Varun had a strong aversion to all the usual first-day activities, primarily because he tended to get nervous on such occasions. Traveling from his home, he had to take two buses to reach our college, 'Nivedya College of IT.' Varun's excitement grew as he observed the banners and posters welcoming freshers outside the college. This was also the first time I met Varun.
Students were rushing towards the portico where the batch list was displayed. Varun managed to make his way to the front of the crowd and began scanning the list to find his name. My name was not easy to locate as there were five different batches. However, Varun found his name, Varun K Srinivas, in the 'E' batch list. He quickly glanced at the list to see if there were any familiar names. He recognized Ravi Chandran, his schoolmate. We used to affectionately call Ravi "Arnold," not because he resembled Arnold Schwarzenegger, but because he was well-built despite having a single family pack instead of the six-pack abs.
Suddenly, the bell rang, and it was the second bell, indicating that it was time to head to class. Varun was about to climb the stairs to the second floor when I put my hand on his shoulder and asked, "Hey, do you know where the 1st-year BSc. Computer Science Section E is?" Varun looked nervous, thinking I might be a senior trying to rag him on his first day. He hesitantly turned to me and replied in a low tone, "I'm sorry, sir, could you repeat that?" I reassured him, "No, I'm not a senior. Do you know where the BSc. Computer Science first-year Section is?" I could see the relief on his face as he realized I was just another new student. He explained that he was also new to the college and was placed in the same section.
We introduced ourselves to each other, and there was something special about Varun. He stood around 5.7 feet tall, was physically fit, had a fair complexion, and had a friendly and cheerful demeanor. We made our way to the second floor and managed to reach our classroom in time.
As soon as we entered, the bell rang, and we noticed a brief moment of silence in the room before all the students jumped up and stood still for the morning prayer. We spotted the only three empty seats at the last bench in the middle row, and, humorously, those became our designated seats for the rest of the year. The classroom was filled with 42 students, 18 girls, and the rest boys. After the morning prayer, all the students began chatting and taking out their new books. Varun and I, on the other hand, were busy trying to spot the most attractive girl in the class. Just as we were settling in, the class teacher walked in, marking the start of a new academic year.
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