The tour wrapped up with the usual corporate PR slideshow, group photo, and faculty yelling at students who wandered too far.
The Beacon didn't blink again.Not once.
Vicky kept checking it, tapping it in his pocket like a broken Bluetooth device.
Nothing.
Not even a tiny pulse.
By the time they got back on the bus, he was confused, frustrated, and slightly pissed.
Kiran leaned over from the next seat."Bro, what happened? You look like the bus AC is hitting your soul."
"Nothing da… just tired."
But his brain was replaying one moment on loop—
Her face. And the name on the access card.
He hadn't processed it earlier, but now—Now it hit him like a lightning bolt.
He shot up straight in the bus seat.
Kiran jumped."Machaaa! What happened?!"
"The name…" Vicky whispered. "I didn't realise earlier. The card said… Rilu."
His own voice sounded strange.Like he was saying something he'd been trying to remember his whole life.
"Found her…" he breathed.
That Night — Operation: Social Media
He opened Instagram.
Typed:Rilu.10 million results. Not helpful.
Rilu O…Nothing.Rilu Os…Still nothing.
Facebook?Nothing.
LinkedIn?The only "Rilu O." belonged to a 54-year-old accountant in Poland.
Vicky slammed his phone on the bed.
"Bro how did I find every MCU villain's Instagram but not one girl from TCS?"
Kiran, from the upper bunk, peeked down."Who you searching? Katrina?"
"Close enough," Vicky muttered.
It made sense now—Of course he never found "Rilu Osbo" before.She wasn't on social media at ALL.
So he had exactly one option:
Offline search.
Following Her (Bad Idea #47)
For the next three days, Vicky "accidentally" timed his movements with TCS intern entry/exit timings.
It wasn't full stalking—At least that's what he told himself.
He kept a distance.Just observing.
She walked like she was on a schedule.No giggling with friends.No gossiping at the tea stalls.No selfies.No slowing down.
She'd exit the campus → take the same route → board the same electric MTC bus → get down near Red Hills.
Every time.
Kiran eventually noticed.
"Dei. Why we are coming to TCS three days in a row ah? We joined SRM, not TCS."
"Field research," Vicky said.
"For what? MBA entrance tour ah?"
"…Kiran… please."
Kiran rolled his eyes."Love failure loading."
Day Four — Disaster
Vicky followed again, keeping distance.
She turned into a quieter lane.He followed, checking his phone to look less creepy.
That's when he heard:
"Ey! Oi! Who are you?!"
A group of three local men standing near a shop.One pointed at him.
"That fellow… he's been following her for days."
Another guy stomped forward."You North boys think South girls are free ah? Dei come here!"
Vicky froze."Ah no! I'm—I'm not—listen—"
A hand grabbed his collar.
His stomach dropped.
"I swear—this is misunderstanding—"
"Shut up and come here—"
And then a voice cut through the tension:
"Hey! Stop. He's with me."
Everyone turned.
Rilu.
She walked toward them, calm but clearly irritated.
One of the guys backed off."Is it? He was trailing behind you—"
She nodded sharply."He's a junior from my office program. Orientation tasks. Why are you questioning him?"
The men exchanged looks.
"Okay, okay, if he's with you… sorry ma."
They walked off, muttering.
Vicky exhaled like he'd just escaped a lion.
Rilu turned to him.And she was NOT happy.
"Are you insane?"
He swallowed."I… I wasn't—uh—following you. I mean I was but—not in that way—just—"
"Do you want to get beaten up?" she snapped."Or arrested? Why are you following me?"
Vicky searched for words.Any words.
"I… just wanted to talk," he said helplessly.
She stared at him for a long moment.
Her eyes weren't angry anymore—They looked confused.Suspicious.
But not scared.
"Talk?" she repeated."About what?"
He opened his mouth—
Nothing came out.
How was he supposed to tell her?"Oh hi, you appeared in my nightmare time-travel death-vision and shattered into glitter"?
She sighed."Listen. Don't follow me again. Chennai is not safe for… whatever you're doing."
She turned to walk away.