Since first-year final exams were around the corner, I decided to take a break from the tuition classes and focus on my studies. The coaching institutions agreed to my request for a break. I guess if my performance is not up to mark, it might affect their branding as well.

So I dived deep back to an intense routine based on classes and studies.

Time went fast again for me. One month of preparation and the exams flew by me.

We had a couple of weeks before the results were announced and a bit more time till the second-year classes began.

While most people decided to enjoy this time, I decided to take extra classes at the Coaching Institute to make up for the time I lost during my break before the exams.

I wanted to increase my savings and work towards my lifelong dream of owning a car by the end of my college. I had dreamt of travelling in my car for a long time now.

The results were announced soon. As expected, I was the topper of the college. But the surprise was that I was Ranked 60 overall in the Karnataka State University. Nice. I'm sure the Dean will be happy to hear about it.

I decided to check Priya and Mary s rank as well.

Mary was ranked around 500 in the University. Priya came at around 4000 in the University rankings.

Mary s result was expected. And based on what I knew about Priya, it seems like she had also improved quite a lot. Guess they both must be happy. Anyways nothing for me to be concerned about.

I decided to get ready for the second year of college.

I was a bit excited about a change on the first day of my second year. Because I had a feeling what was coming.

As soon as I was in class, an attendant was asking me to visit the Dean.

I went smiling all the way, fully aware of why I was invited this time.

The Dean seemed completely different this time. He appeared very thrilled.

"My most promising student. Welcome. I'm proud of you.”

"Thanks. I don't think I deserve all the credit. The institution along with all the faculty and facilities played a big role in my results.”

"No need to be so modest. If what you said was the case, we would have had more students displaying similar results long ago.”

I just stood there smiling. Though internally, I couldn’t but help be a bit proud of myself.

"So tell me. What’s your next goal? Or do you think you have met your ceiling?”

"I was targeting the top 10 for the next year's results. Though I'm not completely sure I'll achieve it.”

"Nice. And here I thought you would say top 50 would be your goal. Nice. Work hard. We are proud to have such a highly dedicated and hardworking student in our institute.”

I left the Dean's office soon after. It always felt good when someone recognized your effort and achievement.

I was in a good mood all day.

But good things are never meant to last forever. The next day Mary asked me to join her for lunch. And I had a bad feeling this was not going to be good news.

When I reached the Cafeteria, I was relieved to see Mary waiting for me alone.

Ok. Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought it would be.

I joined her at the table and gave her the best smile I had.

"So, how are you, Mary? And before you say anything else. Congratulations on your results. You outdid yourself. Your performance keeps getting better and better.”

"Obviously. Some kind of rub-off effect was bound to occur after being around you for so long. And don't congratulate me too much. Doesn’t feel that great coming from the college topper. “

"Hey. That's not fair. I always believe we need to evaluate our performance individually and not compare it with others. I believe you are doing very well.”

"Ok. You don't need to butter up too much. I'll take your compliments. Thanks. And congratulations to you too. Every time I think I might be closing the gap between us, you just seem to fly ahead. Anyways good job.”

"Thanks.”

There was a minute of silence before Mary continued the conversation.

"Now, you do know that I didn't call you here just to talk about your results, right?”

"Really, what else do you have to talk about? “

"Don't act stupid. I know you are praying inside that I would not bring up the topic of Priya.”

"Really? No, I wasn't. But what about her?”

"What about her? I set you up both for tutoring just so that both of you could benefit from it. And you both had to make a huge mess of it. Did you have to fight with her?”

"What fight? You know I rarely get angry. “

"That I know. I also know that when you do get angry, you completely lose your shit. So tell me, what happened.”

"Nothing much. She skipped my session without informing me to go watch a movie with her boyfriend.”

"Huh? What boyfriend? As far as I know, she doesn't have one. Are you sure about it?”

"Ok. Maybe not a boyfriend but some guy. “

"Oh. Then it must be Gaurav. Yeah, he sure wishes he is her boyfriend, but I'm pretty sure Priya just considers him a friend. So you went all angry and created that scene all over the campus just because she missed a session.”

"Hey. What scene? I just ignored her for some time. And I politely told her I'm not interested in continuing the sessions if she was not taking it seriously. I did mention that in the beginning anyway. So I don't think I'm at any fault here."

"Anyways I have asked around a bit about her, and I know she comes from a good family and has joined under the management seat by paying a huge donation to the college. Frankly, I don't even understand what she aims to achieve through our sessions.”

"Jacob, I know you live in your little bubble. But you should sometimes try to understand what people are talking about. It’s not every day one of the popular girls in college gets ignored by a guy all over the campus. Anyways leave that. I know you will never admit this, but I know that you have a bias against rich kids. With what you consider them having an unfair advantage over you. “

"Hey. I never said anything like that. Now you are just making things up.”

Mary rolled her eyes and continues.

"Yeah. Anyways Priya is not like other Rich kids. She is different.”

"Ok. Different how?”

"Well. How do I explain it? For beginners, she doesn't give off that entitled feeling just because she is rich. She treats everyone equally. She can also be a bit extreme at times. If she likes someone, she will go all out and the same the other way."

"Also, it's fun to watch her fight. If she feels she is right, she will not give up a fight. She is like the leader of all the first-year girls in the hostel. She has led all the fights against seniors and the hostel warden, who tried to create trouble for us. She had even said that she will not change her mind for anyone as long she feels that she is right. I guess some effects of having a Judge as a father must have rubbed off on her.”

On second thought, Priya might not be as I thought she would be. I thought she would be another spoiled rich kid brat. Anyways still doesn't matter much to me. So I tried to take the conversation in a different direction.

"Ok. Still, why are we talking about Priya anyways? I have seen her results, and she seemed to have done well. I think she should be happy about it.”

"Well, that's the thing I wanted to talk to you about. I don't think she is thrilled about her results. She hasn't come to college yet even though classes started yesterday and nobody even knows when she will be coming. I was hoping you might have some idea what’s going on.”

"Why would I have any idea? It's not like we were close.”

"True. I still thought I'd try my luck with you. I'll let you know in case I figure anything out. Ok. You can go now. I'm sure you must be anxious to get back to your book and would want to waste your precious time with me.”

"Nice joke. But I do have to go now. So take care.”

I left Mary at that and went back. But I was not entirely comfortable. I had this nagging feeling at the back of my mind. I hated leaving things unfinished. One of the reasons I don’t watch any sitcoms. I know if I start it, I'll have to finish it no matter what.

At the end of the first week, when I came to know Priya still hadn't shown up, I couldn't wait around any longer and decided to find out more. I got her home address and decided to give her a visit.

Just so that I could clear my curiosity at the least and put this matter to rest. So that I can focus on my studies again without any distractions.