Chapter 3- "Reality" check

The shaded path to the classes now stood like her mode of support to lead her to that room, it gave her comfort to know that the scorching sun wouldn't be able to kill her even if he wanted to... The warmth in the air kept growing stronger each day...But when she had that little gush of wind against her hair.. she felt no despair..

Settling in just felt truly right..

Going through the same charade every day felt light...

Parasites din't disturb her thoughts of feeling good....

Lectures din't demotivate her from any good... 

Everything is now like she wanted college to be...

Every person she met fit in perfectly like they were meant to be....

She learnt to smile at this "shy guy" she thought she hated...

He smiled back at her... each time... like he really meant it... 

A few glances of friendliness passed each day...

Sometimes a hello just found its way...

The month of August went by, like it had no reason to just stand by...

She was now feeling like she had heard the best news ever.... She was given a room where all her friends hovered... 

She called and called till her balance was exhausted... The first call she made...

"Mummy, guess what???!!!!" Those exclamation marks will never justify how excited she was... 

She finally got to move into a block where her friends stayed, a single bedded A/C room. That's all she wanted! That's all her poor mom fought for when she came to drop her daughter into an unknown world of terror. These little things made her so happy that she din't realise... she was about to be given a gift... A gift every girl asks for, dreams about and lives for... She just needed to wait to watch that this dreaded place was going to become her dream... This warmth in the air would give her what she always wanted... It wouldn't be long before she got it all... she just needed to be patient just like the readers (That's you all :-) )

Another regular day she thought...

Teacher's day... One celebration every student seemed totally excited about... not for the teacher's of course... but for the holiday you would invariably get... It might not be a general outlook but a personal opinion that is felt...

The classes seemed more lively, the moment every lecturer entered the room, 60 of them stood... like a bunch of excited teenagers... "HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY" and then clapped for no apparent reason... clapped until the lecturers knew they had nothing else to say except a polite "Thank you"

The class wasn't done yet... the 60 of them, again.

Kept screaming till they were heard, loud and clear "NO CLASS". The teacher's din't really have much of a choice other than to agree to the student's demand..But wasn't it teacher's day? Aren't things supposed to happen the way a teacher wants it to? (Who are we kidding? We won't let that happen!)

Since, things were actually going their way, they decided to make the teacher's happy. Someone suggested we show off our talents... Dance? Sing? Mimic someone?? Cliche' yet entertaining.. 

Some songs made her snuggle under the tables so she could laugh, some songs touched their heart, some took the stage like a superstar but no one could do what he did... 

After a lot of pressure from the class, this shy guy made his appearance

He stood with his hands folded..stared at the floor like that's where he could look and after almost a minute of anticipation... he sang :-) 

"Oh Sanam, Mohabbat ki kasam" by Lucky Ali

Slight smiles in between, shyness reached its extreme

He sang to win everyone's heart...

He smiled and believed in his own heart... 

Every word in the song made sense...

Magical was his voice...that made the experience intense...

The moment he finished, she clapped, she beamed with her best smile and the entire class followed. She cheered him to make him feel confident, he looked at her and smiled to convey his thanks... 

She wasn't someone who kept quiet after she heard something so good...

"So, you are a singer huh? Great voice, lovely song"

"Thank you"

And the end to a teacher's day! 

Microbiology labs gave her a feel of what she was getting into with this course...That sweet yet unbearable smell from the bacterial cultures, that pressure cooker serving them as an autoclave that was never available... She always enjoyed her practical classes.... there was so much to do and no boring lecturer to listen to... streaking bacteria on a petri plate.... isolating cultures and giving them their right place... 

A voice then distracted her... from her regular chores... she turned to look and then there was this music flow... 

"I never really got a chance to introduce myself properly, Hello"

(Did he say hello??? So he knows how to start a conversation, she was excited but held herself back)

"Hi! I am Neha, Neha Singh, the girl from OU! "

(His smile was then the broadest of smiles she had seen, cute but she wasn't here to be fooled by it)

"I am Kishlay, I think u know that from all the introduction sessions in the classes."

(She clearly remembered each time she heard that name in the classes, it was so unique! she had never heard that name before, obviously she remembered but girls love playing hard to get)

"Oh! ya I must have heard of it"

(He knew she noticed but knew she had someone so din't push it)

"Can I get your phone number?" 

(She wasn't sure, so she blurted what came to her lips first)

"I don't remember my number, just took a new sim. Can I give it to you tomorrow?"

(He looked a little disappointed, probably cursing himself for being too open after giving her those shy smiles)

"No problem" he said

Last set of smiles for the day were exchanged....

Anxiety reached its peak...

Excitement simply beamed...

Thoughts ran day in and day out....

She knew she needed someone to talk...

What was she going to say? Why did she even pretend she din't know her own number? No one is that stupid yet he smiled like he believed it. Too many thoughts to process for a day....

She went to bed... thinking whatever happens...it's gonna be another new day...