The New Girl in Town

Chapter 2: The Call

It was the fifth week of the semester. Raj was on his way back from college. He was walking at a leisurely pace knowing it was the week-end. His phone rang. It showed an unknown number. He preferred to ignore it as marketing calls were the rage, and he tried his best to avoid them. If the call came again immediately, it had to be some marketing executive trying to hook him into something. A few minutes later, it was the same number calling him. This time he decided to pick up because experience had taught him that someone needing to reach you genuinely would try again after some time. "Sir, it's Rini", the voice said. "Could I speak to you. Got your contact from the Class Representative". Surprised, Raj answered, "Yes Rini, go on. You don't sound too good". Rini replied, "I am on medication. Anti-depressant ones prescribed by my doctor".

The next few minutes she would open up on her back-ground, the reason for changing college, and her aloofness. Why would she call Raj, he didn't know. However, he was always there for his students. At least for the ones who used to attend class regularly and interacted with him. He listened patiently to her for the next 30 minutes, prodding her to continue and indicating with non-verbals that he was very much present at the other end of the call. She had been through an abusive relationship over the last few months. Having lost her health and on the verge of losing her mind, she preferred to end it all finally. Her parents took her to a doctor and then began her long road to recovery. With her now 'ex-boyfriend' continuing to pester her, they decided to move to a different city and enroll her into a college there. While that was taken care of, Rini still had to come to terms with her life. She still had to learn to trust people again, to feel free with her peers and to learn to laugh again. She had wound herself into a cocoon for too long. She had to lay bare her heart and mind to someone. There was only one person she could identify with for this – Prof. Raj... Would he hear her out? Would he judge her? Would he get into a moralistic talk, as most adults had done with her so far? She felt her never-ending thoughts would once again push her to the bottom. She asked the CR for his contact number, saying it was required to contact the lecturer to work on the class assignment. Was she glad that she had called him up... That was the most liberating conversation she ever had since coming here. He did not judge her, did not give any adult-advice, did not try to wind up the call before she had finished. "Thank-you, sir", Rini said, hanging up. There was a marked change in her voice. Seemed relaxed, confident.