I'll Love You Longer Than Forever

Chapter Ninety Nine

After Riddhima recovered from her fever, she threw herself face first into studies and wedding preparation. There was so much to do and not a lot of time to do it in. The gang was all busy with work and the upcoming exams, and so they didn't have time to hang out like they used to, which was also taking a toll on everyone. They were so used to spending almost every waking moment together, but now that they'd all chosen different specializations, it was almost impossible to spend time together.

Riddhima had, as expected, chosen obstetrics, Armaan had gone for cardio, while Anjali had followed in her father's footsteps and chosen neuro. And, just as everyone had anticipated, Atul had decided to become an AIDS specialist. They'd all seen Muskaan veer towards psychology and she did end up choosing that, given her fear of blood. Surprisingly, Rahul had chosen paediatrics. He'd always been good with kids, but no one had thought he'd become a pediatrician. If anyone, the gang had always thought it would be Riddhima or Atul who chose that field of practice. But, Rahul had gone for it, stating that he'd always wanted to be one. Another surprise was Nikki choosing to not go into a specialization, but continue on the admin side of things. She'd officially become Dr. Keerti's shadow.

The month passed in a blur of work and studies. Every moment that the gang was not working, they were studying. Their batch was one of the most competent batches that Sanjeevani had ever seen, and everyone had high expectations from them. Add to that the fact that they had not been able to perform upto the mark in their internship exams due to the shootout, they all wanted to outdo themselves and perform their best.

With a lot of pain and tears, and hard work, they pulled through. The night before the exam. Dr. Shashank hosted a dinner, wanting to boost everyone's morale and give them a pep talk.

"So, doctors!" He started. "Main jaanta hoon ki iss ek mahine mein aap sabne bohot zyada mehnat ki hai. Aur mujhe aap sab pe poora bharosa hai. Kal ke exam mein aap sab bohot hi achcha perform karenge iss baat pe mujhe koi shaq nahi hai!

Sanjeevani ka sabse zyada mastikhor batch aap logon ka hi hai, lekin... saath hi saath... Aap sab humaare hospital ke savse zyada successful aur competent doctors bhi hain. Aapne yahaan jitni shararatein ki hai, jitni masti ki hai, jitni problems create ki hain, utni hi solve bhi ki hain. Aap sabne humein bohot pareshaan kiya hai, but at the same time, aap sabne humein aap par garv karne ke bohot mauke bhi diye hain. Jab baat Sanjeevani ki, aur aapke profession ki aayi hai, toh aapne hamesha kadam aage badhaya hai, hamesha lade hain, aur jeete bhi. Isliye... Aaj main bohot fakr se keh sakta hoon ki aap sab mere interns hain, mere doctors hain.

All the best, everyone! I know you'll do us proud!"

A chorus of thank yous rung around the room and then everyone dug into their dinner that had been prepared especially by Padma Aunty and Nani for this occasion.

However, while everyone ate, Armaan played with his food, his mind a million miles away. He was thinking about the test tomorrow, and how he needed to perform his best, possibly even aim at outperforming the others. If he didn't pass this with flying colours... Well, he didn't know what he would do. Nothing else was an option.

Riddhima noticed his peculiar behaviour and tried to talk to him a couple times but he brushed her off with false reassurances that both of them knew meant nothing. But, Riddhima didn't want to create a scene in front of the others and so she kept quiet, resolving to talk to him when they were alone.

Everyone else enjoyed the dinner, laughing and merrymaking, relieving all the stress they'd been under in this previous month. Stories were told, anecdotes shared, jokes cracked. For anyone else, it might have been the perfect evening with their loved ones, but not Rahul, because he saw just how worked up Armaan was. His exam fever had been prevalent all through the month and him & Riddhima had had to make a lot of efforts to bring him out of his constant funks. It always surprised Rahul how Armaan could react so badly to exams, especially because he was so good at everything. He had been named Intern Of The Month more times than anyone else. His track record had been exemplary - he had successfully handled the most number of cases that showed up in Sanjeevani's ER, had handled the most difficult patients and gotten them to do things his way, was a favourite amongst the staff at the hospital.