My Ex - Crush

Episode 48

Arjun's POV:

"Girls, please, just listen to me!" I pleaded, trying to keep my voice steady despite the rising tension.

"No, Arjun, we’re done!" Bhavani said, her tone sharp and unyielding.

"Yes, enough is enough. Let them do their own NASA work without us!" Indhu snapped, her frustration echoing through the room.

I felt like I was pulling my hair out. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. I’d always been the one to take control, to lead, to make sure everyone was on the same page. But now, my leadership was crumbling right in front of me, and I couldn’t stop it.

"Please, let me talk to the seniors first! I’ll convince them not to make you girls work like this in the hostel," I tried to reason, my voice almost desperate now.

But the hostel girls were resolute. They stood there, arms crossed, eyes blazing with determination. Anusha’s voice trembled as she spoke, "Arjun, I haven’t slept in three days because of this work!"

"And they treated us like slaves!" Bhavani added, her voice cracking with the anger she’d been holding back. "They kept making us redo the same sheets over and over!"

I glanced around at the faces of the fifteen hostel girls, all of them looking at me with a mixture of defiance and disappointment. How had it come to this? When I thought Deepika was the storm I’d have to weather, out of nowhere, these girls had risen up in rebellion! My classmates watched the chaos unfold, some looking concerned, others merely entertained by the drama.

"Girls, calm down!" Shalini said, trying to play the peacemaker, but even she seemed lost on which side to take.

"Reubens was done by the hostel girls! It’s always been like that," I argued, hoping to get through to them.

"We’re not going to work for them anymore!" Anusha shot back, her voice filled with a resolve that I knew I couldn’t break.

"You know what's the worst part?" Indhu added, her face twisting with anger. "They called us stupid, idiots, and useless! There’s a limit to how much we can take!"

I felt my control slipping through my fingers. There was no way to reason with them. Frustrated, I stormed out of the classroom, heading straight for the seniors to try and salvage what I could. Anusha trailed behind me but stopped at the door, too afraid to face the seniors again.

As I stepped into the seniors’ classroom, every head turned toward me, and I felt like I was walking into a battlefield. My heartbeat quickened, and a lump formed in my throat.

"Arjun, come in," Ashok said, his voice calm but his eyes hard, betraying no hint of sympathy.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward, feeling the weight of every eye on me. The hostel girl seniors were glaring at me like I was their biggest disappointment.

"Ashok...the thing is..." I started, but before I could finish, Pranitha’s voice cut through the air like a knife.

"Beg for our apology?" Pranitha sneered, her words directed at Anusha, who stood frozen at the doorway.

"Arjun, we didn’t expect this kind of behavior from your batch," Ashok said, his voice filled with reproach, and I felt the sting of those words like a slap to my face.

My insides twisted with anger. I hated this—I hated feeling powerless, hated being let down, hated losing. And now, I was watching everything fall apart, knowing there was nothing I could do to stop it.

"We’re done with your batch. None of your people are allowed to participate in any trophies with us. And forget about attending the convention," Pranitha declared, her tone final. "But Arjun, we still need you."