YOU ARE MINE: When I Have to Fight for You

As the early birds arose, the day dawned crisp with the chirping sounds of birds. The golden hands of the sun began painting the sky blue. The newly formed sun peered through my window flashing its beautiful but disturbing rays straight to my face. I was reluctant to get off my bed. I always love the day but not this particular morning. Suddenly, I remembered I got lectures today which prompted my springing out of bed and straight to the bathroom to freshen up. I wasn't the kind of a person to delay while bathing. Not rushed up but out so early.

Caring for my skin was my priority like every other sophisticated lady like me. I was always on trend with the latest Indian wear. With lehenga, pant-style salwar, and Anarkali being my favorite native Indian clothing for occasions. Being a college student, I was made to also love the modern clothing style. Ranging from simple pants and tops to the latest fitted gowns and the like.

On this exceptional morning, I made up my mind to go to campus as a pure Indian girl by dressing up in my favorite pant-style salwar. I'm not such a lady to get hooked up by following others' styles, I do what pleases my sense of taste at most times. With that being stated, I dressed up. Untying my locks which was a natural black waistline length hair, I was set to go, stepping onto my high heels and picking up my bag, I took a final glance at myself in the mirror.

"You look gorgeous!" I always complimented myself.

Leaving my room and heading downstairs, I could smell the aroma of my mom's cooking. Mrs. Amber Singh, my beautiful mother was the best mother of the new generation. A woman who was bent on watching over her beautiful daughters after the demise of her loving husband over a decade ago in place of remarrying like most women of this era.

Following my full salutation, I notified my mom of going to campus. Riding to campus on my rare magenta scooter was simply an amazing accomplishment. I met up with Manikarnika, Manu in short, my bestie. She was a bright stunning lady with a blithe and carefree character that draws attention, especially mine. She has always been my bestie right from day one on campus and she will always be.

My campus life has always been a sweet fanatic one, but recently, I found myself entangled in a hate relationship with one of my college mates, Siddharth Arora popularly known as Sidd.

Siddharth and I were the worst enemies on Earth. I just hated him for no reason. He is so full of himself, probably because he was handsome which was true though. He had such a heart-melting appearance with a fairer complexion. He had a hawkish nose, rosy pink lips, sparkling eyes, and a well-built gym-going body. Coupled with his jet black textured spiky comb over haircut which made him look like one kind of hero in a romantic Bollywood movie. Many girls admired him for his good looks. I could say he was the most handsome guy on campus but that didn't change the way I feel about him. I bet he also hates me more than I can ever imagine. He will do anything to see me get hurt. I wish he could just disappear into the thin air.

I was with Manu after the morning lectures when I saw him. He walked closer to us with his two friends, Shekhar and Milan. They were his best friends, he goes out with them most of the time.

"Someone is trying to please the guys around," he began his everyday scorning. "She tries to look beautiful even though she is ugly," he scorned and tittered staring at me.

"Let's go, Manu," I commented and we stood up to go. I wasn't in the mood to retaliate just yet. We heard them laughing as we were leaving. We went to stay at a different place far away from where we were before. A few minutes later, Manu got a call from home. Her mom asked her to come home if she was done with her lectures. She had to leave, I couldn't stop her since it was her mom that called. When she left, I went to the library to study. I was done an hour later and I decided to go home. I was stepping down the staircase when I bumped into Sidd.

"Not again!" I exclaimed pissed off. "Why are you following me everywhere I go?" I questioned with a wave of obvious anger.

"Are you nuts or something!" He fired back. "Why in God's name will I be following an ugly girl?"

"I guess you have lost your sense of sight," I retaliated.

"Even a blind guy could see how ugly you are," he scorned.

"Honestly?" Do you know how many guys are falling just to come in contact with me? Do you also know that one of them is you? That's why you kept on following me everywhere I go. Anyways, no matter how hard you try, I will never fall for you 'cause you are so arrogant," I stated proudly. I knew that will certainly hurt him.

I stepped down from the last staircase and he said, "Stop flattering yourself." I walked away without saying anything else.

I got to my scooter, sat on it, and then rode out of campus.

Later in the night, Kiara returned home from work. Kiara was my elder sister, kind and cautious. She graduated two years back and she's now working as a Managing Director (MD) in a large firm.

I heard her voice downstairs and went to welcome her.

"Welcome, sis!" I greeted them as I hugged her. "How was work today?" I asked as I released her of the warm hug.

"It was hectic today. I'm exhausted!" She expressed.

A seven to nine-work all day except weekends was an exhausting one. I could see the signs of tiredness on her face. I helped her out with her bag upstairs and she trudged along behind me heading to her room.

The following morning, I dressed up and rode to campus. I met Manu as usual and we both went to class. After lectures, we went to the canteen and ordered soft drinks.

"Have you seen Sidd today?" I asked.

"No, I haven't," she replied negatively. "Are you missing him already?" She teased.

"Of course not! I'm happy that he is not around today," I stated and sipped my drink.

"Whatever!" She commented.

After we were done, we paid the bill and left the canteen. We went home after the second lecture.

There were sports on campus the following day. I dressed up in my beautiful dress and went to the campus. I had taken my sportswear with me to be worn for the sports. I was on the female volleyball team while Manu was on the female basketball team. It was an amazing sports day on campus and so, the campus was filled with activities. After the sports were over, I went to freshen up and change into my dress. I had kept my dress in a locker but when I came out of the bathroom, there was nowhere to be found. I searched and also asked other girls but no one seems to know where my dress was.

I had wrapped a towel around my body with my hair still wet. When I was searching, I found my dress on the basketball court on the floor.

"Oh, my God!" I exclaimed moving close to where my dress was. "Who the heck brought my dress down here?" I uttered pissed off.

As I bent down to pick up my dress, I heard a voice laughing from behind. I turned to look in that direction. There, I saw Sidd.

"So you were behind all this?" I asked burning with anger.

"Look at yourself now, Miss Pretty, you are so shameless," he abused and grinned wickedly.

"How dare you touch my clothes?" I reprimanded. "You have got no manners, you know that? Anyways, you can laugh all you want but watch out for me, this isn't over yet," I threatened and left furiously. I heard him still laughing and calling me names. I felt a little bit embarrassed but I meant what I said.

I started thinking of what to do to retaliate for what he did to me.

The following day, I went to campus with a plan. I asked Manu to help me out and she reluctantly agreed. When I noticed Sidd walking without his friends in the hallway, I and Manu in opposite rooms pulled a thin wire from both sides and he fell in front of the students. The students all snickered at him. I couldn't help but laugh too. I bet he felt embarrassed about that and left the campus almost immediately. I felt relieved for what I did but that wasn't the end yet. I know I should be expecting more from him.

I was in the library the following day, trying to concentrate on my studies. Sidd came along. I didn't look his way. I was engrossed with the boom in from of me. He moved closer and sat on the chair beside me. He placed a book in front of him and opened a page.

"Once upon a time!" Sidd began loudly. I looked around the library. We were the only ones in the library. I glanced at him. He was trying to piss me off. I faced the book in front of me once again. "I was seated with a bookworm. Not that she's beautiful but annoying. She dreams of becoming Albert Einstein's mate in the future, funny, right?" He continued. Was that supposed to be written in the book in front of him? I looked at him with a frown.

"Sidd, I am trying to focus here, what are you doing?" I questioned cheesed off.

"Are you blind, Rani?" He retorted. "Can't you see that I'm reading?"

"Are you a clown, Sidd? Who reads in such a manner?" I retaliated.

"If it disturbs you then excuse me. You can return to continue reading some other time."

"You are crazy, Sidd. It's obvious you got nothing to do, so please walk out," I demanded.

"Now she doesn't want to become Albert Einstein's mate, but Elon Musk's. She is now acting like a confused alien from Mars," he continued reading loudly.

"Argh!" I groaned. I stood up to leave. I strapped my backpack on one shoulder and picked up my phone. As I turned to leave, Sidd flung the book he was reading at my front. I stumbled on it and fell on my knees. "Ouch!" I exclaimed.

Sidd stood up laughing at me. "It seems someone missed her step," he mocked and picked up his book. I stood up staring angrily at him. "Now she's leaving Elon Musk for a desperate hunter chasing after her prey," he continued reading while heading out.

I stood there seething with anger. Sidd is a psychopath. Maybe he got his revenge on me for falling to him the last time. Now I can't even focus on reading any more.

"Argh! Damn it!" I exclaimed frustrated and headed out of the library. I will still retaliate.

Later in the day, I sneaked into the campus computer lab. Sidd was there. He was working on a computer. I heard he was preparing for a presentation on our graduation day. I can't wait to mess that up. I hid at the entrance, looking at him as he continued typing. I wanted a little opportunity to make him confused. I looked around, but nothing was grabbing my attention. I stood there waiting for him to at least stand up. He continued with his work, I was almost giving up when he finally stood up to get a sheet of paper, I guess he was about to print it out. I took the opportunity and tiptoed to the computer, I hurried erased the file and changed the computer setting to a foreign language, and hurried back to the entrance. I watched as Sidd returned to the computer, he sat down to continue and was faced with a blank screen in a complicated language. I couldn't wait to chortle.

"Oh, God! How come? Who did this?" He lamented trying to correct the mistake, but how does he get the language? Undo means what in Russian? I chuckled inwardly. Even the shortcode wouldn't help him. He stood up and hit the desk in frustration.

"Ta-da! Looks like someone is confused!" I snickered walking into the lab. "What happened, Sidd? You don't know Russian?" I mocked then tittered.

"Argh! Damn you!" He exclaimed maybe angry or frustrated.

"Aww! What are you going to do now?"

"What is your problem, Rani? You know this is important. Do you have to play with everything?"

"Play? Was I playing? Don't you know reading is also important when you distracted me from it?" I retaliated.

"You are such a devil's advocate, get off my way!" He said angrily pushing me off the way and storming out. I continued laughing. What he will do next doesn't matter to me at the moment, just having fun with laughter.

The following day, I was to deliver a speech to the class. I moved forward facing the students. I'm not good at fumbling with words, and I'm fully ready for the speech.

"Good day, students!" I greeted. "Today, we're going to be treating the concept of a Growth Mindset. As we all might know, the concept of a growth mindset has gained widespread recognition and attention in recent years as a key factor in personal and professional development," I started.

"Can I ask a question?" Sidd raised his hand.

What? I haven't even started, and he has a question. Was that why he came to sit in the front row to distract me? Oh, God, he is certainly going to take revenge on me for ruining his computer work yesterday. Then this speech is useless. It's automatically sabotaged.

"What's your question, please?" I asked, pretending to be polite.

"What did your mind tell you before you decided to deliver a speech to us?" He asked.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing, continue," he gestured.

I ignored him. "As I was saying, coined by psychologist Carol Dweck, a growth mindset refers to the belief that one's abilities and intelligence can be developed and improved through effort, perseverance, and learning from failures."

"Have you learned from your failures before?" Sidd interrupted and the students laughed.

"Sidd, I won't have you ruin my speech, what's wrong with you?" I scolded.

"Can't I ask questions?"

"You are asking silly questions."

"Continue, Rani, we are listening," Aditya, one of the students encouraged.

"Thank you, Aditya. In contrast, a fixed mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence are fixed traits that cannot be changed or improved upon. Understanding and adopting a growth mindset can have profound effects on various areas of life, including personal growth, academic achievements, professional success, and overall well-being."

"Do you practice it yourself too? Because I haven't seen any changes of a growth mindset in you," Sidd interjected again and they were another bout of laughter.

"Sidd, do you want to take over?" I asked pissed off.

"I'm just saying the truth, besides, your mind hasn't changed from being the same as when you were a baby, so I'm wondering why you haven't started growing your mindset yet," he stated and the students continued laughing.

I couldn't continue, the laughter wouldn't let me. I can't remember what I was to say next.

"Continue, Rani," Naomi, another student urged.

Now what do I say? I have lost track of my speech. "Um, like I was saying, when we are, um, I mean..."

"She is now confused because her mindset hasn't grown out of confusion," Sidd mocked and they all laughed. The speech was sabotaged. I scuttled out of the class. I should have known, I wouldn't have volunteered to do it. Sidd is a maniac.

The following day, I was at the campus gym simply stretching when Sidd and his friends came along. He pretended he didn't see me, and I did the same thing. I continued with my stretching. I was wearing a sports bra with leggings, overall, my wear was okay for a workout. Soon, two people came along. The campus has many students, but I recognized those two. They were part of the bad guys' team on campus. Bullying the freshmen and taking it hard on old students. I have never crossed their part, and I hope they don't cross mine. Sidd positioned himself for weightlifting. He took hold of the barbell. His two friends took their position on weight pulling machine and dumbbell lifting respectively. The two guys too were lifting dumbbells. After some minutes, Sidd sat up. I was already on the treadmill.

"Hey, guys!" He called out. They all looked at him. I don't care what he was going to say, so I didn't look his way. "Have you all noticed that we only have a single lady in our midst?" He asked. Now I was interested. I looked their way, and I saw all eyes on me. My heart banged a bit, but I composed myself. "What should we do with her?"

"She looks hot!" One of the bad guys said.

"We can feast on her. No one is here except us," the other bad guy contributed.

" I was thinking the same thing," Sidd said.

Now I got pissed off. I stepped down from the treadmill and walked up to them. "Are you guys indirectly talking about me?" I asked, looking at each of them in the eyes.

"Wow, she's full of confidence," one of the bad guys chuckled.

"And you Sidd, what are you trying to do, huh? Besides, what do you mean by a feast on me? Do I look like a meal to you?" I rebuked.

"Guys, I will think we will leave her in your care," Sidd said to the bad guys and stood up. "Buddies, let's go," he said to his friends and they turned to leave.

I pulled him back. "You are going nowhere, you get? You are to explain to me what you mean by feasting on me," I demanded.

"Why don't I answer the question, I was the one that said it," one of the bad guys interjected.

"I think your fight isn't with me anymore," Sidd whispered to me and they headed out.

The bad guys moved closer to me, I took a step back. "Look here, guys, I don't know what you want from me, but I'm warning you, if I get a scratch on my skin, you won't like your next life," I warned. They wouldn't stop coming closer, while I was left to walk back in fear.

"Let's see how that goes," one of them said.

God, please save me. As he tried to grab my arm, Manu, Aditya, and Kimberly came along.

"Hey, Rani!" They all waved and then paused.

"What's going on here?" Manu queried.

The two bad guys looked at them. Now we are four, let's see how they feast on us all. "Let's go, dude," one of them said and they hurried out.

I sighed. "Come on, girls! Let's rock the tools!" I exclaimed and they cheerfully joined me.