Riya

The soft sound of the beads I had sewn in my side bag was swallowed by the noise of the college crowd as I walked towards my class through the long corridors. It would've been magical to run in the corridor wearing a lehenga. But I was wearing my pink chikankari kurta and jeans, which did not match the vibe of this gothic structure. At least my aesthetic was on point with my Jhumkas. A thought tickled my brain, and I pulled out my phone from my pocket to google the word 'aesthetic.'

"A Greek word," I mumble aloud, putting my phone back in my pocket.

Often, the thought that this place could be a haunted site at night would tickle my brain. But haunted places were never this loud. As if on cue, another loud cheer rang from the college grounds. I turned my head to the roaring crowd. It had to be something big. It took a lot for the Mount Mary students to actually be engaged in the stuff going around.

I walked on the way to the commotion. I still had time before my class. As I neared the crowd, I wasn't surprised to see a fight. It was a regular occurrence here, which was surprising considering it was advertised as the most disciplined college with merited students. The merited part might be true, but after a year and some more in this college, I was highly doubtful about the disciplined part. I considered myself lucky that I didn't face any ragging situation. I was good with blending in the crowd. Standing apart made you a target for both good and bad.

If one wasn't part of Mount Mary, they wouldn't know about the rivalry that went on in this college. It was brutal, bloody, and stupid. As far as I was aware they were cousins. The cousins brought their family rivalry to college and gave us free entertainment. I wonder how far they were willing to take it. And the most violent of both was leaning on his bike with a smile. Abhay Raichand in his navy blue t-shirt that he wore too much.

My feet turned, ready to get away, but my eyes fell on Dhruv. My feet stopped, and my eyes widened. In this span of three months, I had occasionally wondered if I should or should not bash Dhruv with his cricket bat that he used to carry around when we were kids. In the beginning, I was happy thinking I would have someone in the college with me. It was tough to realize I wouldn't see my friends in college. I wouldn't be able to bring lunches and share stories. I knew Dhruv wouldn't be much of a companion, but still, someone was here. But now that someone was punching another person and getting punches in return.

My feet resumed their position back. For a moment, I thought of turning back and letting him suffer the consequences of his stupid actions, but the spots of blood on his white t-shirt were visible from afar. That made me worried. Professors would be here anytime.

The important point to know about Abhay and his gang was that they were rich. The most any professor could do was take them to their office, call their parents, and risk their jobs. People like Dhruv and I did not have that kind of privilege.

I scanned the crowd. The crowd near Dhruv was closer to him. I got out of the crowd and started walking to his side.

Moments like this made me angry. My eyes fell on Abhay through the crowd. This guy never made sense to me. But then, it wasn't my job to make sense of a guy who would someday probably get my cousin killed.

I turned to get into the excited crowd, apologizing as I stumbled. Something got stuck on my kurta, and I cringed. It was my favorite kurta and I did not want to get it ruined. My anger was rising at Dhruv as I tried to push some students away. The stench of sweat and excitement was too potent. My body vibrated from the cheering that was going on. It was as if a football match was going on. Finally, I was in the clearing, and Dhruv was just a few feet away.

A commotion started in the crowd. The professors were here.

I moved forward, dodging two fighting boys, and grabbed Dhruv's collar from behind. He turned, his fist ready to punch me. His face contorted in confusion as he saw my face. Before he could say something, I took his hand and started dragging him by the crowd with hurried steps.

"What are you doing here?" I ignored them as he tried to free his hand from me.

"Riya let me go." He was grinding his teeth I was sure but didn't turn around to confirm and kept dragging him through the crowd.

Finally, out of the crowd, I dropped his hand. Back inside the circle, everyone stopped as the professor started shouting at Abhay, who had a bored expression on his face.

"What is your problem?"

"What is my problem? What is your problem? This is the third time this month I've seen you fighting, and the month has just started." I was already aware of what his dialogue would be. It was the same every single time.

"It is none of your business what I do or not. Don't you ever dare do that again." There was a threat in his words. Something on my face must have given away the hurt because his expression changed.

"I saved you," I said, ready to defend myself.

"I don't need you to save me. Don't you understand what you have done? What do you think they must be thinking?"

"These people?" I pointed my fingers at the group of guys who were being escorted, probably to the dean's office. "You could've been in that group and there would've been a call to your parents. What do you think would've happened after that? They can get away from it all, we can not."

"I don't need you to tell me what I should do or not. I have a brain. Don't ever do that. This is a warning." Then he stormed off in another direction.

I took a breath and turned my eyes away. The ground was almost empty now. Abhay was still on his bike with his phone to his ears. How was he still here?

Apparently, the rules of the college did not apply to him.

In the middle of my thoughts, he looked up. Our eyes met. Goosebumps erupted on my skin.

He had beautiful eyes with a face that looked sculpted with precision. But even with beautiful eyes, Abhay Raichand scared me. I was not good at reading people. I could not read the softness or darkness of a person as easily as my friends. I did not know which person was cunning or which one had hidden motives. But even with my broken skill of recognizing people, I understood that I was to stay far away from this man.

I turned around and started en route to my class, pretending that my three-second eye contact did not make me want to punch his face. 

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Thank you for choosing the story of Riya and Abhay <3