Rivannah

Rame and Clashes

She reached canteen with a loosely formed plan in her mind.She spotted Aditi sitting in a heavily crowded area, dreaded meeting those friends. Aditi had already spotted her and waved eagerly. Riva kept her bag on an empty chair and inspected the curious faces as she sat.

" Riva, these are my friends , Kaveri and Jheel!" Aditi introduced, happily," They were dying to meet you!"

" Aditi told us you're staying with her as PG." Kaveri chimed eagerly, " Where are you from?"

" A small town. Not as pretty as Prathampura, though." Riva said evasively.

" I know, right! Wait till it's November! The hills will be covered with wildflowers and daisies!" Aditi exclaimed, kicking Kaveri under the table. She had warned them Riva was a private person and might not take their questions kindly.

" Oh right - ouch," Kaveri glared at her, " Anyway , I'm sure living with this cavewoman must be a horrifying experience."

Before Riva could jokingly agree, a fourth person sat next to her, uninvited. He was a tall, broad shouldered boy, with wavy black hair. He wore a white shirt, rolled up at the sleeves and his arms flexed. Despite his casual appearance, Riva could sense nobility and austerity oozing from him.

Kaveri and Jheel hitched their breath in shock and their cheeks were bright pink.

 Aditi froze like a statue and was on the verge of panic attack. Why is he here? Riva's going to kill me! My poor mother is going to be so lonely in this selfish , harsh world! She mentally screamed.

" You signed up for the debate club?" The boy asked Riva seriously. His dark eyes swept over her unapologetically and he frowned once he completed his inspection.

"Of course not. Even if I did, is that a problem?" She retorted, unamused. She didn't like the harsh way he was scrutinising her. Something about it reminded her of Badi Maharani sa.

" I'm Vikram.The president of that club." he said heatedly.

She was playing clueless, wasn't she? Acting as if she hadn't coerced Professor Malkani to ask him on her behalf. Pretty tactful, since he couldn't say no to a Professor. He hated the kind of people who curried favour with people of authority.

" I've never seen you in this town before." He continued," Where are you from? And what was your last college?"

"I studied in It's-none-of-your-business college." Riva said acidly , "In Don't-poke-your-nose-where-it-doesn't-belong town. It's pretty famous, you know."

She knew what was happening.It had only been a few days, the pesky seniors who went around ragging new students and freshmen had already found her. Riva clenched her fists and glared at the hateful boy in front of her. What kind of man went around ragging girls? Shameless!

Kaveri and Jheel gulped in fear, their hearts pounding in anticipation. Aditi wished that the ground would split open and swallow her whole.

" Now is there any other irrelevant topic you wish to discuss?" Riva continued grimly.

 She hated people who used their power to haze others. And they always did it so patronisingly. First, they'll force you to give up personal information, then they'll start making you do their chores.

" For a girl with no looks and no brains, you sure have a lot of nerve," Vikram spat angrily, " I asked a simple question."

" I'll state it simply if your non-existent brain can't process my words. Screw you. " Riva said through clenched teeth.

This argument was going nowhere, but she didn't want to end until she had the last word.He had an oppressive aura around him, as if he's used to ordering about everyone.She wouldn't give in to such a shameless bully.