Rian ascended the last flight of stairs and reached the 6th floor. He twirled the key around his finger, the name tag "607" shone despite the dim lights. He would be sharing the room with two other guys.
He took out the key, opened the door, and immediately the stench of cigarettes hit him. Two guys were sitting on the couch, one with an average build was smoking, and the other was continuously coughing. They both turned as soon as the door opened and stared at him.
"Are you Rifar? I'm Lamar," the guy with an average build got up and lazily moved toward him, holding a cigarette between his fingers.
"Rian." Rian nodded and shook his hand. "Now get the hell out of here and smoke somewhere else."
Lamar, suddenly taken aback by Rian's changed attitude, was at a loss for words. "This is my room too? Can't I do whatever I want?"
"Not gonna say it again, get out of here unless you want me to drag you out by force..." Rian trailed off, looking at him with a blank expression.
Lamar, without saying another word, moved out of the room. Rian looked at the other guy, who was thin as a stick, and spoke, "What's your name?"
"Oh, I am Arpit." He suddenly got up and moved toward Rian, shaking his hand. "Thanks for telling him off; he's been smoking nonstop since last week."
"Yeah, don't worry about it."
Arpit glanced at Rian's hand and asked, "What do you have there?"
"Nothing, just trash." Rian spoke and tore the letter and envelope, throwing them in the nearby dustbin.
Rian opened the windows and sat on the couch. Arpit sat next to him and started reading the book he had been reading before.
"Tell me about Dhairya," Rian looked at Arpit.
"Uhh, he is the vice president of this building, and he is the one who distributes the cigarettes. He's paying the warden to keep quiet. I also heard that he and the president don't get along, and they have an agreement. If it's broken, it could lead to some serious fights."
"You seem to know quite a lot." Rian stretched his body and relaxed on the couch.
"Yeah, I'm the one who provides the assignments and homework answers to Dhairya, and he sells them to everyone." Arpit scratched his head with a pained smile.
"I've only been a week late, and I feel as if I have missed the whole month here."
"Tell me about it," Arpit laughed.
The door opened, and Lamar came back, glaring at Rian before going to his room and slamming the door. The couch and table were in the shared drawing room, while the bed and cabinets were in separate rooms with a different door and lock. Rian yawned, completely unbothered by the scene.
"Will you attend the classes now?" Arpit looked at Rian.
"No, I was wondering if you could help me."
"Yeah, tell me, what's up?"
"Where is the president, and how can I meet him?" Rian flashed a slow smile.