Shadows of the Geek

Chapter 1 - The Nerdy Girl

"Oh, I shouldn't have gone there." Hiya repeated this in her mind, even while looking at the laptop screen.

She arrived in the big city for a three-day event. Currently studying computer science, she saw this event, conducted by leaders in the IT field, as an excellent opportunity to learn and familiarize herself with upcoming trends. Her college selected her and her classmate Swathi to attend.

They are both 20 years old. Both are very studious, however, they have entirely opposite characteristics. Hiya is always focused on her studies. She has never had a boyfriend, nor does she go to parties, drink, or smoke. She is always thinking about algorithms and programming. Outside of her studies, she plays some nerdy games.

Swathi is a contrast to Hiya in every way. She is a social butterfly who enjoys the company of others. She's had numerous relationships, many of which were short lived ones. These days, though, she's been seeing one guy for several months. This hasn't deterred her from being flirtatious or showing interest in other guys. Swathi has a reputation for juggling multiple relationships concurrently, but she's always been candid about her lifestyle.

Hiya is a short girl with medium length hair. She just ties the hair to the sides always. She never takes much care for her hair or the body. She wears high waist baggy jeans. One can always see many ink spots on her jeans. Then she wears very loose tops and tees. So no one can actually make an impression of what's inside. She wears glasses with a very thick frame and she has her earphones always plugged into her ears.

Swathi wears attractive clothes. Her latest hair cut was a hot news among the boys. Last time she made them crazy was when she did a tattoo on her cleavage and posted them on Instagram. The way she flaunts her assets, even many girls were dreaming about intimate moments with her.

When their tutor nominated them for this event, Swathi took the initiative. She told Hiya that they could stay at her friend's place, who is four years older than them and lives with a colleague.

After the event, Swathi and Hiya were picked up and taken to a house party. Hiya was not interested. However, the atmosphere of the party made Hiya feel uncomfortable to the point of feeling sick. The party was teeming with boys and girls, some of whom were drinking, smoking, and using drugs. Some were sitting in intimate postures. When Hiya tried to find solace on the balcony, she came across two girls and a guy in an intimate situation. A few boys then began to approach her. At this point, she decided to leave immediately. She booked an Uber and returned to their place.

Back at their place, Hiya found it hard to concentrate on her laptop. The brochure from the event seemed to dance before her eyes.

“I shouldn't have gone there”, she repeated to herself.

She decided to take a quick shower. Dressed in an oversized white tee and blue shorts, she tried to focus on the notes she had taken on her tablet during the event.

Her phone chimed, it was a text from Swathi,

“Babes..we will be late. Don't wait for us”.

Feeling irritated, Hiya started playing her favorite fantasy alien war game.

The doorbell interrupted her game. She opened the door to find a tall guy holding a rose. She raised her eyebrows and held her glass frame with left hand.

“I'm Thara's friend. Where is she?”

“They are not here. They will come very late only”

Hiya was about to close the door without waiting for a reply. But he interrupted.

“I need to see her. I will wait here.”

“Wait, let me call my friend and ask her.”

Hiya tried Swathi multiple times, but she wasn't reachable.

"I can't reach my friend. Call your friend and hand me the phone."

"I tried to reach her several times, but she wasn't answering. We had a fight, and I need to fix it. I need to see her. I can't go on without seeing her... please."

Finally he convinced her to allow him to sit inside.

Then she went back and started playing again. She put her earphones back.

He tried to ask her something, but she didn't hear him. Even though she knew he was trying to communicate, she ignored him.

He came and stood next to her and watched her playing the game. She was an expert in it.

He looked down and stared at her thighs which were visible. His mind took a different path for a few moments. Hiya’s question brought him back to reality.

“Do you play this game?”

“Not this one..but a very similar one”

When he mentioned the name of the game, she became excited because it's one of her favorites. She then asked him to sit on the stool next to her.

His eyes were wandering again and they stopped at her thighs again.

“What are you thinking?", Hiya didn't realise that he was looking at her thighs.

“What…eh?” He was stammering.