The Brightest

Chapter 3: Him

Like every year, our university will be organizing the Global Business Forum. Everyone is busy for the whole week, but that's good for us. At least nobody will notice our activities for the next couple of days. Since Daria and I got to know this, crazy ideas have never left our brains. But we swore that we would definitely not experiment with these in practice. Otherwise, we both will be the bulletin on the student union page.

We both are crazier than others, so we didn't get the chance to represent our department despite being the best.

"Do you also feel that they are being mean to us? I mean, they can't do this to us. They can at least let us attend this forum." she asked while lying on the grass of the football field, where we usually go after finishing all our lectures for the day to get some fresh air.

"They are, indeed. But what can we do? Instead of being grumpy, use this precious time to retrieve the energy we haven't used for the past few weeks. Alright?" I said with a funny tone that made her laugh.

I also laid down on the other side. We were looking at the empty sky today. There were few clouds up there, making it seem more vast like this. We were in our world of daydreaming when a man's huffing sound disturbed us. I raised my head to see Puchi coming running to us. A new friend we made last month. He is such a nice guy. To be more precise, he gets neglected by everyone despite having a pure heart. We met him last month in a seminar for all the departments. He was sitting alone, and we had no other empty seats. So, we had to sit there. Our second encounter was when he was in the cafeteria, where the hot shots of our university were bothering him for no reason. Seeing us going to him made them drop their broad smiles because we were the craziest ones there. Nobody wants to get involved with us unless they want to ruin their future or want to get expelled. If all call us insane, they also know we can save ourselves from any situation better than anyone. This was how we became friends.

"You two are here lying on the grass stress-free. Do you both have any idea what is happening? You two are not attending the forum. Everyone in our department is repeating the same thing again and again."

"Would you mind explaining this?" He added while sitting near to our heads.

"Why would he let us attend it when we were the ones who beat him while thinking he was a thug." I answered

"Who?" He questioned as he looked more confused. I was about to explain further, but Daria interrupted.

"Mr. Smith. He was helping the girl whom someone robbed a few days ago. But we were so fast that he didn't get the time to explain that he was not the robbery man, and we started beating him."

"Later, we understood everything when the police investigated. We learned that he is a professor here, and he learned that we are the chaotic duo of the university. Now, he is the head of organizing this event and ensured that we should not enter here without his permission." I said after Daria finished saying.

"But it will give you more opportunities, as so many companies will be there to answer our questions. You both should request Mr. Smith. I am sure he will think about it." Puchi said.

"You are in business, so this should be useful for you. You should attend this. Stop worrying about us." Daria said to him while he was unsatisfied with the answer.

"No, I don't want to. You should be there as well. We are a trio for life. You also gave me this cute little name. Nobody cared for me, but you both did. I am not going there by myself." He said, on the verge of crying. Such a pure soul he is. His name is Sebastian, but since we were not serious about anything, we started to call him Puchi, and he didn't mind at all but was happy.

Daria and I looked at each other, trying to figure out what to say now. We laughed at him. He tried not to cry, but he gave up and started weeping. We thought he was acting, but we became serious when we saw his face.

"Oh my God, he is crying. What should we do now?" Daria whispered in my ear. I told her I would try to calm him down.

"Listen, Puchi. Stop crying. We will ask Mr. Smith and see if he allows us. OK?" I said.

"Really? That will be great." He asked after listening to me.

"You are my only friends, and what will I do when you won't be here for the whole four days? I want both of you with me on the day of Mr. Lovell's interview, " he added excitedly.

"Who is he?" Daria asked with curiosity.

"OH MY GOD!" he screamed, making us flinch. For a moment, he scared us. After giving us a what the f*ck look, he asked.

"You don't know Mr Lovell ?"

"So, his full name is Mr Rome Lovell. He is the youngest CEO of the year. All the other people in business want to work with him, but he is out of their reach. His father is one of the trustees of our universities. This year, he is coming here instead of his father. I want to see him once. Okay, now let's go. You both are also going to ask Mr. Smith. "He was happy, and we could see our Puchi's eyes were shining like he was dreaming about the day.

After two days,

"Puchi is calling again. What should I say to him?" Daria asked me.

"Just tell him that we are not allowed to come." I told her.

She was about to take his call, but he ended it. Just then, we received a text.

"If you both won't come, I'll never talk to you guys again. I am so angry at you. And guess what happened? No one is allowed to ask him any questions. The interview's questions are already set, I think. You are also not here. This is the worst day of my life."

He was excited about this day, but now, because of this, he is sad. We were thinking about what to do for him. Just then, something clicked in my mind. I gave Daria a smirk.

"What are you thinking of doing?" We knew each other too well, so she understood that I already had an idea.

I grabbed my phone and dialled Puchi's number. He picked up in a few seconds.

"When is it going to start?" I asked

"Within two hours. Why? Are you coming?"

"Of course, we are coming, Puchi. And please, sit somewhere near the stage and save one extra seat as well. OK?" I said to him.

"Why ?"

"Because I am saying so." After saying that, I hung up.

"What is it? Will you please explain?" Daria questioned.

"You said Mr. Smith will be the host, right?"

"He is, but why?"

"Because he will not be hosting it anymore. He must be tired after organizing everything," I declared, and she understood what I meant.

At the auditorium

Everything was perfect, and I was perfect, too. I wore formal black attire like a businesswoman and good makeup to stand out so people would hesitate to stop me. I got ready in the cab while we were coming here. I ensured to pick good clothes so nobody could recognize me, as I always wear baggy clothes.

I planned to replace the host. One of us could do this, but Daria seemed hesitant, so I had to. Our only friend is sad today, and we must make up to him. This was the only way I could think of to make him happy and have all his answers answered.

It was more than I thought. It looks like Mr Rome Lovell is a celebrity. There is media, and they are telecasting it, too.

"Good!" I said to myself.

I was behind the curtain, looking for the perfect chance to go on stage. It was easy for me to get here, or we can say less adventurous than usual. All the lights went off. I knew this was the time because I also had to invite that special guest of Puchi on the stage as well. I was about to go, but someone stopped me. I closed my eyes in irritation.

The lady was about to say something, but after looking at me, she asked.

"Are you going to host now?"

I nodded my head with a heartwarming smile. That was enough for her to let me go, and I was surprised it worked.

"Best of Luck." She wished me well.

I went on stage and heard the applause, which was actually for Mr. Smith. I could see our Dean's face drop. Well, that was good. I already had all the questions for the interview. I did steal it from Mr Smith before Coming here.

I greeted everyone with a professional smile. Most of them seemed satisfied with my new face on the stage, while some were confused about who knew me, like why I was there. Because it was live, they could not force me to get off the stage now.

"Good Evening, everyone. I hope I don't need to introduce myself as I am already famous on our campus." Everyone laughed at my statement.

"Today, we are here for someone special. Aren't we?

That particular person is someone our age who has achieved more and will do so in the future.

So please welcome the king of today's business who built his empire and our star of the night,

MR. ROME NOVELL. "

Everyone applauded, and he came on the stage.

His one sight was enough to make everyone gasp. They were like they had never seen a man like him before. He was muscular and was more than six feet tall. One look at his sharp and sparkling black eyes made every lady in this auditorium drunk. It felt like he was a walking work of art. He looked in his mid-twenties. His black suit looked expensive, and maybe it was worth thousands of dollars. His black hair was adding more to his personality. He was familiar with so many eyes that nobody could make him nervous. He walked confidently while his assistants stayed at the end of the stage. When everyone admired him, I searched for my friends and found them. I smiled at them, and they gave me a thumbs up. Then, my eyes landed on our Dean. He was glaring at me, threatening me with his eyes not to mess things up. I looked back at Mr Lovell, Who gave me his hand to shake, and I did before greeting him. I showed him his seat, and I took my seat on the opposite side of him.

I gave him a small smile, but I could feel his gaze on me. I shrugged it off and proceeded ahead.