“Mom, I’m back. I haven’t paid the fee yet. Ask dad to give me the money soon, how long should I wait??” yelled Arvind.
It was a Sunday afternoon and Arvind had had just returned from his computer class at NIIT. That is what he wanted everyone to believe, but he didn’t go to the computer centre for the past five days, he was busy killing aliens on his friend’s computer. A die hard game freak.
“Do you want your lunch now?” asked his mother, unmoved by his words.
“Did you eat?” asked Arvind, looking very concerned.
“Yes, it’s almost three. You are not my husband that I should wait for you.” replied his mother jokingly.
“As if you would wait for your husband” sneered Arvind.
She placed a plate of hot chicken biriyani on the table, and Arvind began devouring it hastily.
“There was a call for you, some girl, I can’t recollect her name now.” said his mother scratching and shaking her head.
“A girl.” murmured Arvind to himself, munching a boneless chicken piece.
He was a quiet fellow, someone who never bothered to talk much to anyone around him. He hardly knew any girl, and definitely not someone who would call him on a Sunday afternoon.
His mother was still in deep thought, thinking the name of the caller. “Lavanya” she shrieked out. “That is the name.”
“What did she tell you?” asked Arvind with a lot of curiosity, his heart began to beat faster and faster.
He wondered if it was the same Lavanya, that lean curly haired girl in his college. She was his classmate. He liked her a lot, but never had the nerves to go and talk to her; he considered it as a deep secret that would never be disclosed. He liked everything about her, be it her fluent English, her bright pear shaped face or her shaky affable smile.He was content looking at her from the last bench.
“Oh, she talked in English. I could understand only her name; these girls nowadays don’t even bother to learn Tamil.” she replied with a sense of irritability.
Arvind’s mother knew only Tamil, and she loathed anyone talking in English to her.
Arvind rushed to the telephone, and lifted the receiver with his left hand, with wet chicken curry spread unevenly around the fingers of his right hand, especially the index finger.
The caller ID showed him some details,
RECEIVED CALLS 12.55
044-24311083
“Who would be this? Should I call up Rahim and ask him about this number? How should I ask? Should I’ve to tell him the number? What if it is my Lavanya’s number? Wouldn’t he ask me how I got this number? Not Rahim he’s a green-eyed fellow. No, I should ask Madavan, but he’s just like me, little chance of getting any information.” reflected Arvind.
“Where did this ‘My Lavanya’ come from, you haven’t even talked to her.” He told himself, smiling wryly.
“The only way is to call this number, what should I ask? I must write it on a piece of paper. I must not stammer.” He decided firmly.
He scribbled a few lines on a piece of scrap paper.
May I speak to Lavanya?
You had called me a while ago; can I do anything for you?
“This looks so formal and weird; she would call me a nerd.” he crumbled the scrap paper into a ball and threw at away.
“I must be bold.” he told himself with a clenched fist, moving it up and down like champagne bottle.
He dialed the numbers,
“Two.”
“Four.”
“Three.”
“One.”
“One.”
“Zero.”
“Eight.”
“Three.”
With each beep of the phone, his heart beat was rising and his palm sweating, sweating profusely.
“Tring..tring..tring..”
“Yes, this is Lavanya from NIIT computer education. What can I do for you?” replied a well trained voice.
“This is arvind.” gasped Arvind.
“Yes, Mr.Arvind, you haven’t paid the second installment of the fee, your due date is over and you must pay a fine of rupees ten from today for each day. I expect your absence in the last five days is not permanent.” babbled a breathless voice.
“Yes ma’m. I’d some personal problems. I will pay the fee by tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” replied the mechanical voice.
Arvind licked his dry fingers. Bitter chicken.
