Chapter 4

The University of Birchwood is popular for many reasons, but the grounds definitely catch my eye like nothing else has. It's big, bigger than my entire society back home, and there are grounds roped off for Football, Baseball, a Badminton court, a Lawn Tennis court and a Basketball court. Another smaller area has been roped off, but there's no sign of anybody around. Some lines have been drawn on the bare ground. I ask the others about it.

"It's a Kabaddi court, a sports famous in the South Asian countires." Mriganka replies.

"Why isn't anyone there?" I ask.

"Because there are only three people who joined the Kabaddi club when it was introduced and a single team needs seven players. So, the players are sitting at the corner of the ground, playing catch the peanuts." Faheem opens his mouth and catches one thrown by Mriganka.

I look at Ayush frowning at his textbook and a pencil in his mouth, and Faheem has brought his laptop to continue coding. I laugh and ask, "You only chose Kabaddi because you didn't want to do physical exercise, right?"

They smile. Ayush gives a little cough, probably because his voice isn't used to talk much, but he seems to gain a little confidence in talking in front of me.

"You can call us the nerds of this college. Like, people ignore us as long as they have punching bags, which is a good thing since this University has plenty." He smiles.

"What? They bully you here?" I ask, shocked.

"Oh, no, no. Bullying is not tolerated here. But I think Ayush is scared because he used to get bullied in the High School. None of us had to face it though. Also, those Goths look mean, but they haven't done anything that suggests that they are. They're a little rowdy, and loud, but other than that, they're quite harmless. The Queens, of course, it's better to stay out of their way. Not like you'd want to get on the bad side of them, but then, they are hardly ever present in the classes, or cafeteria or the campus even. They have lots and lots of money, and they don't need to attend classes." Faheem summarises for me.

"So, there are you, Nerds; the Goths, and the Queens. Everyone is either one of these, right?" Since I have been homeschooled all my life, I find it quite interesting.

"Oh, and there are the Jocks as well. They are the ones over there, in the Football ground. They are the popular, good looking guys," Mriganka winks at me, "Quite cliché though, almost every other High School and Colleges have these divisions."

I look over at the Football ground and see some well built boys who look like men. They're wearing Red and Blue Jerseys, running at top speed. A cheer goes on as one of the Red Jersey boy score a goal and his teammates gather around him and ruffles his hair. They leave, and I sneak a good look at him. He is tall, more than six-two, and his tanned skin is wheat coloured. His hair stands in a mess around his face, and his small eyes and big lips are visible from here. He is built like an bull, broad shouldered and muscles. He is attractive even from this distance, and I can see Mriganka smiling coyly from my side. I take my eyes off and look at her.

"What?" I say.

"You like that one?" She smirks.

"Which one? I was looking at the team." I take defensive.

"Shut up," She giggles. "I know it. I thought you'd like Devon. Well, almost everyone here has a crush on the Football team, and Devon is the most popular one."

"And you like him as well?" I ask.

"Oh, no. He's alright, but not my type."

 "Then who is?" I grin at her.

Mriganka looks at her hands folded in her lap, and shakes her head. "No one. No one here."

I raise my eyebrows and say nothing, but turns my attention to Devon, who is now pouring his water bottle over his head and shaking that beautiful hair to cool off. Then the bell rings and he runs off and we get up and walk off towards our dorms.