Aera

"Hey mom, don’t worry—I’ll be fine," I say as I arrive at the university. I know, guys, you’re all probably wondering: who am I and where am I? So let me introduce myself. My name is Aera, and I’m from India. I’ve come to New York's State for my higher studies because some so-called relatives live here, and my uncle is a professor at the state’s number one university. So yeah—this is where I’ll be studying from now on.

My aunt and uncle asked me to stay with them, but I refused. Why? Ahhhh, fuck it—I just don’t like them or their so-called rich attitude. I don’t want their favors, so yeah, I’m living in the dorm.

It’s almost time for my class, but Uncle Devid personally asks me to meet him first. Like—why the fuck? Can’t I just go to class? But no, he wants to show off in front of the other professors.

I knock on the door and hear my uncle’s voice: "Come in." After hearing that, I open the door and slip inside the office.

"You called me, uncle?" I ask.

"Yes, dear. Welcome to my office," he says.

And I’m like—what the fuck is wrong with him? Did he hit his head somewhere? My uncle being that nice? Wowww. I force a smile and say, "Thanks, uncle. Why did you call me here? I mean, I’m running late for class," I say, dying to leave as soon as possible.

"I just want to tell you that if you ever have any problems, come to me. After all, I’m a professor here," he says.

And my blood starts to boil. I was  right—he just called me to show off his position. I fucking swear, if my mom hadn’t told me to behave myself, I would say something that he wouldn’t be able to digest. I fucking play along.

"Yeah, uncle. Sure. If you don’t mind, can I go now?"

"Yes, dear," he replies, and I leave without saying anything else.

I head to the classroom that an old man shows me during admission. I walk in and hand a piece of paper—my admission letter—to a man who looks like a professor.

"Welcome to the class, Miss Aera. I’m Steve Max," he says.

"Thank you, sir," I reply. I don’t really like interacting with people.

Then he turns to the class and says, "Attention everyone! We have a new student with us. Please welcome Aera."

As soon as he says that, everyone’s eyes turn to me, which is a little panicking—but I manage to smile and say, "Hello, nice to meet you all." They all greet me as well.

The professor points to an empty seat, and I make my way in that direction and sit down. I’m sitting in the last column’s fourth seat near the window, and I’m happy about it because the seat next to me is empty—maybe no one sits there. I am looking out the window because I am bored, and some motherfucker is staring at me like I’m a ghost or something. But I don’t give a fuck about them.

As time passes, it is finally lunch break—but guess what? I don’t know the fucking way to the canteen, and I am starving as hell! I don’t want to ask anyone, but I have no other option. So I ask a boy who is standing a few steps away from me.

He looks fucking hot—I can’t even describe his look. He has a sharp jawline, fair skin, dark green eyes, long dark eyelashes, pink heart-shaped lips, a muscular build, and tattoos on his left arm. His height is around 6’4 or 6’5—the kind every girl dreams of. Oh God, I need some holy water!

He is standing with his friends—mostly girls. Yeah, fucking girls—because I’m not one of them. I clear my mind and walk toward him, then ask, "Hey, excuse me!" He looks at me, and just one look from him makes my heart want to leap out of my chest. His eyes are deep and dark.

I ask, "Can you please guide me to the canteen?"

After hearing me, he answers, "Go straight, then take a right from there." His hot, deep voice is echoing in my mind.

I say, "Thank you," and leave before I can throw myself at him.

I take my food and go to an empty table, sit down on a chair, and start having my lunch. During all this, I also notice that boy from earlier—he is having lunch with his friends too

I try to focus on my food, but my eyes betray me, wandering back to him again and again—drinking in the curve of his lips when he talks, the way his fingers drum lightly on the table, the way the morning sun seems to make everything about him glow a little more golden.

I’m completely mesmerized.

Until, suddenly… his eyes flick to mine.

Shit.

I snap my gaze down to my plate, heart skittering like a drum in my chest. Damn it. Was I staring too long? Did he notice?

Oh god, I think he noticed.

Panicked and flustered, I mutter a quiet curse under my breath and gently smack my forehead. Smooth, Aera. Real smooth.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch his smirk.

He definitely noticed..

After finishing lunch, I head to the classroom, but the moment I enter, I notice something strange. Many of the students are looking at me like I am an alien or something. I just ignore them and went to my seat, only to find something is wrong with my chair. I get the hint—the way they are all staring at me, I can feel their gazes digging into my back.

I push my chair with my foot—and guess what? It is broken. Some motherfucker who doesn’t even know who the fuck I am tries to mess with me. I also notice glue on my desk—fucking glue! I am furious at this point, but I calm myself and pretend not to give a fuck. I take my stuff, replace my broken desk and chair with a new one, and sit down like nothing has happened. Just wait till that motherfucker piece of shit meets me—I’ll show them the real me.

A few weeks passed, I am fucking trying to find out who is messing with me, but I can’t—no one sees anything. Fucking no one! That’s so ridiculous. And that’s not the only thing that happens to me these past few weeks. I even realize that the boy I ask for canteen directions is actually in my class—fuck yeah, he is—and his name is Kaden volkov. I get to know many things about him through gossiping, so yeah, I kinda know about him and his friends.

But still, I have my pride. I haven’t approached him yet, and maybe I’m not even thinking of doing that in the future—doesn’t matter how hot or how famous he is at the university.

One day, I am coming back from the library. Don’t think I love to study—nahhh, I hate it—but what can I do? I go near my chair, and the view pisses me off. I decide I won’t leave those fuckers alone this time. They rip my bag and tear my notebook. I look around and notice three or four girls laughing and smirking. They look suspicious.

So I start provoking them by saying, “Who the hell did this? Who’s the fucker?” My voice is loud enough to scare them. “If you don’t have the balls to face me, then why the fuck did you do that? Motherfuckers hiding like cowards—don’t you have the guts to show your face, or are you just spineless pieces of shit?”

Before I can finish my sentence, one of those girls comes at me, and the others follow behind her like servants. “What the fuck do you think you’re—” Before she can finish her sentence, I grab her by the hair and smash her head on my desk. Seeing this, the whole class turns to look at us. One of her friends tries to touch my hair—I just grab her hand, twist it, and slap her face.

“Don’t you fucking dare to touch my hair,” I say in an angry tone. Seeing that, their other friend doesn’t dare to come near me.

“Don’t you fucking dare to mess with me,” I say as I pull the girl—whose head I’ve smashed—closer to me. Her head is bleeding, so I just cut it off there. It hasn’t even been a month since I get here. I take my stuff and leave the classroom.

The next day, I am called by the professor to his office. I am a little worried, because I come here to study, but if anyone tries to mess with me or bully me, they’ll see the worst side of me.

I knock on the office door and go inside. “Did you call me, Professor?” I ask, standing in front of him. The girls are already present there.

“I hear what happens in class yesterday,” the professor says. “Any explanations?” he asks.

Those fuckers start crying. “Sir… sir, she beats us without reason.” Fuck it—I hate it when someone lies.

“That’s not true,” I say.

“Then can you explain, Miss Aera?” the professor asks.

“Yes, sir, it’s true I beat them—but not without reason. They’ve been bullying me since the day I arrive. And this time, they cross the line,” I say while taking out my notebook—the one they ruin. “They destroy my whole work. That’s why I lose my mind and beat them.”

“Are you all accepting your crime?” the professor asks, but gets no response.

So he says again, “Okay, then we’ll check the CCTV footage. Let’s go,” and is about to get up from his seat.

“No, no, please sir—we do this. We’re accepting it,” one of them says.

“So, you are admitting your fault. You need punishment to learn from your mistakes,” the professor replies.

“No, please sir—we’re sorry.”

“That’s not enough for what you all do. So, Miss Aera, you decide what punishment to give,” the professor says while looking at me.

“Me?” I question, not believing it.

“Yes, you,” the professor confirms.

“Then they can clean the classroom for two weeks,” I say.

The girls’ eyes nearly pop out. “Interesting—but why cleaning?” the professor asks.

“Because they love creating messes so much, they need to learn how it feels to clean it,” I say, glaring at them.

“Okay then, you may go, Miss Aera,” the professor says.

I thank him and leave for the class. As I enter, all my classmates look at me like I’m a murderer. Kaden is one of them. He isn’t just looking—he’s staring at me. But I ignore him and go straight to my seat

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