Introve
Intro: An Introvert's First Love
Shakthi was sitting in the classroom on his first day of college when a boy named Ganesh sat next to him. "Hi," Ganesh said, starting a conversation. Shakthi replied with a "hi" as well.
Then, Shakthi asked Ganesh for his name. "My name is Ganesh, and I'm from Cuddalore," Ganesh replied.
In return, Ganesh asked Shakthi his name. "My name is Shakthi, and I'm from Kolapakkam," he answered.
Soon, more students started arriving, and the class began. The class coordinator (CC) mam came in and explained that for the first week, classes would be held in the auditorium. Normal classes would begin from the second week. Before starting, she asked who would like to be the class representative. When no one volunteered, she pointed to a boy and chose him to be the rep. The boy initially hesitated, saying "no," but eventually agreed.
Later, during the classes in the auditorium, the CC mam announced that they would create a class group and asked everyone to give their phone numbers to the class rep. While the rep was collecting the numbers, Shakthi and Ganesh talked and became friends.
The Second Week
On the first day of the second week, the CC mam came to the classroom and gave some instructions. "Hello, students," she began. "I'm your CC. Why are you all looking like lost children in the middle of a forest? Anyway, I'll get to know your names later. First, let me tell you the rules and regulations. Boys must come to class with a clean shave, in formal clothes and shoes. If you take a leave, you must inform us and bring a letter the next day."
"Alright," she said. "Shall we start the class?"
"I am your Physics and Class CC," she announced before starting the lesson.
During the class, Shakthi and Ganesh got to know each other better. "Hey, this ma'am seems very strict," Ganesh said.
"No, not at all," Ganesh replied. "She talks so jovially. She won't be like that."
"We'll see," Shakthi said. "We'll know for sure when she gives us a test."
In the next class, another ma'am came in and asked everyone to close their notebooks. "I'm not going to take a class today," she said. "The more you interact, the more you'll understand the subject. I just want to get to know your names."
She started by asking the girls. "Let's start from the third bench. Please, tell me," she said.
"Hi, ma'am, my name is Aaranya. I'm from Valimaipuram," a girl said.
"Next, ma'am, my name is Anvika. I'm from Valimaipuram."
"Ma'am, my name is Aleena. I'm from Nilapakkam."
This continued until all the girls had introduced themselves. Then, the boys did the same. After a bit of friendly conversation, she left.
A week later, on the first day of normal classes, the professors began their lessons. After a few weeks of continuous classes, the Physics ma'am announced a test. After everyone had finished, she asked Shakthi to collect the papers. As he was collecting the girls' papers, Anvika asked him to place her test paper at the end of the pile, and he did so. Then, Aleena commented, "Hey, he's a good guy." Shakthi gave a small smile, collected all the papers, and handed them to the ma'am…
…..After three days passed, in the evening, as Shakthi was heading home, another boy from his class, who also lived in Kolapakkam, came by in his auto. Shakthi asked him, "Do you know Arun? He's a school friend of mine." The boy replied, "My name is Dilli." Then Dilli asked for his name, and Shakthi said, "My name is Shakthi." From then on, they talked and became close friends. Soon, Dilli, Ganesh, and Shakthi formed a trio of friends.
The next day, Shakthi approached another boy named Godson and said, "Hey, you were singing in the auditorium, right? You sang really well." They also talked and became friends. Later, he befriended Arthur, who had many talents, especially with computers.
A few days later, the M1 exam arrived. After finishing the test, they had a short break from exams, and then the M2 model exam came up quickly. So far, everything was going well for Shakthi.
A 10-Day Break
During a 10-day leave, Shakthi would go to play cricket around 3:00 PM. He would go to his friend Dharan's house and wait for him, calling out, "Dharan!" from outside. Then, he would take Dharan to the ground, where Rufus and Deevan would already be waiting. They would start playing cricket around 4:00 PM. Soon, Nitish, Arun, Deva, and Godwin would join them.
They split into two teams:
Team A: Nitish, Dharan, Deva, and Deevan
Team B: Shakthi, Arun, Rufus, and Godwin
In the first match, Team A scored 42 runs, and Team B lost after scoring only 30 runs. In the second match, Team B was all out for 15 runs. But despite Team A's excellent bowling, Team B managed to win.
The days of leave passed just like that. On the last day of the break, Dilli, Shakthi, Godson, and Arthur planned to go to Marina Mall. However, Arthur said he couldn't make it at the last minute. Shakthi's family asked if many people were going, and he lied and said "yes." He somehow managed to leave the house and went to wait for Dilli. Once Dilli arrived, they both took a bus to the mall. On the way, Shakthi told Dilli that Arthur wasn't coming and confessed that he had lied to his family to go out.
They arrived at the mall, got off the bus, and waited for Godwin, who soon joined them. They went inside and walked around for a while. After taking a photo with a "Jungle Book" themed statue, they headed back home.
Semester 2
Semester 2 began, and everything went on as usual. One day, Shakthi realized he was developing feelings for someone. His normal classes and routines continued.
Shakthi used to ask his friend Divya for help with study doubts on WhatsApp. One day, while he was asking her for help in class, Ganesh noticed and asked, "Hey, what's going on?"
Shakthi replied, "Nothing, it's nothing." Then he confessed, "Hey, I can't stop looking at that girl on the second seat of the third bench."
Ganesh said, "Oh, I see. What's her name?"
"Aaranya," Shakthi told him.
Ganesh said, "Alright, alright, carry on."
From then on, Shakthi spent the whole day "sighting" that girl, and only paid attention to the class sometimes.
Later, he went home and told Dharan about this new feeling. Dharan told him it was called "affection." Shakthi asked, "Isn't that the first step of love?" Dharan replied, "Well, I can't say it's not. It might be."
Shakthi laughed and said, "Hey, it's not like that."
Dharan jokingly asked, "Hey, should I go and die somewhere?" Shakthi laughed again and said, "Hey, don't say things like that."
Their daily routine continued. When they went from the D block to the A block for their C programming class, Shakthi would rush ahead and then walk slowly, pretending to look behind him for Ganesh while actually "sighting" Aaranya. This went on for a few days.
Then, to find out if Aaranya was single or committed, Shakthi chatted with her friend, Aleena. Shakthi first told Aleena, "I can't stop looking at a girl." Aleena's friend told him he should go and tell her he loves her soon. Shakthi replied "mm" on Instagram. Aleena's friend asked if the girl was in their class, and he said "yes." When they asked who it was, he said, "I'll tell you, but you shouldn't tell anyone else," trusting them.
He then called Dharan and told him, "I asked my crush's friend if she was single or committed. Now they are asking who it is. Should I tell them?"
Dharan replied, "No, don't."
Shakthi said, "No, if I tell them, they might help me."
Dharan replied, "Do whatever you want."
Aleena's friend asked Shakthi, "Is she one of my friends?" Shakthi said, "Yes." When they asked "who?", Shakthi said "Aaranya." Aleena's friend exclaimed, "Oh, wow!"
Shakthi then asked Aleena directly, "Is Aaranya single or committed?" Aleena said "single," and Shakthi was overjoyed. He immediately called Dharan and told him, "Hey, she's single!" Dharan said, "Great, enjoy!" and they ended the call.
Later, around 1:00 PM, Aleena messaged Shakthi and said Aaranya was not single; she was committed. Shakthi replied, "Committed? But you just told me she was single!"
Aleena explained that Aaranya had a boyfriend. Shakthi felt sad and asked if he could know who it was, but Aleena replied, "No, you can't know."
Shakthi said, "I feel so sad," and Aleena told him, "Don't feel sad."
Shakthi said, "I love her a lot." Aleena asked, "How can you love her without knowing anything about her?" Shakthi replied, "She's beautiful."
Aleena said, "Just because she's beautiful, you'll love her? Then that's just affection."
Shakthi replied, "No, it's not. She's soft like me, she doesn't talk harshly to anyone, she's very calm, and she doesn't get angry with anyone. She's just like me." Aleena again told him not to feel sad.
Shakthi called Dharan and told him, "They first said she was single, and then said she was committed or going to be committed soon."
Dharan said, "I told you not to tell them, but you didn't listen. They probably already told your crush."
Shakthi replied, "No, they won't. I asked them not to tell anyone, and I trust them."
Dharan replied, "Believe everyone, and everyone will cheat you," and hung up the call. Shakthi felt sad and posted a sad note on his Instagram.
The next day, Anvika (Aaranya's second friend) messaged Shakthi on Instagram, asking why he was sad, but Shakthi didn't reply. That day, Shakthi told Ganesh what had happened, and Ganesh said, "Aleena must have told Aaranya." Shakthi replied, "My school friend said the exact same thing."
Later, Shakthi told his friend Dilli about his love story, and Dilli also said that Aleena must have told Aaranya. Shakthi said, "Everyone is saying the same thing."
That evening, as he was going home, Shakthi asked Anvika, "Hey, you messaged me, right? I don't think I replied. What did you ask?" Anvika replied, "Yes, why did you post a sad note?"
Shakthi asked, "You don't know?" Anvika just smiled faintly. Shakthi thought, "I think she knows," and was confused.
Then, Anvika said, "Aaranya doesn't like love, that's why she's single."
Shakthi asked, "Who told you this?"
Anvika asked, "Did you ask us not to tell Aaranya?" Shakthi said, "No, I just said not to tell anyone."
Anvika replied, "No, we friends share everything with each other." Shakthi felt heartbroken and thought, "Oh, they cheated me."
The Weekend
On the weekend, Shakthi went to play cricket. He told Dharan, "I told Ganesh what I told you, and he also said that Aleena must have told Aaranya."
Dharan said, "See, I told you! No matter who you ask, they'll say the same thing."
Michael came to the ground to play cricket, and Shakthi told him about his love story too. Michael immediately turned to Dharan and asked, "Hey, what's going on?" Dharan said, "Just listen to the whole story, I know all about it." Michael listened to Shakthi's story and then asked both of them, "Hey, should I go and die somewhere?"
A little later, Nitish, Rufus, and Deevan arrived, and Shakthi told them the story as well. Rufus asked, "Who is the girl? What's her name?" Shakthi replied, "Aaranya." Nitish said, "Hey, you're in love? Wow, you're so brave! If you have any love doubts, you should come to my class."
After that, they started playing cricket. They played for the rest of the day and went home in the evening.
The next day, Shakthi went to college and told Ganesh, "Hey, she's here! No, no, the beautiful one is here!" Ganesh said, "Alright, alright, carry on."
The class began. During the second period, for their C programming lab, they had to go to the D block. On his way there, Shakthi walked fast to get ahead, then walked slowly, pretending to look back for Ganesh, while actually "sighting" Aaranya. He even "sighted" her while sitting in the C programming class. The rest of the day's classes passed like this.
More Plans and Cricket
On the weekend, when Shakthi was going to play cricket, he called his friend Deva and asked, "Are you coming to play cricket? I'll take you on my bicycle." Deva said, "Yeah, I'll come. Call me at 3 o'clock." At 3, Deva called and told him to start. Shakthi said "mm," got his bicycle, and waited for Deva at the market. When Deva arrived, Shakthi told him his love story while they were cycling. They reached the cricket ground, played with Dharan, Nitish, and Godwin, and left for home at 6:00 PM.
The next week went very well. Shakthi came up with a plan to become friends with Aaranya. Their college was holding an essay writing competition the following Monday and a boy came around asking for names. A few girls gave their names. Then, Aaranya's other friend, Nancy, gave her name, and finally, Aaranya gave hers. When Shakthi saw her give her name, he also signed up.
The rest of the week went by. On the weekend, Shakthi called Deva and asked him to come to play cricket. He took him on his bicycle, then waited for Dharan at his house, and they went to the ground. Sham was already waiting there. They sat and talked about their studies for a while. Then Godwin asked Shakthi, "Brother, are you in love? Did she say yes and become your friend?"
Shakthi replied, "No, I'm so scared. I'm even scared to go and talk to her."
Godwin said, "Just go and talk to her. How will you become friends if you don't talk?"
Then Dharan said, "Hey, Dharan, there's a girl in class, she's good, and I love her."
Dharan asked, "Hey, what is this? Everyone is starting to fall in love?"
Godwin said, "Wait, I'll tell you my story. I was also scared to talk to her to become friends. First, I talked to her on the phone, and then we talked in class and became friends. She even shares her Instagram reels with me." Shakthi felt sad, thinking, "Why is it so hard for me to just become friends with her?"
Soon, Nitish, Arun, Rufus, and Deevan arrived, and they started to play cricket. They split into teams:
Team A: Deva, Arun, Rufus, and Dharan
Team B: Shakthi, Godwin, Nitish, and Deevan
After the toss, Team A batted first and scored 52 runs in 6 overs. Team B batted second and won the first match by scoring 55 runs. In the second match, Team B scored 47 runs in 6 overs. They all-outed Team A for 30 runs and won the second match as well. That day, they all went home.
After Shakthi got home, he ate, and when he went to sleep, he thought a lot about his goals: he had to get good marks in his studies, and he had to become friends with Aaranya and get her to love him. He thought about this for a long time and then fell asleep.
The next day, Shakthi's daily routine continued in class. He paid attention to the lesson, but also kept "sighting" Aaranya. He would feel happy about this and tell Ganesh and Dilli about it in the evenings.
A few weeks passed like this. One day, their class CC mam announced that their college would be holding a "System Fest." She said that their students couldn't participate in the events, only students from other colleges could. She asked them to tell their friends from other colleges to join, adding that there were a total of 27 events, and a ₹100 entry fee would allow them to participate in all of them. For their own students, the fee was ₹150. She also said that on the day of the festival, girls could wear sarees and boys had to wear formal clothes.
Shakthi was immediately happy. He kept imagining how beautiful Aaranya would look in a saree and told Ganesh and Dilli about it, feeling very excited.
On the night before the System Fest, Shakthi called Dharan and told him about it. He told him that students from other colleges could participate and that the girls would be wearing sarees the next day. Dharan said, "Mm." Shakthi said to Dharan, "My girl will look amazing in a saree!" He was so happy. Then he cut the call, ate, and went to sleep.
The next day, he was confused about whether Aaranya would come or not, but he decided that she would. He left for college earlier than usual and waited for an auto. An auto came, he got in, and when he reached college, he thought to himself, "God, Aaranya must come today. I hope today goes well." He went inside and sat on a stone bench in the D block as usual.
Then Dilli came to college and called Shakthi. "Hey, where are you?"
Shakthi replied, "I'm sitting on a stone bench in the D block. Come here." and hung up.
A little while later, Dilli came to the D block and saw Shakthi. He said, "Hey, let's go to class."
Shakthi said, "Hey, let's sit here for a while and then go."
Dilli said, "No, I can't."
Shakthi said, "Hey, please, let's sit for a while and then go."
Dilli replied, "I need to get a Xerox copy."
Shakthi asked, "What Xerox? I'll get one too."
Dilli said, "It's for my brother."
Shakthi said, "Okay, let's go," because he was looking for Aleena, thinking that if she was there, Aaranya would also be there. But Aleena wasn't there, so he planned to go with Dilli, as the Xerox shop was near the gate, and he could easily check if Aleena was in college. After searching and finding Aleena, he thought, "Yes, Aaranya will come too." But from another perspective, he also thought, "What if Aaranya doesn't come?"
As he was going to the Xerox shop, college bus number 677 came by. Shakthi was so curious and happy because bus number 677 was the bus that Aaranya would take. When everyone got off the bus, he saw Aaranya wearing a desi-colored saree.
Shakthi was so happy and excited in his mind and heart. He told Dilli, "Hey, look how beautiful she is! Look, look! Oh my god, I can't do anything!" Dilli said, "Hey, just be quiet and come." They reached the Xerox shop, and Dilli sent the PDF to the shopkeeper and waited for the copies. Shakthi told Dilli, "Hey Dilli, you have to sit next to me today." Dilli said, "No, I won't," because he knew Shakthi would talk only about her.
After they got the copies and came back, Shakthi still couldn't stop. He told Dilli again, "Hey, please sit next to me today." Dilli refused.
Then they came back to the D block and decided to go to class. They waited for Ganesh. Just then, Shakthi's "lover gang" (Aaranya, Aleena, and Anvika) also came to the D block to go to class. Shakthi, in his heart, thought, "Oh my god, I can't. How beautiful she is," and admired her beauty. Another one of Shakthi's friends, Godson, came to him and said, "Look over there. Look at your smile," teasing him because he had seen Shakthi admiring Aaranya.
Then Ganesh came from the hostel to the D block. Ganesh, Dilli, and Shakthi started climbing the stairs to the third floor of the D block. At the same time, Shakthi's "lover gang" was also coming. Shakthi slowed down while climbing the stairs because he wanted to see Aaranya. Then they went to class and sat down.
Shakthi talked casually with Ganesh and Dilli while watching Aaranya's reflection in his watch. After a while, Shakthi said to the boys, "Hey, let's all take a photo," and they did.
Then their class rep, Saravanan, told the boys that the class coordinator had asked everyone to come to the auditorium. Shakthi went to his other friend, Arthur, and casually asked, "Hey, how are you?"
Arthur replied, "Hey, it looks like your girl looks amazing in a saree." Shakthi gave a small smile and said, "Come on, let's go to the auditorium." Arthur said, "I'll go to the restroom and then come."
Shakthi said, "Okay, wait, I'll put my phone in my bag and come."
Arthur said, "Just bring it, we'll see."
Shakthi agreed and went to the restroom with Arthur, but he was a little scared because he thought a teacher might take his phone.
After Arthur came out of the restroom, they walked and talked on their way to the auditorium. When they reached the auditorium, they saw that some staff members were checking students for phones before allowing them inside, which made Shakthi scared……
…..Then Arthur said to him, "Hey, look, I told you! Now we have to go all the way from here to the D block, and it's going to be late. They're going to scold us."
Arthur then suggested, "Let's go and keep our phones in the Physics lab in the block."
Just then, the Physics ma'am and the class coordinator (CC) arrived...
They asked the ma'am if they could keep their phones in the lab, and after getting permission, they left them there and went to sit in the auditorium. Once they were seated, their classmate Arav sat next to Shakthi.
(About Arav)
Arav is Shakthi's friend. He loves a girl in their class named Zaiva, and Zaiva loves him back.
While they were sitting, Shakthi said to Arav, "Hey, your girl is giving the introduction speech! That's cool, isn't it?"
Arav said, "Hey, just be quiet, will you?"
Then Shakthi began to tell Arav his love story, hoping to get some clarity on his doubts. "In the first semester, I felt like I had to keep looking at a girl (Aaranya) all the time. But it's only now, in the second semester, that I've realized it's love. So, to find out if she was single or committed, I messaged Aleena. At first, she messaged me saying Aaranya was single. But a little later, she messaged again saying she was committed, 'going to be committed soon.' Do you think Aleena must have told her?" Shakthi asked Arav.
Arav said, "Yes, she would have."
Shakthi replied, "Hey, I still can't believe they would have told her."
Arav said, "Alright, let's see what happens."
Then Shakthi said, "Arav, everyone wore sarees today, right? I saw Aaranya getting off the college bus this morning, and she looked so beautiful! Girls look so beautiful when they wear sarees, don't they? I felt like an arrow just hit my heart."
Then the staff came to the auditorium, and the System Fest started. After giving an introduction to some of the games, a staff member told them to have fun and that they could go and play the games. They also announced that they could get drinks at the B block.
Everyone went out, and Shakthi waited with his friend Dilli to see Aaranya. Aaranya suddenly noticed Shakthi. Shakthi got scared and said, "Alright, let's go to the B block. I have to get my phone, anyway."
When they got there, they were given good-day biscuits and Frooti juice. Shakthi and Dilli took their drinks and went to sit on the stairs outside. Even then, Shakthi was searching for Aaranya. Aaranya was standing at the food stall near the block.
After Shakthi talked with some friends, he looked back at the food stall in the B block to see if Aaranya was there, but she was gone. Shakthi felt a little sad and said to Dilli, "Hey, she's gone. Come on, let's go find her."
Just then, Ganesh also came, and Shakthi asked him to come with them to play some games. He was hoping to look for Aaranya at every game they went to. Ganesh came to the food stall and looked to buy something to eat, but everything was too expensive, so he left. Shakthi told him, "Hey, I can't find Aaranya anywhere."
Ganesh said, "Hey, look, she's standing near that tree," and then said, "I'm going to the hostel," and left.
Aaranya then left with her friends, Aleena and Anvika, and went to the A block. Shakthi said, "Hey, let's go to the A block too and see the games there." He thought he could watch Aaranya while pretending to look at the games. But Dilli knew why Shakthi was asking him to come, and said, "I'm not coming. You go."
Shakthi replied, "Hey, if I go alone, it'll look suspicious. If you come with me, it won't. Come on."
But Dilli said, "I'm going to the hostel to sleep with Ganesh," and left.
While Ganesh and Dilli were talking, Aaranya and her friends went to the block behind the B block, and Ganesh saw them. He then went to the A block, not the B block, because he didn't want it to look like he was following Aaranya. He thought, "They'll probably get tired and come here. We can just check out the games in the A block." He looked around the A block but couldn't find them.
So Shakthi decided to look for them in every block, starting with the B block. But Aaranya and her friends weren't there. As he was coming from the B block, he saw Arthur and said, "Hey, if you see Aaranya, just give me a call." Arthur said, "Okay.”....
……Then Shakthi went to the C block to look for Aaranya. He saw his classmate, Rahul, and Rahul asked him, "Hey, what's going on with you? You look restless and you're searching for someone. Who are you looking for?"
Shakthi replied, "Oh, it's nothing." He didn't want the whole class to know he was in love because he was worried someone might go and tell Aaranya, "Shakthi loves you," which would make things awkward. But Rahul insisted, "Hey, come on, tell me. I won't tell anyone."
Trusting him, Shakthi briefly told him his one-sided love story and asked him to call if he saw Aaranya anywhere. Shakthi continued to search for Aaranya in the C block, but she wasn't there. He went outside the block to check if she was anywhere else on campus, but he still couldn't find her.
Just then, he saw his classmate Vinay passing by.
(About Vinay)
Vinay is a top-performing student who answers all questions. He knows everything but acts like a child. He even reminds teachers about class tests and complains about other students, which makes some of them irritated.
Shakthi wondered if he should tell Vinay his story. He decided against it but instead just asked Vinay, "If you see Aaranya, please tell me." Shakthi knew that even though Vinay acted like a child and was considered annoying by the class, he kept secrets for his close friends. Because of this trust, Shakthi told Vinay, "If you see Aaranya or her friends, let me know, okay?"
Shakthi continued to search for Aaranya and her friends all over the college, but they were nowhere to be found. Just as he was about to give up, Vinay called him. Shakthi answered the phone, and Vinay said, "Shakthi, Aaranya is here in the A block, near the auditorium where we go for classes. They're taking pictures."
Shakthi replied, "Okay, Vinay, just act casual and watch them. I'm in the C block; I'll be there soon." He rushed to the auditorium and met Vinay. "Where are they?" he asked.
Vinay said, "Hey, they're taking pictures near that tree." Shakthi saw them and led Vinay behind the building near the B block to get a better look at Aaranya. After watching some of the games from a distance, he looked back at the spot where Aaranya and her friends were taking pictures, but they were no longer there.
Shakthi was looking for them when he suddenly felt very thirsty. He went to the stationery store and bought a ₹10 water bottle. After drinking, he saw Aaranya's friends sitting on a stone bench near the C block. He sat down on a stone bench about four benches away from them, so they wouldn't know he was following them. He was sitting there, looking at his phone, when Dilli, who had been playing games at the hostel, came up to him.
Dilli asked, "Hey, shall we go home?"
"Yeah, let's go," Shakthi replied, and they took an auto home.
The next day, their routine continued. They woke up, went to class, paid attention, and took notes. When they went to their C programming class, Shakthi rushed to the front, then walked slowly, "sighting" Aaranya as usual. A week passed like this.
Then, one day, while going to C Programming Lab, Shakthi told his friend, Aizen, "Hey, at the system fest Aaranya looked amazing in a saree. I wish things worked out with my crush. I'm going to sit next to you in the C lab so I can sight her."
Aizen said, "No, don't. She's going to cry."
Shakthi asked, "Why? Did someone tell her something?"
Aizen said, "Yes. She doesn't like that you're following her. I'm telling you this so you'll understand.”.....
....……Shakthi asked Aizen, "When did Aaranya tell you all this?"
Aizen replied, "She told me back when you would come near me to 'sight' her. I told her not to tell you, but I'm telling you now because I thought you would understand."
Shakthi said, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I even followed her during the System Fest." Aizen repeated, "I thought you would understand. Just be careful now," and went to the lab to type his program. Shakthi felt terrible, thinking, "We planned for this not to be obvious, and now look what happened." He went home and couldn't sleep, thinking only about this issue. He decided that he had to apologize the next day and end the problem once and for all.
However, Aaranya didn't come to college the next day. Shakthi was upset. "I planned to apologize today, and this happens," he thought.
The day after that, Aaranya was present. Shakthi wanted to apologize, so during the interval, he asked Aleena, "Aleena, could you ask Aaranya to wait for me after lunch before going to the lab?"
Aleena replied, "She won't be there," and asked, "Why do you want her to wait?"
Shakthi said, "I have something to tell her."
Aleena kept walking towards the class and said, "This is all unnecessary." Shakthi felt even worse and sat there feeling down. Ganesh saw him and asked, "What's wrong?" Shakthi told him everything that Aizen and Aleena had said. Then he asked, "Hey, after lunch, I'm going to apologize. Will you stand with me for support?"
Ganesh replied, "I'll eat at the hostel and go straight to the lab. You should ask Dilli."
Just as Ganesh finished, Dilli came over. "What's my name doing in this conversation? What's going on?"
Ganesh told Dilli, "He's going to apologize to Aaranya and solve all the problems."
Dilli said, "Okay, I'll come."
After the break, the Physics period began. While the ma'am was teaching, Shakthi was still feeling down about what Aleena had said ("This is all unnecessary"). He just stared at the board, his mind consumed by his worries. The Physics ma'am suddenly looked at him and asked, "Shakthi, why are you sitting so sadly? What's wrong?" Shakthi replied, "Nothing, ma'am."
After lunch, everyone left, and only Aaranya's group and Shakthi with Dilli were left in the class. Shakthi kept saying to Dilli, "I'm scared, I'm scared." Dilli called out to Aaranya, "Shakthi wants to apologize to you."
Aaranya said, "No, I don't understand. Why are you telling everyone that you love me? I told them to say that I don't."
Shakthi was stunned and just stood there. Dilli quickly said, "No, he only told me and Ganesh."
Aleena said, "I know about it because he chatted with me."
Shakthi bowed to Aaranya and apologized. "From now on, I won't cause you any problems," he said.
Aaranya replied, "It's okay. Now go to the lab."
Shakthi felt bad all the way to the lab and was still sad when he got home. He tried to forget his worries by turning on the TV. The news was reporting that melting ice glaciers were activating ancient viruses and that people were biting each other. But Shakthi didn't pay any attention to it. He just kept feeling bad about his apology.
The next day, he went to class and pretended to be happy, forcing a fake smile. The day passed like that. The day after, their Maths ma'am was teaching and kept coughing…….
……The students were given water to drink. After drinking, they suddenly started vomiting blood, their eyes turned red, and they bit a girl. Seeing this, some of the boys were scared and ran out of the classroom to escape. The girl who was bitten by the ma'am turned into a zombie and started biting other students.
As the students began to be bitten, they quickly split into four teams to survive.
Team 1
Lead: Shakthi
Team members: Ganesh, Dilli, Aizen
Team 2
Lead: Arthur
Team members: Christer, Rahul, Vinay
Team 3
Lead: Aleena
Team members: Aaranya, Anvika, Nancy
Team 4
Lead: Likitha
Team members: Varshini
The Zombie Outbreak
As they split up for safety, they found themselves in a terrible situation where they had to kill many of their friends. Though it was difficult, they had no choice.
Scene: Team 1
In this team, Shakthi coordinated everything, constantly moving them to a safe location.
Scene: Team 2
Arthur was leading his team when Vinay, feeling hungry, took out a packet of chips from his pocket. The sound attracted a zombie, which came to bite Vinay. Despite the team's best efforts, the zombie bit Vinay.
Scene: Team 3
Aleena, Aaranya, Anvika, and Nancy were moving to a safe place. But as they were crossing a classroom, a zombie attacked Nancy. Although Aleena, Aaranya, and Anvika tried to save her, they couldn't. Nancy turned into a zombie, and before she could attack, the others managed to escape. However, while trying to save Nancy, some of her blood lightly touched a small wound on Anvika's hand, but Anvika didn't notice it.
Scene: Team 4
Likitha and Varshini slowly tried to come out of the library. As they came out, a zombie suddenly appeared. They hit it with a stick they found on the ground and started to run. But a group of zombies broke a window on the first floor, and many of them attacked Varshini and Likitha, who turned into zombies on the spot.
Scene: Back to Team 2
Arthur, Christer, and Rahul planned to get out of the college safely. Just then, they heard the sound of a bus starting. From their safe spot, they looked to see who was driving the bus. When they realized it was Ganesh, Arthur started shouting, "Help! Help!" and ran after the bus.
Scene: Back to Team 1
Shakthi saw Arthur running and shouting for help, so he told Ganesh to drive the bus slowly. Shakthi reached out his hand and shouted, "Grab my hand! Grab my hand!" As Arthur ran toward them, zombies were chasing both him and Rahul. Arthur managed to grab Shakthi's hand and got on the bus. But as they were trying to help Rahul, a zombie came from the opposite direction and attacked him.
The Plan
After Arthur joined Shakthi's team, Shakthi checked him to see if he was infected. Arthur said, "Hey, if I'm infected, don't kill me. I'll jump off the bus myself." Shakthi hugged him and cried, saying, "Don't worry, you're not infected." Shakthi comforted him and said, "Okay, we've escaped from college for now. We need to get to a safe place."
"We have to somehow get to the train station," Shakthi continued. "From there, we can take a train and get to the military camp in Chennai." All the team members were silent and accepted Shakthi's plan.
Shakthi then told Ganesh to drive the bus fast and safely. He thought to himself, "God, what's going to happen? I hope no one at the military camp has turned into a zombie”.
The End ….
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