Chronicles of a Tamil Freshman is a story series featured on tamilyouth.ca revolving around protagonist Tanya. Make sure to read Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 first!
Written by: Thagsana Rangarajan
Source : http://im.rediff.com/movies/2008/
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Tanya squinted her eyes, and stared in disbelief. She quickly began wiping the dry drool from her cheeks, and patted down her hair, which was beginning to resemble a chaotic afro.
“Of all the girls in the world, he had to be her boyfriend?! I’m starting to feel like Claire’s sole purpose in life is to sabotage mine,” Tanya thought, as her fist shook furiously.
“So, I guess I’ll introduce you two! Prithushan, meet Tanya, my roommate and long-time friend,” Claire began.
Tanya struggled to silence the burning fire in the pit of her stomach.
“And Tanya, this is Prithushan! He’s an Arts and Science Major. We’ve been dating for a few months now. Isn’t he just the cutest?!” Claire said, as she pinched Prithushan’s cheek.
Prithushan winced, as Claire stretched his cheek widely, as if it were an elastic band.
“He’s an Arts and Science Major too?! Great! We probably have even more classes together this semester,” Tanya thought, nervously. She began to think of ways to diffuse the awkward tension in the room, but her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by his soothing voice:
“No need to introduce us, Claire. I met Tanya this morning in ENG 1Q03. I didn’t know you two were roomies, though. What a weird coincidence,” Prithushan said, as he slowly looked up, making eye contact with Tanya.
Tanya diverted her gaze quickly.
“Oh, really?! Wait, was she the one you were telling me about? The loser that walked in late and got humiliated in front of the whole class? It totally sounds like something Tanya would do,” Claire asked, laughing slightly.
Prithushan nodded his head, and looked away shamefully.
Tanya couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She thought that Prithushan had genuinely felt bad for her about the entire incident, but all along, he was joking about it behind her back. He was exactly like everyone else. Claire’s laughter quickly filled the room.
“Just drop it, Claire,” he said sternly.
“Wow, are you two besties now, or something? Psht, whatever,” she scoffed.
Tanya looked down, and avoided eye contact with both of them. She was embarrassed, hurt, and heartbroken—all at the same time. She looked at her alarm clock, and noticed that it was now 2:05 pm.
“I should probably get ready for my next class—it starts at 2:30. I wouldn’t want to make the same mistake twice,” she said, sadly.
“Do you have Biological Processes next?” he asked.
“Right, he’s an Arts and Science Major,” Tanya thought, as she let out a deep sigh. “Yeah, that’s the one…” she responded.
“Sweet! I’ll see you there then,” Prithushan said, with a smile.
Tanya half-smiled, and waved goodbye as Prithushan and Claire left the room.
“Great, I have to see him again today,” she muttered silently.
Tanya began to brainstorm ways of avoiding Prithushan in their next class, but knew she was pressed for time. As a result, she ran with the first thought that came to mind. The soundtrack of Avvai Shanmughi began to play in the background.
She locked the door behind her, and started to disguise herself. Tanya wrapped her hair in a tight bun, and tucked it underneath a black baseball cap. She put on a pair of bulky, black-rimmed glasses that hid her feminine eyes. She then washed off her makeup, took off her earrings, and put on the baggiest pair of jeans in her closet. She finished the look with a perfectly drawn line-up, using her favourite eyeliner.
“There! Prithushan definitely won’t recognize me like this,” she said, satisfied with her disguise.
Tanya slipped on a sweatshirt, grabbed her backpack, and headed down her residence hall. She walked through the corridor of BSB (Burk Sciences Building), where she found room 365. This time, she decided to use the back entrance to be safe. She looked down at her phone, and checked the time.
“2:25 PM, phew! Now, I just need to make sure I don’t run into him,” Tanya thought to herself.
Tanya entered the lecture room, and found a seat near the back. She grabbed her notebook and a few pens from her bag, placing them neatly on her desk. Minutes later, Prithushan entered the lecture room, and begin climbing the stairs in search of a seat. He stared around the lecture room for a while—almost as if he were looking for something, or someone. Suddenly, he locked eyes with Tanya, and started walking towards her direction. Sweat began to trickle down Tanya’s forehead, when he sat down in the seat next to her.
She tried to avoid eye contact, but could feel his stare piercing through her. Eventually, she gave in, and turned to face him slightly. Her gaze was met by his warm smile again.
“Hey, man. It’s good to finally see a brown guy in this class for once,” he joked.
“Brown guy?! He actually thinks I’m a guy…” Tanya thought, stunned.
She deepened her voice, and tried to calm her emotions. “Err, yeah…I get what you mean, man. Nice to meet you,” she said in a raspy tone.
“Likewise,” Prithushan said, as he gave her a hard pat on the back. “Your name, brother?” he asked.
Tanya froze, and scratched her head as she tried to think of a name. “Err…Thanyan. My name’s Thanyan,” she said awkwardly.
Prithushan paused for a moment, and had an odd expression on his face.
“Great, my cover’s blown now. Thanyan?! Really?! The best you could do was to add an ‘n’ to the end?! You fool!” she thought to herself, angrily.
“Nice to meet you, Thanyan,” he said, as he nodded his head.
“Phew!” Tanya thought to herself. “Nice to meet you too, Prithushan,” she said, smiling.
“…wait, but how do you know my name?” Prithushan asked, confused.
Tanya froze.
To be continued…
Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this story are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Author
Thagsana Rangarajan is in her final year of a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical and Biomedical Engineering at McMaster University. In her free time, she enjoys writing short stories and hopes to publish a novel in the future.
Tags: chronicles of a tamil freshman, experience, series, short story, TAMIL, Youth
