Page 11 of Reckless Dare

Pooja didn’t look too happy meeting her. “I hope you don’t keep us waiting for hours. We plan to leave soon.”

Ava smiled, not wanting to take offense. She knew all students must be eager to begin partying with their friends. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”

Ava rushed into her bedroom and quickly freshened up before changing into jeans and her favorite blue top along with a matching scarf. When she once again stepped out of her bedroom, she had a minute to spare.

Nitya looked surprised as she smiled. “Whoa! That was quick, Ava. Awesome!”

The other girl’s eyes swept over Ava with a grimace. “Don’t you have anything better to wear?” Pooja asked.

Ava’s heart sank. “Oh, aren’t jeans allowed? I can change into a party dress.”

Nitya shook her head with a laugh. “Oh no. You are fine. In fact you are more than fine and most likely one of the few girls wearing appropriate attire for the occasion.”

Ava was surprised and intrigued. “Oh, where are we going?”

“You’ll see soon!” Nitya said with excitement as the three of them stepped out of the apartment.

They took a shuttle from the housing unit to the garage stop. Ava was shocked to see a huge building with a multi-story garage. It was almost the size of the garage at an airport. Vehicles weren’t allowed inside the campus, so students kept their cars and motorbikes inside the garage to be used for events outside the campus.

Ava saw several cars stopping outside the garage picking up the waiting students and driving by. Nitya indicated to an open-top car that stopped in front of them.

“Let’s go, Ava!” she said, pulling her along. “Let’s party!”

Ava sat in the backseat and smiled. “Who is hosting the party?”

This time it was her other roommate who replied. “It is the welcome back party hosted by the Simhas.”

*****

An hour later, the open-top car came to a stop.

“My God,” Ava whispered.

Nitya laughed. “You know, each time I see a new student react to our well-kept secret, I keep thinking I need to record the reaction.”

Ava couldn’t hide her shock at what she saw. The party was being held away from the main campus on a huge dirt ground. The place was lit up with several large bonfires to one side. There was food and drinks being served while loud music blared from speakers.

Even though there must be at least over a hundred students at the party, most of them weren’t near the food or bonfires. They were standing in large groups, holding beer cans and cheering loudly.

Ava stared at the dozens of bikers racing around the dirt road, leaving visible tracks and a cloud of dust. Most of them were balancing their motorbikes on one wheel while racing through. Some of the stunts were downright shocking.

“What if one of them falls and gets hurt?” Ava asked.

Nitya looked amused. “The hospital is nearby. And we have a few in-house medical students too, including you.”

Ava had never seen anything like it. The bikers were quite reckless while they continued to do daredevil stunts and race around the huge dirt ground.

Nitya laughed. “I’m glad you are only seeing them during the party and not while they actually race. I’m sure you’ll get a heart attack when they race across the mountains.”

Ava recalled seeing a group earlier that morning while they sped by the university bus. They had been quite reckless. And the student president was a part of it, too.

Her heart raced as she searched for a biker with a red and gold jersey jacket. Barely a couple of moments later, she found him. He was wearing a dark helmet that completely covered his face, but she recognized him from the tall, broad shape and smooth way he was handling the bike while racing at the center with a group of bikers. Each time he revved up and spun the bike around, the back of his jersey showed the words ‘president’ and ‘vipers’.

She didn’t know how long she was staring at him, but she was yanked out of her fascination when her phone began vibrating in her pocket. Knowing it must be from her parents, she dragged her eyes away from the student president.

“I’ll be near the food,” she told Nitya as she stepped away.

Nitya nodded and stayed along with the rest of the students cheering the reckless bikers.

---