CHAPTER 2

Because he is none other than Jay, one of our classmates. He enjoys irritating us for no apparent reason. "Aaah, I told you not to beat my head since it makes me angry," I muttered, my brow pinched in irritation. "Hey, I'm just messing with you. Don't take it seriously," he clarified with a wink, and I nodded with a roll of my eyes. He sat next to us, and we ate lunch together.

After a few minutes of chattering, I check the time on my phone, which reads 2.45 p.m. No way! My attention was drawn to the fact that our next lesson was set to begin in 15 minutes. We immediately gathered our belongings and ran to campus in order to make it to class on time.

Pheww!

We made it to our lesson before our professor arrived, which was a blessing. After a few minutes, our lecturer entered the classroom and resumed teaching us about the factors and effects of victims and witnesses from the previous lessons. I lost myself in my world of imagination as soon as she began lecturing us and started connecting the occurrence that happened to me to this lesson. I know it sounds strange, but this lesson reminds me of that particular incident. I was startled to hear my name called out. I jolted away from the illusion and returned to reality.

My professor pointed her finger at me and asked me to describe the various effects of victimisation. I mumbled with a chuckle, "Probably no one can understand this better than me because I've lived through it."

"I asked something to you. So, answer my question, "she said to me, indicating that she was enraged with me. I hesitantly began to answer, "i... i.... the impact of victimisation will be the emotional impact, psychological impact, social impact, and physical impact." She nodded and told me not to make the same mistake again. I nodded and breathed a long breath of relief.

The day's class was over after two hours of lectures. "Don't take things seriously, Evlyn. I believe this lecturer had an argument with her husband, which is why she acted in this manner "added my friend, causing both of us to burst out laughing. "I suppose that's why she became enraged and shouted at me," I responded, rolling my eyes. We were aware that ridiculing a professor is unethical, yet to lighten our mood, we made fun of her.

Wait, wait, wait!

Don't pass judgement on us too quickly since there are a lot of things you should know about us.

The sun was setting, and the sky was ablaze with its radiance. It was already 5.30 p.m., and my taekwondo class was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., so I decided to get some snacks and hang out in the student lounge until the lesson began. "The bus is here, Abinaya," I said to my best friend, "so you go back to the hostel and I'll be at the student lounge."

She was perplexed and inquired, "What? Why do you want to stay? Have you fallen in love with the campus so that you didn't have the heart to leave this place? ".

I teased her by pushing her head back and saying, "Oh, right, I forgot you had amnesia," and she raised her eyebrows with a glare.

"Okay, sorry about that. Dude, I have a taekwondo class later. How could you possibly forget that?" In a startling tone, I inquired.

"Oh, I see....hahaha....okay, I'll meet you at the hostel then. goodbye, "Before she departed, she hugged me and said.

In the lounge, I was all by myself. It gave me the creeps since I felt like I was the only one on campus. I hurriedly pushed my thoughts aside and retrieved my phone from my pocket. I received a notification from Instagram just as I was about to open my phone. I didn't give it much thought because I was hoping for a like on the post about Shivaay Nigam on the fan page that I put up last night. My eyes widened as I scrolled through my notifications and saw that 'theshivaaynigam liked your post.'

I was ecstatic, and my feet seemed to barely touch the ground. I was overjoyed, like a monkey who had just received a bundle of bananas, and it felt like all of my hopes had come true at that moment. When one of the workers looked at me with interest, I had to hold back my little dance. That aunty is probably thinking I'm a mentally ill person who escaped from a mental institution. So I gave her a friendly smile, and she walked away, dazed.

However, I felt compelled to tell someone about my feelings, so I dialled Abinaya's number and said, "Hey, hello."

"Yeah, what happened to your class? Was it cancelled? " She inquired, her voice drowsy. I sensed I had contacted her at the wrong time, but I couldn't stop myself from telling her what had happened.

"Hey, guess what, Shivaay Nigam liked my post for the first time," I blurted, but her response immediately put a damper on my mood.

"Congratulations?! Why are you so enthusiastic about it, as if he liked your photos? It's not a big thing because he merely liked a post on his fan page that you made. " She responded in a grating tone.

"PERHAPS IT DOESN'T MATTER TO YOU, BUT IT DOES MATTER TO ME. I'M SORRY FOR RUINING YOUR SLEEP. BYE, AND HAPPY SLEEPING, " I disconnected the call without waiting for her to respond after the last line.

After a few hours, I checked the time and calmed down. I grabbed my backpack and headed to the restroom to change into my uniform since it was going to be 7 in 10 minutes. I won't be concerned if I arrive late to class. After all, my coach doesn't seem to mind because I'm a senior who excels in all of my classes. My coach began handing out forms to the chosen ones as soon as everyone had assembled in the hall, and I was one of them, to my surprise. Before he gives us the forms, he says there will be an announcement.

"I'm not sure how many of you would agree to them, but I've chosen six of you to engage in this participation," my coach remarked. My eyes grew wider as I read the form, and I felt as if my happiness was returning to me. I was quite interested in hearing about his upcoming announcement. "I provided this form to eight people because," he explained.