Love In The Shadows

4 ~ Arun's Never Ending First Day

***We reach the hostel room after lunch ***

I lay on my bed, lost in thought, as my roommates unpacked and settled in. The encounter with the seniors left me feeling anxious and uncertain. I couldn't shake off the feeling of being in a cage

Just then, I heard a faint whisper outside the door. "You know what I heard? Seniors took a fresher to their block"

Vijay, ever the curious one, immediately jumped off the bed and opened the door, "What happened?"

A fresher from another room replied, "I heard he got taken away because he refused to obey them. He's not coming back to our block anytime soon"

Vijay's eyes widened with concern. "What did he do to deserve that?"

The other fresher leaned in, his voice barely above a whisper. "He refused to follow some orders. He said it was pointless, and he wasn't going to do it on one of the senior's face. Big mistake."

I can feel my heart sink. I had already had a run-in with the seniors, and now hearing stories about freshers being taken away for disobedience. With a chill running down his spine, I asked myself "What kind of hell hole did I end up in?"

Venu, sensing the tension, spoke up. "That's ridiculous! We're not their slaves. Can't we just say no?"

The other fresher shook his head. "No way, man. You don't want to cross the seniors. They'll make your life miserable. Trust me, I've seen it happen. Just do what they say and man you'll better keep your heads down."

Saying this those freshers walked away to their rooms

I was already exhausted with my travel. I spent the afternoon unpacking and settling into my new room.

I fell asleep, only to be woken up by Vijay's enthusiastic voice."Hey, Arun! Dinner time! Wash your face let's go! I don't want to face the seniors alone."

I groggily got out of bed and freshened up. As we left the block, we saw a sea of juniors in formal attire walking in line to the mess. Venu was the only one among us who had dressed appropriately, while Vijay in his plain checks shirt with blue jeans. I, in my faded jeans and sweatshirt, stuck out like a sore thumb.

I was concerned about "What more am I going to see today?" 

We had a peaceful dinner and I was relieved as we walked back to our room. "Wow, no incidents!" Vijay exclaimed. "Maybe we just thought too much."

But my relief was short-lived. As we approached the block, we saw the seniors waiting at the entrance of the hallway. 

We tried to walk past them."What's this?" one of the seniors thundered seeing my outfit. "You don't know the rules? No fancy clothing is allowed here!"

I tried to explain "Actually it's my first day here and I don't have any formals with me" 

"You should have borrowed someone's clothes or bought some formals. Don't you know the rule here? No excuses!"

I felt a surge of fear again as the seniors asserted their authority. I asked myself "How many times did I feel this today?"  we stood there for a second with our heads down and started walking towards our room.

My heart raced as I felt the seniors following us to our room. I slightly turned my face around. They all had smug faces. I knew they were in for a night of bullying and having fun with us and braced myself for the worst as I walked into my room.

As soon as we entered the room, I heard a commanding voice from behind "Hey dickheads it's entertainment time..... Let us see someone do a poll dance for us" 

I tried to find my footing and tried to speak up "Actually I don't know how to dance"

Just then, another senior entered the room with a fresher

"Oh! then you be the poll and...." Looking at the new guy " He will show us his dancing skills" I stood there in disbelief as we were being humiliated.

The new fresher had it worse than me he broke down into tears

They had their fun-to-heart desire the senior left us by saying, "This is just the start. Remember, if you want to have a peaceful year, just follow all the rules."  

I never felt that helpless and embarrassed of myself.  Part of me wanted to stand up against the seniors and refuse to be bullied, but another part of me was scared of the consequences. Sitting in silence, I asked myself "How am I going to handle this?"

"Arun's steps, in a new world
Where seniors roam, with a menacing call and freshers in fear by abuses being hurled
Ragging's wrath, a terror to behold
Arun's heart races, as his soul grows cold

He sees a fellow fresher, break
Tears streaming down, a soul that shakes
The helplessness, the fear, the rage inside
A mix of emotions, that cannot be denied

Arun feels trapped, with no way to express
The anger and fear, that his heart repress
He's forced to endure, the humiliation and pain
A silent sufferer, with no one to blame

But still he hopes, for a day to come
When he'll find the strength, to overcome
The ragging's grip, the seniors' might
Will Arun stand tall once more, in the light of day and night?"

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Question from Author:

1. Did you'll ever face any kind of bullying?