It was a heavenly feeling with a sweet tune running around me. Oh! It was wonderful. In front of me was a big ocean and clear sky. There were lush green ridges and quiet shores. I could hear a very sweet tune in the air and as I watch the sky I see seagulls pass by. The view was ecstatic. I could feel the nice cozy breeze and……
“ROCKS”
A sudden outburst of human voice hammered my eardrums.
“What’s the difference between a rock and a mineral?”
The voice continued as I opened my eyelids to take a view of a totally new yet so familiar world. It was then when I realized that my short visit of heaven has also got me a detour into the nightmare and that to without prior notice.
“Wake up Roshan.” A low and panicked voice accompanied by a feeling of being shaken drove me back to into the lecture hall.
“What’s the difference between a rock and a mineral?”
The voice rose again in the deep silence of the lecture hall. I recollected all my senses that I had given up minutes ago. It was quite as a necropolis.
“What happened?” I asked Shivam.
“Sir has asked a question about the difference between a rock and mineral”. He said.
“You know the answer?”
“I think know the answer but I am not sure about it.”He replied.
“Roll no. 3224” The professor called.
Anik stood up. Anik was one of the brilliant students of our class. He was always in the ‘guys with the grades’ list. But for the last few weeks he was struggling with the subject ‘geology’. He hated the subject. No matter how much he learnt, no matter how much he mugged it, he always failed to answer any question popped up in the class.
Anik has had some very bad instances during geological ventures in recent past. The professor caught him playing games on his mobile in between the class. The next week he caught Anik entering the class when he was about to leave. The worst happened few days earlier when somebody else gave the proxy and the professor was so sure of Anik being the culprit that he deduced his five days attendance.
Anik once said to me that if he gets a chance he would try to check the hardness of the rock with a human skull. Later I realized which skull he referred to. He always compared the professor with ‘the one who must not be named’ and today we were ready to witness another battle of his fear.
“Sir, a rock is an aggregate of minerals.” Anik replied.
“He is correct “Shivam said as I looked at him as Dhritrastra looked at Sanjay in Mahabharata. I had no clue what was going on.
“A mineral, on the other hand, is an inorganic, natural substance……”
“Good, it’s nice to see that you have started taking interest in the subject” The professor commented as I could see Anik’s middle finger rising in happiness.
“Sit down and the boy next to him now you stand up”.
Anik answered correctly which the teacher did not expected but guess who the boy next to Anik was. It was Saha.
I would not like to phrase any other quotes in the honor of Saha but I would curse him for raising another doubt in the class for which the professor searched for a volunteer just like a hunter searches for a hunt in hunting season after a whistle call.
I soon realized the call was mine. I had a gutsy feeling of running away from the class as fast as I can. Sometimes you wish you had some supernatural ability in you not to face the situations but to run away from them.
“Boy, tell me an example of a rock?”
Now that was tough one. For a boy like me who brooded on music rock was not a new term. Hard rock was my favorite. But judging by the face of the professor I realized that he was more shocking than rocking. No time for ‘head bangs’, as I felt of banging my head on the wall.
“Answer you fool?”Whispered Shivam “Say something, anything”
I heard him murmur some stone so I spoke whatever I could grab out of whatever he was trying to speak.
“What happened?” he asked again.
“Metallica”
Now, where in the whole damn world did that come out from my mouth? This was not the first time, but I hate being screwed up at such situations. I had got quite used to it now.
“Sir, The rolling stone” I said hesitantly. Another mistake what else can one expect.
“What?” The professor looked puzzled.
I again looked at Shivam searching for answers. My remarkably awkward answers at the first instance had driven appreciable spectators in the lecture hall.
“What did you just say?”
“A stone” I corrected. I knew I was close. Like they say I needed to break the ice as soon as possible.
“Limestone” Shivam whispered again.
“Sir , Flintstones.”
Now I was sure, I am doomed. What on earth am I doing? I am really not letting any ‘stone’ unturned for making the angry professor to kick my butts.
“Are you drunk?” The professor asked me a question which was not expected at all.
If we consider a drink taken about few hours ago to prove one as drunk then, I am certainly drunk in all standards. There had been incidents of guys coming to the class after having a few drinks and falling on the desks just at the wrong times and got caught. Surely I was involved with all that but this time It was not the case.
“Limestone” Shivam whispered again.
“Limestone” I again corrected and this time I finally got it right.
“Ok, sit down” said the professor who left the class with a murky look on his face.
It was just then when I realized that gravity was acting a bit more quickly upon me and that too with much larger intensity. I fell to the desk. It took a bruise on the chin to make me realize that I was drunk.
