The secret Oberoi

chapter 2

The secret Oberoi ch2

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She hadn't even finished that thought when she heard the clip-clop of stiletto heels that heralded the arrival of Sania Mehta, the self-proclaimed Queen Bee of the entire college.

And of course, the queen bee never went anywhere without her worker bees, or in this case, her posse... a bunch of wannabes that hung around Sania, inflating her ego in hopes of gaining favors from her and her fashion mogul father.

"Well, well well... if it isn't the biggest losers of our college. How the heck did they let people like you graduate from here I'll never know. In fact tum jaise logon ko is college mein aane hi kaise diya?"

Gauri sighed at the umpteenth repeat of the same taunts... this woman and her sheeple simply weren't capable of something called creativity.

"Sania... Aaj ke din to apna kaam dekho. Move on... do saal ho gaye hain. Abhi tak tum ne mujhe chidhaaya nahin to aaj kya kar logi? Theek hai... last try maar lo. I'll try to care about it today for your sake... okay?"

The cruel smirk on Sania's face deepened as she looked at Gauri and Smrithi from head to toe. Both Gauri and Smrithi had gotten admission into NIFD through an exam and received full scholarship. Gauri had wanted to make it all the way on her own and had refused to take help from anyone in her family even through the admission process.

After repeated coaxing, explaining and a whole bunch of arguments, the Oberois had finally understood that Gauri Omkara Singh Oberoi was even more stubborn than her Nandi of a husband, could undercut her bade bhaiyya in deal making and throw tantrums worthy of Rudy. So they left her alone in her pursuit of greatness, helping when and where they were allowed to by the new tyrant of the house.  

Smrithi had literally bumped into Gauri on the first day of college, at orientation and they'd instantly hit it off. Now, after two years of competing with each other and being each other's confidence, they'd decided to start small and work their way up.

Smrithi and Gauri were planning to start a boutique that would cater to women of all social strata, helping give the necessary confidence and swag to women from all ages, all kinds of families and social groups.

And Sania Mehta was the only daughter of Vikram Mehta, the owner of House of Bouton, an elite fashion house headquartered in Mumbai with branches all over Asia. With money and privilege, came arrogance and a sense of superiority over the other common folk' as she saw them.

While Sania reigned supreme over the social scene of the college, a bunch of scholarship students including Gauri and Smrithi were going to receive top awards at the graduation ceremony.

"I tell you... jab se ye scholarship dene ka stupid idea start kiya hai na is college mein, our standards have come tumbling down. They let in any riff-raff without even doing a background check. I mean... what are poor people going to do with a degree in Fashion? It's not like they're gonna end up becoming a sensation overnight. You need money and power for all of that..."

Sania sneered at them and rolled her eyes at the poor upstarts. Gauri and Smrithi just shook their heads and tried to side step the scantily clad bunch posing before them, only to be stopped by Sania's minion

"She's not done with you yet... Sania ne tum logon ko jaane ki permission di hai? Chup chaap khade raho"

"What the heck! When will you guys quit?" Smrithi was losing her patience.

Gauri would've backed her up but that was when her phone started ringing, with the display flashing 'Bade Bhaiyya'

"Haan bade bhaiyya... aap log pohonch gaye?"