Falling For The Nerd (Slow Updates)

04| Unexpected Encounter

"What the hell?!" Twinkle shouted angrily, glaring up at the person she had just crashed into, sprawled on the floor in front of a growing crowd.

"Great start to the first day of college," Kunj muttered under his breath, closing his eyes briefly in frustration. He didn’t even bother to look at the person he had collided with, his mind already elsewhere.

The students nearby began to gather, some passing by while others stood with their friends, all intrigued by the scene. Whispers quickly spread through the crowd, a mix of anticipation and disinterest.

"Oh boy, another poor soul about to get grilled by Twinkle and her gang," a student murmured, shaking his head knowingly.

"And look at him—total nerd, definitely a fresher," another student chuckled, sizing up Kunj from the back of the group.

"Yeah, he’s about to get a real college welcome," a third voice chimed in, sarcastically. "Let’s see if he survives."

The growing crowd exchanged glances, some rolling their eyes at what they thought would be another typical bullying session orchestrated by the queen bee herself.

"Can’t you watch where you’re going, idiot!" Natasha snapped as she rushed forward to help Twinkle up, her tone dripping with arrogance. She glared at Kunj, clearly expecting an apology.

But Kunj remained completely unfazed. Without even sparing Natasha a glance, he fired back, "I don’t recall bumping into *you*, sweetheart. So why don’t you do me a favor and take your attitude elsewhere? I've got better things to deal with."

The crowd gasped. Natasha stood frozen for a second, her mouth agape, completely thrown off by his audacity. No one ever dared to speak to her like that.

"Who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like that? Do you even know who I am?" she spat, jabbing a finger in Kunj's direction as if that alone would put him in his place.

Kunj finally looked at her, his expression one of pure boredom. "Look, unless you're a Kardashian or the president, I really couldn't care less. You're just another face in the crowd. So, if you're done, I've got places to be." His voice was laced with mock indifference, each word hitting harder than the last.

The crowd stood in stunned silence. Natasha had been insulted before, but never this openly, never this effortlessly. Her gang, usually quick to back her up, stayed rooted to their spots, unsure how to react. This wasn’t how these confrontations were supposed to go.

Twinkle, still brushing herself off, looked at Natasha in disbelief, as if waiting for her to take control of the situation, but it was too late—the damage was already done.

A ripple of murmurs ran through the crowd. "Did you see that?" one girl whispered in awe. "He shut her down in, like, two sentences."

"Man, he doesn’t even know who he’s dealing with. This is going to get ugly," another student said, although his voice held a note of admiration for Kunj’s boldness.

Meanwhile, Avi stood toward the back, biting back a laugh as he observed the chaos. He could tell right away that Natasha and her crew were nothing more than entitled rich kids, bullies who were used to getting their way. But what they didn’t realize yet was that Kunj wasn’t like the usual freshmen they toyed with. He wasn’t here to take anyone’s crap, and judging by his unbothered demeanor, this was only the beginning.

The crowd, once buzzing with anticipation, now watched in awe, realizing that this day might not go the way Natasha and Twinkle had planned.

"Hey, Mister! You can’t just insult someone like that when you should be apologizing for what you did!" Twinkle yelled, stepping forward and pointing an accusing finger at Kunj, her voice laced with indignation.