In the cafeteria area
Three food booths served different cuisines: one for North Indian dishes, another for South Indian fare, and the last offering a mix of customized foreign meals—Chinese, Turkish, Italian, and other mix international flavors.
Polished counters lined the room, doubling as tables, while folding steel chairs with plush cotton cushions were arranged neatly in rows.
Students were free to order from any booth but had to queue and wait for their orders to be called. There was also a large screen that showed the order number.
Most students had already claimed their seats. Rohit's plate held noodles and shrimp Manchurian, his choice for the meal.
The noodles tasted shit as it was overloaded with spices and grease—but the shrimp Manchurian was decent enough to make the meal passable.
The noodles tasted awful—overloaded with spices and greasy oil—but the shrimp Manchurian was at least passable.
He had his old memories of dishes, but they didn't include any taste. He had expectations from the familiar noodles, but now he only wished to throw them down the gutter. He regretted it even more when he saw what his friends had ordered. Each of them had a different cuisine, and their food looked much better.
That's why he tolerated their teasing, nodding and sampling bits from each plate to expand his 'encyclopedia of tastebuds' and figure out what to order next time.
But as time went on, their constant praise nearly made his ears bleed. He could swear it was on the verge of exploding.
"Bro, what an aura you had when you said lust is a primal feeling… you know, primal—the ultimate feeling from our ancestors' times," said Jignesh Patil, the chubby Gujarati boy, his expression exaggerated.
His father was CEO of a wildly successful marriage app called MarryMe. Despite the family's wealth, Jignesh was often labeled underprivileged because the app's video calling feature was mostly exploited for online flashing and scams.
"Man, I swear I pictured King Kong when you said 'primal.' Only difference—he's way fairer than that gorilla and lacks all muscles," said Subhojit Roy with sarcasm.
A gym freak obsessed with muscles and action scenes, Subhojit got into school on scholarship—but mostly thanks to his father, the managing director of a major e-commerce company.
"But seriously, when did you become an expert in sex drive and psychology? Don't tell me you started taking home tutoring courses," said Arvind Krishnan, the bespectacled nerdy South Indian.
His father was a distant relative of Sundar Pichai, CEO of the world's top search engine, and worked as an engineer at the same company. Arvind looked so much like Sundar that people often called him his "duplicate."
Before Rohit could shout at them to shut up, a sudden commotion caught their attention.
It was the South Korean girl, Seo-yeon, approaching the third booth to collect her food. Everyone murmured about her—a silent queen who drew attention from afar but whose voice no one bothered to hear.
Jignesh nudged Rohit, "Look… look… the forever crush material of Subhojit."
Subhojit, sitting beside nudged back, "Shut your trap, fatty," faintly blushing as he stole a glance at her.
Arvind said seriously, "But brother, I honestly don't think she'd choose a black guy like you. She's so white — like a pearl."
Subhojit snapped back, "I'm brown, you f***ing idiot. Descendant of Africa."
Jignesh interrupted, "Hey, wait — look over there."
A few moments earlier…
The trouble appeared. The boys who had been bullying Seo-yeon before came up behind her, playing with her ponytail. She tried to pull away, but they shamelessly pressed closer. So far, she had only collected fries.
She tried to quietly ask a staff member for help, but they ignored her. One came over but couldn't hear her properly, told her to wait, and walked off.
She looked around helplessly. All she saw were mocking smiles or people avoiding eye contact.
Surprisingly, no one stepped in. The boys continued pestering her, accompanied by low whistles.
Seeing her helplessness, Arvind shot back, "So what if you're brown? If you're a man, go save her."
Jignesh nodded eagerly. "Point taken, gym boy! Time to show the power of powders. Fight for your love… go, my royal tiger."
Subhojit lowered his head, then cautiously raised his eyes. "First, she's not my love. Second," he added carefully, "you want me dead? Those guys are Ujjwal's gang from 12A. They're new allies of Harsha's gang—you know, related to the underworld."
(A/N: Harsh is a name and also an adjective, so it's changed to Harsha here to avoid confusion. For those unfamiliar, it's also a boy's name.)
Meanwhile, Seo-yeon was so pissed off that she couldn't take it anymore. She managed to collect only fries before leaving, the bullies laughing behind her.
Then another commotion broke out. This time, Shweta arrived with her group of friends. Everyone's attention immediately shifted to her.
Shweta was another beauty, but unlike Seo-yeon, she had privilege and connections. She was the class monitor and had represented the school in many international forums. She carried a charm that couldn't be ignored.
She deliberately passed close to Rohit, but unlike the others, he paid her no mind, too busy munching on shrimp and slurping noodles like a hungry kid.
Shweta joined the queue, drawing the attention of everyone around.
Soon, Harsha and Ujjwal appeared side by side, flanked by few lackeys. They walked with the vibe of wolves on the prowl.
Harsha stopped near Rohit and gave him a cold stare, but Rohit ignored it.
One of Harsha's lackeys sneered, "Heard someone hit his head on a pole."
Rohit remained indifferent.
Ujjwal added, "Let's go. Looks like he's finally lost it."
They moved on and sat near the third booth, their eyes fixed on Shweta as she chatted with her friends, waiting for her food.
The intensity of their stares made Shweta flinch subconsciously. Fortunately, her food arrived, and she left the area quickly.
Looking for a place to sit, she found some space near Seo-yeon and asked politely if she could join her. Seo-yeon nodded in agreement. Her friends followed, sitting nearby, and soon they were chatting.
Jignesh provided a running commentary with his hands, like a movie director: "And now, two beauties together… what a scene.. what a scene."
Rohit was amused as he looked at them—truly two beauties side by side. But his tough-guy act was already cracking, so he pulled out his phone and started scrolling, half-listening to Jignesh's running commentary.
"Seo-yeon is surprised as Shweta offers her some food. It's the moment two beauties become friends… what a moment… what a moment."
"And now they're sharing food with smiles. The other bitches are getting a chance to shine because of them."
Then Shweta asked one of the girls for something. They handed her a plastic bowl. She carefully took a burger from her plate, placed it inside the bowl, and wrapped it up—seeming to plan a gift for Seo-yeon. Such innocent friendship.
"Oh, what a twist! She stands up, holding the wrapped bowl, and walks toward us. Wait—our direction? What am I seeing?" Jignesh paused, shocked.
Rohit's curiosity peaked. He looked up and saw Shweta approaching, her expression serious, focused.
Their eyes met, but this time she didn't turn away. Instead, she smiled faintly and came close to Rohit.
She handed him the wrapped bowl and said sweetly but clearly, "Thank you for taking my side in front of everyone. This is a small gift from me as a gesture of gratitude. Please take it."
She placed it down as if it were a normal delivery, then returned to her seat like nothing had happened.
The crowd cheered. The girls giggled. Some made chorus sounds, which others echoed.
"AAWWWWW!"
Then someone mimicked a voice:
"SHWETA GOT A BF!"
Someone nearby shouted a question, to which she shook her head. Same voice replied:
"AND SHE DUMPED HIM!"
another one added,
"FRIEND ZONED!"
few joined together..
"BOOO!"
Laughter erupted.
Rohit didn't mind. He looked back at Shweta, who turned and glanced at him curiously. He simply smiled back and waved.
The morphed initiator, voiced again, "BROTHER ACCEPTED HIS CRUEL FATE!"
Laughter bubbled up once more before finally settling down.
Even his friends were excited.
Jignesh patted his shoulder lightly. "Atta boy! Secured his future bride."
Subhojit joined in, "Damn, you literally nailed it, bro. She actually came over just to give it to you. I'm jealous."
Arvind adjusted his glasses and smirked, "We're gonna see little Rohit before the release of GTA 6." Then he added to Subhojit, "And hobos can only dream and be jealous."
Subhojit, angered, lunged toward Arvind, trying to get him in a chokehold. "I'm gonna turn him, into either Dosa! or Idli!"
Jignesh waved his hands frantically from his seat. "Wait, wait, chill, guys!"
Rohit unbothered, unwrapped the burger and took a bite. It tasted good.
Before he could take another bite, a liquid poured over his head.
He looked back and saw three men standing there—it was Ujjwal's lackeys.
The middle guy tossed an empty plastic cup sideways and sneered, "Oops, my hand slipped." He was the same guy who had been harassing Seo-Yeon earlier.
He glanced sideways at his lackeys, silently showing off his backup, then directed his next question at them as if blaming them, "Who pushed me?
Was it you?
Or you?"
Silence fell over the classroom. It was deliberately asking for trouble.