Hyderabad city,
The sun was shining brightly as the day started. Roads were now filled with vehicles.
Saranya was driving her scooty, fully focused on the road in front of her.
Moving ahead, She stopped her vehicle as the red signal showed up.
Soon, the signal turned green, but she didn't drive ahead as an old lady was still crossing the footpath. Horns blared from behind, but she didn't move for a fully two minutes, allowing the lady to cross safely.
"Miss, can you move or step aside?" A masculine voice called from behind.
She turned back, looking for the source of the voice, and her gaze fell upon a black Mercedes parked behind her. The man inside was glaring at her through the half-open tinted window of the car.
She quickly pulled her scooty to the side, making way for the car.
The black Mercedes zoomed past her, and she couldn't help but notice the man behind the wheel. He looked stern and annoyed.
Arriving at the college, She headed towards her friends, who were waiting for her in the campus. There were still a few minutes left before their first lecture began. They sat on the empty chairs placed in the campus interior, chit-chatting for a while.
All of a sudden, their attention shifted towards a group of students-their seniors-who were ragging the first-year students.
"Look at them, picking on the freshers again," Tara remarked, frowning.
"It's so unfair," Sia added. "They should have better things to do."
Saranya watched the scene unfold, feeling anger. "I hate it when they do this," she said.
"We should do something," says Varun.
"But what can we do? They'll just target us next," Kritika pointed out.
"We can't just sit here and watch out. I am gonna complain about them" Saranya added.
"But a lot of students have done that before," Kritika replied. "Even actions have been taken against many of them, but they always get away because of Vikram. He's the son of one of the college trustees."
Saranya clenched her fists. "Isko toh mein batati hoon aaj," she said, getting up from her seat. The others stood up too, ready to back her up.
(I will see him today.)
They marched over to where the seniors were gathered, Vikram at the center, laughing and enjoying their bullying.
"Hey, Vikram!" Saranya called out, her voice loud and clear.
Vikram turned, a smirk playing on his lips. "Well, well, isn't it Saranya and her gang?" he said mockingly.
"What brings you here? Come to join the fun?"
"No, we've come to put an end to it," Saranya replied, her tone unwavering.
Vikram's smirk faded slightly. "Oh really? And what do you plan to do about it? Run to the authorities? Go ahead. We've seen how that works out."
"I can deal with you myself." She shot back.
His eyes narrowed. "You think you can scare me with that?"
"Of course I can do more that." She retorted.
"Oh, then show me what you can do?" Vikram taunted. "Everyone look here, Miss Saranya Oberoi is going to show us something today." He stepped forward, trying to intimidate her, but in the next second, a hard punch landed on his jaw.
"See the show now," Saranya shot back.
Before she could do anything else, Varun and Rudra stepped forward.
"Hey, calm down, Sara. We can't deal with it like this," Sia added.
Vikram's eyes fumed with anger as he stepped forward while students gathered around. Rudra tried to stop him.
"How dare you touch me?" Vikram shouted.
"Like this," Saranya replied as she removed her shoe and threw it at his face. His nose began to bleed, causing others to laugh. Everyone quickly shut their mouths when he glared at them.
"You..." Vikram started, but before he could do anything else, someone interrupted.
A man in his early forties stood there.
The atmosphere grew tense as the students realized who had arrived.
Mr. Rao, the man, began, "What's happening here?" His voice was stern as he let these words out of his mouth.
The students fell silent, and Vikram, clutching his nose, tried to speak up. "Sir, she attacked me!"
Mr. Rao stared at Saranya and scolded her without even letting her speak, "Miss Saranya Oberoi, what kind of behavior is this? Have you received too few suspensions that now you even want more?"
"But sir, he did wrong first," Kritika said, trying to defend her.
"Even if he did something wrong, she should complain first. Violence is never a solution to problems," Mr. Rao retorted.
"But sir, he was bullying the students," Saranya couldn't hold back her words.
Mr. Rao looked at the students, but no one spoke up.
Everyone knew what kind of influence Vikram had in the college. Saranya had no power, and one request from Vikram to his father could get her suspended, putting anyone who spoke against Vikram in trouble as well.
"Why is everyone silent? Wasn't he bullying you?" Varun asked the students, who just looked down in response.
Saranya was dumbfounded, totally dumbfounded.
"Detention for 2 hours, Miss Saranya," Mr. Rao declared.
"And all of you, go back to your lecture halls if you don't want to get detention too," Mr. Rao said, and everyone dispersed, heading towards their respective places. Her friends gave her pitying looks, but Saranya told them to go back to the lecture hall. She herself went towards the corridor to receive her punishment but not before glaring at Vikram.
For the whole two hours, She stood in the corridor. Everyone passing by gave her looks, which she met with eye rolls. When the time was finally up, she sat down on an empty chair in the campus, massaging her sore legs.
Despite her exhaustion, it was time for the accountancy lecture, and she was determined to attend. She needed to see who their new professor was.
She stood up and walked toward the lecture hall. Standing at the door, she glanced inside and immediately recognized the tall man at the front. It was the same man she had seen earlier today on the road in the black Mercedes.
She asked for permission to enter, and their new professor~ Veer Singhania's eyes met hers.
There was a flicker of recognition in his expression, as if he remembered seeing her earlier the morning itself.
Breaking the silence, he spoke firmly, "You may enter, but remember, I don't tolerate tardiness. Since it's your first time, I'll allow you to come in."
She nodded and walked into the lecture hall, taking a seat beside Sia.
"Good morning, everyone," he began, his voice steady and authoritative. " This is Veer Singhania, and I will be your new accountancy professor."
"As for me, I have a teaching experience of seven years. If you want to know more about my background in education, you can look it up on the internet." His voice was calm but authoritative, making it clear that he meant business.
"As you may know, Professor Kavya Verma has resigned, and I will be taking over her classes. I expect punctuality and dedication from each of you."
"Now, let's start today's lecture by revisiting the topics of financial accounting."
"But Mr. Singhania, let us give our introductions first," Nitya suggested.
He responded curtly to her words, "No need to waste time beating around the bush. I will eventually get to know each of you based on your performance in studies."
3
Saranya bit her lip to stifle a laugh, amused by how swiftly he had shut down Nitya's attempt to take control.
Then he began teaching, and the lecture went smoothly without any disturbances. Saranya, who was unable to focus on the class, glanced around herself and noticed how the girls' attention was fixed on his back as he turned towards the digital board.
"He is handsome, right?" Sia whispered.
Varun, who had heard her, turned his head back to look at her and gave her an annoyed look.
A girl sitting behind Saranya said something causing a little disturbance in the hall.
Veer turned towards the students and looked at Saranya, where the source of the sound seemed to have come from.
Her eyes widened, and she quickly sat up straight, trying to appear attentive. Veer's strict gaze lingered on her for a while.
"Miss, if you can't pay attention to the class, at least don't disturb others by talking. First, you don't have a sense of punctuality. You were five minutes late in my first lecture itself and now when I am lecturing, you are not concentrating. If you don't want to attend the lecture, you can skip it," he said strictly.
"I didn't get late on purpose. It's just... It's..." She hesitated, unsure how to explain without making herself look bad.
"She didn't get late on purpose. It's just that she got detention for 2 hours," Shreya interjected, only to receive a glare from Saranya.
"Miss, don't interrupt. Answer me only when I am talking to you," He said as his tone stayed firm.
He then turned his attention back to Saranya. "And you better be careful next time; otherwise, I might give you detention too."
She bit her lip, trying to keep her frustration in check and then nodded slightly, avoiding further confrontation, and focused on the lesson, determined not to draw any more attention to herself. The rest of the lecture continued without any further disruptions, and the students silently took notes, getting awareness of their new professor's strict demeanor.