Chapter 4. The New Nest

Mrs. Dasgupta made her way through the commotion of new arrivals while Mr. Dasgupta waited outside at the visitor's area. Koel had been assigned Room No. 16. Mrs. Dasgupta hurriedly walked towards finding the room. They were a very organized, well connected family, planning things ahead and being present in each other's life. Mrs. Dasgupta stood near Room No. 16 while she watched Koel walk steadily towards her. The room was open and had three beds. Koel placed her luggage on one side and decided to wait for the other two roommates so as to give everyone a fair chance to choose their beds. She bid goodbye to her parents and watched Mrs. Dasgupta get teary.

"Eat well and stay healthy," said Mrs. Dasgupta while Mr. Dasgupta arranged for a rickshaw which would then take them to the railway station. Koel watched them leave and looked back at the hostel, her home for next 3 years.

Koel saw Zara waiting next to Room No. 16. She then walked up to her and said, "Hi. I am Koel. Have you been assigned 16 too?"

"Yes. Where is the third girl?" asked Zara. She assumed everyone knew her name.

"I have no clue. So what's you name again?" asked Koel.

"Oh thought you knew, I am Zara"

"No, I don't think we have been introduced before," Koel remarked quickly. That surprised Zara because all her life she was used to her name preceding her arrival, given she was from an influential family. They watched a third person walk up to the room looking closely at the number painted on the door.

"Hi, I am Nandita; you are Zara, right? Nandita asked. Zara nodded and looked at Koel, making her point clear.

"I am Koel," said Koel.

They knew so little of each other. In their minds, they secretly wondered how it would be to spend the next three years together. It wasn't a daunting challenge for Zara. Nandita just wanted to be friends with everyone. Koel hoped they all stayed in peace.

"That's my luggage but I wanted to wait so everyone could pick their beds," said Koel.

"That's very nice of you. Umm, but what if two people want the same bed?" asked Nandita.

"Each one should get to pick a number," Zara replied with a shrug.

So each one of them had a fair chance to begin their journey. Not too bad except that they all had complex attributes .How an attribute came to the forefront was situational. Zara wanted to lead and win and as long as she had that, she wasn't dangerous. Koel wanted things to be fair. If someone ruined that, she could be a threat. Nandita had no problem being led and giving others a fair chance, but she hated dishonesty. With these strange shades of attributes, they seemed to be those people who could coexist.

All three of them decorated their corners of the room. Nandita got a bed next to the window and she had pink wallpapers over her desk. Koel got the bed next to the second window and had posters with famous quotes all over the corner. Zara got a bed next to the wall where she used the immense wall space to hang her CD and book shelves. Nandita and Koel watched Zara's wall space in an inevitable tinge of envy but tucked away their luggage under their beds.

The Campus:

It was their first day of college. They were ready for it; they were waiting for it. Koel however was like a bundle of nerves. Was this what she had wanted, was she going the right way? There were a thousand questions in her head that she didn't want to address. She just wanted to attend the first day of class. She waited for Nandita to walk with her to the classroom. There was no sign of Zara. She woke up early and had left.

"Should we wait for her?" asked Nandita.

"I don't think she would want us to," answered Koel.

Along they went. The classroom was noisy and filled with 30 students. Nandita and Koel took the empty seats. Will went up to Koel to greet her like a thorough gentleman, while Roshan waved at Nandita from his seat. Everyone was present except Zara. And there she was, walking with an aura of self-admiration, through the door.

"Of course she had to make a grand entry," Roshan told Aditya who shook his head in return. Everyone started talking amongst themselves. Nobody greeted her, although so many of them wanted to. Her reputation sure had preceded her entry.

"Hello," Aditya told Zara who was in a seat in a row next to his. Zara smiled back.

"That's it, that's all she can offer?" Roshan whispered to Aditya.

"It is OK. Probably that's what she is capable of offering right now," said Aditya.

The teacher came in and introduced herself. It was their first class of Principles of Financial Management. Some students took notes while some chatted away like slackers. Nobody had recovered from their journey to Lawrence and their adjustments to the new lifestyle. They received tons of homework by the end of the class. Everyone was still celebrating their entry and had hardly noticed the amount of coursework that was awaiting their attention.