The New Girl in Town

Chapter 1: The New Semester

"Ok, let's begin with the financial markets today". Raj began in his trademark opening at the college he was teaching. It was the second week of the new semester. He scanned the classroom. There were only 15 students present out of the 60+. This was the trend in college of late. The opening session would have 90%+ attendance and would taper down to 10-20% by the third. The students were either involved in part-time work or had got used to being away from their college due to the Covid- influenced lockdowns. "Google could also be the culprit" he thought. "This cellphone-hooked generation has unlimited access to information at their fingertips. They will read through articles on the internet a week before their exams", he continued thinking. The college also had a practice of asking the faculty to provide notes which took the labour out of studies. Students knew that they could pester the lecturers for notes for each subject and that would be the base for the exams. Trips to the library and borrowing books for further reading or making notes were a distant past.

Raj looked for familiar faces from the previous semesters that he had taught. "Yes, it is the same few faces that come to college" he reminisced. Then he stopped. There was a new face. She was stunningly different. Seemed quiet and forlorn. Had an attractiveness about her that he could not comprehend. "Haven't seen you before" he addressed her. "Have you taken admission to this college recently". "Yes. I am Rini. I have joined this semester. My dad got transferred to this city. Hence, we have shifted here. This is my first day here", the girl replied. "Ok. Welcome to the class. Hope you will find the college and city worth moving to" he said.

Raj continued with the subject mixing it with information, activities, and anecdotes. He strived to make each session interesting for those who attended even if it was a minuscule attendance. He knew by next week there would be only 5-7 students attending. The fun in teaching would be lost by then, and he would have to labour harder to cater to those few, i.e., making it stimulating, in spite of the possibility that participation would be at a bare minimum. The next few weeks were as expected. There was one exception. Come rain or shine, Rini would be present at each session. However, she preferred to be quiet, talking only when prodded. She gave logical answers, never speaking nonsense, and did not give any reason to be pulled-up. She seemed a bright, goal-oriented student, but something was amiss. Behind her occasional smile, she seemed lost.

Often, at the end of sessions, he had a causal talk with students. He would find their interests, future plans and encourage them. "Rini, what do you aspire to be? What would you do at the end of college...." he asked. She replied shyly "I haven't made any plans. I do not know". "At least she said something" Raj thought. Over the next few weeks, he continued prodding Rini discreetly to open up. Involving her in activities, asking for responses directly and making sure she never felt left-out, at least in his sessions.