~5 Step plan~
Sanjana Thapar

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The Imperial University Chronicles

May 9th

The crimson nail polish glinted menacingly under the yellow light of my lamp as I twisted the bottle shut. 'Slay Your Enemies' - how fitting. Varun was first on my list. How dare he insult me? Did he think he could just waltz away after making me cry?

I shouldn't have tried being nice to him. My mistake. He deserved nothing but my hostility.

The pen scratched across the paper as I finalized the last details of my five-step revenge plan. I was so engrossed in my plotting that the sudden knock on my door made me jump.

Quickly, I slammed the notebook shut and smoothed my hair before opening the door. Maya stood there, her grin stretching from ear to ear, practically vibrating with excitement.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had drama practice today." I asked, eyebrows raised.

"Canceled," she announced, breezing past me to flop onto my bed. "You won't believe what happened."

I leaned against my desk, arms crossed. "Oh? Why?"

"Tara threw up on Saksham."

I blinked, taken aback. "What?"

Maya's eyes sparkled like they usually did when she was going to share some gossip. "Right as Saksham and Tara stepped on stage, she just... projectile vomited all over his shoes. Then she got all woozy and collapsed. It was like a scene from a bad comedy movie."

My stomach twisted. "God, is she okay?"

Maya waved dismissively. "Probably just for attention and sympathy."

"Who throws up for attention?" I frowned. "That's horrifying."

"You should've seen Tara's face," Maya giggled, oblivious to my discomfort. "Saksham was so furious and Tara looked like she'd seen a ghost. If only Medha Ma'am allowed phones during rehearsal...I would have recorded it for you."

"Did they take her to the nurse's office?"

"Medha Ma'am dismissed the rehearsals to take her there. Everyone was super upset with Tara for ruining practice. Honestly I think it would be best if Medha Ma'am just replaced her."

I chewed my lip, blocking Maya's blabbering as my mind raced with thoughts about something bad happening to Tara. "I hope she feels better," I muttered before I could stop myself.

Maya's eyes narrowed. "I thought you hated her."

"I do," I said quickly, heat rising to my cheeks. "I just— never mind. Look at this." I thrust my notebook at her, eager to change the subject.

"Operation Varun Reddy's Ultimate Takedown," Maya read out loud. Her face scrunched in confusion as she scanned the page while I leaned back with a smug smile. "What exactly is this?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to take revenge from Varun."

"Why? I thought you were going to be nice to him."

I brought her up to speed on why Varun had become the most hated person on my list.

"What a jerk!" she said angrily. "He deserves to be publicly humiliated. I'll help you in any way I can."

I smiled, appreciating Maya's unwavering loyalty. She was a true friend, unlike Tara. Maya was always ready to help in any way she could while Tara was always trying to save herself from getting into trouble. "Tell me what you think of my plan?"

"Step 1. Gather Intel. Collect embarrassing or damaging information about him," she read out loud. "Things to do: Look through his social media profiles for past posts, photos, or comments that could be used against him. Gather intel from as many people as possible."

"I already checked social media but I can't find anything about him," I grumbled, mindlessly pulling up my social media profile. A smile formed on my lips when I noticed I had received 90 more likes in the past 20 minutes. It was a selfie of me under the tree with the pretty white flowers. "Like who in this day and age doesn't have social media?"

"People who have something to hide obviously," she said. "Don't worry. I'll find someone to help us."

"Perfect," I put my phone away. "And I'm going to ask around the hospital. He was crying so obviously there's a secret there."

She nodded. "Step two. Form an Alliance with mutual enemies."

"I think that'll be easy," I said, grinning. "A lot of people hate his stupid smug face and attitude. I don't think anyone even hangs out with him apart from Tabassum."

"True, most people only tolerate him for his notes and tutoring," she said, nodding. "Step 3. Plant the seeds. Slowly start spreading rumors about him. Oh that's going to be so fun."

"Uh-huh!" I agreed. "Step 4. Execute the reveal. The D-day is going to be somewhere in the Rest & Rejuvenate Week right before our final exams. Imagine how disturbed he'll be. He probably won't even be able to study properly for the exams and Mr. Topper's grades could be impacted as well."

"You are a genius," she giggled. "Step 5 is amplifying the insult. Right after that it'll be graduation and all this will ruin that as well for him. He won't be able to show face at the graduation after all the insults."

"Yup! It'll serve him right. He needs to learn that no one gets away with insulting Sanjana Thappar," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Just as I rounded the corner by the library the next day on my way to class, my steps faltered. Under the giant oak tree sat a lone figure: Tara. Her head was bent over a book, dark hair obscuring her face.

It was a beautiful day and I had time before my next class so I decided to take the long way. It was purely coincidental that it passed the tree. Phone raised to my face, I edged closer, peripherally monitoring Tara. She remained engrossed in her book.

"Oops," I announced as my new glitter pen set clattered to the ground.

Tara glanced up, then hurried to help when she recognized me.

"It's fine. I can do it myself," I said, settling on the adjacent bench to meticulously arrange the pens. I wanted to make sure they were in the correct order. "I heard you threw up on my brother."

Tara shifted uncomfortably, her shoulders drooping and hands stuffed in the pockets of her hoodie. "I... I'll get him a new pair of shoes."

"Good," I shrugged. "He's very upset and he'll be more upset if you have something serious and he catches it." Tara remained silent, her expression guilty. "So?" I prompted again.

"So?"

"So do you have anything contagious or serious?"

She shook her head. "No, I... I'm fine. Probably ate something that didn't sit right with me." Her mouth twitched, suppressing a smile.

"Don't misunderstand this as me caring about you or anything," I clarified. "I'm just worried about my brother." With that I gathered my things and walked towards my class.

____

Professor Kant's voice faded as the clock neared 3 PM. I perked up, realizing that freedom was so near. Just then, she dropped a big bomb. "Before you leave, I have your graded crisis communication quizzes."

Papers rustled as she distributed them. Nervous energy pulsed through the classroom. I drummed my fingers on the desk as I waited for her to hand me my quiz.

Finally, my quiz landed on my desk. Professor Kant looked at my grade and then looked surprised. "Wow! Ms. Thapar, this is some progress."

Excited, I flipped it over. Ignoring all the red marks littered on the page, my eyes locked on the score: 62/100. Sure it was progress from the last quiz, but it was still not anywhere close to what I expected. I had studied for hours.

Around me, classmates compared their scores, some grinning, others grimacing. I shoved the quiz into my bag, not wanting to ever look at it again. The moment we were dismissed, I hurried out so no one tried to talk to me.

"Sanjana!" someone yelled. Out of instinct, I turned around only to see the guy whose last year of university I had vowed to destroy. If there was an award for ignoring someone, I would have won it hands down. I had done it so well that I was sure he too doubted his existence.

Clenching my jaw, I stepped aside to let the other students pass by. If he wanted to yell at me again, I wouldn't mind in the least. In fact, let him. I was itching for an opportunity to retaliate

"Hi," he murmured, clutching the strap of his backpack tightly. Unlike the other day, he looked nervous, like a cornered animal. "How did you do on your quiz?"

So he was here to mock me. "Why do you care?" I snapped.

"Do you still need a tutor?" he asked instead, ignoring my hostility.

"What?" I asked, genuinely taken aback.

"If you still need a tutor, I can do it."

I raised an eyebrow, incredulous. "You want to tutor someone who is entitled and has a pea-sized brain?" My tone dripped with sarcasm.

He exhaled loudly, clearly frustrated. "I apologize for my behavior before. I was under a lot of stress, and you were just... in the wrong place at the wrong time."

A flicker of satisfaction passed through me. Maybe the universe had a twisted sense of humor. I hadn't even put my plan into motion yet, and it was already helping my cause. "You seemed really upset. What happened?"

"It's irrelevant to you," he said brusquely. "Do you need a tutor or not?"

"I do." Technically, it wasn't a lie. I needed a tutor, but more importantly, I saw an opportunity. I could use him to boost my grades and simultaneously gather intel about him. Then, once I had what I needed, I could make my move. It was going to be perfect. My mind buzzed with the possibilities.

"If you do everything I ask of you, I'll try my best to make sure that your grades improve significantly."

"Can you guarantee that?" I asked, just to annoy him.

"No tutor can guarantee anything," he replied, a touch of frustration in his voice. "But like I said we can work together and I'm confident you'll see the improvement you want. All the people I have tutored have seen positive results."

"Fine. When can we start?" I asked, already calculating the best ways to exploit this new arrangement.

"Before we start, you promised me twice my usual fee. Can you pay me up front?" His voice dropped almost to a whisper and he made no eye contact.

Interesting. He was in dire need of money. Clearly, very desperately. I made a mental note of it. If I could find out why he was so financially strained, it could give me an even greater advantage. "Okay."

"Perfect. Let's start tomorrow. At 7?"

"I have dance practice at 6:30. We can do it after dinner."

"I mean 7 AM."

My eyes widened in disbelief. "7 AM?" No way!

"It's the only time I have available," he said. "We'll start at 7, and once I see where you're at, we can figure something else out. I'll see you tomorrow. We'll meet in the cafeteria; it's quieter at that hour. Bring all your graded quizzes and tests so we can review them." Before I could voice any objections, he adjusted his glasses and began to walk away. "Oh, and sorry. Here." He handed me a folded piece of paper. "This is the amount. Cash would be appreciated."

I stared down at the paper and then at Varun's retreating figure. The amount wasn't much. In fact it was lower than what I would have thought. Was he really charging this little for his time? Did he know he was being exploited?

"Stop it," I scolded. Who cared if he was getting exploited? I didn't know. In fact I was happy.

I smirked. My prey had walked into a trap I hadn't even set yet. This was going to be easier than I thought.