Game of Extermination

That day, at lunch.

Aditya and his roommates are sitting in the cafeteria. Without them even knowing they had already formed their clique. Even with the weird looks that Suraj got, they didn’t feel repulsed enough to kick him out and managed to laugh it through.

They just finished eating and put their plates away before they started discussing the clubs.

“If you are looking for girls, I think the dance club has the most of them. Why didn’t you go there?” Venkat asked Suraj as he looked at the brochures they had collected.

“Because I cannot dance at all. I would embarrass myself.”

All three of them looked at him with an expression saying ‘Really?’, after all, the way Suraj is going… he really doesn’t need anything else to embarrass himself. Just being himself is more than enough.

“Come on, Sanjay. You need to join the Theatre club.

With your good looks and that hunk of a body, you can get the main character and you can get all the girls. I heard there are many girls from the Computer science in the Theatre club, they are extremely beautiful you know.” Suraj once again put his infinite creeper wisdom at work.

Sanjay just gave him a side-eyed glance and replied.

“I am not going to join. I am going to the Volleyball club. I played volleyball since middle school and I really enjoyed it. I am not going to join the theatre club for such a stupid reason.”

“Come on, man. You can do both. I am pretty sure the theatre club members will agree. They can’t say no to that pretty face. And with your pretty face being there, I can use that to get some girls.”

Sanjay didn’t bother anymore.

Aditya looked through the club brochures. Contrary to his expectations, Venkat had more information about the clubs than Suraj.

“Why on earth would you research all the clubs?” He asked Venkat.

“Well, at my school, club activities were not really a thing. So, I just got excited and it ended up like this.”

Venkat said while pointing at the giant spread of brochures. Apart from the female-exclusive clubs and some special clubs, he has everything else on the table.

Aditya nodded and asked about one club that caught his eye.

“What is this SAE club about?”

Venkat’s eyes brightened.

“I am applying for that club.

SAE. Society of Automotive Engineers. It is a perfect club for people who are interested in Aeronautics, Aerospace, and Automobiles. It is an international organization that deals in these areas. There are hundreds of thousands of members worldwide and our university also participates in the SAE activities.

They are really good at the Baja India program. Participants from different colleges make a car with some specific conditions.

They also participate in other competitions. But the problem is the club is a bit on the expensive side. Even though there would be some funding from the school, we need to pitch in some money if we need to make the car and other expenses for the competition.

But the addition of this certificate in the resume is really worth it.”

Aditya looked through it and listened to Venkat’s explanation.

“You said they will make the car. Where do they do that?”

“There is an SAE club room with some equipment, it is mostly open after college hours, they mostly stay late in campus and sometimes they work overnight.

They also have access to all the manufacturing workshops in our department.”

“Really?”

“Yes, they have a lot of perks, but the criterion for joining is also very strict. A lot of people apply every year. So, it would be hard to get in.”

Aditya looked through and thought for a moment.

“Is there a Demo of some sort?”

“Not really, if you want to take a look, all you need to do is get there after the classes are over and take a look around. They don’t have any shortage of new blood wanting to join them. In fact, there are quite a few students who joined our college just to be a part of this club.

Every year, the recruitment process goes on for so long because so many applicants.

But if you wait for this, there is a chance you would go without joining any clubs.” Venkat said. He is so excited that Aditya could swear that he saw his eyes glowing like fluorescent bulbs.

“If you are so interested in joining it, then why are you looking at other clubs.”

“I am not confident in making the cut, so I want to look for a few alternatives.

There is no rule stating that you can only join one club. I want to look for a club that doesn’t need my presence at every day of the week so that I can join it first and then try for the SAE. That way, I will have a contingency.” Venkat explained

“So, what do you want to join now?” Aditya asked.

“Literature Club. They study literature and they also write. But it is not exactly popular. After all, this is engineering, people don’t come here to become writers and critiques.”

“But they become one anyway. After all, most artistic fields in India have at least one skilled person who does engineering. You can never know.” Aditya replied and everyone smiled. That is really true.

There are too many engineers in India at the moment and they are doing great in other fields, in fact, more so than their own fields. No one knows what an engineer might become.

Aditya thought for a moment and said.

“I will apply with you.”

Venkat was surprised and smiled in glee.

“Really? I really wanted to ask you guys, but I didn’t know how you would react.”

“You should have asked and you would have known how we would react,” Aditya replied.

“So, what club do you want to apply for?”

“Both of them, actually. I want to follow your plan. Try to get into SAE and take Literature club as the contingency.”

“Oh my god. Thanks. I would have company then. When do we go?”

“Afternoon, we don’t have any classes after 3 PM. What about you?”

“Me too.”

“Let us go then.”

With that the talk was concluded and all four of them went to class. They met again at 3 PM. Sanjay went to the volleyball club. Suraj went to be a pervert and chased some skirts in the club, while Aditya and Venkat went to the literature club.

The club room is actually within their department building on the top floor where there is an empty room.

The room is large and there are some tables placed here and there. There are some bean bags, some stools and a wooden shelf with books in one corner.

There is only one guy sitting in the room at the table.

He is a tall guy who has a deadpan expression with a pair of glasses.

“Are you here to join?” He asked them.

“Yes.” Venkat answered.

“I am Vikram. But are you here to join full-time or use this as a backup?”

Aditya and Venkat looked at each other with a surprised expression.

“Backup it is then.”

They couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed.

“Don’t worry, I am not judging. The literature club is the most passive club and is the only club that doesn’t care about recruitment, demos, and stuff.

We don’t need you to pay much of a membership fee. But there is a catch. If you are a normal member, who likes to read and exchange your views about the book or even write and get the opinions of others, you need to buy at least one book for the semester and place it in that shelf.

But if you want to use this club as a backup option, you need to buy the book now and place it there. If you didn’t make it into SAE, table tennis, cricket, or whatever your dream club may be, you can join this club and continue as a member, there are no particular restrictions whatsoever.

If you make it into your dream club, you can quit this and get lost, but your book stays here.” Vikram explained as he looked at them calmly.

Aditya is really surprised by this. He didn’t expect such an arrangement to be here.

It seems like they are not the only ones who wanted to use this as a cushion to get into other clubs.

Aditya and Venkat exchanged a glance and agreed to join.

“Can we bring the book tomorrow?” Venkat asked.

“Of course, you can get it by the end of the week.” Vikram said and then gave two slips of paper to both of them.

They looked at it and frowned.

“They are the books; the current club members prefer. We will post the list on the board outside the room today and if any of the books come in, we will strike that out.

So, if you are buying it later, then take a look before you do and don’t waste your money unnecessarily buying the same book again. Because, we wouldn’t accept it.”

Both of them nodded and took the forms before leaving.

“Let’s go to the SAE club,” Venkat said and led Aditya out of the building.

They went to a separate building deeper into the block. There is a large shed with a bunch of scrap metal pipes outside.

There are a bunch of people from their batch already getting in.

Venkat and Aditya followed them and got surprised by the view.

There is a large viewing platform in the middle of the shed where some people are wearing the welding gear and putting a roll-cage together. On one side there are a few workbenches with a bench grinder, bench vice, and such.

There is a roller bending machine, a few Arc welding sets, a gas welding set, some cutters and there is a bunch of equipment. But there is some scrap metal at every place and some tools could be seen here and there.

The members of the club didn’t even seem to notice the freshmen who appeared and just went on with their work. Of course, most of them are just talking nonsense while drinking soda.

One guy came towards the freshmen and said.

“You guys can take the forms there at that table. If you want to look around, do so. But don’t disturb working seniors if they don’t want to talk to you. You can ask questions, but if they reject you the first time, just don’t bother them and ask others. A lot of them play a role in your entry into the club, so don’t push your luck too much.”