A warm welcome - By Lysander Smith

Harsh Reality

The next day when I was sitting next to Lee in our class he kept fidgeting. It disturbed me a lot and I wanted to kick his shin If possible.

"Man I understand you are nervous she will join you are cool" I said and flipped the page of the magazine I was reading. It was five minutes to eight and my eyes were becoming heavy with every boring page. Lee insisted that we come early to catch Arya first and clear our way with her.

I was becoming angry about this Arya. Why is Lee so obsessed to recruit her but when I asked him this, he said it was his sister's wish. Lee's sister was the old female lead in his music group. But with her in Pune for her studies Arya was the one she recommended to replace her with. And why did Lee care about it. Because he wanted the group to live and not rot to death.

"God I am so hungry" I said and checked my watch.

Lee stood up instantly and said "fine I will go get something for you and check whether she is here ok" Lee said and ran off. Just as he exited two boys and a girl came into the class. The boys nodded at me and settled into their places while the girl's eyes never left me. She was pretty but not pretty amazing.

"Hey you" she said and started walking towards me and then I remembered her name something like Swara, Swetha et cetera.

"Hi" I said and gave a polite smile.

"Want some company?" she asked her eyes turned curious and I had to brace myself from saying something ugly. She could have any boy she wanted but not this guy. Ever since the day I saw those eyes I completed two boxes of crayons. My eye drawings went up huge in number along with the reshares and pins from my pinterest boards.

Just then a familiar face came into view, she rolled her eyes at the girl and me and laughed.

"I see you found your arm candy" Pallavi looked between both me and the girl trying to determine who was flirting with who.

"Pallavi" the girl took a dead tone and wished her. And I looked at her face clearly. Her hair was dyed brown and was let loose. Two huge fringes kept falling on her face as she kept pushing them back. Perfect example of someone who always seeks attention. The girl left the place trying to perfect the hip swaying walk but I nodded my head in disgust at that.

"Well I must say you are quite a charmer" Pallavi said and laughed. I gave her a forced smile too and replied "nice to see you too". She stopped laughing and looked around curiously "Where is Lee?"

"Canteen" I answered her and she nodded her head knowingly.

"Well I am off then it's just that I need a grand view of this place. I am gonna go check out the library. You wanna go somewhere?" she asked.

"I want to but I cant" I answered her honestly.

"Alright then" she said and smiled "good luck with Sangeetha bye" she said and left. Oh Sangeetha that's the girl's name. I looked at Pallavi's bag which she left on my desk. It looked heavy, she came prepared I thought. I looked out of the window next to me. Students were coming in numbers with relaxed poses and laughs that echoed. The huge trees surrounding the campus gave them shade and a breeze which is comforting in this otherwise hot season. I kept my focus on the students trying to identify any familiar face I'd be spending rest of my college years with and just like that I spotted Varna. I smiled automatically looking at her. She was chasing someone and shouting names I followed her gaze to a girl whose head was covered under a cap. Varna sneaked and jerked the cap off the girls head and in turn the girl gawped at her. Varna laughed and they both got in the entrance. I could no longer see them. Smiling at her childishness. I turned my attention to the magazine when I realized.

Oooh devil!

That was her, the girl with the eyes. She was the one who Varna was chasing. My heart hammered as I tried to remember her face again and there it was except for the uniform, the same hair, those same eyes. Without thinking further I ran downstairs to the entrance what if she already left to her class. She does study here right?

My feet thundered as I skipped and jumped between people to catch sight of those girls. When I reached the entrance hall number of students were piling in and I jumped up and down to find them. Thanks to my height I could spot them. Varna and the girl. Her back was to me, but Varna was looking at me. She smiled and waved for me to come over. I obeyed and crossed the student bridge. They were standing near the entrance to the canteen and it was a lot pleasant and clear here. The girl was talking rapidly to someone, the same musical voice it was sad and defensive.

"I know and I am sorry. I really tried to call. I never meant that ok. I will of course I will" she was explaining. Varna smiled as I reached her and only then I could see the person the girl was talking to.

"Lee!" his name came out as a shout and the other three jumped. Lee looked at me and his angry expression softened and beckoned me next to him.

"My man this is the girl I was telling you about" I looked at the girl confused. She curved her lips and narrowed her piercing gaze towards me. She was studying me. I quickly averted my gaze and focused on Lee "The one who is too busy to call a friend. Arya"

"I told you I didn't mean it" the girl sighed. And some funny sound got caught in my mouth.

Arya......

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