Episode 5: The C tutorial

Thank you Srirang for the 'plane flying below the moon' idea.

Previous episode

"Butterscotch Cornetto"
"Chocolate nuts Cornetto"
"Chocolate?"
"Yup! I love chocolate!"
"Girls like chocolate."
"Guys do too. BTW, what's great about butter scotch?"
"Its the best flavor for an ice-cream, haven't you tasted it?"
"Nope. As a kid I used to think the ice-cream had alcohol in it, butter with scotch! You see, I don't really want to get drunk and lose my senses."
Natasha laughed.
"That's so lame, Parth!"

We walked back on the road leading to the hostels while eating our ice-creams.
OMG, she looked so cute while eating the ice-cream.

"Hey, that's Venus over there." I pointed out to a lighted celestial object in the sky which didn't twinkle.
"Venus is visible just after sunset, its past 11 pm now." She said and smiled at me.
"I see. It must be Saturn then." I said and shrugged. Suddenly I saw an airplane approaching the moon and the line of trajectory it followed suggested me that it would come directly below the moon. I had seen this beautiful spectacle before!
"Hey Natasha, look up at the plane." I pointed at the dark silhouette of an airplane slowly approaching. She looked up and stopped, didn't move for a few seconds.
I saw the moonlight fall on her, after the plane had passed from below the moon. I felt the same way I felt when I saw her jogging, I felt I could live with that moment for the rest of my life. Before I could absorb her beauty in the moonlight, she looked at me and said, "That was lovely, Parth!"

"Parth, dude, class is over!" Arun pats me. I see all the students walking out of the class. I had spent the whole class thinking about my time with Natasha last night!

Today, all my efforts to avert the C tutorial session are in vain.
Plan A: I call in sick. The Professor doesn't accept the excuse, suggests I do a video-conference or take the tutorial the next day. :(
Plan B: To think of another plan.
A light bulb lights in my mind, I remember a chat done with an alumni a couple of weeks ago. And I have another plan.

Later that morning, at UG1 lab, which I visit as a volunteer to help some students with their PCs, I sense her walking towards me stealthily while I am installing Karmic Koala (latest Ubuntu OS) and feel her poke on my shoulder.
"Hi! You must be a labcom (a person from UG1 who has prior experience in handling PCs, and could help his batchmates who are new to PCs), could you please help me? I installed Linux, then I installed Windows and now I can't find the Linux I had installed." Her mannerism is completely formal, as if she is talking to me for the first time. But her tantalizing smile doesn't give me chance to think much about anything at all! I leave that guy's PC and go to help her!

At 4 pm, when I walk into Seminar Hall 2, the chattering ceases and murmurs start at some parts of the class, while others simply stare at me. With my body sweating profusely, I take a deep breath and in a harsher voice, I start the tutorial.

The moment I sit across her in the library, after dinner that night, she scribbles a note and passes it to me.

Hey, I didn't see you in the tutorial today.

Yeah, I missed it, slept off.

I scribble in short, and keep my reply to a minimum and don't look at her.
She scribbles real quick.

The tutor looked hilarious wearing a monkey cap and a jacket in the month of August. Oh and yeah, he wore black specs and also had spots on his face! He looked like a complete clown!

I look at her, she looks amused.

I want to know everything! :)

And as she narrates me her experience at the tutorial, I remember about the chat with the alumni. He asked for my suggestion for a disease that doesn't affect his health but renders him useless to work. After some discussion, he suggests conjunctivitis but finds something better! I use this one. Chicken pox easily conceals one's looks, so I used this one as well.

But honestly, people did stare at me while I walked from my hostel to Seminar Hall 2.

Next Episode

A Good Boy

The man in suit looks at the bald man with fear in his eyes.
The bald man calls his own mother and asks her, "Tell me ma, that I'm a good boy, that you'd love me, no matter what."
His mother replies in affirmative.
The bald man empties his loaded pistol into the man in suit.

Episode 4: She talked to me

Before starting the next episode:
Thank you Rahul and Sushanta, for discussion on name of characters.
Thank you Rahul, for discussion on character sketch.
Thank you Srirang for removing some unnecessary parts in the conversation and some valuable suggestions...

Previous Episode

Yawning heavily sitting on my bed after a long day, I write my diary entry.

Unlike Metallica and Linkin Park playing in my i-pod, today I play "Pehli baar mohabbat". It feels so right.
While recalling my conversation with Natasha, in the library, I remember that moment of anticipation when I take that note from her, and rest of the experience.

She returned the note to me, in the same nonchalant manner. It read:

Hi! I'm Parth (with an open palm gesture)! We're batchmates, just not in the same section.

ok, So?!

Well, I didn't know what to reply! Nonetheless I scribbled back, after about a minute.

That's quite an interesting book you're reading!

Honestly, I had no idea which book she was reading! :D :P

This worked I guess, because she smiled and promptly replied.

Maths! Really?!

You seem to be doing some intense work... not planning to sleep today here, are you?

I read the note, and smiled back. Deadline for my assignment was approaching, and she seemed to be starting a conversation. I had to choose...

Well, if I sleep, I know you'd wake me up! :-)

Wasn't it obvious I'd continue the conversation! :-)

Don't be too sure of that!

Wow, you write fast, and your writing is... legible! :D
So, do you go out anytime?

She didn't reply for a few minutes. I waited, trying to look busy to her by doing my assignment.

Nope!

I started to reply but realized that the sheet had filled. I tore another sheet from my copy. I could see her looking at the copy while I was tearing the page.

After a few minutes:

Ice-cream?!

What?!

Are you game for an ice-cream?

Not really!

And she resumed her study. And I thought girls like ice-creams! :-(

Since she ended the chat, the sheets stayed with me. I slipped it into my notebook.

While leaving the library, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Natasha was standing behind me, clutching her bag on her shoulder.

"Are you still game for an ice-cream?" She asked.

After finishing my diary entry, just when I close my eyes to sleep, I get an e-mail alert on my mobile.

Parth,

Take a combined tutorial for first years' on all the different data types in C.

Prof. R. G. V.

Next Episode

Episode 3: Doomsday 2012

Previous episode

With the first set of conversations ending in disaster, I decide to take a break and wait for a better opportunity.
Next morning while jogging back to hostel, I see her jogging along with other first years' as a part of morning session of Physical Training. Each and every passing moment feels like a lifetime as I impulsively slow down and stop, absorbing her beauty in morning freshness...
I feel a tap on my shoulder as the PT instructor asks me what the matter is.

After lunch, just like every other day, I check my gmail inbox, and viola! I get an unread mail:

'[Just Like That !] New comment on Undercover Lovers.'

and with the excitement of receiving yet another comment on my post, I open the mail.

Natasha has left a new comment on your post "Undercover Lovers"

Nice post. :)

This can't be a coincidence. These are signs, indications that I must not give up! :D
My sister pings me @ yahoo messenger that instant. During the course of our chat, she is surprised to learn that I don't have a girlfriend till now. She always suspects that I don't tell her everything, but today she believes me and advices me to get active in this course... the reason she gives is the coming of doomsday in 2012...

Due to some urgent work, i.e., meeting deadline of a procrastinated assignment, I pass on the movie 2012, and visit library after dinner. I sense her walk across the table to the other side, to her favorite seat.
Hold on... did she change her library timings? I wonder.
She glances around, a few seconds more at me, and settles down to study by placing her notebook, rough copy, textbook etc. in a desirable position.

She doesn't acknowledge anybody's presence while she's studying. And my mind vacillates between doing the assignment and trying to talk to her.

I decide: To hell with patience and manners, doomsday's coming ...

I scribble a note and hold it on top of her book, shaking it in front of her line of sight.

She looks at the note, then at me. Yes, she does recognize me the way she looks at me. She takes the note, opens it and scribbles something on it, while I look at her, waiting in anticipation.
She hands over the note back to me.

Next Episode

Episode 2: I talked to her.

Previous episode

Yawning heavily sitting on my bed after a long day, I write my diary entry.
While recalling my visit to the library, I remember her nonchalant look and my attempt to start a conversation, and rest of the experience.

Thinking on my feet had never been my forte, hence I relied on my snap judgments.
And I snapped, i.e., I lied to her, when she gave me a who-the-hell-are-you look. She's a fresher and I'm a senior, we're not in same batch.

"Ssshhh," she put her finger on her lips, beckoned me for silence. She pointed at the "Silence is Golden" written at one end of the library, behind me. BTW, we were the only ones in the inner part of the library.

I sat across the table, as she resumed her reading. I picked her notebook and tore a page from it, scribbled a note for her, and pushed it across to her. Seeing her engrossed in the C programming textbook, I got up and walked out. I returned with C programming textbook, just to brush up my fundamentals. I found my note still lying beside her hand, untouched.

While reading, with the corner of my eye, I looked at the note once in a while. Suddenly the next instant I found her tapping on my head with her pen.
"What?" I squinted my eyes, then rubbed my eyes, "Has the attendance been taken?"
"What?" She said.
Her voice flowed through my subconscious and I snapped out of sleepiness.
"I'm sorry, just one of my regular dreams."
She giggled.
Why did she giggle? I wondered... do I look funny in my just-woke-up looks? Maybe that's why everybody stares at me when I wake up in the middle of the lecture.

"By the way, could you help me out with this?" I asked her a problem from C programming textbook, as my final attempt to make a conversation, while she was leaving.

Her giggle kept on playing in my mind while writing the diary. A sudden thought shattered the good feeling of that memory and uncertainty set it. I wondered, "How would she react when she learns that I'm the TA for the C programming course?"

Next Episode

Episode 1: I saw her

I see her walking down those stairs. She is perfect. I stand there looking at her grace, bouncy hair, gentle smile, until a guy climbs down after her in haste and speaks in a charming voice, "Sorry I'm late." That must be her boyfriend, I think. :(
I walk towards them. While crossing them, I hear her say, "You're always late, bro!"

:) Good!

I see her again, this time at a shopping mall, with her brother. A certain guy walks to them, pleasantly greets her, and I think, "This must be her boyfriend!"
As it turns out, he walks beside her brother and holds his hand, as if they were a couple!

:) Good!

I see her yet again, this time in a pub, with some other guy I don't recognize. They are talking and laughing and I think, "This surely must be her boyfriend!"
Another girl, probably her friend meets them, and that guy and her friend kiss.

:) Good!

The next time I see her, she is alone, walking down the road towards library. I walk in the opposite direction, but change my mind and go to library instead, after a couple of minutes.
The library, as usual is occupied with a handful of students, most of them reading magazines. I scan the library for her and see her sitting at a corner seat in the inner part of the library with few books lying on the table space in front of her.
I think, this is it, talk to her; but what if she's busy?
"Excuse me, miss..." and I glance at her notebook, and don't find her name on it. :(
She looks up at me from the book.
"Hi," I raise my hand in an open palm gesture. Her nonchalant look isn't reassuring.
"I didn't mean to bother you, but I saw you reading this book and remembered you were in my batch but in other section, so..." I pause, look at her book, then look at her.

Next Episode