Hope Lost.

"Lets go and check out the city" Priyanka said. There was a shine in her eyes."Yeah. Sure I'll ask Mohan out too. After the 5 pm class then." "Uh, okay." Mohan liked her. He never said so but somethings need not be explicitly stated. He had been searching for a chance to meet her for quite sometime now. He's a nice guy. This was the first time I had seen him actually trying for a female. And I have known him since school.

So the clock stuck 5. Earth had made the necessary rotation. But our dear professor lingered. Like an irritating song the lecture on structure's did not seem to end. She's in my class, amongst the frontbenchers too. She's a nice girl, not shallow, neither too incomprehensible either. Like a good book she was interesting and not too deep either. But then she wasn't my type. I had loved and lost quite recently. The song got over, about time too. A silent prayer to the gods was offered by the students. With their chains broken now, the flock of boys dashed towards the door and Mohan went with them. She stayed back, so did I.

Mohan met us outside the department. He was trying to withhold his laughter. Mohan has this strange habit of grinning when faced with a female he liked. "So lets go."

I walked ahead and let the two of them come together. "How are you?" Mohan asked. "Fine and you?" She replied politely.
"Stupid class that,eh?" "Yeah, stupid professor too."
"All of them are strange here dunno what they plan on doing." "Uh hunh." "We have this strange prof who has to throw one student out every class." "Hmmm."
This was going nowhere. "Lets take a pic." I said. "Sure". She handed Mohan the camera and stood next to me smiling. He obliged. "Lets take a pic of you two now." I offered. I and the smile were replaced with Mohan and an indifference that would've ashamed gravity. Photograph taken, walk continued.

She walked next to me with Mohan on the other side of her. "Where are you from?" she asked. She knew the answer, I had answered that many times in the class. I smiled and said "Surat. Mohan's from my school too. We were in the same class. He was the topper." He wasn't. He was my best friend. He grinned. "Where are you from?" he asked. "Kolkata." Land of everything right in Indian literature and everything left in Indian politics. "Dirty and humid isn't it?" "Naah, not much you get used to it. Surat aint too dry either." "But the weather's good at least." "Weathers good in Kolkata too,hunh." And there goes the conversation. Time for photography session two. Session one was repeated with more photographs of me and her than Mohan and I desired.

It isn't as if Mohan can't talk. He talks just fine with us. We have been in debates many a time. He gets along with other boys also pretty well and was in talking terms with other females too. It was time I moved on in life too. Time for the search to begin afresh. Two females had been zeroed on. Future existed whether I wanted it to or not.

The topic of professors had been taken up afresh. With renewed vigor he lectured on his theory about the education system. He also mentioned a teacher who had mocked him in front of the whole class and how that event had scarred him forever. It had taken 3 years of friendship for him to divulge this tale to me over a drink. She never noticed. She looked ahead. She didn't care. I wished she did. I didn't want to interfere lest he take it otherwise. He asked questions, he received monosyllables. He put in some more funny incidents. I smiled, they were funny. She didn't seem to think so. What was she thinking? I know, but if I don't mention it maybe it'll go away. "Why are you boring me? I don't care." Silence reigned. Dusk was upon us. Few stars twinkled, they glistened like tear drops shed by moon. Birds squawked on their way back home, on their way back to their loved ones. I suggested returning to our abodes too. She readily agreed. Mohan followed.

An auto-rickshaw was boarded. She sat between us. As in rickshaw so in life. She was tired, so was I. Mohan had too many emotions mixed up. The steel horse reached her house in no time. Her head had just rested on my shoulder. Awkwardness is not an awkward enough word. Why this, why now? The return began. I looked at him. He was thinking something. I was trying not to.