The Interview

It was a dull evening for him after an exhausted tea chat. He lay on the bed and started to dream. The dream was disturbed by the rattling of the room door by his class mate – Ashok – the placement representative of the class. ‘We have an interview tomorrow’ Ashok announced. Sooner, the room was swarmed by his class mates. Anxiety gripped him. ‘Hey Kushal, do you understand what I am saying’ Ashok shouted. Kushal didn’t get placed till then when dozens of companies came in and ninety percent of his classmates had been selected already.

‘Hey idiot, why didn’t you tell me before? I haven’t even washed my formals’ Kushal wailed. ‘But have you prepared anything?’ asked one of the friends gathered. ‘Nah... Because of this bullshit, I am going to lose my interview’ Kushal grumbled helplessly.

‘Ok let me get your formals ready...it is seven, if you study four hours from now, brushing up the topics from thermodynamics and solid mechanics, I think you can clear it’ Ashok advised and added ‘you have a high chance of getting through as many of our guys won’t appear for this interview, as they didn’t like it’.. Motivated by Ashok words, he decided to start preparing from that peripheral moment. ‘Kushal, let us go for dinner and you could start up fresh’ his roommate asked. Kushal didn’t have a habit of saying ‘NO’ even the expected answer was obviously ‘NO’. Invited by the roommate’s offer ‘Yah... let us go’ Kushal acceded.

It was the Sunday dinner and it was the most famous for the non vegetarian fleshy foods. Though the savoury and hygiene of the food was always debatable, the people would register their presence, and wait inquisitively for the chicken briyani to be served. Kushal went there with thoughts about the interview, but as soon as he entered, he was received with the smells of the fried chicken. ‘OMG ... Today is Sunday. I completely forget it!’ Kushal remarked. ‘This is the same dialogue you said in the morning’ one of the persons sitting nearby ridiculed. ‘Yummy... it is very tasty...’Kushal said. He ended his thirty minute dinner with his usual grumpy burp and tried to depart. He had a habit of having postprandial chat at least for ten minutes. But it went for thirty minutes. The time was eight. He had only three hours to prepare for the next day interview. Yes he wouldn’t be awake after eleven – somnolence would entrap him by then!

Kushal came inside the room and started to study. The advertent study went for some thirty minutes. But sooner he was again perturbed – it was a message from an unknown number with his favourite message tone ‘Boss You have a Text message’. It said, ‘Hi Kushal’ with two happy emoticons. He tried hard not to reply. But the two happy emoticons at the end of the message from an unknown number made him to reply to it promptly. He replied, ‘Hello... who is this? Btw I don’t have your number. I think I would have missed it...’and continued. He wrote three lines asking for the identification and sent it. And He turned over the next page in the book as if he had completely read the previous one.

In a few seconds, the second message from the same number which said, ‘Kushal, I am Swathi from ABC College. I have seen you when you performed dance in my college. I got your contact from my college cultural organiser team. Shall I chat with you for sometime’ again ended the message with two happy emoticons. On receiving it, Kushal’s face brightened. He thought he could take a break from the engrossed study for some time. He continued to message. Both exchanged their sweet and enchanting messages which ran for the next three hours and spoiled the Kushal’s preparation time. Kushal sent all the messages with loads of happy emoticons. And the conversation ended at eleven and surprisingly by Kushal as he felt sleepy.

The next day, the new day and as promised, Ashok kept the ironed formal dress on his table. Kushal started to get ready, groomed and departed. It was at the university placement cell office, where the written test and personal interview was going to take place. Ashok, standing in front of the building, smiled and greeted Kushal, ‘All the best’. Sooner he was called for the written test. To Kushal’s bewilderment, questions were tough and but at the end to his surprise, he got selected. He was delighted. He reminded about Ashok who said the previous day, ‘many were not attending...’ In the thirty minutes, he was called for the interview. The interview was pretty normal. The interviewer was like a distant old friend who as if he had lost contact with Kushal and put forth his questions in answerable way.

Interview was done. Results were announced and Kushal got selected. Kushal was very happy and appreciated and hugged by Ashok. Kushal took the mobile and sent a message to Swathi and expressed his joy of getting selected. Immediately he was replied, ‘Hey idiot, this is your room mate -Baskar. I have changed the number yesterday’. Kushal was devastated on seeing this. Kushal replied him with all the bad words that he came across. Even if I try to say euphemistically, that would still be bad one. Frustrated Kushal was waiting for any formal announcements from the placement cell regarding the offer letter.

‘When will we get the offer letter... any idea?’ mellifluent voice came from the beautiful girl, standing nearby, who too got placed in the same company. Kushal tried to recuperate from the previous shock and answered, ‘No idea, I am also waiting for that’. ‘I am Swathi from DEF College; I came here through off campus’. Kushal was apparently amused and introduced himself with blatant confusion. The confusion soon headed to interesting conversation. They had a lunch and tried to depart with their staying smiles and they exchanged their phone numbers as the acknowledgement of the conversation they had and they really departed...