"Welcome...to the real world" : Realization (Final part)

Raj couldn't write a single line in the answer sheet for almost half an hour. His mind kept on getting back to the torture he had endured in few seconds in the toilet. He still couldn't comprehend what had happened. He wanted an explanation. A no. of questions were circling his mind and were making him mad. Both Sapna and Raghu were in the same room. He wanted to go to their chairs and scream on them. He took time to cool down and focused solely on the paper in the last two hours. He would seek explanation from them later, Raj had thought.

But that didn't happen. Neither on that day nor during the practicals. Both of them used to appear for practicals just a couple of minutes before the commencement. Raj couldn't trace them for a single day in the college. They had some clandestine place where they used to study. But soon Raj realized that even if he would have confronted them, he might not have got all the answers. Because they were just ignoring him now. Both Sapna and Raghu were behaving as if Raj didn't exist. These things were frustrating him further. He wasn't able to concentrate on his practicals and was reprimanded in almost all of them. He was looking for sunny days ahead but suddenly gloomy storm had enveloped him completely, and he didn't have any clue how to escape?

That was the final day of the practicals. Raj was sitting in one corner of the canteen as he had finished early. He was engaged in some thought when someone shook him. Raj looked up and saw Rajeev grinning at him.

"Hi man. Whats up?"

"Nothing." Raj replied showing zero interest in him.

"Why are you sitting like Devdas here? Everybody out there is happy. 1st year completed and vacations from tomorrow. Wow! Even I'm so excited." Rajeev said.

"I'm not a Devdas" Raj bellowed "You please leave me alone here. I'm not in a mood to become your butt of jokes. Go and pull someone else's legs."

Rajeev didn't go but took a chair and sat in front of Raj who was looking at him with burning eyes.

"Cool down dude. I know what you have gone through in past few days. I can understand your mental situation." Rajeev said slowly, but without smiling.

"No. You don't have any...." Raj was ready to pour all the anger that he had accumulated in last 1 week on Rajeev but then he suddenly realized what he had heard.

"What do you know? What do you mean by......" He asked almost choking.

"Raghu and Sapna. Final day of the exam."

Raj fall back on the chair letting his body lie limp for few seconds. People knew about it. That was the latest gift this sinister week had given him.

"I don't know what was my mistake?" Raj himself broke the silence staring at the walls of the canteen. "What wrong did I do? I guess I won't get the answers to my questions ever."

"Well, I can give you a few ones though." Rajeev broke into a little puzzling smile.

Raj's body suddenly gained energy as he brought his hands quickly on the table.

"What can you tell me?" He asked.

"Raghu feared from you. He didn't like you getting close to Sapna. So he asked Ganga to warn you."

"That's ridiculous" Raj was baffled" Why would he need to fear from me? And if he didn't like my talking to Sapna he should have told me personally instead of sending that goon to me."

"My dear" Rajeev rubbed his chin"You are naive. You don't have any idea about the guys' mentality. For most of them the girlfriends are prized possessions. Within their own friend circle it's OK if she talks and laughs with someone. But for the guys outside their group a sense of insecurity creeps in them. I'm talking about this fear which gripped Raghu too. He thought of you as a threat and such people don't resolve matter by mutual conversation. They believe in a direct warning which was issued to you."

Raj was speechless for few seconds. But then a thought came into his mind, a question he wanted to ask in the first place.

"But I never thought in that manner. I always thought of her as a friend only. I mean Sapna could..."

"Sapna" Rajeev laughed "You really don't know anything about the way this world works. You always thought of her as a good friend but what made you think that she had similar thoughts about you? Equations change in relationships as the time moves. The initial months of the college were different when hardly anybody knew each other properly. Things have changed now but you are still trapped in those 2-3 months. People are pragmatic. You know Raghu's uncle is a lecturer here. How much benefit can one garner in such a situation I needn't tell you. Sapna knew this and she wouldn't have thought twice when Raghu had proposed her. You became 'somebody' then. You have nothing, no power, no contacts in administration and neither you are among the toppers. Why she would have bothered about you? You were a past for her, a 'timepass' she had forgotten. Raghu is her present and I guess the future for at least sometime."

Now almost all the pieces fit in the puzzle perfectly. The question which had been bugging for so long Raj had finally been answered. The truth was so bitter and unbelievable, but when he recalled all the events of the past few months he could sense that there was no better explanation. He wanted to cry but surprisingly tears refused to come out.

The college bell rang bringing the session to the end for them. Raj got up slowly. Rajeev had already moved to the gate and was standing there watching students moving out of classes in the ground. Raj too stood behind him looking at the ground without any expression.

"Just forget what you went through or whatever happened with you. look forward to the next year when you will move in new class with new people. And everyone out there is not bad." With these words Rajeev stepped out of canteen in to the ground.

But after taking a couple of steps he stopped and slowly turned back towards Raj

"By the way" he grinned "Welcome... to the real world."

Raj nodded, and for the first time in last few days a smile broke out on his face

"Welcome...to the real world." : The big blow (Part 8)

As Raj got down from the bus his eyes fell on Sapna and other girls cramming formulas in the lawn. For a minute he remained stood at the same point. More than a month had passed since that phone call from Sapna. For the next few days Raj was completely immersed in his pending assignments, going to the college till the final days of the session when many had stopped coming in order to study. It wasn't his wish to go there everyday but he had no other choice. It was only during the preparation break did he rethink about what had happened over the last couple of months.

After giving a lot of thought he had decided to give one more chance to their relationship, in a new way. Raj knew he had always looked at Sapna like a friend. He had a crush on Maitri and no one else. If it seemed necessary he would make them(Sapna and Raghu) aware of his thoughts, that he only wishes to maintain a simple friendship with one of the very first friends of his college life and that shouldn't be a problem.

Raj took a deep breath and walked towards Sapna, who had now been joined by Raghu.

"Hi!" Raj said smiling "How's preparation?"

"Hi!" Sapna smiled back "Preparation is just ok ok."

"C'on. You are one of the toppers. ur preparation can't be of ok types. What about you Raghu?"

"It depends on paper" He didn't smile back but did reply "If exam turns out to be good then preparation was good otherwise......."

"Yeah. You are right." Raj nodded.

They chatted for a couple of more minutes and then Raj moved away from them towards his own group. He wanted to act cautiously this time. At any point of time they should't feel he is intruding their privacy.

So, in this way, both Raj and Sapna were back on talking terms. Though the initial zing wasn't there and more or less talks were limited about the studies. Raghu was often around but as usual he used to talk less. Raj would try to bring him into conversation on purpose. He didn't want Raghu to feel jealous for even a single moment though it was a far fetched thought. Raghu looked least concerned about it. He would just keep it to himself, sometimes even leaving them alone talking while he went somewhere. Even then Raj tried to keep a distance between him and Sapna.

With each passing paper things were looking better for Raj. He was doing well in the exams and his confidence was back which had hit low after the events post annual fest. It was almost sure now that Maitri will be in his group next year as they had the same stream. Also He had began to sense a warmth creeping back into his relationship with Sapna. At the end of the penultimate paper they even went together to meet a common acquaintance who was a lecturer at the examination centre.

On the day of the final exam Raj could feel a sense of relief sweeping over most of the guys. It was the easiest paper and no body was much worried about it. After 3 days their practicals would begin and 10 days from now they will have their summer vacations. One year of their collge life would be completed. Time really flies, Raj thought.

5 minutes were left before the commencement of the paper. Most of the students had already moved into their respective rooms. Raj was so busy in chatting with friends that he didn't pay attention to the time. Now quickly he entered into the toilet so that he needn't get up from his chair in the middle of the paper. That was his routine in all the exams he had appeared. The moment he washed his hands and turned around, he found his collars grabbed and next second he found himself pushed against the wall looking at Ganga Singh, Raghu's friend.

"Wh.....What..are you doing?" Words hardly escaped his mouth.

"Stay away from Sapna." Ganga spoke clenching his teeth.

"I'm not involved with her. It's just..." Raj wanted to say something but he was cut short by Ganga.

"Stay away. She's my friend's girlfriend. If I ever I saw you near her I swear you will miss out all the practicals. And don't take this warning lightly."

With those words Ganga and the other guy with him stormed out of the toilet. Raj couldn't move from his place for few seconds. He was still trying to understand what had happened just a couple of minutes back. What should he do? What he actually did? His mind had gone into a tizzy. His whole body was shaking. His throat had gone dry as well.

A few moments later the examination bell rang.

"Welcome...to the real world." : How things changed (Part 7)

As the days passed, Raj was able to sense that something wasn't right between him and Sapna. She was less enthusiastic in talking with him. Already he got very little opportunity to talk with her. Now it was confirmed that Sapna was involved with Raghu as she used to spend most of the time with him now. Raj still wasn't able to know how he should react in this situation. Whether he should be angry as he didn't have any inkling of it before? But then he thought about his crush on Maitri. Even he did not tell Sapna about it. Why she would have bothered to tell him then? Then he would feel a pinch of jealousness. All that time in the initial months of the session would float in his mind when she used to spend most of the time with him. But then, she was never his girlfriend. He had always thought her as any of his other male friends. So, there was no reason to feel jealous.

But there were other big issues bugging Raj. The approaching mid terms as well as the final exams. The whole class was very busy these days in finishing up the assignments, files and completing all the drawing sheets as exams were not very far. Raj was facing a great difficulty in getting rid of the drawing stuff. He was already lagging behind the class as far as no. of sheets completed were concerned. On top of it no one was willing to give their sheets to anyone to take home. Raj was somehow managing the things, coming colleges everyday and bunking classes to finish the work before college gave any deadline. He still had a considerable amount of work left when college came out with a deadline to submit all the assisgnments.

Raj could take care of all of the subjects except for the drawing for which he needed help. He now needed the sheets desperately to complete the work at home only. Now he needed Sapna the most and he believed she wouldn't say no. So when she hesitated a bit Raj was surprised.

"But I was thinking of getting them checked tomorrow and proceed with making the file of them." She said
"I will give you sheets the day after tomorrow. You know my drawing is poor and time is so less. No one else is ready to give their sheets to me. You are my only hope. Please!"

In the end Sapna gave Raj her sheets reminding him to take care of them & return them day after tomorrow. Raj was happy, not for one but two reasons. He would be able to complete his drawing work on time now and Sapna still trusted him enough to hand over her sheets. The doubts in his mind had cleared a lot.

But his happiness left him in less than 12 hours. Raj had decided to skip the college next day to complete the sheets. He was about to get into his bed when his mobile buzzed. Sapna had called him asking for her sheets the next day.

"Tomorrow?" Raj was shocked "But I had told you I would give you back on friday. I was planning to skip the college tomorrow for completing the work. And why suddenly you need them? You have completed your work na."

"Ya. But Raghu has said that he will get my file arranged by saturday if I give him all the shests tomorrow. If that is done I wont be coming to college from monday. So you please bring those sheets tomorrow." and Sapna disconnected.

Raj couldn't believe what he had heard. Was it really Sapna? She knew what kind of situation was he in but didn't care for him at all while asking for the sheets. The mention of Raghu's name had made him angry and he could feel the reciever of phone against his ears getting hot.

He silently put the phone down and began to think how things have changed in his life. But then he remembered that now he didn't have the luxury of doing his work by taking help of other's. He must carry on his work on his own.

"Welcome...to the real world." First crack (Part 6)

The plans often don't work in the way you wanted them to. 2nd mid terms results did not dish out anything that could boost up Raj's image in front of anyone, forget Maitri. On the other hand she as well as Sapna were once again amongst the toppers. Raj couldn't comprehend what went wrong. More than his average performance he was ruing for the chance he had missed to get Maitri's attention. His last chance was the third mid term exams, but before that something big was about to happen. Something for which almost everyone in the college was waiting for, atleast the 1st year guys. The ANNUAL COLLEGE FEST.

The whole programme was out in the 1st week of January itself and soon everyone was immersed in the preparations. Different committees were formed and students were asked to give their names as volunteers. As the fest week approached the labs and lectures were given a miss. Only a few 'studious' girls and boys could be found in the lecture theaters. A small no. of students were actually involved in any activity. Rest were savoring these days by roaming around in the college which they couldn't in general days while rest just skipped the college itself enjoying at home.

Raj too was enjoying his college life to the hilt for the first time. There were very few restrictions and even lecturers didn't force themselves on the students. Raj didn't give his name for any committee as he was more interested in participating rather than volunteering. For the first time in last few months his mind was engaged in something other than thinking of a way to impress Maitri. He went through the list of different competitions to be held and decided to concentrate on them.

The fest lasted for one week only but students couldn't get out of it's effects for another week. The attendance was low in the college, those who came didn't feel like studying at all and few would still get out of the classrooms to roam around the college. But now the authorities were strict and finally it dawned on the students that fun time was over now. Raj had a superb time at the fest and he was successful in winning a couple of awards too, something he really cherished. It was difficult for him too to concentrate back on studies but now it was utmost important.

Raj was sitting in the break having his lunch alone that day as rest of his mates were absent. He saw the girls in the front row looking at something and chattering & laughing in loud voices. Raj became a bit curious though he didn't dare to go and find for himself as he didn't have talking terms with most of these girls. Then few minutes later the girls dispersed and Raj saw Avani, a girl of his bus, putting a bundle of photographs into a bag he recognised that of Sapna's.

"Hey Avani" Raj called her "Whose snaps are these in your hands?"
"These photographs are of Sapna's. I'm putting them back into her bag."
"Wait! I want to have a look." Raj said leaping out of his bench.

The photos were from a digital camera and were shot during the fest. They consisted of Sapna and her other friends at different corners of the college and few in the buses as well.

"Who clicked these snaps of her?" Raj was surprised. He didn't have any idea about it.
"There is a guy in section B, Ganga Singh. He shot all the snaps." Avani replied.

Raj knew this guy. He was a good friend of Raghu and would eat his lunch with latter only. How did this guy get so close with Sapna, Raj wondered. And then it clicked to him. No, it couldn't be Ganga but Raghu instead. But how and when?

Now Raj remembered that he didn't get to see Sapna much before or during the fest while she had come to the college almost everyday. He was so much immersed in his own thoughts and the environment of the fest that he had failed to notice her absence. So, was she busy with Raghu and her friends all the time? The snaps were a proof that they had got closed, or was it his own thinking? Sapna's single snaps were just two in the bundle so it might would have been some other case. Any of her friend might have been involved with Raghu or one of his friends instead of Sapna itself.

A lot of things were going through Raj's mind as he was looking at the photos and he wasn't able to reach to any conclusion. He thought of asking Avani about it but then he didn't. After returning the bundle to Avani only one big question was bugging him. If Sapna was indeed involved with Raghu ( or anyone else), how come he failed to know anything about it?

As Raj sat there alone in the room he couldn't decide whether he should feel angry or happy or...... jealous......

"Welcome...to the real world." : Raj's crush (Part 5)

The 45 minutes journey back home that day was nothing less than a torture for Raj as the girls kept attacking him verbally. Questions were asked to him like how could he leave Sapna behind? What's she gonna think about him etc etc. The other girl said confidently that Sapna would definitely reprimand Raj for what he had done and advised him to begin looking for some another girl. With a great deal of effort only he could maintain his composure and silently bore their comments till he reached his stop.

More than those girls' nagging, the fear of getting rebuked by Sapna kept Raj disturbed the whole day. He was unhappy with himself too. He should have asked the driver once more, in more pressing words. But nothing could be done now. The seniors had some exam next day so Raj was spared any more verbal attacks and he spent the time in bus thinking about what he would say to Sapna? Will she talk with him or not?

But his all doubts vanished when he saw Sapna in the same jubiliant mood like any other day. She didn't even once mention last day's events. Raj was surprised a bit but was happy too. He had spent past 16 hours under the clouds of doubts, guilty and worries for no reason at all. In fact, she was much more excited that day, even cracking jokes which she usually didn't do. Only at the end of the day did Raj come to know that she had been transferred back to her old bus. That was the reason behind the 'added happiness' to her everyday mood. Raj was sad a bit but then recollecting the past few terrible days his sadness diminished. He needn't worry anymore about the senior girls of his bus.

The days post Diwali vacations went away very quickly and soon the students were staring at the next mid term exams. Raj's 1st mid term results were a mixed bag and he wanted to improve his performance. More than anything else he wanted to impress Maitri. Sometimes he would wonder how he fell for a girl whom he hated in the initial months. Then he realised that his dislike never had any sort of substantial ground. It was more on the basis of what he had heard about her and the certain prejudices that guys have about a bold girl.

Maitri came from a reputed co-ed school and it was visible in her personality. She was smart, flamboyant and assertive. She had a big group of friends involving a no. of boys. Initailly Raj thought of her like any other bold girls with no brains visible on TV channels. But slowly his perception changed. She had performed well in 1st mid terms and was one of the topppers. What added fuel to Raj's admiration for Maitri was the praise she had received for her performance in the subject of which she had bunked the most no. of classes, by none other than but the subject teacher himself.

Raj knew he didn't have the kind of charisma to attract her and Maitri being in the other group denied any opportunitis of conversation too. Only a good show at mid terms could do something for him. He had told about his crush to a couple of guys who were his good friends. He wanted to tell Sapna too but then thought against it after a friend's advice. But this was not the only reason.

6 months into the college and the world had expanded for all of them. Beginning with just a couple of friends and a usual hi-hello with others the students had progressed to having a much bigger friend base and good bonding with the other guys of the groups as well as those from the other sections too. Raj and Sapna too had created a good friend base and Sapna had befriended all the other girls of the class (The number stood at 14). That meant their usual talk time had reduced. Most of the time they were immersed in their own groups. Also Raj's half time was spent in just thinking about Maitri. The warmth in their relation had diminished a bit. Possibly this was a reason why he didn't feel like telling Sapna about his crush. And after his friend's advice he totally abandoned the idea for a while.

She would know when the apropos time comes. Before that let the things come in motion. Let Maitri know who in the world is Raj?

"Welcome....to the real world." : End of the trouble (Part 4)

It wasn't only Sapna who was perturbed. Raj too was having a difficult time. He had little idea about the animosity between Sapna and those seniors before she began journeying in his bus. He had expected things to settle down sometime later. But a month had passed without any sort of warmth creeping into their relationship. Initially Raj was immune but now the girls had begun to target him too. He didn't want to sour his relations with those girls but he wasn't able to get to a solution too. His all efforts of getting a ceasefire between them had been unsucessful.

What was troubling Raj more was the kind of gossips that were spreading in bus. He had always thought of Sapna as a friend, just like his other male friends. But the people (on purpose) always view a male female friendship with a single pair of glasses. The word had began to spread among the boys, most of them seniors, that both Raj and Sapna were seeing each other. They couldn't find any other reason why Raj was getting into the middle of this girl v/s girl fight. The talks were limited to bus only so far but Raj feared that they might spread into the college.

Diwali holidays were just a fortnight away and Raj hoped that he would get some solution to this problem in those vacations. But destiny worked in some other way. He didn't need to put his mind to any exercise.

It was monday and their group had mechanical lab that day. By the time they finished with their work and handed over their job to the lab assistant, college was already over. The lab was situated on the other side of college, almost isolated from the main building. Raj knew that driver of his bus was one of the quickest and would quickly drive his bus out of the campus. He was very rude and apart from a few students he knew, the driver never waited for anyone. Most of the students and staff had already moved to the bus stand. Other guys from his group too had left. Raj and Sapna were the only one left behind. Raj had packed his bag quickly amd was ready to leave but Sapna was slow. He asked her to haste as they had to cross the whole ground and the building to reach the stand. If they missed the bus, they would have to go in some other which won't drop them to their homes, but somewhere on the way. From there they would have to look for some other convence to reach their homes. Raj didn't want to get into this situation.

As soon as Sapna packed her bag, they began to run. But owing to her being a girl and a heavy bag Sapna was fallng behind. Raj would have to stop after every few paces. Fianlly Sapna told him to go ahead and ask the driver to wait for her. It was a better idea and Raj implemented on it quickly. Taking a shortcut he reached the gate of the college just at the moment his bus was rolling out. Grabbing the handle he quickly got into the running bus. The second he got in, Driver increased the speed of the bus.

"Wait! A girl has been left behind. She was in the mechanical lab and is coming behind me." Raj said panting and wiping sweat on his brow. Driver answered in his usual cold voice without even looking back. "It's already late. Bus won't stop for anybody now."

Raj didn't have strength and courage to counter him. He knew there were eyes on his back waiting for him to say something, to request the driver again to stop the bus for Sapna. Slowly he turned back and without looking at anybody occupied a seat on the first row itself. But before sitting he heard a giggle behind him. He didn't get annoyed. His mind was engaged in some other thought. He had let Sapna down and it was hurting him.

"Welcome.....to the real world" : Sapna's Troubles (Part 3)

Raj's college was situated outside the city near a village. The only modes of transports were either the college bus or your own vehicles. As college was near highway most of the parents wanted their wards to travel in bus only. Raj too was one of them. Initially reluctant to go in bus, he began to enjoy the bus ride slowly as the journey to and fro from the home was never boring.

The trouble began when there was shuffling in the routes of few buses. Raj's bus was one of them. The new route included Sapna's stop too. That meant she would be coming in his bus now. Raj was happy about it. Now they could talk without thinking about the lectures, labs, tutorials etc. But there was one big problem.

Raj didn't have much interaction with senior guys but he was able to get along well with few of the girls who were his senior. No other junior was as comfortable with them as Raj. Though sensible talks happened very few times. Most of the time Raj and those girls were busy in pulling each other's legs. Sapna's entry into the bus gave them a new weapon to tease him with.

But the reason had more considerable depth than what Raj had thought. Ragging was prohibited in college. Seniors would look for an opportunity in lonely corridors of college or the buses to rag the juniors. 2 of the senior girls had tried to take ragging of Sapna in the first week of session but she had cleverly evaded them and even lodged a complaint against them to the chief proctor. Since then those girls had grudge against Sapna. They couldn't dare to do much into the college, but her coming into their buses provided them ample opportunities to settle the scores.

Most of the boys of the bus used to sit at the back while all the girls occupied the front seats. So, initially, the senior girls would sit alone on these seats fully aware of the fact that Sapna won't sit on any of them after boarding the bus. Most of the times she had to sit on the seats at the back, often with a couple of boys. Raj used to sit with two other guys, but after watching her plight he began to reserve a seat for Sapna. Things did go fine for a couple of days, but soon the senior girls came up with another mischievous plan.

They would often sit around Raj and Sapna, both while going to and returning from the college. They would look for every single moment which could be used to embarass Sapna. Sometimes they would chat with each other in such a high pitch that both Raj and Sapna would find it difficult to talk with each other. On many occasions they would pass comments in low voices, but loud enough to be heard by both of them.

This to and fro journey was turning out to be a little torture for Sapna almost everyday. She didn't seem too concerned initially but slowly things were getting onto her.