Aaditya quickly slid the PSP into his backpack as Professor D.K. Kumar, known with much mirth and little affection among his students as Donkey, walked over to his desk.
'Mr Ghosh, you seem to be preoccupied today. Perhaps you could tell the class a little more about the impact the colonial system had on the Indian economy.'
Aaditya looked at the Professor, a smile on his face, as if he were about to answer. In reality, his mind was blank. Blasting enemy fighters while playing Ace Combat 6 on his PSP was about all he could remember of his Economic History class. He kept looking at the professor, hoping he would find a new prey, but he persisted. Then someone coughed, a few notebooks were slammed shut, and Aaditya found himself being rescued by the fact that the period was over. He heaved a sigh of relief and looked at Samrat, who was sitting behind him.
'Sam, thanks for the heads up.'
Samrat smiled, but behind his eager, bespectacled eyes, Aaditya could detect a trace of disapproval. Oh well, everyone could not be a bookworm like Samrat. Aaditya was about to leave the class when the professor called him over. Fearing that he was in for a lecture, Aaditya braced himself, only to be shocked when the overweight, balding professor smiled at him.
'Play your video games all you want, just not in my class.'
Aaditya wondered what he could possibly say in his defence when the professor continued, this time his smile taking on a sad tinge.
'I know it must be difficult for you. The principal had told us, but do try and adjust and let me know if I can help in any way.'
Aaditya mumbled his thanks and left, but was fuming inside. The last thing he wanted from anyone was sympathy. He barely noticed Samrat walk up next to him.
'Hey, what happened? Did you get into trouble?'
Aaditya looked down at Samrat who stood a good head shorter than him and was about half as wide across his shoulders. Aaditya figured that his imposing build was at least one reason why Samrat, long rumoured to be the small nerd everyone picked on, had befriended him when he joined his class. They wandered over to the basketball court where several boys were in the middle of a frenetic game. They sat down near the court, Aaditya wistfully looking on. When the ball bounced over to them, he picked it up and was about to hand it back, when an urge came over him. He looked at the basket and sent a looping shot that went cleanly through. Several of the boys on the court whistled and one of them asked Aaditya if he wanted to join them. But Aaditya mumbled an excuse and rejoined Samrat, a smile on his face.
'Man! That was some shot. Were you in your school team or something?'
'It's nothing. Come on, let's go grab a bite to eat.'
They sat down at a corner table at the cafeteria, eating their sandwiches when they were joined by another boy.
'Hey Sam. Hey Ghosh.'
The newcomer was Deepak, thin and wiry, with his customary iPod earphones plugged into his ears.
'Hey iPod.'
Samrat's nickname for him never failed to annoy Deepak. He grimaced and sat down. If Samrat was the bookworm, the word for Deepak, not to put too delicate a point on it, would be a lech. The unlikely couple were the best of friends, and in the two months that Aaditya had been in the college, they had become the closest things to friends he had in his new home.
Deepak immediately began scanning the cafeteria for likely objects of his attention. Aaditya heard him whisper, 'She's looking at me!'
The 'she' referred to Surpiya, resident heartthrob of most boys. Supriya of the long legs. Supriya of the impish smile. Supriya of the cute accent. And also, Supriya of the impossibly rich father and expensive tastes. That was a combination which put her firmly out of the league of her many admirers.
'In your dreams, iPod. She's looking at our own Mister Tall, Dark and Handsome here', said Samrat, gesturing towards Aaditya. Embarrassed, Aaditya tried to change the topic. The last thing he wanted to do was flirt with some girl in college. But then when Samrat nudged Aaditya again, he couldn't resist looking at the three girls sitting about a dozen feet away. Supriya was sipping a cup of coffee, but over the rim of the cup, she was definitely looking at him. Aaditya stared right back. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, then she turned away. Aaditya smiled to himself. Flirting was almost the last thing on his mind, but certainly not at the absolute bottom of the list. As on the basketball court, memories came flooding back. Memories he did not want to deal with right now. Standing well over six feet tall, with the physique of an athlete, he had always had more than his fair share of female admirers in school. The one thing he hated with a vengeance about his appearance, his mop of unruly hair, somehow seemed to only enhance his appeal, and so over time, he had learnt to make peace with the fact that he could never keep his hair in place.
But that had been seemingly a different life. He had never imagined then that he would be studying Economics at a Delhi college, with not the foggiest idea of what he was going to do with his degree, if indeed he finally managed to get one. Life back then had seemed so certain, so simple. But now he knew, just when you thought you had things totally under control, life threw you a curveball you couldn't possibly have anticipated.
'Dude, you lost in thinking about her or what? Come on, we need to hurry otherwise we'll be late for Macro class again. I do hope you've done your assignment.'
Just a few months earlier, Aaditya would have laughed at the thought of rushing from class to class, being harangued for not doing homework. No, his place was in the sky, soaring above mere mortals, kissing the clouds. The only uniform that he had considered worthy of wearing was that of a fighter pilot, the only worthy assignment being a sortie with a fighter jet at his command. But for now, he would have to settle for not being chewed up by the professor for not having bothered to read up about the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy.
***
Aaditya was still thanking his stars that the professor had not picked on him and did not notice Supriya standing in the corridor till he almost bumped into her.
'Hi. Aaditya, isn't it?'
Aaditya had never seen her this close before, and he quickly saw that both her reputation and her legion of admirers were well deserved.
'Hi. My friends call me Aadi, and you must be the Supriya half the college tries to impress.'
'Only half?' she said, jokingly.
'I was referring to the half that is made up of every boy in college.'
She smiled, and Aaditya could sense Samrat shuffling behind him.
'Supriya, this is Sam. He's in my class.'
'You're the one who came first or something, right? I've heard of you, Sam.'
Aaditya was beginning to wonder what Supriya wanted with him when two more girls joined them.
'Aadi, this is Anu and this is Suchi. Girls, this is Aaditya. I guess you've just been here for a couple of months, right?'
Aaditya nodded and smiled at the two girls as Supriya continued.
'Hey, we were going to grab some coffee. I figured since you're new in college, you may want to join us and get to meet some of the gang.'
Aaditya was thinking of what to say when he heard Samrat hissing in his ear, 'Say yes, you moron.'
Ten minutes later, they were in front of a nearby coffee shop and as they entered, Aaditya looked at Samrat and Deepak. Both had wide grins plastered on their faces.
'Sam, you look like you've won a lottery.'
'Dude, she knows who I am!'
Deepak scowled and playfully punched Samrat on the shoulder. 'Dork'.
When they entered and joined Supriya and her friends, Aaditya saw Sam and Deepak's expressions change to one of dismay. He realized that his friends had perhaps imagined this to be a date with Supriya and her friends. Instead there were four boys already with the girls.
