Crossover Fic - The Idiots' Club: Chapter 03(A) - PG:11

THE IDIOTS' CLUB

0.1

'This is all because of you!'

'And I guess you were just standing there examining your nails huh?'

'You-' a look of disbelief flashed on his face only to be replaced with unadulterated anger in a split second, 'don't talk to me like that!'

'Oh yeah? What will you do?'

'Do not mess with me Sanyukta Agarwal.'

'Don't flatter yourself so much, Randhir. '

'GOD! How annoying can you be?'

'Not any more than you-'

'QUIET YOU TWO!'

Vardhaan Suryavanshi's voice boomed across the hall. Annoyance oozing out of his stance, his long strides ate up the ground as he neared them, but instead of lashing out like they had expected, he turned towards his office and disappeared behind the formidable looking doors.

Randhir's shoulders relaxed. He turned towards the girl beside him and sent her a look of pure loathing. Sanyukta glared at him back and turned to look towards the empty corridor. It was past five o'clock, and apart from the few dedicated students who were either planning to go to the library or to the study hall for a round of intense study session in lieu of the impending exams, it was deserted. She felt him twitch and huff in annoyance, and glared at him some more. He glared back at her. They glared at each other.

'Come in.'

Randhir's jaws hardened as he thought about what lay ahead. That was the third time this month that they'd been called to the Dean's office and he had a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. Pointedly ignoring her, he knocked on the door before stepping inside. Not wanting to appear like a coward, she walked up to him.

For some reason, Randhir seemed to have frozen on the spot. She gave him a little push, but instead of a reaction she felt the tense muscles of his back. For a second she thought he wasn't even breathing.

Rising on her toes, she looked into the office from behind his shoulders.

The first thing she noticed about the man sitting in front of Vardhaan Sir's desk was his posture. This was the first time she'd ever seen anyone sit like that in the Dean's office, leaning back on the chair slightly with his legs crossed. She expected Vardhaan Sir to make a caustic remark about it like was his habit, but instead his eyes were focused on them.

'Randhir, move.' She hissed at him, but that daft idiot seemed to have zonked out completely.

'Randhir Singh Shekhawat, I don't have all day.'

Randhir jerked at Vardhaan Sir's angry tone, and entered the office (walking like a zombie, Sanyukta thought to herself). If she also noticed the way his hands had closed up in a fist, she ignored that and looked at the Dean instead.

'You two are suspended for two weeks.'

That seemed to pull Randhir back from whatever cataleptic stance he seemed to have been in, and he barked. 'We can't miss our lectures, Professor! We have exams in two weeks and-'

'You'll keep quiet or I'll make you type your own rustication letter and make sure you don't step in another college again!'

That shut him up, and whatever satisfaction Sanyukta felt at that was quickly dashed at the Dean's next words.

'You don't have something to say, Miss. Agarwal?'

She gulped down the cotton ball which had lodged itself in her throat and looked at the Dean. Pretty sure he didn't want to listen to whatever she had to say.

'I'm sorry.' She hoarsely whispered, already thinking of ways to get out of his mess unscathed, especially without the suspension hanging over them like an axe.

'Well,' Vardhaan took off his Ray Bans and quickly cleaned it before donning it on, 'I am sorry, Miss. Agarwal, for I'd really like to say that I'll miss having the two most brilliant students of this college in my lab class, but I can't because for starters, YOU IDIOTS HAVE BURNED HALF THE LAB DOWN!'

This time both of them flinched simultaneously, unconsciously huddling closer. PKC had fainted once when Vardhaan had unleashed his vocal chords on him for messing up at the Robotics Fair, and hadn't stopped apologizing for it for the whole two weeks after that, keeping out of Vardhaan's way for the next three months that followed.

They were 19.

'Sir-'

The man got up, cutting off her apology. This close he looked familiar. He was tall, looming over them making him more formidable for a man his age, and adjusted his blazer. Randhir was looking out of the window.

'I'd like to talk to Randhir alone.'

'No!'

Vardhaan's gaze hardened at the sharp retort, but the man spoke up. 'Fine. Look at me.'

Sanyukta had moved out of the way, and was desperately wishing someone would ask her to leave. Randhir didn't budge.

'Look at me, Shekhawat.'

He didn't.

'Randhir Singh Shekhawat, you'll look at me when I'm speaking to you.'

Surprising Sanyukta, he did. She'd never seen him yield to threats like that before.

'I don't appreciate putting my money down the drain.' Randhir's eyes flashed. He opened his mouth to speak but the man was already turning away from him and towards her.

'And I don't think a trust fund kid like you can afford to pull off shenanigans like this either, Miss. Agarwal. I'll take your leave, Sir.'

'Safe trip, Arnav.'

Three things registered at once.

1. She hated him.

2. Randhir visibly relaxed the moment he went out of the room.

3. The familiarity clicked.

Arnav. He was Arnav Singh Raizada.