Page 42 of Reckless Dare

“You can start from Monday,” the admin continued. “Since you will be working in the evenings, you will have access to the back entrance as well.”

Ava nodded. “Thank you so much. I really appreciate being picked for the position.”

When she had applied, she didn’t think a second year medical student would have high chances. But her voluntary work experience at her parents’ hospital had helped her land the intern position at Simha hospital.

“Since the university just resumed three weeks ago, there aren’t many sick students,” the hospital admin said. “Once the games begin, you’ll see a lot of activity with sports injuries.”

Ava’s heart thudded at the mention of sports. It reminded her of what had happened two weeks ago in the locker room.

No! Don’t think of him!

She pushed the thoughts of her tormentor away.

Instead, she listened to the hospital admin while being instructed about the timesheets and the shifts involved for the intern position. But unlike a few moments before, her smile wobbled a little because of nervousness caused by the reminder of her tormentor.

“We are very flexible here at the Vaishnavi hospital,” the hospital admin said. “We understand the pressures that come with our medical school interns. But in case you want to change the shift, you need to let us know at least three hours in advance so we can make other arrangements.”

Ava nodded. “Yes, of course. Thank you for giving me the option to change shifts.”

“You are welcome.” The woman smiled and once again congratulated Ava on the job before leaving.

Ava’s excitement was hard to contain. She couldn’t wait to tell her parents and sister about her internship.

Her job was to organize the medical supplies and assist the nurses during her shifts. She had enjoyed volunteering at her parents’ hospital doing similar tasks of organizing. And she hoped helping the medical staff would be equally satisfying.

She was happy as she walked out of the hospital building when her eyes fell on the picture of a young girl set to one side of the large lobby. It was a memorial. Her stomach knotted painfully at the idea of someone young passing away. The name Vaishnavi Simha was inscribed on the frame of the picture and she let out a gasp.

Her internship program at the hospital was named after the little girl. to the library when she heard a masculine voice.

“Hey, Harvard!”

Ava froze. Her smile dropped and her heart began to thud sickly. Slowly, she turned.

It wasn’t her tormentor. It was one of his cousins. Vedant Simha.

“What are you doing at the hospital? Are you sick?”

The guy looked very different from her tormentor, but they had very similar eyes. That single feature was enough to make her nervous.

“N-no. I… got an internship through the Vaishnavi Program.”

There was shock and anger on the guy’s face. “I see.”

Gritting out those two words, he walked away.

Even though he hadn’t threatened her like his cousin, she couldn’t help feeling nervous. She hurried to the library to get on with her pending assignment so she could return to the safety of her room.

Just like her brutal first week, the next two weeks had also been stressful. But it wasn’t because of her coursework. In fact, things had improved with her classes. Ms. Rajpal found out about the technical glitch with her first assignment which softened the older woman’s attitude towards her.

The rest of her classes and assignments also went on smoothly. It was only in between the classes and after that was the terrifying part.

Abhiram Simha was still a constant dark, threatening presence. Ava had to find ways to avoid him. But it was as if the entire universe was conspiring against her.

She saw him each day, no matter what. Either during their common classes, which she ensured to sit far away from him, or around campus.

But so far, she hadn’t had a close confrontation with him. She tried her best not to give him that opportunity. Most of the time, she made sure she was with Neeraj or the other leads of the Eagles team.

She always made sure to surround herself with at least a couple of people, never going anywhere by herself.

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