Chapter 3
The tone and Gift
Tomorrow Anosh is going to see her again. He has to go to college and collect hall ticket. Hall ticket is always given a day before first Exam. He had seen Anita a countless number of times. It is going to be different tomorrow.
He gets up early in the morning. Not at 10am but at 5 am. But his face says that he don’t sleep at night. Nobody in his home was awake then. But he took long time to get ready. He took 20 minutes more to bath, Brushed two times, washed his face in between 3 times, he shaved his face neatly than ever. He spent half an hour in front of mirror. He put a white shirt and a new blue pants.
In mean time his mother prepaid breakfast and tea for him. He had his breakfast and came out of home. It was heavy rain outside.
“Hoo this…. Rain”
His mother came with a black umbrella.
”Take this with you. Walk slowly through the side of road .Don’t forget Umbrella. Don’t forget to collect hall ticket. ”
“Momma! ”
“Keep hall ticket safe inside. Don’t get it wet”
“Ok Mom! ”. He opens the umbrella and walked though rain.
“And Anosh, please take your food on time”
His mother continued advising.
Anosh reached college at 11 am. It was still raining out side. Martin was standing near to the office.
“Hay, dude.” Martin wished
“Hai, have you collected your hall ticket?”
“Yes. Do you completed preparation for tomorrows exam, I have one module”
“I have two modules to complete” Anosh answered.
“One module completed successfully!” Martin explained.
They moved through veranda.
Anosh take breath slowly two three times, without getting attention of Dibin and asked very very casually. “Have you see Anita?”
“Why!”
“Mmm I have some Xerox of here with me. I mean Photostat of math’s book”.
He lied without any confusion.
“I didn’t see here, she may be in the class room.”
Saleen entered the seen. He was wearing red shirt and Blue jeans. He was almost wet he hates using umbrella.
“White shirt in a rainy day!” he commented about Anosh’s shirt.
“Is that true?” Saleen asked with a meaningful smile. Anosh smelled some thing wrong.
“What that?”
“What we hear about you?”
“What about me?” Anosh tried his maximum to sound casual.
“You have a line in this college right. White shirt new hello tune in phone, dressed neatly”
An atom bomb exploded in his stomach.
“He he” he smiled a crooked smile.
“The hello tune! They gave me an offer. I mean customer care 10 per month. Nice offer right. Don’t miss understand me. ”
“We have no miss understanding about you.”
“It was Anita. Right, I bet” Martin suddenly said. This time three atom bomb with a hydrogen bomb exploded in his stomach and one in his head. He searched for words in the ocean of darkness. This will be the last thing he expected for today when he wakes up. How do these pupils guess all about this? Did they see his message draft? No way!
Lots of possibilities came into his mind. May be, it is the result of chain reaction of atom bomb just exploded.” From where the hell, they get that Idea. Did they see my message draft in phone? No, because they don’t see I or my mobile after writing that Or Is there any hole in my head so that what I think was leaking out through it. Or is there any supernatural spy living inside my head. Did I have a dual personality disorder so that I will tell all my secrets to others and when I wake up everything was forgotten? Whatever it may be I have to find it out or it will be a great problem. If they know everything then this is the end of the world”
In some case friends are like elephants if they see a little plant of love started growing near by them they will crush it with their big black forelegs just for fun. But even after, if it succeeds to become a tree they will stand for it. That is friendship. Anosh thinks if they came to know about this they will kill him and Anita by teasing. They will tease him and her into peaces and serve it for all others in the class as joke meal.
He just smiles. Smile is his most commonly used weapon in this kind of situation. The theory is that others will be never able to find what the meaning of smile is. Some times they think he smiled because what they said was true. Other time they think he is smiling to their joke. Some thinks he is hiding out some think. But they are never going to figure out what actually it is. So here is a tip Smile. But beware if they got proof then that’s all.
“Why did you say like that?” Anosh asked to know if they get any clues.
“Is that true?” Dibin asked
Anosh again smiled and asked again with curiosity “Why did you say like that?”
“You asked for Anita” Martin answered again.
“Ho! You guys” He said to them. ”Ho that was a wild guessing.” he said in his mind. “How can they guess thinks like that? Who gave them the bloody sixth sense?”
He didn’t ask any further questions to Saleen because enquiring is not like smiling they can get doubter. Second, tip of the day.
“I have to collect the hall ticket” Anosh changed the subject.
“We had already collected; we will be in the hostel. Are you coming there? ”
“No I will go back to home”
Martin and Saleen run to the hostel in the rain. There was still rain, but its strength was reduced.
After collecting hall ticket, he went directly to class room. But nobody was there. He searched Anita in the library. But she was not there. He searched here in the stairs. But he didn’t find here. Now rain is stopped and it was the time to return to home. He walked towards the bus stop.
Tony was there waiting for the bus. Tony is his class mate who gives him the book of digital electronics in the library. Tony was a day scholar. His house is about 10km from the college.
“Are you leaving home today?” Tony asked.
“Yes I am planning to write exam coming from home.” Anosh replayed
A private bus came into view and it stopped at a distance of maximum from the bus stop. It was always like that. Bus drivers and conductors did not want more students inside. They both get inside the bus.
Anosh was thinking about Anita were did she go today? Did she collect hall ticket?
“Did she get that?” Tony asked.
“What?” Anosh answered for un expected question.
“You don’t know that?” Tony asked again “Anita lost his golden chain in this morning”. Something hit on his stomach again. And he didn’t go to help here.
“Where did she lose that?” he asked.
“After collecting hall ticket she found it was missing. She thinks she lost it on the way to college. We were searching that all the way. But we failed to find out where she lost it”Tony continued “It was heavy raining that time. That may go through water. ”
“Did she get it back?” Anosh asked
“I don’t know there were still searching when I went to collect the hall ticket” Tony answered. So that’s why he is not able to saw here in the college.
“Is she ok?”
“I don’t think she is that depressed, she can handle that”
“She is cool, right?” Hearing this Tony looked at him. “Have you done all the preparations for tomorrow’s exam?” Anosh suddenly changed the subject.
“Lot remains. I don’t know how I am going to write the exam tomorrow”. Tony was a bright student. Class top students always answer like this, like they haven’t started even the day before exam. They will never agree that they have completed the revision a number of times.
Anosh knows he is flattering. Anosh decided to call here but not in front of Tony. So he continued talking about the exam. Both of them get down in the bus stand.
“Bye, see you tomorrow” Tony said
“Ok!”
Anosh waited still Tony to get out of his sight. He took the phone and dilled Anita’s number. But she was engaged. She was talking with somebody through the phone. So he cut the phone.
“Is she really encaged with some one? Did she already have a boy friend? What should I do then? Then she is going to say a no. She is gong to reject me if she is already engaged with somebody else. So that is going to be her answer, that’s all.” Anosh continued talking to himself. “Then there is no need to send the poem. I should delete them, so that nobody will see that. But what is the answer to Saleen’s question, am I a coward? No guts to propose one. Whatever here answer I should do that I have to prove myself? But what will Anita think? If she says a no, there is no need to explain this to here. And for a yes I will never say this to here.” Anosh seems everything is fine so he decided to continue.
Anosh get into the bus to begin the journey to home. It was twilight. The sky was red. Some of clouds seem to be in golden color. It was after the rain. Some where distant Anosh see a rainbow. He always wondered about the beauty of the rainbow. No body seems to notice that except him. People moved here and there very busy. He keeps on looking to it still it go out of his sight.
“She will call me, or do a miss call when she finds my name in miscall list. What to say when she calls. Sing a song so that she forgets she lost his chain today.” His mind went out of coverage.
"Idea!" he said to himself, something is not ok.
"I will set a hello tune for her. But, which one? I must be little careful. There is a chance that Others can get drought on me. I must be very cautious about Martin and Saleen "
He thought of different songs and decided with an old Malayalam song from Malayalam movie “Olangal” starting with "Thumbi vaa". It was a childish type melodious song.
"That was a nice one and safe. Nobody will be able to find this type of meaning for this song unless I told."
He was more than happy about his idea. But the big problem is the mobile balance. He checked his mobile balance.
30 Rs 22 pica. Enough! He dialed customer care number and selected talk to customer care from the voice menu.
"It that song is available?" he asked
"Yes, it is available, May I set it for your mobile sir?" a sweet female voice answer at the other end
"Yes.” he allowed.
"Your hello tune is changed. You have been charged just 15 rupees as song download charge. Thank you for using our service"
That was the end of 15 rupees. But he was happy.
He waited for her call.
The bus was getting nearer to his house. But she didn't give a miss call even.
The bus stopped at his stop he get down and walked towards his house through yellow street lights.
"What went wrong? May be she don't found his miss call? Or she may not want to talk to him? Of curse not that. She may not have balance in her phone." He decided to wait the whole night.“Idea!”, not again.
“She may not have the balance. I will recharge his mobile, as a gift. She will get surprise when she founds it. She is really going to think it was done by mistake”
Mean while he reached his home. But still Anita did not call him.
He opened the gate of his house. His mum was there in front of the house.
"Why are you seemed to be dull?"
"Nothing, Mom! I have to study a lot for tomorrow’s exam.” But that was not a lie.
