iv| slippery introductions

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word count- 2259

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INAAYAT

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     Am I even prepared to do this?

My reflection stares back at me, plain and stoic. The sapphire tint of my irises bore into the mirror. The glass is clear of any dust and shines brightly. Closing my eyes I realise how my eyes remind me of my mom. My mom has the same coloured iris, and I had inherited it from her. Recessive yet prestigious.

I pick up the small white box from the dressing table and focus my gaze on the contact lens case instead of my reflection.

Playing with the box, I feel wrong to hide my eyes behind the brown tint of the facade. But, I have to do it. Hide my identity and my true self. Carefully placing the lens over my eyes, I blink vigorously. The sensation of itchiness and burning all foreign to me. Some small drops of water escape my eyes and it takes me some long seconds to finally adjust to the new cover.

Wiping my hands on the rough edgy surface of my jeans and folding the sleeves of my Kurti, I pick my side back up and check for all the required documents.

I had prepared and kept all the necessary documents in my bag the previous night to avoid any complications in the morning. I swing the long end of my plaited hair to one shoulder and hang the bag on my other.

Taking a few steps away from the mirror, I realise that it is happening. No escape and no loops to exit.

One thing I had understood after reading the file is that there's no weighted gain for the person behind the murders. Because what will he achieve by killing some students. I have to understand the blurred link between the cases before any other student is harmed.

Being a Saturday I have the entire day to set my room and take a walk around the campus. It will help me to know if some suspicious things are happening around.

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I feel extremely under-confident as I stand before the gate of Enselp college. I feel all wrong vibes and a heavy feeling heaving over me and I just stand there fidgeting with my fingers.

Am I even ready?

My thoughts run in a circle trap, repeating and repenting over the same details again. I take in the appearance of the college that looks old but hasn't worn out yet. It screams ancient vibes with some hidden and buried secrets of its own.

The paint is alive and bright while the architecture resembles the patterns from the old British vibes.

I had researched about the college earlier and I know that was built around the 1950s which means the college was laid instantly after the departure of the British and somewhere around the formation of the Indian Constitution. The small time frame between the Independence and the foundation of the college meant that even though it was built by Indians, the trait and habits that the British left behind still prevailed over them.

The architecture was an attempt to retrace their style whilst still maintaining the authentic Indian touch, that the carvings depict.

I see the guard approaching and quickly prepare myself for the list of questions he might ask me.

I had already submitted and enrolled myself in the college and today I just had to submit some documents and collect the room key from the hostel's warden.

"Where is the hostel?" I ask him before he questions me.

"There," he tells me, understanding that I am a new student by the suitcases and the bag I am carrying. He points at a small tower almost hidden behind the magnificent college building. Murmuring a note of thanks, I scroll my suitcase towards the hostel building.

I see some students standing outside the hostel's entrance chatting while the garden which comes in the periphery of my vision looks soothing. There are two hostel buildings, wing A and wing B. The first one for the girls and the latter for boys as shown by the boards hanging.

After receiving confused and questioning gazes from the other students, I enter the warden's office which is located on the ground floor, near the gallery.

"Hello?" I say when I find the office empty. The warden is the only college official who knows about my identity and is there to help me when I need it. She is the wife of a police officer and therefore the safest option for me to confine in.

"Oh hello, doll." A shrill feminine voice startles me and I look around for the source of the sound.

I turn around to find a short woman dressed in a blue long denim shirt and white leggings, smiling at me. I try to match her smile and enthusiasm but fail miserably.

"I am In-Aayat Mishra," I correct myself remembering how my name has been shortened by long two alphabets.

"Hi, In-Aayat." The warden repeats chuckling as she moves towards her wooden desk. The desk is clean as her name label shines on the surface. She sits down and selects a blue file from the pile.

"It is only Aayat," I stammer again trying to whitewash over my mistake.

"Okay, Only Aayat." She sarcastically rolls her tongue and I feel the sudden urge to pull my hair.

"No, it is only- Aayat and not In-Aayat." I for some reason sound desperate and foolish.

"Are you sure?" She gives me a disapproving look and shakes her head slightly.

What a first impression, Ina. So proud. Keep making yourself this proud.

"Y-yes."

"Listen, girl, be confident. That's the only key to survive here, you will find people who will try to bring you down, bully you, scare you off, but you have to remember Aayat that they are mere students while you are here for something else, something very meaningful. Do not mess this up," she advises and walks towards me with a black bag.

"Take this. You will be staying in room 210. Your roommate is also a second-year student. I am here, to help you. Just don't panic." She says the last line in a mere whisper trying to help my palpitating heart. Her words do provide me with relief but also manages to scare me. I have to be utmost careful with my mission or else I'll disappoint my father.

"Thank you."

"All the very best," she wishes and her longing gaze shifts past me towards the door.

Ina, she is telling you to fuck off.

I leave the room after her sweet farewell and close the door behind me. The fresh air hits my face and cools my beads of perspiration.

The warden's office is near the staircase which I take for my room's floor. The lobby is packed and empty and the steps are tiled. I carefully hold the railing and start climbing them.

When I reach the first floor expecting it to be empty too I get a complete shock when I find the entire corridor to be packed and flooded with students.

There's not even a small space to breathe, my lungs suddenly feeling caged due to the shortage of air.

Suffocation.

There are girls all over, some are in their night suits and some completely decked up. Some even in their bathing robes. The entire corridor is filled with loud voices of laughing, chatting and screeching catfights.

Trying my best to squeeze through them I escape to the second floor. I even felt a sudden tug at my Kurti and if I hadn't pulled myself back harshly, I would have been stomped under their smug foot heels.

Once I reach the floor where my room is located I get the feeling one gets when they walk out of a railway station from the loud rush to the calm silence.

In other words, the second floor is how a historic site looks after a war. Bare, yet meaningful. There are some girls here too, but unlike the previous floor, they are calmer.

Pulling my suitcase up, I begin searching for the allotted room. I was given a key to open it but seeing the sight on the previous floor, I decide to knock at the door preparing my roommate for a permanent interruption.

It takes her three whole minutes before she opens the door and stands guarding the entrance. Very brutally she examines my attire and her eyes show no sign of excitement or regret. Her poker face taunts my existence and I have no idea how to carry forth the conversation.

"Hi?" I start with a small smile and her one eyebrow raises at me questionably. I gulp back my smile and bite my tongue when I see her eyes narrowing pointedly.

"Who are you?" She is swinging in her position.

"Aayat Mishra," I confidently lie, trying no sign of confusion or fright to show on my face.

"So Aayat, what do you want?" Her body blocks my vision when I pry inside.

Why the hell is she hiding the room?

"Room," My single worded reply doesn't make it easier for her to grasp the new information so I continue, "I am your new roommate," I tell her finally as her big eyes widen even more. Looking at me with her owlish eyes she finally lets the emotions reflect on her face and a huge smile takes its position.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my freakin god!" She starts jumping and pounces on me.

"Finally!" She exclaims as her hands tighten around me in a friendly bear hug.

"What are you doing outside? Come inside. This is your room too." She continues ranting and unintentionally pulls my hand a little harshly, welcoming me inside.

"So, Aayat welcome to your new room," she speaks once again with a new zest. I slowly nod back at her, trying to forget the sudden transforming act she had pulled some moments back.

I take a minute to examine the room, it is smaller than my house's room. The walls are sourly coloured with some dents and evident cracks. A picture of my room-mate with a middle-aged woman which I am assuming to be her mother is hanging above her study table.

Her belongings are already in their places and she has already set up the room which means that she has been living here for a much longer time.

The room has two small-sized beds opposite to each other, two small desks- adjacent to each other, a makeshift temple area and two wooden old almirahs.

Ina, it is a hostel room, not a five-star hotel.

"I know you might find it a bit dirty, but I clean it every day. But today I was a bit lazy to clean it," she abruptly confesses when she sees me examining the room.

Her room is way cleaner than my room.

I kept all my books piled on the study desk, the bedsheets looked always undone. I tried cleaning it every day but as soon as I lie on the bed, it again becomes messy.

"Your room is better than what my room looks daily."

"Aha, not a fan of cleanliness?" She looks at me with a brewing uncertainty.

"I am more on the hygiene side than the cleanliness side."

"And how is that different?"

"It is different," I want to explain but I know that there is no point. My mother and I have always argued over the same topic and well she always wins.

"So can I ask you one thing?" The girl sits on her already made bed.

"Yeah?"

"Why engineering and why a new college in the second year?"

Time for the fake story recitation.

"My father is extremely protective of me, a bad incident had taken place in my previous college and when he got to know about it. He decided to enrol me in a new one."

"Oh, that is sad. It isn't easy to gel with the already formed groups, here." She pauses for a second and smiles at me, "But you don't have to worry. I can be your first friend?" Her eye glints at me and I can't help but smile at her behaviour.

"Yes partner," I wink dramatically and she chuckles over my silly antics.

Yes. I am 23.

"You can freshen up first and then arrange your belongings in whichever order it suits you. After you are done with that, I'll take you for a walk around the campus."

"That would be great."

"The second floor's washroom is just on the right from our room." She tells me and busies herself with the  open notebooks and scattered stationary. Tying her long hair into a bun, she hands me a slice of a chocolate bar.

A sweet start for her friendship, and my mission.

"Wait, did I tell you my name?" She looks at me horrified and her hand pauses midway. Losing the hold on her hair, they open and cascades over her shoulders. I nod my head in a slight yet polite no.

"I am so sorry. I am Mishti Sayal." She extends her right hand for a firm handshake.

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