As we reached the principal's office, Nisha was already inside. I stopped just outside the door, took a deep breath, and raised my hand to knock.

But before my knuckles could touch the door, I heard a loud sound from inside.

SMACK

I froze.

Wait... Did that Nishachar just get slapped? If yes, then there is no way I am missing this!

I slowly opened the door a little and peeked inside.

And yes, that witch had actually been slapped.

She was standing there with her head tilted slightly to one side and her right hand pressed against her cheek. I couldn't see her face clearly from where I was standing, but I was sure she must be frowning.

And honestly, I really wanted to see her face right now.

I was standing there with a smile on my face, enjoying the thought of seeing that witch's reaction, when I suddenly felt someone tap on my shoulder.

I got so startled that I immediately stood straight.

It was our professor.

He looked straight into my eyes and raised an eyebrow.

Oh, shit! What the hell, Yutika? Can't you control your curiosity even a little?

He simply walked past me and knocked on the door himself.

“Come in,” the principal said.

As the professor opened the door, the scene inside was completely different from what I had expected.

That aag babooli was now sitting quietly on a chair, while the principal sat on his own chair. It felt like whatever I had just seen was nothing but an illusion. Nothing had actually happened here.

My eyes narrowed as I looked at her.

“So this is where this girl learnt everything from,” I mumbled to myself.

“Miss Yutika Bora,” the principal called my name in a very polite voice.

I looked at him.

And honestly, that politeness didn't suit his face at all.

“Please take a seat.” He said pointing to the chair beside Nisha’s.

I sat without looking at that psycho.

The principal coughed again.

If he has a cough, at least he should have warned us, and I should have worn a mask. Then why is he talking with the virus? I thought, keeping a straight face and trying not to show what was going on in my mind.

“Miss Yutika Bora,” he said, looking directly at me.

His narrow eyes were fixed on my face. I straightened a little in my seat, suddenly feeling that all his attention was on me. I looked back at him, trying to appear calm.

“Well…” The principal paused for a moment before looking at me with a smile. “I am sorry on her behalf.”

He looked at Nisha and then back at me.

“Nisha Kalita, you apologize to her as well,” he said in a firm voice.

I looked at Nisha and then said, “Wait, sir.”

Both of them turned to look at me. Nisha, on the other hand, was staring at me like she was going to eat me alive.

Huh. Cannibal.

“Sir, if she doesn’t want to say sorry to me, then…”

“Wait, why wouldn’t she say sorry? She will.” The principal turned towards her. “Miss Nisha, didn’t you hear me? Say sorry to her,” he said in a stern voice.

“Sorry,” she muttered, barely loud enough for me to hear.

“Huh? What did you say?” I asked, looking straight at her with a blank face.

Her eyes narrowed, and I could tell she was trying hard to control her anger.

“Nisha, say so—”

“Wait, sir.”

I raised my hand towards him, stopping him in the middle of his sentence. Honestly, I had no idea where I was getting the courage to interrupt the principal like that. My heart was beating a little faster, but I tried not to show it on my face.

Both of them looked at me in surprise.

“Sir, first tell me why she needs to say sorry to me. Only then will I think about accepting her apology.”

I wasn't going to make things easy for her. After what she had done yesterday, there was no way I was going to let it go so easily. I didn't want to use my dad's name or power to deal with this. I wanted to handle it myself. And trust me, I knew I could do that.

“Sir, can you please explain why we are here and why ONLY MISS NISHA has to apologize to me?”

Yes! Finally, I had thrown their own bricks back at them. Now, all I had to do was wait for their reply.

I sat comfortably in my chair, waiting for someone to speak. But neither of them said a word. They just sat there, looking at me.

After waiting for a while, I sat up straight and rested my elbows on the table.

“Well, well. If you are not going to tell me the truth, then I have no other choice but to call my lawyer.”

“Lawyer? Why do you want to call a lawyer?” he asked, looking at me as if I had just said something completely unreasonable.

“Well, I think you know that better than I do,” I replied, turning my gaze towards the principal.

“Miss Yutika, please calm down,” the principal said, trying to keep the situation under control. Then he turned towards Nisha. “And Nisha Kalita, you better say sorry to her.”

“Well, sir, I have been asking the same question again and again. Why does she have to say sorry? Don't I deserve an answer?” I asked, my voice growing louder with every word.

This time, I almost punched the table in frustration. I clenched my fists, trying my best to hold back my anger. How much longer were they going to keep avoiding my question? Every time I asked something, he either changed the topic or told me to calm down or just simply told Nisha to say sorry.

They were literally wasting my time.

And the worst part? I was repeating the same words over and over again, like a broken record. Even I was getting bored of hearing myself speak. But what else was I supposed to do when nobody in that room seemed willing to give me a straight answer?

I looked from the principal to Nisha, waiting for one of them to finally open their mouths.

I wanted them to admit that whatever Nisha had done was wrong. I wanted to hear her say it herself, to accept that she had crossed a line. But before that, I wanted to make one thing clear. What she had done was not fun. It was not some harmless joke or a simple introduction between seniors and juniors.

It was ragging. And it was a crime.

But what the principal said next left me completely shocked.

“Well, it was just an introduction between seniors and juniors,” he said calmly. “She just took it a little too far, so she should apologize to you.”

For a moment, I just stared at him, trying to understand what I had just heard.

Just an introduction?

Was he seriously calling that an introduction? After everything that had happened, was that all he had to say?

I let out a short, disbelieving laugh and shook my head.

“What did you just say?” I asked, unable to hide the anger in my voice. “Just an introduction? Sir, she was clearly ragging me.”

“So what? It's the culture of our college,” Nisha slammed her palm against the table.

I glanced at her hand on the table before slowly lifting my eyes to meet hers.

“It's fucking ragging!” I snapped, “It's a crime! And you are giving it the name of culture?”

I didn't want to deal with it anymore.

I let out a tired sigh and slowly stood up from my chair. This time, I didn't bother saying anything more. I just looked straight into the principal's eyes, deciding to play the one card I had been trying so hard not to use.

“You know who I am, right?” I whispered, leaning closer to him so that only he could hear me clearly.

His expression changed slightly, but I didn't give him a chance to speak.

I was expecting him to do his job, to at least admit that what his daughter had done was wrong. But instead, he was busy protecting her. Fine. If he wasn't willing to listen to me as a student, perhaps he needed a reminder of who I was.

“Don't you dare let your daughter mess with me again,” I warned him in a low, cold voice. “Because I am more than enough to make all your lives a living hell. And trust me, you don't want to see that side of me.”

I held his gaze for another second, making sure he understood every word I had said. I had no intention of repeating myself, and I certainly wasn't going to stand there and waste any more of my time.

Without waiting for his response, I straightened up, turned around, and headed towards the door.

I pulled it open and stepped out of the office, shutting it loudly behind me.