Here Is the second part of the story Disguised and it is written by Sudheeksh. Enjoy the story. He is in great mood of writing. Actually I liked the second part than the first.
Episode 2
“My
heart’s stereo, it beats for you so listen close....” his mobile ringtone
startled Sandesh and brought him back to his senses. As soon as he received the
call, yelling voice on the other end tore his ear drum off.
“Sandy!! I need your help bro…”
screamed Pradeep, Sandesh’s team-mate and also his best buddy.
“Ah!! Now what, idiot?!”
“Bro, I’ve told you about my
girlfriend, Anitha, right?”
“A..ni..tha... That short
girl?” Sandesh was always confused about Pradeep’s girlfriend’s name as it kept
changing twice in a month. Today Anitha, tomorrow Sunitha, later Sarita....
Pradeep kept himself busy flirting with varieties of girls. So, it was hard to
keep a track of their names.
“Nah!! That slim and cute one.
She sits right in front of our chamber, remember?”
“Whichever! What’s with her
now?”
“It’s raining today right?”
“Yeah”
“Well, this girl has a habit of
shopping in rain. This time, she wants me to accompany her...”
“So, you won’t be coming to
office today, huh? And why are you telling this to me?”
“Ah! Well, I’m supposed to take
an interview for the software maintenance department at 12:30. And as I’ve said
I won’t be coming to office today...”
“DUDE!! Have you gone mad!? You
want to skip that interview thing just for the sake of your PART-TIME lover?”
Sandesh had seen Pradeep doing many more stupid things. But, this was beyond
the limits. He thought Pradeep is going crazy day by day. I mean, if you’re an
orphan, if other people neglects your minor mistakes just because of that
reason, it doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want and expect them to excuse
that too. You can’t take people for granted just like that.
“Please bro... Just try to
understand my situation here. I’m damn sure this girl’s my soul mate. I’m so
much in love with her. I’ll stick to her, I promise...”
“Hahha!! You say that to every
girl. But, I’m sorry. It won’t work with me”
“I swear Sandy!! Trust me,
please”
“Why aren’t you getting my
point man? Ashutosh sir is already mad at you. If you keep on being
irresponsible, doing all these things he won’t even hesitate to fire you.
Besides, we both know how long you’ll stick to her”
“I know man. Just this last
time. And I’ve already informed Ashutosh sir that I caught fever yesterday
night and am unable to walk...”
“So, you lied to him”
“Please bro. Don’t tell him
that I lied. He’ll kill me, please please please please”
“Okay, okay!! So, what am I
supposed to do here?”
“It’s simple man! Just take
that interview on behalf of me. I’ve talked to sir that you’ll do it...”
“Bloody rogue!! You know how
busy I’m with that new project, right? How can I...”
“Please Sandy, I beg you. This
will be the last time I’ll ever ask for your help. I’ll get you a beer this
weekend”
“Dude, you owe me lot more
things than just a beer. And I know your ‘just this once’ dialogue will never
ever die”
“I know man. I owe you
everything”
Sandesh waited thinking there
will be many more sentimental dialogues from Pradeep. As he chose to remain
silent instead, Sandesh spoke up letting out a sigh, “Forget it. I’ll let you
know about the interview as soon as I’m done with all my work”
“Thank you, bro!!”
“Chal, bye. Enjoy the day” and
then Sandesh hung up.
He was now standing alone in that
bus stop. Everyone else had already left along with the girl who made his heart
to skip a beat or two. Another bus arrived after few minutes which took him to
his office. All the way to his office, he couldn’t see anything else. Her face
was all he could see even with his eyes wide open, even though she wasn’t in
front him.
* * * *
This new project Sandesh was working
with from past few months had him completely involved until Ashutosh; his team
leader reminded him of the interview.
“That idiot will never change!
And he lied to me that he’s ill”
Sandesh remained silent. And he
was surprised that Ashutosh had learned that Pradeep was lying.
“Leave it aside. Are you
prepared to take that interview Sandesh? It’s not for our department you know”
“Yes sir. I’m prepared”
“This Pradeep always drags
everyone into trouble along with him. What was the need for him to take
interview for that maintenance department? Leave it!! He wants to work, he
wants to learn, fine!! Why the hell does he agree to a work which he can’t
complete?”
“How would I know? And why the
hell are you yelling in front of me?” Sandesh thought to himself. Thank god,
others can’t hear our thoughts!! Or else there would’ve been uncountable world
wars repeatedly digging the human souls.
“Just don’t disclose this
matter to anyone. There’re already enough and more threats to his job. Keep it
steady and smooth. Go, get ready. It’s already 12:00pm.”
Sandesh left his desk and
prepared the chamber where he has to take the interview. He made sure that
everything’s in order and settled down on his chair. He looked at his watch;
12:25.
12:26
.
12:27
.
12:28
.
12:29
.
12:30
Interview began right on time. They
had called for eight candidates to attend the interview out of which Sandesh
had to select only four who all will be further filtered to best two. He went
across them one by one. Sandesh was relieved as the interview went in a quicker
pace than he had imagined. He could make out whom to select within seconds
after they enter the chamber. All thanks to colleges that teach students how to
score good marks than teaching how to think like a real engineer. Those who
learnt it on their own or with other help, had successfully got their name in
the selected candidate’s list; three of them so far. One last candidate and
Sandesh is done for the day. He went through the name list to check the name of
that candidate. It sounded feminine. He was thinking about his project. He had
very little time to finish it. Then, a melodious voice at the door pulled him
back from his dream land.
“May I come in, sir?”
As he lifted his gaze to greet
in the candidate, he felt somebody had taken his ability to speak away from him.
His mouth was wide open in astonishment.
It’s her!! The bus stop beauty!! Right at his chamber door, asking for
his permission to enter.
“May I come in, sir?” this time
a bit louder. It got passed through his thick skull and his soul was back
inside his body after its imaginary duet.
“Please come in” he replied
with a fixed smile, trying to control his emotions. She held a pink file in her
right hand. Her dress was dry by then. She looked even more beautiful now.
“Please take a seat” he offered
her as he took her file. He went through her documents.
“So, Ms.Adhya Shetty, right?”
he asked her looking directly into her eyes.
“Yes, sir” she replied gently.
He turned his gaze back to her
file.
“PU at St.Aloshious; Mangalore,
engineering in CS at JC; Mysore. I see, you’ve maintained steady academic
reports as well. Impressive!!”
“Thank you, sir. All credit
goes to my parents” she replied, slightly backing off.
“Well, in spite of these
reports, I’ve a doubt”
Slowly smile on her face
started to evade. She wasn’t backing off, she was afraid!! Yes, she was afraid.
It was her interview.
“Even though you’ve such
impressive CV, why didn’t you get selected in campus recruitment?”
“My parents didn’t want me
working then. And, even I was a bit nervous about these interviews. So, I took
my time to convince my parents and also to fight my fear. And once I had done
with that, I thought it’s time for me to start pushing my potentials”
“Hmmm. It does happen in the
beginning. So, you’re a fresher, what do you expect from this job?”
“Nothing much. I want to gain
some experience from this job and also be a part of one of the successful
software company”
She doesn’t talk much, he
thought to himself. Or is she nervous as this is her first time? “Yes!! She’s
nervous” he was sure now. It was visible clearly on her face. Small droplets of
sweat were forming on her forehead. It wasn’t due to heat. It rained well in the
morning and the weather is still chilly. Also, they were inside an air
conditioned chamber.
“Okay then. I’m gonna ask some
work related questions. Don’t panic. Just clear your mind and answer. Here,
drink some water” he passed on a glass of water to her. She thanked him and
drank it completely in a single gulp. Sandesh was laughing inside.
“Don’t worry. They’re all easy.
Just relax a bit” he was going easy on her, trying to make her feel
comfortable. She closed her eyes and started taking deep breaths. He looked
closely at her face. She had started to trust his words, revealing the real
‘her’ to him. Fragrance of her sweat filled the room. He was going crazy.
“Man!! She’s beautiful!!” he thought to himself. He had fallen for her. He knew
it now.
She slowly opened her eyes and
said, “I’m ready”. She sounded relaxed and confident.
“Good” he smiled at her, closed
her file, leaned back to his chair. His face displayed no expression now. He
was looking directly into her eyes. Yes! It’s duty time!!
He asked her a couple of questions
related to the work. She was a bit nervous in the beginning. But, then she
handled it. Her answers were satisfying.
“Okay, Ms.Adhya. This concludes
the first phase of our recruitment process. You’ll be hearing from us soon. You
may leave now” he returned her file and kept staring at her with the same old
fixed smile. She took her file, rose from her seat, shook his hand and left the
chamber. There was a naughty smile on her face as she left, which Sandesh
didn’t notice. He was on his feet as he shook hands with her. He fell back to
his seat, smiled recalling that moment, took a deep look at his hand that had
experienced the touch of her gentle skin and kissed it!! Then he was lost in
his dreamland with never ending duets.
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