The Diary of Harihara

Chapter 1

21st March, 2017, Tuesday

I was sitting amidst a jam-packed auditorium, buzzing with the murmurs of people around me. I was nervous. I saw people all around me, excited to be there with friends and family members. I was sitting in a corner, all by myself. It made me feel even more anxious. But it felt like I was used to this feeling. I preferred this feeling as it made me feel real and not obligated to be a part of the chaos around me. Suddenly I felt a hand on my back. I turned back, scared. A man was bending over towards me. His face looked gentle. He had a sense of calmness in his touch. He smiled. I felt uncomfortable. I just stared at the man's face, deep into his eyes. It all seemed familiar. Those eyes seemed to tell an old and familiar story. That face seemed to express the long forgotten pain and anguish. And suddenly it hit me. Terror gripped my entire body. My pupils dilated and before I could do anything, I saw the man move his face closer to my face, with lust filled eyes, his wet lips closing in, and his hands sliding down my back around the pelvic region...

I woke up to an ear splitting sound of 'Wake up wake up' song playing loud from my phone. It was my alarm tone. Man, I hated that tone. You know how people say you would start disliking the tone that you would set as your alarm, they are absolutely right. I had chosen this tone because it was a fun tune. Now, I hated every bit of it. The song went on to say that it was a brand new day and that I should not delay. It was true and that is the reason I hated it. I needed an alarm tone that would comfort me into sleeping for a bit longer and say that it's okay to do so. I think they are called lullabies. I'm really not a morning person. I could sleep as late as possible, but once I sleep, boy, it took a great deal of effort to wake me up. I could even skip one time meal for sleep. It's a huge deal for me considering I'm a big time foodie! But I had to wake up now. It was time to embrace the 'brand new day' like the song suggested. I switched off my alarm and looked at the time. 8:00 A.M. I had an hour to get ready and leave for college. I got up slowly and zombie-walked myself to the bathroom.

Hi, my name is Hari. I'm currently pursuing my degree in one of India's finest science college, The National Institute of Science. Well, NIS is in the coastal city of Noipal down in the southern part of India. With a sprawling campus spread across the entire size of Noipal, the city is more a student hub than a residential area as it has moulded itself to the needs of students. I had to cram my way into this college. It took away two of the most precious golden years of my life to make my way into this institute. I regret it now. It wasn't exactly a cutting edge educational marvel as people outside talked about it. It was more of an NRI-churning factory producing NRIs every year to various parts of USA. I always dreamed of going there but more so for the fun of travelling than as a by-product of a factory. I'm considerably a 'bright' student as my 'NIS student' tagline would suggest. But apart from academics, I'm good at a lot of other things. I hold a good physique and so an active sportsperson. I love playing cricket and football. I think that makes up three-quarters of the world's population. I'm a cyclist, theater artist and a good orator. But most importantly, I'm a passionate writer. I absolutely love writing. I'm not great at it but I like putting out my ideas to the world, and somehow people have appreciated it, maybe just out of sympathy. I love being the point of attention. The spotlight, as they call it. And I'm funny in a very lame way. All this somehow has added up and made me the go-to guy of my class. I love taking up responsibility and so you can imagine, my classmates look up to me to lead. I guess that's enough intro needed about me.

I just finished all my morning chores in about half an hour and made my way to the kitchen. As I was living alone, I had to cook for myself which is a big pain in the ass in the morning. I made myself an omelet, the easiest of all. Just as I finished it, I knew I was late by two minutes to leave to college. You see, I had to walk to college which took me exactly twenty two minutes to reach. So, in the morning every minute that I delayed made a huge difference. I had to walk faster today to reach college on time. I live in a coastal city in India and believe me when I say this, it cannot get more humid and hot than this place during summers. I would be drenched in sweat by the time I reached my class. So, naturally, going to college on a hot March morning, sprinting for a short distance to make up for the lost couple of minutes did not make it easier. I reached my class just in time looking like Jamoon soaked in the syrup; dark and wet. As I made my way to my seat, I saw my two best buddies had already occupied the corner two seats.

"Hello bitches, morning!" I said

"Hey bro, wassup?"

"Dude, can I have the corner seat for today? I really wanna lie down for a while", I asked Anmol who was sitting by the wall.

"You know I never give up on my seat buddy. I need to sleep as well" he said

I turned towards Rohan who was sitting next to Anmol and smiled.

"I wish I could let you sit here bro, but, I don't want to. I have skipped the last two classes and need to be sandwiched between you guys so that I'm not screwed. Sorry man." Rohan said

"Fuck you guys" I said, as I sat down by the door. I hated to sit in this corner. You couldn't do anything sitting here except listen to the class. After a long night and a marathon walk in the morning, I needed a break for the first hour atleast. But you don't always get what you want, do you? I cursed my luck, and sat down by the door. The teacher entered just as I became a little comfortable.

It was 11a.m. We had a long and intense lecture for two hours. Me, Rohan and Anmol were on our way to the common room. This was our routine. Just as the lecture ended, we would walk to the common room feeling proud for having survived the boredom of the previous class.

"Man, she talks a lot. I mean, give it a break, once in a while atleast? But no, she wants to ramble along for the entire two hours. Bitch!" Anmol ranted.

"Bro, she is so much better than Gupta sir. That guy sprays more than what he says. I put my notebooks in the dryer last week when I sat down in the first bench!" added Rohan.

I just smiled as we made our way into the common room. We had a small cafeteria in the corner which served cheap snacks and beverages. We took our usual. Three samosas, one coffee and two tea. We sat down by a bench near the wall where they stashed up newspapers. I always fought with Anmol for the sports section, because that is the only thing we cared about. He got the better of me today, as he dove himself over the papers and grabbed the last sheet.

"Gotcha, motherfucker!" he said pointing the paper on my face.

I just showed him the finger and asked him to read out important results. Rohan was with his earphones, so there was no point in trying to talk to him. So, I was left with a local newspaper. I cursed my luck, and opened the newspaper. The headlines read,

'Police clueless about the Light House murder case'

My heart skipped a beat. It had been nearly two weeks since this incident had happened, and yet my blood froze when I thought about it. It was almost like I hadn't recovered from the mishap. The murder of a man near the club 'Light House'. A murder in a city student hub was rare. It had elements that perplexed the investigating officers. It sent shivers down everyone. It was the talking point for everyone around the college. It was gruesome. None of us had recovered from the aftermath of the murder, more so me, because in a very weird way I was related to the whole incident!