AIIMS. This was it. I had managed to land a seat here. My mom couldn't afford to send me to such a college on her own. We barely dealt with our daily necessities by virtue of my late Dad's pension money. I was extremely lucky to have qualified for the scholarship for the physiology course.
"Kyra! Where are you?"called out Ma from the kitchen.
"Just a second!" I said. I hurried out of my bedroom, throwing on my sweatshirt, to find her at the door with a tiffin box. We lived in a two bedroom house, which was cozy enough for the two of us, on the outskirts of Dehradun. I had no qualms about not being better off as I believed in equal fortune for everybody, thanks to my Dad. We were rich in other aspects.
One look at her aged and weary visage and I had my guilt trip back again. It was too painful for me to leave her alone at home but I had to, there was no other way out.
"Are you ready?"She asked.
"Yup," I replied.
"Have this tiffin on your way, okay? Since you aren't ready to take out some time for breakfast also," she softly admonished.
"You know how I hate being behind schedule Ma, punctuality is an obligation for me," I defended myself.
"Okay, okay. Go now," Her soft eyes held concern for me.
"Take care, Ma. I'm so sorry…,"I said with a lump beginning to form in my throat and tears stinging in my eyes. I wanted to unpack my luggage right away and stay with her. Even though she was in the pink of her health by God's grace, I was still terrified to think of anything happening to her while I was away at college.
"You have to do this for yourself and for me too. This is your first step towards writing your destiny.
You've always wanted to prove your worth, haven't you?" she pacified while wiping away my tears.
I knew she was right yet how could I explain leaving my Ma alone at home?
"You know the auntie next door will come to my aid if I need help," she pointed out cheerfully.
I hated crying but it was an effective emotional release for me all the same. Crying once every week did me lots of good.
I had to go.
"Okay now off you go!"She said waving me off. The cab already contained my luggage and had waited outside our house. I hugged her for a full minute and got in. I opened the tiffin box as soon as we were on our way to divert my mind. Ah! Ma's pancakes! She was the best in the world…
And now here I stood in front of the gigantic gates of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
To say that I was nervous would be the understatement of the century. I was shaking, literally. I had always been a recluse, remaining indifferent to most people except those whom I'd come to know very well. Only they could make me smile and laugh heartily. This almost always resulted in people disliking me and thinking of me as arrogant and snobbish. So basically, I took time in making friends.
I was anxious about what would happen to me here and how I would have to adjust among new people all over again. My dad had been in the Indian Army and we'd journeyed with him all over the country, changing schools time and again and learning about different languages and customs. Initially, it had been complicated for me every time.
Telling my cab driver to wait for a while, I showed my letter to one of the guards who stood at the gates. He let me in and I was directed towards the Dean's office.
I had met the Dean before. He seemed like an amiable man—fair colored, black-haired with streaks of gray, warm and friendly eyes, and dressed in combinations of dark and gay colors.
I knocked on the door to his office.
"Come in." I recognized his voice and entered.
Looking up from a document, he gesticulated for me to sit.
"Ms. Kyra Malik, Welcome to AIIMS! We are fortunate to have you among us," he said smilingly.
"Thank you sir," I said.
He summoned his attendant and asked for my documents. The attendant came back with a Manila envelope in his hands.
"Here you are Ms. Malik. This envelope has all the provisions that you will need as a new student. I suggest you go through each and everything carefully," said the Dean handing the thick envelope to me.
"If you have any doubts you can go ask the receptionist, alright?" he said.
I nodded and thanked him.
"Now, excuse me, for I have to go for my regular rounds. It is my duty to keep an eye on these pains in the ass," he said unabashedly and winked at me eliciting a hysterical giggle out of me in spite of my state. Some of the students of this college were really very snooty, according to what I had heard.
"Oh! One more thing. If they rag you or do anything of the like, you come to me unhesitatingly, clear?" he said, shaking his index finger at me.
I smiled at him. He was good at putting people at ease. Maybe he had understood that I was embarrassingly nervous.
The envelope contained a map of the campus, a prospectus which contained descriptions of the campus buildings, a thick rule booklet, information about the dorms and the one which I was to occupy specifically, among other things. I had reached the girl dorms and had located my wing and room.
I was to share my room with a girl called Shanaya Oberoi, 2nd year.
The room was huge. It had an en suite bathroom and a fitted wardrobe which was big enough for at least five girls like me to fit in their stuff. There were two beds on either side of the room with two identical writing desks, bedside tables, and bureaus. There was a large dressing table against the far wall in between the two outsized windows that provided a beautiful view of the football ground from high up.
She wasn't in the room at the moment and I could see her half of the room personalized with vibrant colors consistent with a chic theme. Her stuff seemed to shout "BRANDED!" in your face. But it was not overly done too.
It was a good thing that the dorms were beautifully and elegantly furnished by default or I wouldn't have been able to survive without being looked down upon and getting teased. I shuffled towards the bed on my side of the room and dumped two of the bags the cab driver had helped me to carry to the dorms. After another round all my luggage was now kept before me. I just wished that my roommate wasn't supercilious and condescending. If God were to grant my wish then my social life here would get a little less painful. Was that too much to ask for?
Just as I had started unpacking, a girl sauntered through the door bellowing out to somebody, "Bye! Remember, we're going to Rohan's concert tomorrow!"
I turned around at the sound and took in her fair skin, blue eyes, pouting lips, and average height – enhanced by ridiculously high heels, fabulous dark chestnut hair that fell in soft waves, long legs and whatnot. I was nothing compared to the goddess-like figure before me. I had my silky-smooth and stubbornly straight ebony hair drearily flowing to my mid-back—I didn't know what to do with it so I almost always tied it up in a ponytail—big brown eyes, fair skin, disproportionate lips, slightly broad jaw and shoulders, 5' 8 in height, and I just couldn't get rid of the fat deposited around my body albeit I jogged and played throwball and badminton every day. But I'd learnt to live with my flaws and didn't give two hoots about it now. And I secretly believed I had a lovely figure. I scoffed.
There was a warm aura around the girl that I couldn't help but like her instantly.
Her eyes fell upon me and she grinned and strode forward, her hand outstretched.
"Hi! I'm Shanaya. And you're Kyra, right?" she said enthusiastically while we shook hands.
"Yeah. Hi," I said, trying to sound cheerful. She seemed like a pleasant and kind person.
She was wearing a little strapless white dress that had a tulle skirt. Tulle? I was by no means a fashion forward girl. Such as, the fact that I was wearing a pair of old faded jeans that I had torn to make it look cool, a white baggy tank to go with it and a brown-black sweatshirt over it. It was by the virtue of my extensive reading that I knew the material.
"It's so nice to meet you. I'm sure we'll have a great year together. By the way, I love your name," she beamed at me.
"Thanks.", I blushed, "It's pronounced as keer-ah."
Ah, the problems I had to face for having a complicated name not to mention that it was analogous to the Hindi name for cucumber.
I just hoped that no one here made fun of it as my schoolmates did.
"Okay, sorry Kyra!" she corrected herself and offered, "Let me help you unpack." I gratefully accepted.
She flew around the room helping me in hanging my clothes in the closet and putting the other stuff in my bureau. At first I was apprehensive of letting her handle my things but then I gradually relaxed as she didn't pass any judgments. Soon all my belongings were adjusted owing to her and I stashed the last bag in the closet as she turned to me.
"So have you taken a look at the map and the rule booklet?" she enquired and then added when I shook my head, "You should, you know. Those are really helpful." I nodded and sat down with the map and rules, trying to memorize whatever essentials I could. The Campus was colossal and had state-of-the-art infrastructure. I was yet to behold the massive features.
"Feel free to use my things that are kept on the dressing table and that mirror too, okay?" She said pointing at the enormous amount of make-up and the single full-length mirror that stood on her side.
"Thanks but I don't think I'll need all that make-up. Besides, that's your stuff, how can I use it?" I said.
"Oh come on!" She waved off my concern. "I really need somebody to share all that with me. It is too much, by courtesy of Mom! " She sighed, exasperated.
"And don't worry, you will need it, trust me. I'll help you." She winked.
She flopped down on her bed grabbing a pillow and faced me with her head resting on her hand.
"You have to go with me and Sana to the rock concert that we have tomorrow. I'll introduce you to her. You know what; Rohan Nanda is going to perform! He's amazing, I tell you." She said enthusiastically and added, "But negatively so when it comes to certain things. He's in my batch, spoilt brat!"
I could sense some old resentment and decided to divert the topic.
"So tell me about yourself. Where are you from?" I offered. She gave the impression of being good-natured so far. I thanked God in my thoughts. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
She had come from Delhi and was the daughter of the fifth wife of an extremely rich industrialist, detesting her stepfather and step sisters for their high and mighty existences. Her mom was too busy a socialite to pay real attention to her other than showering her with luxuries that she didn't really care for. She just wanted love and affection from her parents which they didn't bestow.
She was a love starved and rich brat whose life revolved around designer bags and fancy dresses. Born with a silver spoon in her mouth she tried hard to smother her need for love with couture clothes, designer brands and her half-baked romances.
At least she had parents, unlike me.
We spent the rest of the day lounging about our room, me trying to get ahead in the syllabus and reading the rules and she getting ahead with her paperwork that she had to handle, being the cultural coördinator. We also strolled around the dorms, in an attempt to make me familiar with the area. She introduced me to a few other girls who were our neighbors. She had offered to show me around the college the next day since our classes were supposed to start the day after.
The clairvoyant inside me could feel that we were going to become great friends, for I genuinely liked her for her down-to-earth nature and found it easy to share my memories with her.
Next morning, I awoke to the shouts of guys practicing in the football field. I went to stand by the window and looked at the sun rising in the east. The horizon appeared too gripping to resist capturing it and I ran to fetch my digital camera from the bureau. It wasn't as resourceful as I wanted it to be but it had to do because I couldn't afford better. Photography was my hobby other than collecting stamps and reading romances.
I clicked a few pictures of the rising sun and then focused on the football field and the guys, not that they were very interesting. At that moment one of the guys took off his football jersey to reveal a perfectly sculpted torso. Were those eight-pack abs? He was so tall. It irked me that I couldn't see his face as the room was on the fourth floor of the dorms. "Show off!" I muttered, passing off the silly butterflies that were fluttering in my stomach as hunger pangs. I was hopeless.
I zoomed in and clicked a few pictures of him kicking and running. The way he played was brilliant, undoubtedly. I stood there for roughly ten minutes engrossed in his play before realizing what I was doing and hurrying off to the bathroom to take a shower. I had to find out who he was.
I came out after about half an hour, dressed in my robe, and headed to the closet to decide on my outfit for the day. Shanaya was still sprawled on the bed, an arm and a leg hanging off.
I dressed up in a pair of camel-colored skinny corduroys matched with a brown, loose-fitting and printed tank top. I wore brown studs on my ears and tied up my hair in loose ponytail. Slipping on my favorite pair of sneakers, I approached Shanaya, contemplating whether to wake her up or not. I had taken about thirty-five minutes to get ready and all this time she had lain completely zonked out.
With my decision made, I began to shake her and after multiple protests she got up at last. Looking at her bedside clock, she mumbled thanks and shuffled to the bathroom. The wall clock read 7.30 a.m.
After she had livened up a lot, we sat down to pack our bags.
"Let's go to the supplies store first to get your stuff. After that we can come back to pack our bags and then we'll head off to the cafeteria. Hell, even I have to get a few things," She said, realizing that she had forgotten something.
"Okay," I agreed.
We walked to the store which was situated in the office complex. I bought a few forms and papers and a few books that I had ordered. As Shanaya was busy selecting what kind of pens she wanted, an exceptionally hunky guy approached the store, looking at Shanaya and grinning from ear to ear.
I disappointedly noted that this wasn't the guy I had seen at the football field. He was much shorter in stature. He had a dimpled smile, arched eyebrows, a bit curved jaw for a guy, and walked with coolly hunched shoulders. He was wearing a green 'ROCKnRoll' T-shirt and had one arm around a girl who looked à la a supermodel in the making. It seemed that her breasts would fall out of her top any second.
"Hello Shanaya! What's up? Not getting your favorite things here, are you?" He said noting the frown on her face.
She turned around at his greeting and grimaced before she caught herself and smiled in a sickly sweet fashion, "Hi Rohan! Hi Brittania! Oops, Britney! Nice top, by the way. No, actually, I saw you two coming over and that's what irritated me, you know. By the way, this is Kyra, my new roomie." She said animatedly. So this was the Rohan Nanda whom she loathed. I smiled at them for formalities' sake.
"Charity student, right?" the girl named Britney said, looking at me patronizingly. Snooty people, example number one and two, stood before me at that moment.
"That's scholarship, and I've earned my place here," I quipped, defending myself.
"Whatever," was all she said. I hated her. "Ditto," I replied uncaringly and she sneered at me.
Shanaya was tapping her foot impatiently, clearly annoyed with these two.
Rohan asked mischievously, "You are coming to the concert, right? I know you still find my songs irresistible." He stood with one hand in his pocket, smirking.
She said irritably, "Yeah, so what? Unlike you, I appreciate people for their talents. Excuse me," and turned to me, "Let's go, Kyra. I'm ravenous. I bet there is something special in the menu today." She literally dragged me away, not being in a good mood. These two definitely had a history, I was sure.
"Gosh, why did I have to see his face so early in the morning? Now my whole day will be spoiled," she complained. I looked back to see Rohan looking at her with an expression I couldn't fathom.
"Right, I'd forgotten about my hunger pangs which I'm hearing since morning. I badly need a glass of milk, above all," I said, with one hand clutching my tummy. Just then my stomach groaned audibly.
She laughed and said, "You sure are hungry. In my case, I was just lying to get away from them."
"Nothing new, you'll catch me whining about being hunger every once in a while," I replied. None of us spoke about what had just transpired. I decided to save my questions for later. We went to our room to pack our bags and were headed down to the dining hall after ten minutes.
"Oh my God, everybody's gonna be there, yes? I hope I don't make a fool of myself," I expressed my worry.
"Don't worry, you'll do fine," she reassured putting a hand on my back just as we reached the doors leading to the hall.
She led the way in and I looked around at the huge building that was bustling with students. We moved to the food counters and filled our plates. Mine had lots more than hers and I started to feel self-conscious. But then I dismissed the thought and sat down with her at the table she'd led me to. I was too hungry. She introduced me to her friends— Sudo (short for a very complicated name), Tanya-her best friend, and Jeet- Rohan's best friend. Sudo looked like a human meatball, round and flabby, but he was geeky and friendly. Tanya was a short, olive-skinned babe with whom Shanaya discussed the latest gossip and fashion. Jeet, well he was tall (but not as tall as football boy) and funny. I quickly became fond of them. Surprisingly, Rohan and Britney were also seated there.
I looked at Shanaya with my eyebrows raised, indicating at them. The question was clear. She whispered to me, "Unfortunately, they are a part of our gang too, but I don't talk to them much." I nodded understandingly. She was stuck with them.
"What's with the foreign name, Britney?" I asked her, curiously.
She giggled and said, "Actually her name's Dipambrita. She doesn't like it, obviously. And nobody knows about it." Her eyes were twinkling with mirth as she toyed with her food. Hearing her, I chuckled. "I'd like to call her by her real name, what say?" I said. "Great. You should do that. I'd like to see the expression on her face," she agreed. I noticed that she was not eating properly and her eyes were drifting to the couple seated across us. I turned to them, realizing what had grabbed her attention.
Britney was feeding breakfast to Rohan while he intermittently nuzzled her neck. Their fakeness was disgusting. I sensed her discomfort and made an effort to distract her. "Hey, do you think I should go check out the library today? I'm a book fanatic, especially of romances. Titanic makes me cry every time I watch it," I admitted, successfully diverting her attention as she turned back to me.
"Really? I too cry sometimes! Although I'm not into love stories that much. Since classes don't start until tomorrow, why not?" she said.
"Okay, will do. I guess I'm the only one who's hopelessly romantic," I sighed.
Shanaya said to the others, "Hey, where's Siddharth? I thought the football practice was scheduled for early morning?"
"Yeah, it was. We finished long ago. He should've been here by now," said Jeet, looking around for him, whoever he was. "Dude, there he is," said Sudo, pointing to a tall guy walking towards us, despite the fact that his mouth was stuffed with food.
As he neared us, I abruptly realized that he was the football guy, given his physique I'd noticed in the morning. Suddenly, it felt too hot to be in my clothes and I could feel a weird sensation in my stomach.
"Hi everybody! Sorry I'm late. The Coach wanted to talk to me about something," he said, taking a seat beside Rohan, across me. I observed his features for the first time. He had brown hair styled in spikes, thick eyebrows, warmly dark eyes, sexy nose and lips that curled up in a heart-melting smile. He was clad in a pair of jeans and a plain white v-shaped shirt that exposed a good part of his clean-shaved chest. He must have been about 6' 3 tall. Get a grip, I thought to myself, cutting short my ogling.
"Sid, this is Kyra, my new roomie," said Shanaya. He looked at me and smiled, waving his hand in a hello gesture. I smiled back, overly aware of myself.
"And Kyra, this is Siddharth, the captain of our college football team, the Mobsters. He's a scholarship student; 2nd year," she said.
"You've qualified for the scholarship too?" he asked me, while he buttered his toast.
I nodded, keeping mum, as if my mute button had been pressed by him as soon as he came.
Sudo turned to me and said, "Don't mind, but I don't like cucumbers, they're hard to digest." Instead of offending me, his out of the blue but subtle remark had me laughing hysterically.
"Nobody has ever commented on my name so sweetly. They always made fun of me in school," I said controlling my laughter as he looked at me scandalized. I looked around to see Shanaya and Siddharth chuckling with me while Jeet and Tanya smiled.
"You know, I've wanted to do that ever since I heard the correct pronunciation," said Shanaya.
"Kyra, what a weird name you have! Why would you want to call yourself a cucumber?" Britney said, sneering at my name.
"Kyra means 'goddess' or 'strong woman'. I think it's a beautiful name, regardless of the the way, don't you think Britney is a weird name too, seeing that it's the short form for Dipambrita? Isn't Britney too old-fashioned?" I retorted, satisfied as I saw her glaring daggers at me, noticeably embarrassed.
Such snobbish people brought out the dormant angry kitten in me. Otherwise, I was a very non-violent and level-headed person. Acute anger even brought out tears in my eyes. Quite frustrating.
There was silence for a second as everybody absorbed this information, except Shanaya and me of course, which was followed by the guffaws of Jeet and Sudo. Shanaya gave me a thumbs up and Siddharth chuckled, shaking his head.
The most comical expression could be seen on Rohan's face as he looked at Brit incredulously.
"Splendid name, chica!" he exclaimed and started laughing.
Brit was fuming in less than a second and stood up abruptly, her chair scraping on the floor with a loud screech.
"You'll pay for this!" she threatened me and stomped away, flicking her hair.
I kept looking at her back with a frown on my face.
"Forget about her. She can't do anything. Bitch." cursed Shanaya and went on, "By the way, nice meaning."
"Thanks," I muttered and stood up to head to the library for that day…