Harvey and Randy arrived outside the meeting hall. Campus was relatively quiet that evening, so not many people saw them. It was fairly typical for the middle of the week at the beginning of a semester. Most students had nothing really to do, so they hung out in their dorms and kept themselves busy. Harvey, on the other hand, was being kept plenty busy by his classwork to be involved with the society. He opened the hall door and was met by a visibly excited Mandeep.
"Oh, Harvey! You went above and beyond and wore a turban! That's so thoughtful!" he exclaimed, "I bet that Professor Martinez will be thrilled when he sees this in the report. You'll be bound to get that A in no time!"
Harvey smiled, "Thanks, Mandeep." He hadn't even been thinking of the grade when he put it on, but having assurance that he'd be getting credit for it was excellent news.
The other man spoke up. "Hi, Mandeep." he said.
"Hello!" replied Mandeep, still in his giddy mood. "How is the new semester treating you?"
Randy started talking about his new classes with some relative excitement to Mandeep, as if they were long-term pals. Harvey slinked away from their conversation, politely excusing himself as he gathered his bearings by looking around the hall. He saw Gurpreet, standing by the wall talking to a couple of others. Other than that, there weren't many people here. A few people paired off or standing by a wall on their phones. A few tables were set up with chairs around them, but no one appeared to have claimed any yet.
A voice with a thick accent startled Harvey as he realized he was being spoken to. He shook his head, "Sorry man, I didn't quite catch you."
"Ah, sorry. I was asking if you knew what our indoctrination was tonight?" the man repeated. He was clearly a first year student, very young looking and relatively weedy. He was wearing a plaid button up shirt with a bow-tie, and some khakis. His face displayed youthful features, free of wrinkles entirely and with patchy stubble.
"No, I don't know. Gurpreet told me earlier that it was a surprise. He did promise good food, though!" Harvey said, trying to give the kid some kind of an answer. It worked, as the man smiled.
"Yeah, I've heard that the guy who cooks for these events is top notch!" He replied. An awkward pause followed, "I'm Satvinder, by the way," he mentioned as he stuck out his hand for a shake.
Harvey grabbed it and gave a firm grip, not expecting Satvinder's to be weak. "Harvey," he said.
Satvinder was a bit surprised. "Ah, I wasn't expecting you to have a name like that." he said, and realized when he saw Harvey's facial expression that he'd made a faux pas. "Err..," he stammered, "Not that it's a bad name! It's just surprising, that's all!"
Harvey awkwardly laughed, "It's fine." he said despite the discomfort. "I'm gonna try and look for my friend again. Take care Satvinder." he said, as Satvinder nodded and walked away.
Harvey scanned the room, seeing Mandeep alone now. Where could Randy have gone off to? He scanned the room and didn't see him anywhere. He decided to go talk to Gurpreet to see if he had seen him.
Gurpreet was happy to see Harvey approach. "Hi Harvey!" he exclaimed. "Glad to see you're here!"
"Glad to be here." Harvey said, being polite. "I'm interested in what surprises you mentioned earlier."
Gurpreet smiled. "Yes, this is the first time we're having an initiates event. I'm very excited."
Harvey decided beating around the bush wouldn't help him any. "Have you seen my friend that I came in with? Another white guy, a little taller than me, wearing athletic gear?"
Gurpreet was taken aback for a second. "White...?" he muttered to himself. After a few more seconds of pondering, he answered. "Sorry Harvey, I didn't see anyone matching your description. It'd be easy to see someone here dressed in workout gear, but I haven't seen anyone. Maybe check the kitchen? Don't eat anything yet though, as good as it may smell!" he laughed again.
Harvey nodded, "Don't worry, I saved my appetite like you said, but I can hold out. Even if it smells divine." he laughed, as he waved goodbye and started heading to the kitchen.