Page 7 of Reckless Dare

“Have you spoken to any cute guys?”

“No. Not yet.”

An image of the reckless biker riding next to the bus flashed in her mind. Ava shook her head. She knew if she mentioned the weird staring she indulged with the guy, her sister wouldn’t end the call.

“I’ve got to go Pree,” Ava told her younger sister. “I have to get ready for the commencement event. Tell Ma and Papa I’m fine. I’ll call back later in the night.”

“Okay fine. You better call me and tell me everything!”

Laughing and promising to do just that, Ava ended the call.

Her gaze fell on the small balcony attached to the bedroom. Getting up from the bed, she went to the sliding door before opening it and stepping out.

A small gasp escaped her. A tall tree was right outside the balcony, and beyond that was a lush garden with a water fountain at the center. And around the water fountain, she could see several wooden benches that would be perfect for outdoor studying.

Oh God. I’m seriously living my dream.

*****

“Are you sure you don’t want to take a shuttle?” Nitya asked.

Ava nodded with a smile. “I can walk.”

Although Ava had a long journey and the time lag would soon catch up with her, she was excited to walk. The campus was so huge that most professors and staff and even some students took shuttles to go to various buildings. Luckily, she enjoyed walking. It was the only form of exercise she got since she wasn’t good at sports and hadn’t found the time to indulge in one.

“Most undergrad classes are in the nearby buildings,” Nitya said. “Oh. Unless you are taking advanced courses. Then you’ll have to take one of the shuttles to go to the graduate block which is up the hill.”

Ava was enrolled into a couple of advanced courses.

“That’s the main hall.” Nitya pointed to a large circular building with tall marble columns. There was a huge flag with Simha logo which cannot be missed even from a distance.

Ava knew it would be a while until she became familiar with the campus.

“Oh no!” Nitya said while stopping short. “I totally forgot that I was supposed to come with my friend Shivani. She called me this morning asking me to wait so we could go together.”

“Do you want us to go back?” Ava asked.

Nitya shook her head. “No. I don’t want you to run late, just in case I am. This event is important for you. Just follow the pathway and get into the main hall. I’ll come with Shivani on the shuttle.”

Ava nodded.

Nitya left, and Ava continued to follow the path to the main hall. The weather was beautiful. There was a slight chill, but the uniform helped her keep warm. The undergraduate uniform was a white colored shirt, maroon-colored tie and a navy-blue jacket with the university logo. It was paired with a dark gray and black checkered skirt that was a couple of inches above the knee. And on the days when there were sports events or other college events, she would have to wear the allocated house color jackets.

She noticed that the boys wore a similar uniform with dark gray pants and longer ties. But a few of them, who were most likely part of the sports teams, wore uniforms with jerseys in their house team colors.

Soon, she neared the circular white building. Deciding to follow a couple of girls who were laughing and talking, she looked around the walls of the main hall. There were several names written on it, along with the year of graduation. Her heart filled with excitement, hoping her name would be on those walls one day if she topped or excelled in her class.

She knew she would find her father’s name since he was the topper in his batch.

“Hey, who are you?” a girl’s voice asked.

Ava dragged her eyes away from the walls of the main hall to look at the two girls in the front.

“I’m Ava. I was told to attend the speech here at the main hall.”

One of the girls frowned. “This is the back entrance. Only the student council and university staff are allowed.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Ava had followed the two girls thinking they were attending the event like her.

---