FIVE Ravi

FIVE

Ravi

The last time Ravi was at Amir's frat house for a party, he was a first-year at Hartceller. An hour before the party was set to start, there had been a torrential downpour, and Amir had called in a panic. Their brilliant plan to save the party was to go to Home Depot to buy the biggest tarp they could find along with half a dozen tent poles. They managed to tie the tarp to the gutter and prop it up with the poles, covering a significant portion of the backyard. They even squeezed in three rounds of beer pong before the weight of the tarp pulled the gutter off the house.

As Ravi looked out at the familiar backyard, he spotted a bit of white metal in the corner. Yup, half of the gutter was still broken from that night.

He grinned as the memory replayed in his head, along with a dozen others he'd had with his friends. Ravi loved parties not because of beer pong that resulted in broken gutters like the one in Amir's backyard, but because they gave him the best stories. He enjoyed spending time with people who made him laugh, who gave him memories to tell his friends back home, and who distracted him from reality. He refused to feel guilty for partying, because he planned on collecting as many stories as he possibly could.

Hopefully, the story for that night would include his study-room rival. Ravi doubted she'd stick around for long, though. From the little he knew of her from their brief encounters, it seemed like every bone in her body was serious. He'd noticed the way she meticulously set up her study space and barely left her computer when she sat down to work. He'd also run into her at the information desk in the student center. When she wasn't helping people with a smile on her face, she was engrossed in a textbook.

If he had to guess, Jessie would hold the same drink for an hour, make an excuse and try to slip out the back, and then disregard her safety by walking home alone.

"What's up?" Sahdna asked. She'd been standing by his side, holding a red Solo cup. "You keep looking at the back gate."

"Just wondering if anyone else is going to show up," he said in Hindi. He motioned to the packed yard. "We're going to get shut down if anyone else comes."

Sahdna bumped him in the arm. "Are you sure you weren't keeping an eye out for study-room girl? Your Jessie Jaissi Koi Nahin?"

There is no one like Jessie.

The name of a ridiculous South Asian TV show that was a remake of Ugly Betty. Except there was nothing ugly about Jessie. She was beautiful. Her hair was a thick, shiny black waterfall that fell between her shoulder blades. She looked great in whatever she wore, which was usually jeans, white sneakers, and a faded T-shirt with writing on it. His favorites included quotes from Taylor Swift, Back to the Future, and a nineties RB song. They were all probably thrifted. Not that thrifting was a bad thing. At a private university like Hartceller, thrifting was trendy. But to Jessie, it was probably just another way to be practical and save money.

Ravi turned to face Sahdna, the one person he felt like he could talk to honestly about what was going on in his life. "Why are you asking about my study-room rival?"

Sahdna tilted her head to the side, her long, silky hair sliding over her bare shoulders, hanging like a curtain against her black bustier corset. "Because you can't hide anything from me," she replied in Hindi. "Not when we know each other so well."

That was true, he thought as he took her cup and sipped the god-awful beer. Their parents operated in the same circles, which meant that Sahdna was very aware of secrets. She was also the first person he'd hooked up with on campus. It didn't work out, but they'd remained friends. There were too few people in their tiny universe, and it was important to keep the ones he could trust despite their complicated histories.

"She's interesting," Ravi finally said. "She's in my seminar class."

"The gen ed you've been putting off?"

"That's the one," Ravi said, handing back her cup. "She focuses so hard on all the material and takes all these notes. I mean, as far as I can tell from where I'm sitting, she's taking notes. And she has such a regimented study schedule. She is way more serious than anyone I've ever met."

"Even you?" Sahdna asked, raising a brow.

He thought about her question, about all the work he put into his classes. The As that he collected like Pokémon cards. School was something that was solely for him. His exams and papers, all of it was out of his family's control. It was proof that he was good enough to do whatever he wanted. But from what he'd observed of Jessie, he was in the minor leagues. Just from watching her, he could tell that she studied like this was her Hail Mary, her final chance at succeeding. There was no safety net for her, and she knew that with every bone in her body.

"Yes, she most definitely takes college even more seriously than I do."

"Then maybe we should have some fun to help her loosen up, no?"

Ravi was already shaking his head. "Leave the poor first-year girl alone, Sahdna."

"Please," Sahdna said, switching back to English. "I don't play mean-girl games, even though that's what people expect from me. I'm saying you should do some sort of a dare or a gamble. Fight for the study room for the year. See if she's brave enough to take you on and if she wants it that badly. Then you can be rid of her and spend your time with people who are more your speed."

The idea had merit. Only because it would be interesting to see if Jessie was determined enough to play a game with him. But he shook his head.

"If she gets the study room for the year, then I lose out on the little bit of entertainment I have, which is fighting her every Monday to block out the room."

"Irritating me is entertainment?"

Ravi stiffened, then turned to see Jessie and her roommate standing at the edge of the lawn.

"Busted," Sahdna said. She stepped forward and wiggled her fingers in a hello. "I actually don't know your name," she said to Jessie's roommate.

"Tanvi. Nice to meet you." She lifted one hand and wiggled her fingers in a tentative wave.

"Do you want a drink or something?"

Tanvi's eyes brightened. "Yeah, that would be great."

Like the traitor she was, Sahdna winked at Ravi and walked away with Jessie's roommate. That left Jessie and Ravi standing alone at the perimeter of the party. Ravi knew that there were people who were watching out of the corner of their eyes, wondering who the hell Ravi Kumar was talking to. In that moment, he really didn't care. All he could focus on was the fact that Jessie was wearing a dress for the first time in the three weeks that they'd known each other. It fell just below her knees and cinched under her breasts. She still wore the same white sneakers, though. The contrast between the Jessie he knew and the one standing before him was like a magnetic pull that drew him closer to her so he could take in all the details. The way her hair curled at the ends, the graceful lines of her throat, and the soft scent of vanilla.

"You look nice," he said.

She tugged at the hem of the dress. "Thanks. Tanvi made me wear it. She said something about how a nice dress can turn around a bad day."

Ravi motioned to his friend with the universal symbol for drink and then angled his body to hide hers so there was less of a chance that people would interrupt their conversation. "Why are you having a bad day? You didn't have to fight me for the study room. It's the only day when you get it all to yourself."

The corner of her lip quirked. "We got our grades for the first writing assignment in the seminar class. I think the last time I got a C was in elementary school. She hated everything about my piece."

"Ouch. What was it about?"

"Getting into college."

Ravi thought about the assignment and remembered Professor Barnard's comments in his paper. He'd written about a moment when he'd unintentionally made someone cry. "Let me guess," he said. "Not enough emotion?"

"Yes! Why, did you get that, too?"

"Yeah, it was the only feedback she gave me." Professor Barnard had loved the rest of his paper enough to still give him an A.

She leaned back and gave him a skeptical look. "What did you get on the assignment?"

"A pretty decent score," he said. Great.

Jessie rolled her eyes. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"No," Ravi said, even as he tried to stifle his smile.

"Why not?"

He leaned forward and tugged on the end of her ponytail. Her eyes widened as if in shock, as if she wasn't sure she liked it or was horrified he'd had the audacity to pull her hair in public. "If I tell you the grade, then you're going to assume that I didn't work for it, or you're going to think that grades don't matter to me. Either way, I lose."

Her shoulders relaxed even though she crossed her arms over her chest. "I guess that's fair. I don't mean to, it's just—"

"I'm the son of a tech billionaire, and I'm part of an engineering family. I got it. You're not the first one to question my motives, Jessie. I know I'm privileged. But I earn my grades."

"'Lo," Vik said as he handed a can to Jessie first then to Ravi. Continuing in Hindi, he said, "You're the girl that takes Ravi's study room."

Jessie's expression was one of confusion. "I don't understand Hindi."

"You're South Indian?" Vik asked.

"No, Punjabi."

"Do you speak Punjabi, then?"

"No, my parents spoke English at home. I understand a little bit of it, though."

"Oh," Vik said, nodding. "Biracial."

"Full racial," Jessie replied, her shoulders stiffening. She popped the tab on her drink and took one long gulp. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if you were that girl who's taking Ravi's study room," Vik said.

Jessie glanced at Ravi, then nodded.

Vik faltered, as if he was confused Jessie wasn't defending herself. Ravi had to hide his grin.

"We're just so surprised that anyone would have a beef with our man Ravi," Vik said smoothly. "He's like Mr. Nice Guy. Everyone loves him. Even those who don't speak Hindi."

"Vik," Ravi said sharply.

"What? I'm just saying." He looked Jessie up and down as if he couldn't understand why someone who didn't speak Hindi was at the party. Ravi hated when Vik acted like an elitist prick. He, like so many other South Asians at the school, believed language fluency was what made someone sufficiently South Asian, which was such a bullshit barometer. He almost told Vik to cut it out when Jessie responded to his question.

"I booked the room fair and square," Jessie said. "I'm not taking anyone's study room." She turned to Ravi. "Is that what you were talking about before I showed up?"

Ravi took a sip of his beer. "Yeah. Sahdna was suggesting that we do some sort of a challenge to fight for the study room for the rest of the year. Winner takes all."

The last thing Ravi expected was for Jessie's eyes to light up. "You mean you wouldn't book the study room again? I don't have to get up at 6:00 a.m. just to make sure that my time slots are in?"

"I mean, that's the idea of a challenge, but I don't really think—"

"I think that's a great idea!" Vik said. "Hey, guys!" He motioned to a group of friends standing next to the back door near a keg and a table filled with pizza boxes. "Ravi and the freshman are going to do a challenge to fight for their study room. They're going to do a nerd-fight smackdown!"

Ah shit.

"There is no challenge," Ravi called out, hand in the air.

"If this is for a study room in the library," Deep said from the growing crowd, "we should go through the back even though the library is still open. I still have the keys from work. Security and cameras don't cover the employee entrance."

Ravi looked down at Jessie. "Just ignore them," he said.

"As long as I don't get in trouble, I'm game. I just won't do anything that could jeopardize my scholarship."

"The freshman is game!" Vik shouted. There was more cheering.

Another voice called out, "They should go in Davidson Tower! Whoever stays inside the longest wins."

A hush swept over the crowd, and someone said, "Shit, that's haunted."

Ravi watched in surprise as Jessie nodded along.

"Have you heard about the legend of Davidson Tower, freshman?" Vik asked.

"Of course," she said. "There was a fire, and rumors about people being inside even though there were no bodies found."

Vik leaned in close to her face, wiggling his fingers as he spoke. "It's more than that. Apparently, an Indian woman set the fire. She fell in love with the son of someone who worked in the university. But she was caught in an embrace with her lover by someone she trusted. That person told her parents, and being the traditional Indian family they were, they reacted by arranging her marriage to someone back in India. But the night before they were going to pick her up from the university, she sneaked into the tower and set fire to it with her lover inside. Neither of them were ever found."

"It's just a stupid legend," Ravi said, interrupting Vik's dramatics. It was always so jarring to hear that the woman who died was a Desi immigrant. He felt a connection to her that he wasn't sure why he felt in the first place. And now, when he looked down at Jessie's curious expression, he felt his heart beat faster. "It's a ghost story that some auntie or uncle probably made up to get their kids to focus on schoolwork instead of dating."

"I have grandparents who went to Hartceller who said that the story is real," someone called out from the back of the crowd.

"I'm willing to spend some time with ghosts," Jessie said, her voice cool and amused, as if she didn't believe in ghost stories at all. She turned to Ravi and stuck out her hand to shake. "Deal?"

His phone buzzed. "No deal."

"Fine," she said, and dropped her hand. "Then I get the study room."

"No, that's not going to—" His phone buzzed again. He looked down at the screen and saw that it was his father's chief of staff. Victor never called unless there was an emergency.

"I have to take this," he said. Ravi gave Jessie a pointed look. "No deal."

Even as he pressed the phone to his ear, his friends were shouting to everyone, "To the library for the first ever Hartceller nerd smackdown!"

He moved away from the crowd. "Hello?"

"I see that you're studying hard," Victor said, his voice droll.

"It's a Friday night," he said. "Is everything okay, Victor?"

"I'm calling to find out why you have declined all three meeting invites I sent you to discuss your internship options."

"You're seriously calling me this late on a Friday night to discuss work?" Ravi almost hung up on the man. His obsession with making money for someone else was terrifying. He was afraid he'd be expected to do the same for his father. Just waste away in an office.

"It's important to your family that you start to develop a sense of direction," Victor replied. "You haven't shown any aptitude for—"

"I'm literally the top of my class," he snapped.

"In media studies," Victor replied with disdain. "With a minor in genre fiction. I don't know what's worse."

Ravi closed his eyes and listened as Victor gave him the same speech his father and brother had given him. It seemed like everyone these days was telling him exactly what he was responsible for, and no one cared what he wanted.

He let Victor ramble for almost five minutes before he realized that the yard was quiet. He turned around and saw that the once-happening party was now an empty relic of cans, cups, and pizza. Where did everyone go?

"Victor," he said, interrupting the speech on an opening in the R and D department. "I'll talk to you later. Please don't call unless someone is dying or filing for divorce."

He hung up, then jogged up the stairs and into the house. Sahdna and Tanvi were in the kitchen, standing close together, speaking quietly to each other. "Where did they go?"

Tanvi looked up, her smile slipping. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be at the library with Jessie?"

"Is that where they went?" He looked at Sahdna and put his full can down on the island. "They have this stupid challenge, and Jessie just went along with them?"

"She's very competitive," Tanvi said, nodding like a bobblehead. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright as she motioned to the door. "My roommate always feels like she has something to prove. I love that about her, though. It makes me want to be better myself."

"Shit." He turned, then raced out the door and jumped down the steps. The library was only two blocks away from the house, so he made quick work sprinting across the courtyard. When he made it to the front of the library, two of the guys who were at the party were vaping out front.

"Where are they?" he asked.

One of them pointed around the side of the building.

Ravi didn't waste any time. He cut through the grass, jumped the retaining wall, and jogged across the empty parking lot until he reached the service entrance. He'd only ever seen it when he was in one of the humanities buildings that faced the rear of the library. Just as he reached the door, his group of friends came out laughing and shushing each other like drunk fools. For god's sake, it was only ten o'clock.

He scanned the crowd and saw that Jessie was missing.

"Where is she?" he asked, his voice hardening.

Vik giggled. "Man, I bet you she's going to piss herself."

"What are you talking about?"

"We thought it would be funny if we locked her in there," Deep said. He was grinning as he shut the service door with a loud click. "The guard will be down there within the hour, but by then, she'll be so scared she's going to stay away from you, brother."

If he punched someone, he knew that it would be all over campus in minutes. But his heart was pounding so hard that he knew he just might take the risk. "Give me the card," he said evenly.

"We can't do that—"

"Give me the key card!" he roared.

Deep startled, probably because Ravi had never yelled at anyone before. He tossed him the lanyard with a set of metal keys and a key card on the end. The crowd was quiet now.

"Get the fuck out," he said to them all. He'd worked so hard to maintain an image of easygoing friendliness, but right at this moment, he couldn't give a shit what people thought about him.

"Dude, we were just having a little fun," Vik said. He scoffed. "I mean, she's a nobody who probably has a thing for you like every other woman who—"

"Don't ever talk about her like that again."

Vik's mouth fell open. "Ravi, what the hell, man?"

"You have no idea who she is," he said, as he tried to reign in his anger. "Look, just go back to the party."

He didn't wait for Vik or the rest of them to reply. Instead, he sidestepped the group, scanned the badge on the service exit, and yanked the door open. He was down the stairwell and into the bottom level of the library in half a minute. Even though it was dark with only the recessed lights to guide the way, he was able to make it to the doors of Davidson Tower within a minute.

Ravi's heart began to race when he didn't see Jessie through the glass. He almost expected her to be waiting for him, with tears and panic in her eyes. Instead, there was no one standing on the other side of the doors. He slapped the key card over the sensor to the far right of the doors and yanked it open. There was a whoosh, almost as if he had released a pressure chamber.

"Jessie!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the multiple stories of dust and doom. "Jessie!"