Nenjamellam kadhal

Chapter -22

                                                 

                                                                                    Sakthi

On Monday morning of the following week, Sakthivel insisted that I sit with him in the middle of the bus, deviating from my usual spot near the front door. I couldn't help but tease him, "Idhu enna, andha Madhavan movie la vara madri, enna thedrangala illaya nu maranju irundhu test panringala? Rombha palaya idea va irukku da."

He countered, " Ama palasu dha aana work agum nee pesama okkaru. Maniratnam knows better than me, for sure."

As the bus came to a stop at the CDK Nagar signal, the professor's gaze briefly landed on my usual seat, then slowly scanned the bus until it landed on me by the window. He gave me a small smile before the signal changed, and the bus resumed moving.

Once we were away from the signal, Ramya, with a raised eyebrow, turned to Sakthivel and me. She turned back when we nodded in return.

Sakthivel pulled me out of my thoughts by asking, "Enna yosikira?"

I turned to him and said, "Namma en ivlo naal idhellam gavanikala? Ramya sonadhellam en namaku thonala? Namma inum valaralayo da, thakkali chedi?"

Sakthivel replied," Naama ila, Nee. Medhuva valandhukalam onnum avasaram illa. Idhu enna cancer ku cure ah, research panni kandu pudicha nobel price kuduka porangala, free ah vidu."

I thought, 'Sari po, naama gavanichu matum enna panna porom.' I brushed off the conversation, and we started playing games until we reached the college.

Around the morning break, Jithu messaged in the fine arts group chat about three upcoming competitions in the cultural events at SE College in 15 days, JJCET in 3 months tentatively, and SAS University in a month or so. My band members planned to meet at the auditorium changing room the next day to discuss our songs for the competition.

During the last hour before the lunch break, our staff coordinator informed us about the department symposium scheduled for a month later. As first-year students, our role was to look pretty and presentable during the events and, if interested, submit a topic for a paper presentation, but we did not have in-depth knowledge of our core subjects yet, so we couldn't compete. But we could attend seminars and presentations.

Our coordinator assigned Ramya and me as welcoming representatives, as she was on the public relations committee, which included receiving guests and getting donations. Our task would be mainly to meet and greet the guests as welcoming representatives. She told us to meet her two days before the symposium, but other than that, we had nothing to do but stand, look nice, and greet. So, she left us free.

The rest of the day was spent discussing the symposium and cultural events, selecting songs, and making plans. In the evening, Ramya dragged me to the canteen. As she had mentioned, the professor was there, having coffee, and then he left shortly, following us. He called Janani Akka; we gave them space and continued walking towards the bus. She joined us shortly and gave me a chocolate bar that he had given her. I shared it with my friends on our way.

After boarding the bus, I sat beside Priya in the aisle seat instead of someone's lap, and Nivetha stood beside me, hiding me from the back door. Ramya, sitting near the window behind us, discreetly started recording a video of the back door where the professor typically boarded.

After some time, Nivetha tapped my shoulder, and I stood up to give her my seat. When I looked sideways, I saw the professor with a faint smile. I sat on Nivetha's lap, and Ramya handed me her phone to watch the recorded video.