THORN BENEATH THE SILK
The first semester at VIT, Indore, was a humid cocktail of new freedoms and old anxieties. For Gangesh Verma and his band of brothers, it was about finding their footing, usually while tripping over each other.
**Scene: The College Library - A supposedly quiet Wednesday afternoon.**
Gangesh was buried in a thick book on Jurisprudence, his brow furrowed in concentration. Across the table, Sagar was using a copy of "Economic Theory" as a very expensive pillow, softly snoring. Aditya was scrolling through his phone, muttering under his breath.
"Bhench— I mean, seriously? This guy's profile pic is a fish. A fish! How can you take a guy seriously whose greatest achievement is a photograph with a Rohu?"
Karan leaned in, a conspiratorial glint in his eye. "Guys, I have a plan. A foolproof strategy to get Sagar through Professor Dixit's class without him ever waking up."
Gangesh didn't look up. "Karan, your last 'foolproof strategy' to get canteen samosas for half-price ended with Aditya having to serenade the canteen aunty."
"And it almost worked!" Aditya protested, his voice a little too loud for the library. A sharp "Shhh!" came from a nearby aisle.
Karan waved it off. "Details, details. This is different. We get a voice recorder, record the lectures, and play them to him while he sleeps. Subconscious learning!"
Sagar, without opening his eyes, mumbled, "If you play a lecture, I'll just have nightmares about supply-demand curves." He shifted his head to a more comfortable position on the book.
Suddenly, a different sound cut through the quiet—not a shush, but a voice, clear, bold, and laced with impatience.
"This is a library, not your personal dormitory. Some of us are actually here to work."
They all turned. There she was. Anya Chauhan, standing with a stack of books balanced on her hip, her gaze fixed on their table. She was flanked by her friends. Suman stood just behind her shoulder, a look of pure, unadulterated scorn on her face that could curdle milk. Kusum was slightly behind, her gentle eyes wide with a mix of concern and second-hand embarrassment. Sandhya simply observed them all, her expression unreadable but her eyes missing nothing.
Aditya shot up, his pride wounded. "Arre, we were just talking! This isn't a jail, you know."
Suman took a half-step forward, her wit sharpened and ready. "The way you're using your brains, it might as well be. The silence is clearly bothering you."
Gangesh closed his book with a definitive *thud*. The sound drew everyone's attention. He met Anya's gaze, his own calm but firm. This was his "lead" mode kicking in. "She's right. We were being loud. My apologies." He looked pointedly at Aditya and Karan.
His pride wouldn't let him ignore a valid point, even from a rival. His principles demanded he acknowledge the fault.
Anya's eyes narrowed slightly, assessing him. She had expected a fight, not a concession. Her pride wasn't satisfied with just an apology. "An apology doesn't magically restore the concentration you broke. Control your... circus." Her gaze swept over the snoring Sagar and the fuming Aditya.
It was the word "circus" that did it. It wasn't just an insult to him, but to his friends. His loyalty flared.
"We acknowledged our mistake," Gangesh said, his voice dropping, becoming quieter but more intense. "But insulting my friends crosses a line. You have your pride in your work, I have mine in my people. Let's leave it at that. Justice has been served with the apology. Don't push for more."
The air crackled. It was no longer about library noise. It was a clash of ideologies. Her fierce protectiveness of her space and her friends' peace versus his principled loyalty to his own.
Kusum, sensing the rising tension, gently touched Anya's arm. "Anya, let's go. We found the books we needed."
Anya held Gangesh's stare for a second longer, a silent challenge issued and accepted. A small, almost imperceptible smirk from Suman showed she enjoyed the dismantling.