Page 51 - The World's Best Boyfriend

Aranya’s.
The girls started to rattle off their names, the name of the schools they were
from, and some went as far as to tell them their hobbies which were as boring as

their faces. Aranya could almost feel the insults flying at her. Obviously, she
would be picked out and ridiculed and shamed for her weight and how she
looked, but she was ready for it. She wouldn’t live on the fringes of the college

like she did in school.
‘What’s your name, fatso?’ asked the senior in the front row.
‘Your mother is a fatso!’ snapped Aranya, putting her ruthless, debating face

on. The boy clearly hurt looked left and right, hoping someone would back him
up and when no one did, he said, ‘You don’t talk like that to a senior.’
‘Why not? My seniors sit around in boxer shorts and harass their juniors,

shame them for their body and their face.’
‘I didn’t even say anything about your face. And I’m not harassing anyone!’
‘You’re fucking rude! You—’

‘Your mother’s rude,’ said Aranya.
‘Fuck off,’ said the boy.
‘I wish I could say that back to you but that would only mean a waste of

moisturizer and tissue paper.’
The boy looked at his classmates for support, but they were too busy giggling,

memorizing the repartees to use them somewhere else. ‘You will be dealt with
later. None of the seniors will ever help you. Never! You screwed with the
wrong person.’
‘You’re ragging me. That’s like a criminal offence. Why do you think none of

your friends here are backing you up? Because they know I’m just the kind of
person who will report it and they are right.’

‘I . . . I . . . was just asking for an introduction.’
How sweet. So here’s one for you. I’m Aranya Gupta. Triple scholar gown
holder in school. NTSE and JSTSE silver medallist. AIEEE rank 13, with the
highest in mathematics and physics. I’m a national-level debater with a 53–1

career record, and I can recite the periodic table backwards while beating your
ass in table tennis.’

‘ . . .’
‘Now come again? You were saying that none of the seniors would help me?
What makes you think I would need their help?’ asked Aranya.