Page 28 of Reckless Dare

When will he stop? Why does he want me gone?

Was it because she didn’t come from a privileged background like most of the students at Simha? Abhiram Simha came from a privileged family. Did he think anyone who wasn’t like him, didn’t belong at Simha?

Her heart sank at the thought. How could she have judged him so wrongly?

She had been instantly drawn to him. And when she found out he was the student president, she thought he had the leadership qualities and the ability to treat everyone equally.

But he is just a privileged snob.

She shook her head again.

Ignore him and he will get bored of tormenting you and leave you alone.

With that thought, she put her focus back on her studies. She was there because graduating from Simha was her dream. Everything else was secondary.

She spent the next hour making sure her assignment was complete and submitted on time.

And once she was done, she returned to her housing unit.

She hadn’t spent a lot of time interacting with her roommates. There was so much to do on the campus and outside it that most students spent a lot of time outside the housing areas. They only returned for sleep. She spoke to Nitya during mornings when they spent time together while having coffee. But her roommate Pooja didn’t get up that early. The other girl had a very different schedule for classes and she was barely seen at the housing during the week.

Did Pooja hang out with Abhiram Simha and co.?

She shook her head once again, warding off thoughts of her tormentor. Her stomach fluttered with nervousness recalling their most recent encounter. She was still shaken by the effect he had on her and his threats.

Taking a deep breath, she got into the elevator of her housing. She could hear faint sounds of laughter and shouting while the elevator passed by the two floors. When it stopped on the third floor, she got out. The sounds of laughter got louder. The students were most likely letting down their hair to enjoy the weekend after a grueling week.

Taking out her phone, she scanned her ID at her unit before pushing the door open. To her surprise, the living room was full. She spotted Nitya and everyone else was strangers. The group looked in her direction curiously.

“Oh hi, Ava!” Nitya waved at her vigorously. “Guys, this is Ava, my roommate.”

There was a generic ‘hi’ from the group.

Ava smiled back. “Hello.”

Although she was tired and upset, seeing Nitya and the group made her relax somewhat.

She knew her tormentor wouldn’t show up at her housing as boys weren’t allowed to visit. It was only because of that rule, she had the confidence that her housing unit would be her safe haven.

She made her way to the small kitchen area and saw the food bag with her name on it. She opened the containers and placed them on a plate. The food was still steaming hot as it was carefully packed in a reusable insulated bag. She opened the fridge and grabbed a container of yogurt.

She was planning to take her dinner into her room when Nitya came into the kitchen.

“Ava, join us,” Nitya invited. “We have ordered in for tonight.”

Most of the students ate either in the dining halls located across the campus or at restaurants close to the college town where the professors and staff lived with their families. Ava heard that the food was amazing and so was the ambience near the college town. But so far, she didn’t dare to explore.

“Oh. I don’t want to intrude,” Ava told her roommate.

“Don’t be silly. You won’t be intruding. We are shameless enough to make you uncomfortable with our conversation.”

Ava laughed knowing what kind of conversation happened between college girls. “I think I won’t be shocked. I have a sister who speaks just like that with me even though she is four years younger than me.”

Nitya smiled. “How was your first week at Simha? Have you gotten over your jet lag yet?”

Ava had been using the pretext of jetlag to stay in her room during evenings.

“It’s better now,” she replied.

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