ONE NIGHT (4 page)

pretty. She had high cheekbones and her fair skin went well with her wispy

eyebrows and soot-black eyes. Her sleep-deprived face still looked nice. She

wore a plain mustard sari, as saris were all she could wear in her in-laws’

house. This was different apparel from the jeans and skirts Radhika preferred

before her marriage.

‘No updates. Will dig for stuff today but I think Bakshi will screw us all.

Hey Shyam, the website manual is all done by the way. I emailed it to office,’

Vroom said and started his bike.

‘Cool, finally. Let’s send it in today,’ I said, perking up.

We left Vroom and moved to out last pickup at Priyanka’s place. It was

9.30 p.m. still an hour away from our shift. However, I was worried as Shefali

finished her shift and left by 10:20 p.m.

Fortunately, Priyanka was standing at her pick-up point when we

reached her place.

‘Hi,’ Priyanka said, as she entered the Qualis and sat next to Esha in the

middle seat. She carried a large, white plastic bag apart from her usual giant

handbag.

‘Hi,’ everyone replied except me.

‘I said hi, Shyam,’ Priyanka said.

I pretended not to hear. It is strange, but even since we broke up, I find

it difficult to talk to her. Even though I must think of her thirty times a day.

I looked at her. She adjusted her dupatta around her neck. The forest

green salwar kameez she was wearing was new, I noticed. The colors suited

her light brown skin. I looked at her nose and her nostrils that flared up every

time she was upset. I swear tiny flames appeared in them when she was mad.

‘Shyam, I said hi,‘ she said again. She gets really pissed if people don’t

respond to her.

‘hi,’ I said. I wondered if Bakshi would finally promote me after he saw

my website manual tonight.

‘Where’s Vroom?’ Priyanka said. She had to know everything all the

time.

‘Vroom is riding…vroom,’ Esha said, making a motorbike noise.

‘Nice perfume, Esha. Shopping again, eh?’ Priyanka said and sniffed,

puckering up that tiny nose.

‘Escape, Calvin Klein,’ Esha announced and struck a pose.

‘Wow! Someone is going designer,’ Priyanka said and both of them

laughed. This is something I will never understand about her. Priyanka has

bitched fifty times about Esha to me, yet when they are with each other, they

behave like long-lost sisters.

‘Esha, big date coming?’ Radhika said.

‘No dates. I’m still so single. Suitable guys are an endangered species,’

Esha said and all the girls laughed. It wasn’t that funny if you ask me. I wished

Vroom was in the Qualis too. He is the only person in my team I can claim as a

friend. At twenty-two he is four years younger than I am, but I will find it

easiest to talk to him. Radhika’s household talk is too alien to me. Esha’s

modeling trip is also beyond me as no one is ever going to pay me for the

looks. I am certainly not good looking: my day is made if someone describes

my looks as ‘slightly above average’.

Priyanka was a friend and a lot moiré until recently. Four months ago,

we broke up (Priyanka’s version) or she dumped me (my version).

So now I try to do what she wants us to do—‘move on’—which is why I

hang out with Shefali.

Beep Beep. Beep Beep.

Two pairs of loud beeps from my shift’s pocket startled everyone.

‘Who’s is that?’ Priyanka said.

‘Oh Sorry. It’s my SMS.’ I said and opened the new message.

Where r u my eddy teddy?

Come soon-curly wurly

It was Shefali. She is into cheesy nicknames these days. I replied to the

SMS.

Qualis stuck in traffic

Will b there soon

‘Who’s that?’ Esha asked me.’

‘Nobody important,’ I said.

‘Shefali?’ Radhika said.

‘No,’ I said and everybody looked at me.

‘No,’ I said again.

‘Yes, it is. It is Shefali, isn’t it,’ Esha and Radhika said together and

laughed.

‘Why does Shefali always babytalk?’ I heard Esha whisper to Radhika.

More titters followed.

‘Whatever,’ I said and looked at my watch. The Qualis was still on the

NH8, at the entrance to Gurgaon. We were ten minutes away from

Connexions.

‘Cool, will meet Shefali by 10:10, I thought.

‘Can we stop for a quick tea at Inderjeet? We will still make it by

10:30,’ Priyanka said. Inderjeet dhabha on NH8 was famous for its all-night

tea and snacks among truck drivers.

‘We won’t get late?’ Radhika crinkled her forehead.

‘Of course not. Driver
Ji
asked saved us twenty minutes in the last

stretch. Come Driver
ji
, my treat,’ Priyanka said.

‘Good idea. Will keep me awake,’ Esha said.

The driver slowed the Qualis near Inderjeet dhabha and parked it near

the counter.

‘Hey guys, do we have to stop? We will get late,’ I protested against the

chai chorus.

‘We won’t get late. Let’s treat Driver
ji
for making us reach fast,’

Priyanka said and got out of the Qualis. She just has to do things I don’t want

to do.

‘He wants to be with Shefali, dude,’ Esha elbowed Radhika. They

guffawed again. What is so damn funny, I wants to ask, but didn’t.

‘No, I just like to reach my shift a few minutes early,’ I said and got out

of the Qualis. Military Uncle and the driver followed us.

Inderjeet dhabha had
angithis
next to each table. I smelled hot

paranthas, but did not order as it was getting late. The driver arranged plastic

chairs for us. Inderjeet’s minions collected tea orders as per the various

complicated rules laid out by the girls.

‘No sugar in mine,’ Esha said.

‘Extra hot for me,’ Radhika said.

‘With cardamom for me,’ Priyanka said.

When we were in college together, Priyanka used to make cardamom

tea for me in her hostel room. Her taste in men might have changed, but

obviously not her taste in beverages.

The tea arrived in three minutes.

‘So what’s the gossip?’ Priyanka said as cupped her hands around the

glass for warmth. Apart from cardamom, Priyanka’s favourite spice is gossip.

‘No gossip. You tell us, things are happening I
your
life,’ Radhika said.

‘I actually do have something to tell,’ Priyanka said with a sly smile.

‘What?’ Radhika and Esha exclaimed together.

‘I’ll tell you when we get to the bay. It’s big,’ Priyanka said.

‘Tell now,’ Esha said, poking Priyanka’s shoulder.

‘No time. Someone is in a desperate hurry,’ Priyanka said glancing

meaningfully at me.

I turned away.

‘Okay, I also have something to share. But don’t tell anyone, Esha said.

‘What?’ Radhika said.

‘See, Esha said and stood up. She raised her top to expose a flat midriff

—on which there was a newborn ring.

‘Cool, check it out,’ Priyanka said, ‘someone’s turning trendy.’

Military Uncle stared as if in a state of shock. I suspect he was never

young, was just born straight forty years old.

‘What’s that? A navel ring?’ Radhika asked.

Esha nodded and covered herself again.

‘Did it hurt?’ Radhika said.

‘Oh yes,’ Esha said. ‘Imagine someone stapling your tummy hard.’

Esha’s statement churned my stomach.

‘Shall we go,’ I said, gulping down my tea.

‘Let’s go girls, or Mr Conscientious will get upset,’ Priyanka suppressed

a smirk. I hate her.

I went to the counter to pay the bill. I saw Vroom watching TV.

‘Vroom?’ I said.

‘Hi. What are you guys doing here?’ he said.

I told about the girls’ tea idea.

‘I arrived twenty minutes ago man,’ Vroom said. He extinguished his

cigarette and showed me that butt. ‘This was my first.’

Vroom was trying to cut down to four cigarettes a night. However, with

Bakshi in our life, it was impossible.

‘Can you rush me to the call center? Shefali will leave soon,’ I said.

Vroom’s eyes were transfixed on the TV set on Inderjeet dhabha’s

counter. The NDTV news channel was on, and Vroom is a sucker for it. He

worked in a newspaper once and is generally into social and global issues and

all that stuff. He thinks that just by watching the news, he can change the

world. That, by the way, is his trip.

A TV reporter was speaking in front of Parliament house, announcing

elections in four months.

‘Hey, I know that guy. He used to work in my previous job,’ Vroom said.

‘The newspaper?’

‘Yes, Boontoo we used to call him—total loser guy. Didn’t know he

moved to television. Check out his contact lenses,’ Vroom said, as both of us

paid the bill.

‘Let’s go, man. Shefali will kill me.’

‘Shefali. Oh you mean curly wurly,’ Vroom laughed.

‘Shut up man. She has to catch the Qualis after her shift. This is the

only time I get with her.’

‘On one hand you had Priyanka, and now you sink to Shefali levels,’

Vroom said, and bent his elbow to rest his six-feet-two-inches frame on the

dhabha counter.

‘What’s wrong with Shefali?’ I said, shuffling from one foot to the other.

‘Nothing, just that it is nice to have a girlfriend with half a brain. Why

are you wasting your time with her?’

I’m waning myself off Priyanka. I’m trying to move on in life,’ I said and

took a sweat from the candy jar at the counter.

‘So what’s Shefali, a pacifier? What happened to the re-proposal plan

with Priyanka?’ Vroom said.

‘I’ve told you. Not until I become team leader. Which should be soon—

maybe tonight after me submit the website manual. Now can we please go?’ I

said.

‘Yeah, right. Some hopes you live on,’ Vroom said, but moved away

from the counter.

I held on tight as Vroom zipped through NH8 at 120 km an hour. I closed

my eyes and prayed Shefali would not be mad, and that I would teach alive.

Beep Beep. Beep Beep. My mobile went off again.

Curly wurly is sad

Eddy teddy is very bad

I leave in 10 min : (

I jumped off the bike as Vroom reached the call center. The bike jerked

forward and Vroom had to use both his legs to balance.

‘Easy man. Vroom said in an irritated voice. ‘Can you just let me park?’

‘Sorry. I’m really late,’ I said and ran inside.

#3

‘I’m not talking to you,’ Shefali said and started playing with one of her

silver earrings. The ring-shaped earrings were so large, they could be bangles.

‘Sorry Shefali. My bay people made the Qualis late.’ I stood next to her,

leaning against her desk. She sat on her swivel chair and rotated it ninety

degrees away from me to showcase her sulking. The dozens of workstations in

her bay were empty as all the other agents had left.

‘Whatever. I thought you were their team leader,’ she said and

pretended to work on her computer.

‘I am not the team leader. I am due, but not one yet,’ I said.

‘Why don’t they make you team leader?’ she turned to me and fluttered

her eyes. I hate this expression of hers.

‘I don’t know. Bakshi said he’s trying, but I have to bring my leadership

skills up to speed.’

‘What is up to speed?’ she said and opened her handbag.

‘I don’t know. Improve my skills I guess.’

‘So you guys don’t have any team leader.’

‘No. Bakshi says we have to manage without one. I help with supervisory

stuff for now. But Bakshi told me I have strong future potential.’

‘So why doesn’t your team listen to you?’

‘Who says they don’t? Of course they do.’

‘So why were you late/’ she said, beginning her sentence with a ‘so; for

the third time.

‘Shefali come on, drop that,’ I said, looking at my watch. ‘How did your

shift go?’

‘Shift was okay. Team leader said call volumes have dropped for

Western Computers. All customers are using the troubleshooting website