INTROVERT ED

A MEMORABLE DAY

While coming to office, in bus, I forgot to take the correct ticket for the first time, when I told the conductor, he first gave me a lot of curse words and then he gave me the new ticket while taking 5 bucks extra, he could do the same thing without cursing, but okay, people looking all at me made me more anxious.

When I came to office, I saw this girl from my college; she was talking to our boss Ankit. She was the same, the beautiful girl whom I saw few years ago from today. I came back to my seat and started my work, it would be awkward to talk to her this way, I won't make my impression like this at the first try.

'Hey!' She came up and said. It was for me? I got up to say hi, but till then..

'Hello' Ashok said and got up for a hug, she hugged him and then she looked at me, she still wore the same round transparent shape glasses, she tried to remember me, her face told that she wanted to say 'Hey, I know you but I don't,' this was her condition right now.

'I know you man, I am not able to remember your name,' she said with a confusing look.

'You know each other?' Ashok asked while leaning on his office chair.

'Yeah, I have seen him, we have even talked a hell lot of time, you were in my college, right?'

'Yeah, I did my B.com over there, you left the college after 12th itself,'

'Ani...ru?'

'Anirudh Patenkar, better call me Ani,' I said and gave her a smile.

'Oh, Ani, it's been so long,' she came closer to me, I thought we would do a handshake but she hugged me instead, and I was not prepared for this one, and at the end it came to be awkward, the things I hate happen the most to me, it again felt like I was in my college days, where teacher had selected us both to the project.

'Hey, how are you?' I calculated that this will be her first question and I have prepared the answer for it.

'I am good,' I said. There was silence for the next two minutes as the great man forgot to ask 'How are you?'

'I have some work left, I should do it,' she said and left. What the hell man, why the hell I do such kind of things. I really don't get it. Ahhh!

After that I got busy in my work and she got busy in her work, we didn't meet, or I should say I wanted to meet but was again nervous too, what will she think about me? 'Why is this man here again,' I completed my work and left the office after that. I saw her near the biometric machine, she looked at me, I turned my eyes away and went near the biometric. It was night 8 p.m.

'Sorry, I was not able to talk, joined a few weeks ago as an intern so you know how much work an intern has to do,' she said and took her hand away from the biometric machine.

'It's okay, I was not able to talk properly,' I said and gave my fingerprint on the machine. I walked a few steps, I thought that she would not come up with me, but she walked with me , we came out of our office gate, and stood there.

'I will catch a bus, what are you going to do?'

'I will book a cab, it would be much easier,' she said.

I nodded and walked towards the bus stop, 'Why don't you come into my cab? We would pay 50-50 each?' she asked.

'In the bus we could pay 10-10 each, economically it would be more good, I think,' I said.

'That's a good idea, but the crowd, I don't like it,' she said.

'I travel with it daily, so I have no much worry,'

'Okay, why don't I come with you? Will it not be good?'

'It would be brilliant,' I said.

She walked with me to the bus stop, as always I was not able to talk, but this time the bus came early and we didn't to wait for 10 freaking minutes. I let her go up first and then I climbed and what I saw was a big surprise that one of the pair of seats was empty, this has never happened. I told her to sit near the window seat and I sat next to her. The bus started again and conductor came, and I bought the ticket for both of us.

'You gave the money for both? That's not fair,' Tania said.

'Making you come up to the bus for the first time, take it as a treat?' I said.

'Not the first time dude, came up on the bus in college, don't you know?'

'Yeah, I know,' I said. She just looked at me, gave me a smile and looked away outside of the window. The cold air made her a bit sleepy and more tired. She lay her head on my shoulder.

'Why do these people make interns do this much work,' she said with a tired voice. This was more of a better gift that I expected to be, meeting this girl after this long.

'They know that we people can work, as we are new, so they give so much work for us to do,' I said. My heart was beating on a fast rate, why do stories like this happen? It is just too good to be true but when it happens you are not ready for it. As after watching superhero movies all of us want to be like that but if we actually become then we are not at all prepared.

'Are you still that introverted person?' she asked. Thank god someone to have this conversation ahead, that is my biggest problem. I want to talk a lot with some of my favorite people but I can't. I get stuck, it is like I want to talk to you but I can't.

'Yeah, somewhat, it is still like I don't have much of friends and I can't cry on that thing as it is my mistake, I can't talk to people I over think a lot,'

'Ani, why the hell are you like that?'

'I will try to be an extrovert,' I said.

I never liked bus trips a lot, it always felt like a compulsory thing, I had no other option, but it always never felt this good and beautiful. The worst thing can look good if the people around you are good. Only the people matter that make a place good or bad and Tania had made his small bus ride very much better for me.

This was the time I got to know that I had taken tickets of my own house and not of her. I took two tickets near my bus stop.

'I made a big mistake, I took two of the tickets and both are from the Aundh bus stop,' I said.

'What are you talking about, man?'

'Don't worry, I will buy a ticket to Sangvi for you,you don't have to pay,' I said and took out my wallet.

'By the way, where do you live?'

'Anand society,'

'Oh,'

'Wanna have a look into my house?' I said without even thinking once, what the hell are you doing Ani? You are inviting a girl to your trash house, this is not at all good. How dirty will my house be and I am inviting Tania?

'That would be a good idea, let me travel with you by bus for some days, but how will I get to my house after this?'

'I have a scooty, I will leave you,' I said again without thinking even once. I am going the wrong way. It is not my scooty, it is the house owner's son's scooty. How will I use it? Till I kept thinking about this all my stop was already there, we got off the bus, I took her to my house, we didn't talk a lot during going to my house.

What was I going to do? I had no freaking idea.

'I am excited to see your house Ani, but after that leave me to my house, mom will be worried about me,' she said.