Aditya and Manasa finished the breakfast and went back to the main block where the open air auditorium in which the whole ceremony is going to take place.

He gave up on finding his roommates as he looked at the large crowd constantly moving. He decided to find them after the ceremony is over.

“After this main ceremony, the seniors rag and haze juniors for a while. I wouldn’t be staying with you, go find your friends and enjoy it. Even though they make you do some embarrassing stuff, it would be fun.

But do not under any circumstances go to the rear of the Mechanical Engineering Block.”

“Why?”

“That is where the C-gang operates. That area is off limits for the rest of the day.”

“The C-gang?”

“Yes, they are the ones that started the gang culture in the whole college.

They are a group of hotheaded idiots who think they are better than the rest. Just because they belong to some upper caste. They are the worst kind of scum there is in the college and even the best of them wouldn’t be good when they join the gang.

So, stay away from them. They would be pretty drunk and you wouldn’t be able to endure what they make you do.

Nobody comes and rescues you from their hazing.

If it was any other sophomore from our department, you can give out my name and they will cut you some slack. But if it is them, don’t even bring it out. You will get an extra beating along with the usual hazing.”

Aditya just shrugged at her words. He has not intention of getting ragged.

He would stay for a while until afternoon and watch the performances before leaving to the room. He needs to prepare for the next round and he needs to gain the increase in attributes no matter how miniscule they are.

If not for the fact that he came to an understanding that he might die in any round, he wouldn’t have decided to enjoy these small joys. He decided to come here and watch the ceremony and the performances for that very reason.

After this was done and he was done with the meeting in the club room, he would be gone.

He enjoyed the dance and the plays and the singing.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

After the ceremony and the performances were over, he went to the SAE shed along with Manasa.

There the club president, the Senior Year student is currently explaining the details of why they gathered.

Every year, the college festivals will happen across the state and even the country. Even though the dates will be moved a bit back and forth, they are bound to happen annually and the seniors had to take the competitions to win some prize money so that they could fundthe projects they are working with.

The freshmen are now being selected to be assistants of the Sophomores and the Junior year students for some of the competitions that involve them making models and multiple team members.

And since Aditya already agreed to Manasa’s proposal, he doesn’t have to participate in the whole thing and just needs to be present.

Venkat was also there and he was chosen for a series of competitions. The competitions are related to the engine dismantling and assembling them.

He is really excited about that.

After that was done, Aditya decided to finish the lunch and go back to the dorm.

They called Sanjay and Suraj.

But only Sanjay answered and arrived. They kept on calling Suraj as they went to the cafeteria.

“When is your freshman game?”

Venkat asked Sanjay.

“At four. Be sure to be there. I am going to smash the ball into those smug sophomore faces.”

“Why are you angry at them? It has barely been a week since you came here?”

“So what? They are so full of themselves, they are trying to attach me to the bench just because I am a fresh man. I am not going to let that happen.

I will beat them so badly that they would feel embarrassed to even show their faces to me again.”

Aditya and Venkat didn’t even bother to reply. Sanjay doesn’t speak that much normally. He is a soft-spoken guy, but for him to be this aggressive, they can only attribute it to those sophomores.

They kept on trying to call Suraj, but he is not picking his phone up.

“You guys were together throughout the ceremony, right? Where did he go?”

“I don’t know. I went to the club in the middle of the ceremony. “ Sanjay said.

“He said that he needs to meet someone and ran away. I don’t know where he went either.”

“Which direction did he go?”

“In the direction of our block. Why?”

Aditya widened his eyes in disbelief.

“Holy Shit.”

He hurriedly stood up and called Manasa.

“Where are you?”

“Outside the Cafetaria. Why?”

Aditya didn’t even reply and ran out to meet her.

“My roommate Suraj is not answering his phone and Venkat said that he walked towards our block.”

“Shit. What did he say when he left?”

“He said that he had to meet someone. Why?”

“Then it is definitely C-gang. He is screwed.”

Venkat and Sanjay came out and looked at both of them with puzzled expression. Manasa called someone on her phone while Aditya filled them in.

Manasa was done talking on the phone and asked.

“Is he slightly fat and short?”

“Yes.”

“Then he is there. But it will be troublesome.”

“Why?”

“They are doing something they call the freshman ceremony. It is their C-gang version. They will take the freshmen to an empty room and mix the new C-gang freshmen along with likes of your friends and make them do weird things. If you go there and interrupt them, they would go berserk.

There would be a target on your back for the rest of the college.”

“What would they make him do though?”

Aditya was more concerned about that. Apart from being a little perverted, Suraj is a decent guy. He really doesn’t want him to get screwed over for the rest of his college life.