I clicked a couple of pictures for my Instagram story as I made my way to the canteen. With clusters of trees contrasted against a majorly red structure, the campus was fairly beautiful. I strolled into the canteen that seemed unusually busy. The seating area inside was large but it was too dark and noisy. 

I looked up at the displayed menu impressed. They had a wide variety of dishes which was surprising for a student canteen. Our school canteen had barely six items available at any given time. 

I wasn't really hungry so I stood at the chaotic counter to order a cup of coffee, pretty staple. After multiple attempts to grab the attention of the poor guy who manned the counter I managed to ask for coffee and handed him the money. I could only hope the canteen would not be this chaotic at all times. The man on the next counter quickly handed me my coffee in a small paper cup and I decided against sitting in the canteen itself. 

Holding on to the hot cup I sauntered out looking for a quiet place to sit. I saw a couple of plastic chairs under a huge tree at a little distance and decided it would do. 

It was only when I set my bag down on one of the chairs that I noticed someone sitting under the tree. He was obscured from view but I saw the guitar case next to him and recognized the bassist from Red Wagon. I decided to venture out of my comfort zone and initiate a little chat with the only interesting member of the famed band.

As I approached him I noticed he was pretty occupied with scribbling something in his journal. I cleared my throat so as not to catch him off guard and said,

"Hi, you're the bassist from Red Wagon, right? I just saw your performance at orientation. You guys sounded really good up there." 

He stopped writing for a second but didn't look up or make any move to reply. 

"I didn't quite catch your name but I just wanted to say that the parkour you performed, jumping from the stage, back there was pretty cool." I chuckled. 

He finally looked up at me, but instead of smiling or thanking me for my compliment, he scowled. I was taken aback, to say the least. I guess he really did not like interacting with people. 

"Alrighty then, I suppose this conversation is not welcome at all," I said awkwardly. 

"I guess you can take a hint then," he said snarkily and started gathering his things to leave. 

"Wow, you really are an asshole. I thought the whole thing was an act to keep up with the rockstar image. Please don't bother leaving, you were here first. I apologize for encroaching." I said and turned on my heels. 

I walked away as fast as I could, not before grabbing my bag from the chair though. I was so annoyed at the Red Wagon asshole that I didn't even notice half my coffee had splashed out of the cup onto my hand. I groaned in annoyance and quickly sipped the rest of it and threw the cup in a nearby dustbin. 

I was still fuming when I walked into a nearby washroom to wash my sticky hand. The amount of self-importance some people seemed to possess. Does he actually think he is some kind of a celebrity people are dying to talk to? The only reason I had even gone up to him was to accomplish the 'New Meera' plans I had made and he seemed the least full of himself. It's not like I had said something untoward. It was a simple compliment. He could have said 'Thank You' and then politely indicated he was not interested in any company. 

But if the reactions their performance had elicited from the audience were anything to go by then they were all probably spoilt rotten and were used to treating others this way.

"Meera?" 

I was preoccupied enough not to have noticed that Vahni had walked into the washroom. I looked up and smiled at her. 

"Where did you vanish? I was looking for you," she asked setting her bag down next to mine on the slab.

"Oh, you were? Sorry about that, I wanted some coffee so I went to the canteen."

"You totally missed the whole moment I had with Angad," she said and leaned against the wall looking away dreamily. 

"Really?" I laughed.

"Yes! He looked right at me and said that he thinks this batch has so many pretty girls." she continued in that same tone. 

As endearing as her hopeless crush on that player was I couldn't help but rain on her parade after my less than desirable encounter with the other band member.

"Vahni you don't think he's actually all that great? I mean that guy is... attractive and he knows it. It may not be a good idea to get emotionally invested." I said gathering my hair in a high ponytail and securing it with a hair tie. 

"Just let me manifest my truth." she mock wailed and took her lipstick out to apply a fresh coat. 

I smiled and shook my head. 

"C'mon, It's almost 12. We need to go to the first floor." I said.

"Why can't you just be in my course. Political science isn't that boring," she asked as we walked out of the washroom. 

"Do you even believe that?" 

"Well, it has its moments." she shrugged. 

"We'll see each other often enough. Besides, we have the same Generic Elective." I offered.

"Oh before we forget again, give me your number," she said and took her phone out. 

We exchanged numbers and parted ways with plans to meet back up after the respective department meetings wrapped up. 

I walked into the rather crowded room that said 'Department of English' on the door. I was greeted with a noisy classful of people that mostly seemed to blend together. I placed my bag on a desk near the front of the classroom and looked around. 

Nobody really stood out to me except the extremely loud boy in the last row. He seemed to be bragging about knowing someone from the faculty so he was already familiar with the place. I rolled my eyes and slipped my phone out. I scrolled for a bit until a voice said,

"Is this seat taken?" 

I looked up to find a girl pointing to the seat my bag occupied. She seemed to carry a sort of nervous energy which is what probably made me rush to snatch my bag out of the seat and smile graciously at her. 

"Not at all. Please sit down." 

"Thank you. I did not want to sit next to him," she said looking at the only other empty seat near the loud guy. Her voice wasn't very loud and his chatter nearly drowned her out. 

"I wouldn't subject anyone to sit near Mouthy," I said solemnly. 

She smiled and extended her hand. 

"I'm Smriti."

"Meera." I shook her hand. 

We talked for a bit as new acquaintances generally do. She was from an all-girls school so she was a little nervous about the co-ed experience. I reassured her that there was nothing to be nervous about, guys were just a little stupider and louder. 

"Not as loud as him though," I said pointing at Mouthy jokingly, who, by the way, was still going on and on. 

Smriti seemed a little at ease and that pleased me. 

The faculty came into the room and introduced themselves to us and welcomed us. They gave us a rundown of how the syllabus would proceed. What methods would be employed to determine the final grades and how mandatory attendance was. 

Our department seniors then took over and talked about the fun stuff like our department fests and competitions we held.

There was also the matter of elections within the department. The entire student body participated in a democratic election to elect six postholders, two from each year. They encouraged us to come forward and contest for the posts of 'Cultural Secretary' and 'General Secretary'. These postholders play a vital role in organizing events held by the department and were great responsibilities, they emphasized. 

"You should consider this," Smriti nudged. 

"Me?" I asked surprised. This person after having known me all of forty minutes thought I had a shot? That was rather nice of her.

"Yeah, you seem like a nice, confident person. I think you'd be a great candidate." she smiled. 

"Well, how about you?" I said teasing her.

"That would be disastrous," she said grimacing slightly. 

"So now the news you have been waiting for... Fresher's Party!" one of the seniors proclaimed, effectively grabbing our attention.

People cheered.

"It won't be till next month," Mouthy yelled out from his seat. 

I shared an annoyed look with Smriti who shook her head.

"Yes, unfortunately, you guys will have to wait a few weeks till the KGV union sorts it all out but until then familiarize yourselves with the college, explore the campus, nearby cafes, make new friends and for those considering the elections: campaign." the senior said. 

We were then asked to introduce ourselves. One by one everyone stood up and spoke a few awkward lines about themselves. Mouthy was called Nirav in a display of hilarious irony. He was anything but 'Nirav' which meant calm and silent. Smriti stuttered out her name and school before sitting back down. I introduced myself and we were finished. 

Smriti and I talked for a bit longer since Vahni wasn't finished with her department meeting. I had already made two friends so that seemed like a good start. 

Yet I couldn't stop my silent indignation from simmering at the Red Wagon asshole. I hoped this would be the last time I interacted with him. Little did I know what Maurya had in store for me.