He stared at the screen, going over the numbers again. The data was collected earlier, otherwise he would've been starting right from the survey and gathering process. The boss lady with the bleach blonde highlights was apparently a terror. The others let him know that she was going easy on him just cause it was his first day. The agency had recruited eight interns this time, but he was the only one from the marketing field.
The bearded dude tapped his shoulder and pointed at the clock. It was half past six. Just half past six. He could see the staff from the other departments still working. On asking, the man—Sreejesh was the name—made it very clear that their department had fixed working hours. Starting from 9 to packing up by 6.
"But the other depa—"
"Dude, don't learn anything from them. The late staying back and all is not for work, just show-off. Company bech bhi do par woh log deadline seh pehle kaam kabhi nahi karne waale. Plus, I've to pick my daughter up from her music classes."
Chuckling at that, he saved the document file he was working on and mailed it over to his account as a back-up. Wouldn't want the progress to go waste. On the persistence of the other guy, he also put up passwords for all the documents he made. Some far-fetched tales of people stealing others works, he didn't believe in any of those. Nevertheless, he did follow the instructions. He certainly did not want to argue with a senior staff on such silly matters.
Slinging his bag, he walked out. His eyes followed the print on the glass doors of their department. Planning department it said, authentic and bold.
He had two months to prove his worth. Two months to get himself a permanent position in the company.
Determined more than ever, he drove off to the place he had come to call home.
°
Ringing the bell was futile, he realized. Neither did he have the keys nor did he have her number. Kicking the pebble in front, he slumped against the wall, tired with all the pacing. An idea popped up in his mind as he dug out her phone number from the Whatsapp group. The call went unattended and he sighed, ready to shoot the texts. That's when the lift opened with a ping and she walked out, surprised to see him waiting.
"Chipkali, you forgot. All of us can't sneak into homes the way you do."
"Zyaada udo mat. I'll have the duplicates made by tomorrow."
Twenty minutes later, she walked in after taking a shower, only to see him pressing on the keys of his laptop, frustrated. Picking up the coffee he made for her from the table, she sipped approvingly. Her nose scrunched as she finished it up. She settled on the sofa next to him, switching on the television.
"What is this war you're raging with your laptop?"
"Trying to convince them that I'm human," he sighed.
"See? Even captcha knows, chamagadar."
Laughing at her own words, her giggles were unending which got his eyes rolling. She was carelessly surfing and suddenly paused on a channel, finding a very familiar set-up. The scene was of an OT, a place she knew in and out. Something relatable for sure. But not expecting what she was seeing right now, she had her eyes bulged out as the remote slipped from her hands with a thud.
"What happened?"
Mouth agape, she muttered more to herself and less to him, "No anesthesia, no scans, bas ainvayi buttering her neck with ketchup? Seriously?"
YOU ARE READING
Tanhaiyan | neirohi
Fanfiction• Two people who felt unwanted, A marriage which no one wanted. • Aarohi Goenka-Birla was a person who never knew what hit her, until it was too late. Let it be trouble, opportunity or marriage, to remain clueless throughout was the easy...
