“OK now. I am done.” I said as I took the last sip inside.
“Ghosh, I think you and Roshan should leave now. We’ll catch up with you later.” Rajan sir said as Ghosh stood up and we left.
“Good Night, everyone or is it morning.” I was feeling a bit abnormal, somewhat dizzy.
As we moved down the stairs I was feeling the earth shaking, my head being pulled by something, whatever. I could see stairs but I forgot how to move my foot forward. I moved a step ahead and suddenly I stopped.
“What happened dude?” Ghosh came close and rocked me as I felt like someone waking me up from a dream.
“Walk fast or we will be late.” Ghosh again said.
It was strange that I walked out of the restaurant and it felt as if we rushed out of our hostel.
“Roshan, where the heck are you lost man? Its time where are the capsules and chits” Said Varun. He was also walking next to me.
“I don’t understand” I said as I began to search for something in my pockets and found some paper rolled inside.
“Thank god, you saved us bro. now the only problem is who’s going to plant this inside the lecture hall toilets.” He asked as every one of us looked at me instantaneously.I was their Savior.
For the last two semesters we have devised numerous ways to hide the chits, capsules and even books(some of which were from the college library). Be it the mechanics exam when we hid the books inside the flush tank or the physics exam where some of us decorated the whole lavatory with our creativity a night before the exams. There were a few instances in my schooldays when I got caught but its known ‘A wise cheater learns from his mistakes’.
I don’t really know what happened. The only thing I remember was walking on the streets. But what I was about to know couldn’t had been much worse. It was exam time, that too of geology.
I walked fast but it seemed to be a new path to the lecture hall.
I have never travelled from this route. I thought but I couldn’t surely say that it was the same route.
“We should take an auto.” Ghosh said.
“What? Why an auto. The lecture hall is at a walking distance” I moved ahead as I heard a loud horn reaching towards me but I could not figure out from which direction.
“Watch out Roshan.” Ghosh pulled me behind as I saw a truck miss me by a whisker. The loud horn really shook me up.
“Are you mad or what, you drunkard.”
The next thing I felt was like lying on the floor. I stood up by taking support of Ghosh’s hands and saw an inert crowd standing around me murmuring and looking towards me anxiously.
“Are you hurt?” Ghosh asked.
I denied. I felt no pain. I felt nothing as I stood up and we took an auto.
The wind was cold and I felt nice. As the auto moved ahead I was drawn into my dream once again.
“Are we there yet?” I asked.
“Almost there” Said Varun. He appeared to be the calmest of them all. His preparation was complete for the examinations. Varun has not failed in any of the exams till now and always came out with flying colors. He is the man with the best grades in our group and always gives tough competition out hard working mugger Adi. And today he was again ready with his chit bank.
“One reading, all the fundamentals are clear and it is also synchronized for better understanding in a jiffy. We are going to rock today Baby.Kya bolta hai, hai na bhai mein dum!!” He exclaimed as I gave him a high five.
“We are here” Varun said. He handed the notes and chits to me. He was right and I couldn’t deny it but suddenly I saw something which was more shocking. I saw Kalpana and Prerna standing at the lecture hall gates. I looked at Kalpana who was staring at me. She looked beautiful in the blue suit.
“Hey what am I thinking? I have to calm down. Control your emotions, Roshan” I said to myself. It was hard for me to control my emotions as I had a crush on her. Right from the first day in the college I had a crush on her. We are good friends. Kalpana is a nice girl. Apart from the fact that she is arrogant (at times uncontrollable) and a bit proud (as are the other girls in the college), but still I like her the way she is. The bad thing is Kalpana has a chain reaction of problems. The good thing is she always asks me for help whenever she has one.
“Roshan, you have to help me out with this. I am going to fail. I need some notes, some chits whatever you have” She said. She started crying which was weird and made me uneasy. I was stuck in a dilemma.
I thought of helping her but couldn’t make out what to do. Then I saw Professor Vera standing at the main door of my center. I was screwed. He was the strictest teacher in the campus and my impression on him only added a few more reasons to make me much more worried.
“What if he catches me red handed?”I was feeling the boost of adrenaline inside me as my heartbeat doubled in no time. Suddenly an idea struck my head.
“What if Kalpana plants the note. She is a girl and professors are quite soft hearted so they won’t doubt of her” I thought. Though I knew it was risky but still I decided to hand over the notes to her but on my terms.
“Ok, I’ll give you this only on one condition. You will have to plant this inside the toilet. Look, many among us need these notes during the exams hours or else we would fail too. Then only it will be helpful to all of us else everyone will fail.”
She nodded affirmatively as I gave her the notes. I walked towards the center as the bell rang. Strange the bell sounded like that of a cycle-rickshaw. Wait the lecture hall has no bell or alarm clocks installed.
“What has happened to you? Come on, why are you walking so slowly” Ghosh said as I realized that I had reached the institute main gate.
“What happened to the exam?” I asked him. He looked puzzled.
“What exam there was no exam? You are drunken man, nothing else. Now walk with me and keep your mouth shut.” Ghosh said and got hold of me as I walked forward. I felt someone pulling me by my arms. I was again swept into my dream.
“Hey Roshan, where are the notes buddy?” Varun said. The exam had started and half an hour had passed.
“In the toilets, where else do you expect them to be?” I replied.
“Are you sure? I searched everywhere and it was not there.”
“Yes I am sure I gave it to Kalpana and she planted……….”
What a duffer am I? How could I commit this crime?
I felt my hands shake and my voice tremble as I spoke the next few words from my mouth. What a #$@!^&G mistake it was!
“In the ladies toilets.”
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