TABLE OF CONTENTS
Origin
Vidit had been looking at the fan for more than an hour now, what was going to happen today, he did not know, all he had was a hope that even after a bad exam he would somehow make to one IIT or another. He got up and sat on the bed for some time, contemplating what he would he do if he doesn’t make it this time, what if he fails.
He had lied to his father that his exam went well, now, if he sees him failing, what would his dad think about him.
He went to the washroom and washed his face, he tried to smile but tears almost rolled down his eyes. He washed his face again and daunted a fake smile on his face, just so his parents don’t notice what was going on in his head.
He walked towards the door, Opened it and went outside, he saw his mother in the kitchen cooking something.
“Arrey you are up already, I was just coming to wake you up, I made aloo ke parathe for you, it’s your big day today, Did you brush?” Vartika said with a wide smile on her face.
“No”
“Then go brush already, it’s getting late” Vartika started making some tea to complement the food. She was a hardworking woman in her late 30s and cares about her family a lot, Vidit considered her a friend more than her mother.
“Okay” Vidit had a dull face on but he obliged and went to the washroom to brush.
Tring Tring, their landline rang, Vidit was nearby so he picked up the phone and said hello, it was Vinay.
“Vidit Bhai, let’s go, the results would be out in 30 minutes”
Vidit looked at the clock on his right, the time was 9:30, the pressure on him was starting to show up on his face.
“What happened Vidit?” Vartika asked
“It’s Vinay, we will leave in 5 minutes”
“All the best beta, leave soon or you’ll get stuck in the crowd there”
“Ha Vinay, coming in 5 minutes, wait for me at the ground floor”
The nearest cyber cafe was just 5 minutes away from his home.
Vinay lived one floor below Vidit, they met each other on the ground floor and they started walking towards the cafe. Vinay took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and asked if Vidit wanted one.
“NO, you know I don’t smoke” Vidit was frustrated and that just came out as anger
“Bro, calm down, I know you are stressed, we all are, that is why I offered you one”
“Sorry yaar, you know how much stressed I am right now and a cigarette won’t help me at all, sorry I lashed out on you”
“Keep your calm Bhai, no one knows what will happen today, miracles don’t ring the bell before they come to visit us”
Vidit smiled and this time it wasn’t fake.
They reached there in around 12 minutes.
“Sonu Cyber Cafe” Vinay read it aloud and looked at the long line of students there.
“We still have 10 minutes to go and these people have already blocked the entry, what is the hurry?” Vidit's frustration took over him once again.
10 minutes felt like a lifetime and then one by one sad faces started coming out from the cyber cafe, one could rarely see someone happy to see their result.
Vidit started shaking his left leg, something he instinctively did when he was nervous, Vinay noticed and came close to him.
“Are you that scared bro ?, tell me your roll number and I will look for your name”
“Huh, it is 8156xxxxx, please check it bhai, I am not in the right frame of mind to check it”
“Okay okay, just calm down, I’ll go check yours and mine”
Vinay got lost in the crowd and he came back with a dull face after five minutes.
“Please tell me at least you made it, I had no hopes for myself in the first place”
“It was all for nothing Bhai, you have a rank but it is not good enough for any IIT, let alone IIT Delhi and I didn’t even qualify to be on the rank list,” Vinay said with a sad voice.
This was it, Vidit lost his control and started crying, Vinay tried to make him calm and make him think of positive things. They started walking back home with their faces towards the ground and eyes filled with tears.
Vidit kicked a stone as hard as he possibly could and it hit a man on his leg.
“Who threw this?” the grumpy dark-skinned man looked at them.
“Gulp”, they got scared.
“Come here you brats, why did you hit me with a stone”
They ran away with full force, as far away as they could from the labor chowk where the man saw them. Vidit was never an athlete unlike Vinay who played badminton for his school team and so he had to stop soon.
Then it came to vidit
“Vinay, I have an idea, let’s meet after 4 hours, I have to tell my parents the result and then I’ll see you”
“Okay Bhai, see you in 4 hours and stay strong, this is not the end” Vinay was still concerned about Vidit.
“No stress Bhai, I just have to get over this, then we will move on to better things”
“Yes we will” Vidit had a shine on his face this time.