Kcris & Jeena

I'll be your cocoon.

Jeena, then tells herself, "You can't cry. Jeena, you don't deserve to cry. Congratulations on the death of your relationship. Well, it wasn't much of a relationship... Isn't it? Being in love with a con woman is not something to be called a relationship."

Seeing, Jeena talk to herself like that, Kcris gets off the floor and stands next to Jeena, facing the mirror. Kcris instead of turning to Jeena looks at her through the mirror to tell her, "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Jeena."

Kcris can see Jeena smile through her pain in the mirror. Despite not having actual eye contact with each other, both are having an eye-to-eye conversation because of the mirror.

"Can I ask you something, Kcris?"

"Yes. Anything."

"How do you know so much about Alex? I knew her for years. I lived with her and slept with her in the same bed, almost every night. I practically breathed the same air as her and still knew nothing about her lies. How did you find out?"

"I hired someone to look into Alex."

"When did you do that, Kcris?... I mean... what made you doubt Alex?"

"You."

"Huh... What?"

"It's you, Jeena. You made me doubt Alex. Remember that day in the car, you said that you were a bit skeptical about Alex? That's when...based on your instincts. I trust your instincts, Jeena."

"Then, why did you ask me not to trust my own instincts?... Huh?... And when did you find out about it, Kcris? Were you going to tell me? Answer truthfully, please."

"Yes, I was going to tell you. In fact, I was in my office thinking about how to break this to you when Maria called and told me that you were missing. Amy told me you didn't go to college. The first place I thought of looking was here, your house. After coming here, I found that you already know. And for the matter of not letting you trust your instincts... I thought even if there was a slight possibility of you being wrong...Jeena I just want you to be happy. That's it. Nothing else."

"Kcris, am I that gullible? Can anyone toy with me and my feelings just like that? Even in college, I didn't fight back. I said nothing when those girls berated me and called me names. I just run away. I don't know what to do. Alex must have laughed every day thinking how smart she is to make a fool out of me. I want to cry... I want to cry, so bad. But I can't... I just want to hide in some cocoon."

Kcris holds Jeena's arm and makes her turn. Kcris then places her hand behind Jeena's head, slightly near the neck portion to pull her closer. Jeena automatically wraps her arms around Kcris' waist, burying her face into Kcris.

"You can cry now. Nobody is gonna see you cry. I am going to hide you till you feel better. I'll be your cocoon, Jeena. You can stay safe here as long as you want."

These words coming out of Kcris's mouth are not only making Jeena feel snug in Kcris' presence but also vulnerable. After crying for quite a while, Jeena separates from Kcris and this is when Kcris asks Jeena if she is okay.

"Yes. Thank you for being here for me. (Jeena after looking at Kcris tells her,) Your clothes are all spoiled because of tears and snot."

While wiping Jeena's face with her handkerchief, Kcris laughs and teases her, saying, "Ria used to mess with my clothes like this, all the time."

Listening to this Jeena, slightly stomps her feet on the ground and tells Kcris in a slightly louder tone, "I am not like Ria. I am not a child."

Kcris, while pointing at Jeena's legs, starts to laugh again and goes like, "Ria does the same when she is flustered."

Then Jeena angrily, asks Kcris if she wants clothes for change or not, and then, goes to find some clothes for Kcris to change into, without even listening to Kcris at all.

Kcris is contended to see Jeena feel better. Though Jeena is better now, Kcris still can't let her stay by herself. So, Kcris asks Jeena to come to Casey's house with her. Despite her reluctance, Jeena agrees to go. As it has been a long day, Kcris instead of cooking, orders in. After dinner, Jeena requests Kcris if she can sleep with her tonight.

"Fine... Give me half an hour. I have some office work to finish. After that, I will come and sleep next to you."

"Umm... Okay."

After finishing work, Kcris goes to sleep and sees that Jeena is already sleeping. Kcris tiptoes into the room and silently gets into the bed. A few hours into sleep and Kcris hears Jeena screaming because of nightmares. So, Kcris tries to wake Jeena up but fails. However, Jeena pulls Kcris closer and cuddles in. The next morning, when Jeena gets up and finds herself sleeping so close to Kcris, she immediately gets off the bed and this makes Kcris wake up and ask, "What happened? What's wrong, Jeena."

"I am sorry that you were disturbed because of me sleeping like that."

"Ahh! It's okay. It was better this way."

"Huh?"

"Of course, Jeena. You were sleeping fitfully because of the nightmares. So, when you cuddled and slept soundly, at least this way I was able to sleep without worrying about you tossing sides throughout the night."

"I am sorry, Kcris. Before going to bed I was thinking about a lot of things so maybe because of that, I..."

"Ok. Ok. Anyway, we are going to your college today. Get dressed. Those girls need to learn their lesson. You can't let them win."

"No, Kcris. There is no need for you to come. I'll take care of it myself."

"No, Jeena. This ain't happening. I am coming with you."

Seeing Jeena's angry face, Kcris tries to negotiate by saying, "Ok, I'll just tag along. You take care of it yourself. If need be then only I will intervene. I hope it's ok now."

"Okay. Let's get moving else I'll be late for college."

Jeena, after reaching college, goes straight to the co-ordinator for students' welfare and tells her everything that happened. After making Jeena sit in her office for half an hour, the co-ordinator tells her that Jeena doesn't have enough valid ground for her to file the complaint and hence, no action will be taken. Right when, the coordinator tells Jeena to leave, Kcris who has been waiting outside till now comes in and goes like, "Listen, ma'am. If you are not going to file the complaint and take the required action, we might need to take the matter to the university chancellor's office."

Looking at Kcris in surprise, the co-ordinator asks her who she is. In answer, Kcris goes like, "Someone who wants to see justice done. A college is supposed to be a safe haven for acquiring knowledge and not a place where you are bullied or harassed."

The co-ordinator is in full confidence as she has already talked to the chancellor about this matter and it's the chancellor who has told her not to consider Jeena's complaint. So, she boastfully tells Kcris, "You can go to whatever person you want to, but there won't be anything happening."

Kcris humbly smiles at the co-ordinator and tells her, " Ma'am, I apologize beforehand. It's nothing personal. And you also know that if a person in a position like yours, derelicts his/her duties, it's a grave offense which may lead to suspension and worse dismissal."

After saying this, Kcris walks out of the room and goes straight to the chancellor's office, where the chancellor's assistant asks Kcris and Jeena to wait. The chancellor has thought of doing the same thing i.e. first, make them wait and then tell them nothing can be done.

To no one’s surprise, Kcris has already been prepared for this. After 20 minutes or so when they are called in, Jeena tells the chancellor everything along with the names of girls whom she thinks are directly responsible for the incident. After listening to Jeena the chancellor goes like, "The coordinator whom you just met, works under my orders. If she said nothing can be done, it means nothing can be done. I don't know why you guys came here to waste my time. Your time may not be of any value but mine is. So, please just leave."

Jeena is getting angry, listening to the chancellor talk to Kcris like that. But, Kcris doesn't lose her cool and tells the chancellor, "The reason we came here was to ensure that the co-ordinator ma'am wasn't using her own discretion and was working under your orders when she refused to file the complaint. Ma'am, aren't you scared that if such an incident is reported by the media, it would tarnish not only your reputation but also bring shame to the name of National University? It would look really bad if tomorrow's newspaper headline is to say that the chancellor of National University denied her own student justice."

Listening to Kcris, angers the chancellor even more and she threatens Kcris by saying, "If you intend to malign such a reputed institution by false rumors, our lawyers will drag you to court for defamation. Anyway, you can't say that I did something wrong if there is no proof of you being here today in my office."

Jeena is silently standing there, just looking at both Kcris and the chancellor talking to each other more like threatening. This is when a girl, who is approximately the same age as Kcris, enters the room asking, "Am I late?"

"No. No. You are right on time. And ma'am chancellor, let me tell you something. As for the evidence...Ma'am, in case, you are worried about us not being able to get the footage from the CCTV camera outside your office, then you don't have to worry. I don't know how long you have held this office, but there are 5 to 6 backup points of this recording. And not only this, recordings from every camera installed in the university work in a similar manner. Among all these 5-6 backup points, one is directly under the surveillance of the Education Minister's office. So, I guess, it's to ensure that even the remotest thought of getting rid of any footage won't come to anyone's mind."

The audacity and conviction with which Kcris is saying all this is infuriating to the chancellor. But, this doesn't stop Kcris from saying further and she goes like, "Ma'am, (pointing towards the girl who entered a few minutes back,) this is Anisha, who is a lawyer by profession and... She has been one of the exchange students of older batches of the National University. If one of your own students goes against you, you'll end up in deeper trouble as it won't look any good. Anyway, thank you for your time, ma'am."

Kcris walks out of the office and following her, Jeena and Anisha also come out. Kcris while introducing Anisha, goes like, "Jeena, this is Anisha, a lawyer friend and also Ray's fiance."

"Hello, Jeena...(after turning to Kcris, Anisha says) Why did you call me? I know you don't need any help from me otherwise, you would have told me to prepare. So, why?"

Jeena asks, "Wait... Did Miss Anisha go to National University for college?"

Anisha helps Jeena by answering, "No, I was an exchange student here. Kcris, Ray, and the rest of her friends went here."

Jeena is now even more confused. So, she asks, "What... Kcris you went to college here?"

Anisha helps again by telling, "Yes, Jeena. Didn't you see her photograph on the board behind the chancellor’s seat? She is the gold medalist of her batch... University topper for that year."

Kcris interrupts Anisha and says, "Enough, Anisha. Your work is done here. You can go now."

Jeena is shocked to hear this.

"Huh... Kcris, don't we need Miss Anisha?"

Before Kcris can answer Jeena, Anisha slightly pats Jeena's back and tells her, "Don't worry. She only needed me to set up the stage. (Anisha then moves closer to Jeena and whispers in her ear,) Don't think too much, kid. I don't know what it is but, I am sure that Kcris has already got everything planned and in action. Trust her. If anybody tends to get on her nerves, she is the most ruthless and conniving person to deal with."

And then, Anisha leaves.

"Come on, Jeena. We are also going."

"Huh?"

Seeing the bewildered expression on Jeena's face, Kcris tells her, "Don't worry. Somebody from the chancellor's office will come running after us, even before we can get out of college."

Jeena is amazed at Kcris' confidence and also she has no option except to trust Kcris. To Jeena's surprise, Kcris' words do come true and they are called back to the chancellor's office. This time the tone of the chancellor is very nice and polite as if her entire confidence has been wiped off her face. Within a short period of 5 minutes, all the girls involved in the incident are brought to the chancellor’s office, even those girls whose involvement Jeena doesn't know about.

There are around 10 to 11 girls. When asked, all the girls pointed out three among them being the main architect of that incident. All the girls except these three said that they were only following what these girls told them to do and have nothing personal against Jeena. So, the chancellor lets all the girls leave except these three. The Chancellor then looks at Kcris and asks her, "Isn't there any chance that Miss Jeena can forgive the girls? Because, if not so, studies of these girls will suffer if they are suspended."

Kcris, who has been so calm all this time, is infuriated when the chancellor asks Jeena to forgive these girls.