Chapter - 5

Next Day at the College

"What?" exclaimed Shriya with a shocked expression.

"Lower your voice," Navya immediately replied, as they were inside the classroom for their lecture. Hearing her, Shriya quickly shut her mouth.

Soon, the lecture ended, and the two walked out of the classroom, discussing yesterday's incident.

"I hope you're safe because it's not good for us to get associated with Ranveer Rathod," Shriya said with a worried look, to which Navya nodded with a reassuring smile.

"Areh baba! Don't worry. I'm fine," said Navya. Both of them were engrossed in their conversation as they walked through the corridor, only to be stopped by a sudden collision with a hard wall, making Navya's books scatter on the floor.

"I'm sorry," she said, leaning down to collect her belongings.

"It's okay," came a familiar, manly voice. He was helping her pick up her things. Navya lifted her gaze to look at him while Shriya stood nearby, unsure of what to do. He handed Navya her books, and she replied, "Thanks." Both of them stood up and noticed that the students in the corridor were staring at them. It wasn't surprising, as Ranveer Rathod had a reputation that turned heads wherever he went.

Navya looked at Ranveer but didn't know what to say. He slid his hand into his pocket and handed her some money.

"Yesterday, you helped me. Thank you for that, and here's the money you paid for the taxi fare," he said in a slightly friendly tone.

"You're welcome," Navya replied.

"Would you like to have lunch with us in the canteen?" he asked, adding, "Your friend can join us too," while pointing toward Shriya.

Shriya quickly spoke up, "Thanks for asking, but we're fine," forcing a smile and squeezing Navya's hand slightly. Navya followed her lead.

"Yeah-yeah! We're fine. Thank you for asking. Now, we should go. Have a nice day," Navya said, starting to walk away with Shriya, but they were stopped by Ranveer's voice.

"You know the consequences of defying me, Ms. Navya," he said, making them freeze in their tracks.

---

In the Canteen

"Don't hesitate, guys! This is my treat, especially for Ms. Navya," he said, looking at them.

Both of them nodded and began eating the food.

"I hope both of you know me. By the way, what's your name, Ms. ?" he asked, pointing toward Shriya.

Shriya paused, then replied hesitantly, "Shriya Mathur."

"Oh-nice to meet you. Meet them, Varun and Diya," he said, introducing his group members.

Varun and Diya greeted them, to which Shriya and Navya forced smiles and said, "Nice to meet you all."

"Which department are you both from?" Diya asked.

"Media and Communication," Navya replied, which made Diya excited.

"That must be interesting! One of my additional subjects is from your department. I'm a little familiar with your course-it's fascinating," Diya said, to which Shriya and Navya just nodded politely.

"Anyways, since we're friends now, we'll get to know each other slowly," Diya added.

Hearing this, both Shriya and Navya froze in place.

"Am I right, Veer?" Diya asked Ranveer.

"Of course, we're friends," he replied, making Shriya and Navya's eyes widen.

"We are friends, right?" Ranveer asked, looking directly at them.

"No! I mean, yes," Shriya stammered nervously. Navya held her hand under the table to calm her down and said, "Of course we are," to which the trio grinned.

"Well, it's time for our next lecture. Thanks for the treat," Navya said, standing up and holding Shriya's hand.

Soon, everyone stood up, exchanged goodbyes, and went their separate ways.

"Yaar! Why did you agree with him?" Shriya asked, sounding irritated as she clearly didn't want to associate with Ranveer and his group.

"Me? You're the one who agreed with him. Didn't you realize you were literally sweating while talking to them?" Navya said, holding her head in frustration.

"Never mind-we'll just try to avoid them. Didn't you notice the way everyone was staring at us when we met him in the corridor? Oh God! I don't want to be the center of attention because of them," Shriya said with a sigh.

Hearing her, Navya nodded in agreement. "And look at his behavior! He practically blackmailed you with his reputation in the university. I really hope we don't have to deal with them again like this."

"Oh, come on, my sweetie! Don't overthink it. He's just a spoiled rich kid who acts this way only because of his elder brother's reputation. Honestly, if he were just the son of an ordinary rich family, no one would be afraid of him," Navya said, trying to reassure her.

"That's true. Vaise bhi, gadhe hai vo sher ki khaal me," Shriya muttered, making Navya burst into laughter.

"Enough! Don't say that," Navya said, trying to control her laughter.

"Yeah, yeah! Don't take his side," Shriya replied, rolling her eyes.

"Yaar! I'm not taking his side. I'm just saying even a donkey is better than him. If he's a donkey, then his brother is no different," Navya teased, making Shriya gasp dramatically and cover her mouth with her hand.

"Don't say anything bad about him!" Shriya scolded, prompting Navya to raise an eyebrow playfully.

"What?" Navya asked mischievously. "Do you like him?"

Shriya looked away, avoiding her gaze. "Well, who doesn't? But you shouldn't talk about him like that openly. Sometimes he comes here to meet the principal. What if, by any chance, he hears us? He'd probably shoot both of us and bury our bodies in the garden as a memorial grave so future batches can learn from our mistakes. Like, "These two spoke ill about the Great Rudraksh Rathod, and here lies the result.'"

Hearing this, Navya burst into laughter. She clutched her stomach with one hand and covered her mouth with the other to stifle her laugh. "Yaar! You're literally too funny, Shriya. Don't worry, we'll never face a situation like that," Navya said, trying to reassure her.

"Now let's go! It's time for our lecture," she added, and the two of them walked out together to attend their class.

Time passed quickly after university. As always, Shriya dropped Navya off at her coaching center before heading home.