Stay

Chapter 4 - Intoxication

It was noisy and the campus was sprawled over several acres. Hostel rooms were assigned to the girls, while the boys were expected to sleep on mats in the Community Center.

Fiza accompanied Anjana and Neha to the Community Center. As she entered, she noticed a peculiar odor-a mix of dampness and something vaguely familiar but unidentifiable to her. Shortly, Koushik approached her and said, "Fiza! Good, you're here. Come with me." Neha and Anjana were nowhere in sight, so Fiza followed him.

"Here," he handed her a bag containing dried plants and newspapers. "Separate the leaves and flowers, discard the stems."

Fiza accepted the bag with a smile. It seemed like an easy task and it kept her occupied. She wondered if it was a prop for the dance team. After a while, she grew bored and texted Alan. "Wru?"

"In the Community Center," he responded.

"Me too. Find me," she texted.

A few minutes later, she heard a familiar laughter. Alan knelt down beside her, holding a crudely rolled cigarette in his hand.

Fiza's eyes widened. "Are you smoking?" She asked in surprise, even though she knew he smoked. She had heard the rumors that circulated about him indulging in recreational drugs and alcohol as well.

He took another puff and blew the smoke near her face. "It's a joint. Want to try?"

"That's disgusting. Don't do that near me," she said, swatting the air between them, feeling her heart sink. She went back to sorting the leaves and flowers, trying to focus on the task at hand.

Alan extinguished his joint and sat beside her. He reached his hands out and cupped her face with one and traced a line from her earlobe to the corner of her lips with his finger. He wanted to kiss her, but even in his dazed state, he knew he shouldn't.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered in her ear. "So beautiful." He gently tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and looked into her eyes. They were shimmering with tears.

Fiza bit her lip, her heart in her mouth. She didn't know why she hadn't moved away from his touch. It was like his eyes had held her in place, frozen. She couldn't let that happen again. She cleared her throat, and softly stated, "Rule number 6: Never interact with me when you're intoxicated unless you need help."

She looked saddened, maybe disappointed. Alan was accustomed to that. He had known that he would ruin things somehow. Nevertheless the whole situation struck him as comical.

"Maybe," he smirked pointing at the plants she was sorting, "my close friend should know that she's sorting bang and ganga for us to roll up later." Seeing the stunned expression on her face, he left her to it and walked away, lighting up his joint.

Fiza mechanically finished the task at hand and gave the sorted weed to Koushik. She remained silent and walked back alone to the hostel, feeling scared. It was dark, and the people around her were intoxicated. She felt uncomfortable and angry at herself for allowing herself to be in this situation.

Suddenly, someone tapped her on her shoulder. It was Neha, and she appeared just as uneasy as Fiza. "Call me when you're moving from one place to another. We shouldn't be roaming around by ourselves."

Tears streamed down Fiza's face, and words spilled out before she could hold them back. "These are medical students. They're going to be doctors. Why are they doing drugs and behaving like this?" She gestured to the individuals shouting profanities in multiple languages, making out in the Community Center, and openly consuming drugs and alcohol.

"They're adolescents. For most of them, this is their only chance to let loose," Neha explained.

But that wasn't an excuse for Alan touching her while intoxicated. It had felt intimate and even recalling that moment made her heart flutter.