Page 73 - The World's Best Boyfriend

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Today was another gem in Aranya’s growing repertoire of achievements—the

Freshers’ Day at DTU.
The professors were nodding appreciatively at the fine balance of fun and
sensibility, the precision of the start and end times of the events, and the smell of
the fresh bouquets in their hands.

The dance routine was in two parts, the first part was on the stage, pretty
average mundane stuff, perfectly timed to bore people into a lull before the

second group sprang up from the audience, a bit like a flash mob, and danced
like their life depended on it. The collective gasps of the audience warmed
Aranya’s heart, her brilliance taking even her by surprise.
‘I hope you’re enjoying it,’ Aranya asked Prof. Mitra, the dean, who told her

that he was proud of her.
‘Where’s Prof. Raghuvir?’

‘How would I know? Check the staffroom,’ Prof. Mitra shrugged as if not
wanting to answer.
Aranya hadn’t seen him anywhere in college yet. He was like the yeti or the
Loch Ness monster—a legend. Before she had joined DTU, she had thought he

would be all over the place—lecturing, researching ground-breaking ideas,
patenting stuff, being handsome—but he was turning out to be quite a recluse.

Truth be told, ever since Aranya cleared the entrance, she had been waiting to
meet Prof. Raghuvir. She even had cut-outs of him in a physics book back in her
hostel. She was a fan of his long flowing hair, the roundish spectacles he sported

in all those newspaper clippings and his strikingly boyish looks.
‘Hope you enjoy the evening,’ Aranya said and went backstage to see if
everything was in order.

Aranya saw Sanchit’s swearing and booing in the crowd as he attempted
unsuccessfully to rile up the crowd. She had hired three professional bouncers to
tackle anyone who misbehaved but she waved them down when they asked her

if she wanted them to remove Sanchit. ‘Let him be and soak in the perfection,’
Aranya said.
After the events were over, it was time to choose the Mister and Miss Fresher

of the day. The forms had been pored over by Prof. Mitra, a couple of