Titaliya

Chapter 16

Two days with Nani had been wonderful. She considered telling Nani about Arnav, but there were some problems she had to solve on her own. The driver dropped her off at the apartment, and she made it to college without meeting him.

She walked into the college and tried to find the administrator's office. However, someone stopped her before she could enter the building. A muscular arm was in her way, at the level of her neck. Veda looked to the person attached to her obstruction.

Some people would consider the man handsome. He had a sharp features and pale skin. He was tall and well-built. In his leather jacket and jeans, he looked like he walked out of an advertisement for some deathtrap of a motorcycle.

"Fresher?" the man asked.

Veda nodded hesitantly. The man grabbed the sleeve of her long-sleeve shirt and led her towards a line of students she assumed were all freshers. The girl next to her was shaking. She was wearing a bright yellow salwar kameez and jhumkas Veda found adorable. It was like looking at a photo album of her past.

"You there, Chamkili!"

Veda and the girl both looked towards the senior. The senior was a girl wearing a black minidress and thigh-high boots. Veda wondered about the practicality of wearing thigh-high boots to college.

The girl next to her hesitantly stepped forward.

"What's your name?" the senior asked.

"Asha Murthy."

"Asha Murthy what"

"Just Asha Murthy."

Veda nudged her and whispered. "Call her ma'am."

She didn't understand the stupidity of ragging. It was like announcing to the world that they enjoyed seeing others humiliated. From her reading of books on psychology, it also seemed like ragging was a sign of a hidden inferiority complex.

"Asha Murthy, ma'am," Asha said.

"You!" the senior pointed at her. "Runway!"

Veda closed her eyes. Nani had insisted she wear the Dior dress with the Louis Vuitton backpack and Jimmy Choo flats. With her outfit, she was basically asking for the nickname.

"Vedanshi Bharadwaj, ma'am."

"Bharad-"

Veda nodded. "I'm who you think I am, ma'am."

The girl straightened her posture and whispered to the senior beside her.

"You can go," the girl told Veda.

The boy who called her to the line approached her. He stood with his arms crossed and a smile on his face Veda didn't like.

"I say she stays," he said. "She's a fresher. I don't care what her last name is."

"Rishabh, you don't know about this. Let it go," the senior girl said.

"I don't want to."

He pointed at Veda. "You seem like a talented chick. Dance for us."

Veda rolled her eyes.

"Attitude? And on your first day?"

"I won't."

She started to leave when the boy called for Asha. She stopped and waited to see if Asha would take a stand for herself.

"Murthy, ready to dance?"

"Sir, I-"

The senior sighed. "Dancing is too easy, huh? Fine. Let's make it a little bit more interesting. See that table over there? Whoever sits there first... give them a kiss."

Asha's eyes nearly popped out of her sockets, as did Veda's. The girl started to fiddle with her dupatta and stammered that she couldn't. The table he mentioned was in front of a little food stall. At the moment it was unoccupied, but the food stall owner was setting up and soon customers would arrive.

"I can come up with worse things," the senior boy threatened.

"I'll do it," Veda blurted out. She immediately closed her eyes and cursed herself. Some of the old Khushi's selfless idiocy was still there. She could've left, minded her own business, and been fine. One look at Asha's grateful face made her helpless.

She told herself it was just a kiss. She kissed men and women alike all the time in France, just to greet them. She could imagine it was her Nani or Ayush. Perhaps a girl would sit at the table. The pessimistic part of her mind told her some ugly man might sit there as well.

Rishabh shrugged. "Social service, huh?"

They waited but no one came. The senior smirked.

"Guess I'll just go sit there myself."

He started to walk towards the table, but before he could sit another man occupied the seat. He was wearing a three-piece suit and speaking to someone on the phone.

"Lucky guy," Rishabh whispered to himself.

Veda said a silent prayer to herself and walked over to the man. His back was turned to her. He reminded her of Arnav, and she shook off the feeling. She'd managed to avoid Arnav for two days, and now her mind was playing tricks on her. She ignored all her instincts and continued walking.

She walked right up to the man, closed her eyes and kissed him on the cheek. She turned around and prepared to swiftly walk away. Her designer shoes weren't meant for running. The man held onto her hand quickly. She formed her apology before turning around.

"Sorry, raggin-"

***

Arnav felt her lips against his cheek. The kiss caused butterflies in his stomach, just like four months before. He didn't have to see to know who it was. He showed up at her college in the hopes of seeing her. Had she missed him in the two days and realized they would be happy together?

No, small chance of that. He caught ahold of her wrist and turned around. She started to say something, but stopped on seeing him. She pulled her wrist out of his grip and stepped back. The seniors ragging her walked over, along with another girl that silently walked to Veda's side and held her hand.

"Good morning, darling," he said.

"Darling?" the seniors repeated.

Writer's Note

I feel like this is a little cliche, but I just wanted to write something cute. I am still studying. This is a long-haul kind of exam. I can't write two stories at once, is what I've figured out. I'm going to always be on schedule with this story, that much I can promise.

As always, enjoy reading.