now? What happened? Is he okay?” Knowing that it wasn’t his Maa, Hari had already started feeling sleepy again.

“I don’t know... He wants us in his room. He sounded too urgent on phone.”Anshul explained.

“Okay okay.” Hari got out of his bed finally,” I’ll just wear my shirt.”

The corridor of the 3^rd floor of Boy’s Hostel was unusually pitch dark. Silence was mingled with the noises made by insects. It would remind anyone of a perfect horror scene.

“Wh Wh What happened to the lights?” fear was very much evident in Hari’s voice.

“I don’t know, it must be the power cut” Anshul tried to convince himself and pushed Hari forward.

“But Ravi’s room is at the end. It’s too dark, I can’t see.” Hari was pushing Anshul back with great force.

“He needs us, let us go!...Pleasee?” Anshul insisted.

The thin skeleton like body of Anshul and the fat stout body of Hari were walking hand in hand in the dark towards the corridor end. When they reached Ravi’s door, they found it already open. Nothing was visible inside, the lights were off.  Ravi did not have roommates till now; he was staying alone in a room that could accommodate three students.

“Ravi... ?Where are you?”, Anshul too was freshly bathed in fear.

“In bathroom”, a thick voice echoed from Ravi’s room.

Hari and Anshul were terrorized by the voice. Somehow, they managed to walk to the bathroom. Hari switched on the lights, saw in the bathroom and thanked god to find that that voice was of Ravi only. He was sitting on the floor.

“What are you doing in here ,you idiot? You scared our shits off!” Anshul asked.

“Look outside the window.” That is all Ravi said.

Very slowly and with lots of efforts they reached the window that was just 15 foot away. And then, they wished their eyes hadn’t seen what they saw.........

­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________________________________________________

NEXT DAY...

For Practical Lectures, every FE division in SCOE was divided into 4 batches consisting 20 students each. Hari, Miraya and Aryan were in the same batch A1. Rudra and Ishaani were in the batch A2. Eeshwar was in batch A3 and Miraya felt too blessed about this fact. For the past one week, since Eeshwar had met Miraya, he had been a nagging presence for her. Every morning he would just ask one question “Hey, did you add me on Facebook?” And Miraya would not shy to come up with a new annoying excuse everyday.

“Where’s Hari?”Miraya pointed out in physics practicals.

 “I called him before half an hour. He was returning from Siddhivinayak temple. He said he’ll come in the next lecture.” Aryan said, he was busy noting the readings of the experiment.

“Seriously? Temple?” Miraya laughed,” I mean there’s still time for exams. Or is he bribing well in advance?”

“Ha-ha...No.  Supposedly some incident has happened in Boys Hostel last night. This Hari and his roomie got scared to death I heard.”

“What? ?.” Miraya was never short of reasons to pity Sadu. But she tried to cheer him up every time, because he resembled too much to her cousin brother whom she loved a lot. He too was brutally made fun of in a similar way. And as an elder cousin, she would always stand for him. Hence, she would often take Hari’s side.

In the next lecture, Aryan found Hari in the classroom as he had promised on phone. He was encircled by the anxious story seekers of the previous night’s incident.

“...And... then Ravi told us to go to the window. We went and saw two dead bodies wrapped in white cloth, lying on the grass some 50 mts away from our building. You all know na behind hostel a smashan (Hindu burial ground) is there? It was very scary yaar... And then all of a sudden one dead body with white face came out of nowhere. It started waking up the other two dead bodies. Ravi said he saw four bodies wrapped in white. And we saw just three... That means....”

“Oh stop it Sadu! This isn’t possible!” Miraya said.

“I saw it myself Mira. And my roomie Ravi has fever. Anshul talked with the seniors also. They said that Ravi’s room is haunted. And that”

“And that only the ones who are in the room that Ravi is allotted, can see those ghosts from that window. From nowhere else they are visible.” Rudra declared, smiling coyly and taking a bite from apple.

“Exactly.”Hari agreed.

“And how do you know?” Miraya caught him.

“Simple. Because it was a prank.” Rudra said too innocently, taking another bite from apple.

“You too were involved? You know what, you are impossible!!” Miraya walked towards Rudra and said at his face.

“OOOO Miss Angry Young Woman. Why are YOU so impossible!? I am talking to Hari ok? Not you.” Rudra pointed his finger too close to the centre between her eyes. Miraya’s cheeks started turning red coz of anger.

“Fine!” Miraya left and went to her seat.

“Listen Hari and all the other INTERESTED fellas.” Rudra said it out loud enough for Miraya’s ears,” This was a prank, rather, a ritual named as ‘The Somaiya Legend’, and it was performed by our seniors. Ravi’s room on the third floor is supposedly the best room in hostel as a very rich politician’s son was staying there, like, some 7 years ago. So it’s furnished and blah blah blah. Every year the seniors get dressed up in white blankets and put white talc powder on face and hands, and try to scare FE’s who are allotted that room. If they get the right fish in the pond, they exchange their rooms and the seniors enjoy luxury. Simple.” Rudra proudly smiled.

Some were laughing, others were furious after listening to this. But Hari was happy. He hugged and thanked Rudra and bunked the next  lecture to meet Ravi and Anshul to give them this good news.

Rudra walked to Miraya and stood before her bench, “I was nowhere involved. When I came to know about the incident, I asked a senior whom I meet everyday in train. He told me the story.”

“I believe you, I’m sorry” Miraya was guilty.

“Me too. Shift inside”, Rudra sat beside Miraya, and all the eyeballs in the class were on them. It was an Oomph moment for the class, and the temperature had increased because many jealous hearts of both boys and girls were on fire. 'They both hate each other, they just can't be friends !!'

 Ishaani walked in the classroom with a lollipop in her mouth. Ooh La La,she smiled. On seeing that her seat was taken by Rudra, she winked at Miraya and sat with another gunda of the class.

“Look, I want to ask you something. Why “, but before Rudra could complete the question, the professor entered the classroom, and three guys followed her in. She was 20 minutes late for BEE lecture.

‘Yes?’, Miraya’s big eyes questioned. Rudra shook his head twice and said, “Later.”

The tallest and the coolest out of the three guys came forward and made an announcement in his style. He was wearing a red t-shirt and a warm smile. “Hi Friends! Tomorrow there’s a surprise for all the First Year students..! So be present in the Quadrangle by 12 in break. Occupy all the four floors. I’m sure none of you would want to miss the fun.” He winked.

The second guy came forward and continued in a charming way, “And that’s not all... Tomorrow evening 4 pm onwards, the most awaited event of the month is going to be held in the Auditorium!! ‘The Fresher’s Eve’!!! It’s YOUR event guys!  So wear your best dress and mood and be ready for the fun and surprises! See you all tomorrow. Yes?”

“Yes!!!” The decibels of noise increased as the students started hooting and engaging into animated conversations.

The three guys thanked the professor and left.

“Who were they?” Miraya asked Rudra.

“The tall guy in red T-Shirt is the PRO of Student’s Council.”

“What’s PRO?”, Miraya had joined the college late, so she wasn’t aware of many things yet.

“Public Relations Officer, he is responsible for making all the announcements in classes and such stuffs. The other two were joint PRO.” Rudra cleared her doubt.

“He was cool na...” Miraya’s eyes had brightened up and this time her cheeks were red because of blush.

“Yea he is”, Rudra rolled his eyes. “So, excited for tomorrow?”

“Nah...” It was Miraya’s turn to roll the eyes.

“You are too boring, has anyone ever said you that?”, Rudra laughed gently.

“No, but I am well aware of the fact.”She smiled, looking down at the book. For the first time Miraya believed that he was honest.

“Nice to know that.”

 While talking to Miraya in that hour, Rudra sensed that she was not what she seemed or faked. Her smiles were not real; her eyes were hiding some deep sorrow, at least they were trying to. And he also sensed that this girl must have been quite more lively and charming. He was somehow feeling sad for her, the way her eyes were hiding and the way her smiles were telling lies all around. He tried to imagine her real smile, but he failed at the attempt. In that hour, Rudra promised himself to try to make Miraya ‘really’ smile.

 (To Be Continued...)

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