Page 6 of Reckless Dare

“I’m in my final year of Pharmacy. Just six more months to graduate. But I’ll be pursuing a Masters and Ph.D. too at Simha.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Ava hoped to make good friends with Nitya, even if the other girl would be her roommate only for six months. Ava knew undergrad students had different housing units from the graduate and post-graduate ones.

The elevator stopped, and they stepped out and walked through the polished marble-floored corridor with huge paintings and artworks on the walls. Ava was reminded once again of a luxury hotel.

Ava’s allocated apartment was located to the end overlooking a beautiful garden with tall trees. The glass walls in the corridor ensured the place was naturally lit with sunlight.

Nitya scanned her student ID card at the door and pushed it open before leading them inside.

Ava stepped inside and stopped short. She couldn’t help but gape with her mouth falling open. She was looking at the place that would be her home for the next three years.

“What happened?” Nitya asked.

Ava stared at the apartment with wonder. “I was expecting the place to be… different.”

She was expecting a student dorm room with three beds in a large room. But what she saw was an apartment with three separate bedrooms and a living room with a small kitchen. The kitchen even had a stainless steel refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, an automatic coffee machine, and a small stovetop.

Nitya looked at her curiously. “The student rooms in Harvard aren’t like this?” she asked.

Ava shook her head with a slight chuckle. “No. They aren’t.” They were normal like most student dorms across the world. At most, students could get a microwave to make instant noodles. However, everything at Simha seemed to be larger than life.

“Your room is the one on the right. The leftmost one is Pooja’s.” The door to the leftmost room was closed since the other roommate had already left.

“The packages with your uniforms and accessories are placed inside the closet. The rest would come when you are assigned to a house team.”

Ava knew she would be allocated to a university house team later that morning which would decide the color of her university jackets and sportswear. She knew there were four options to pick, but she didn’t particularly favor one over the other. Anything would be fine. Not that she would be participating much in the games. Studying took a lot of her time. But she did want to participate in other events.

“I’ll go and get ready,” said Nitya. “Let’s meet in thirty minutes, and we can go to the main hall together.”

Ava smiled. “Sure.”

“Oh by the way. There’s a landline in your room in case you want to make international calls. You can collect your cell phone along with your ID card later today.”

Ava nodded. She knew regular cell phones weren’t allowed due to security reasons. Instead, each student was assigned a cell phone.

With excitement brimming, Ava wheeled her suitcase towards the room that Nitya had pointed to. She pushed open her bedroom door and once again chuckled.

The room was larger than what she and her two roommates had in Harvard. There was a queen-sized bed with plush bedding and nightstands. A carved hardwood desk to the corner was inviting. She dragged her suitcase into a walk-in closet. A dozen or so uniforms were hanging with the tags and protective covers on.

Smiling, she continued to take in the rest of her bedroom. The walk-in closet led to the bathroom, with a wicker basket placed on a marble countertop with full-sized toiletries and the Simha logo. A stack of towels with Simha monograms were placed in a cupboard.

Shaking her head, she stepped out of the closet and went back to the room.

The landline was next to the bed. Picking it up, she called her sister’s phone. It was early evening in San Francisco. Her parents would both be at the hospital and would return later in the evening.

It took a couple of tries since she had never made international calls before. Her heart thudded with excitement when the phone finally rang.

Her sister’s voice blasted from the phone. “Oh my God! You reached? How is it?”

Ava laughed. “It’s better than what I imagined. I just got to my room… or rather into my apartment. I’ll show you the place once I collect my cell phone.”

“Can’t wait!” her sister said. “How are your roommates?”

Ava smiled. “I only met one. She is very nice and helpful. I’ll meet my other roommate later.”

“Oh good. And the students? How are the students at Simha? Do they wear clothes made of gold or currency notes?”

Ava laughed. “Haven’t seen anyone wearing those yet.”

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