The Rejection - Chapter 1
Vikrant stood at the metro station, waiting for
his 9 AM metro to college. The crowd went bonkers around him as it was a rush
hour. People would run and squish into the coming metros and others would
scatter out of them like spilled beans.
The Monday morning blues and the commotion of
the crowd felt all somber and chaotic at the station, but Vikrant was
unbothered by it all. Nothing could come between him and the coding book that
he had been religiously reading for a few days now.
He stood there with the thick book in his hands
and his bagpack slung on his back. His huge glasses covered most part of his
boney face and his combed-over-greasy hair added to his geeky vibe. He stood
with a slouched posture, lost in his book.
Soon enough, the metro came and he carefully
boarded it. For a moment, he looked around, at the people in the metro. He gave
took a deep and calming breath. His commute to the college was the only time
where he felt relaxed, aside from him being home.
In these 30 minutes, he never felt bothered by
anyone around because the world just went on around him. He felt like a lost
piece of this chaotic puzzle called the world. Everyone rushed for their
routine, some went to schools, some to colleges, and some to work. The rush
around him made him feel neglected and no one bothered to stop, take a look at
him, and pass any lewd comments, like they did back in college. He smiled at
his thought with his heart breaking a little at the thought of how people
treated him in college.
“But not Kritika” he thought and he smiled to
himself. The thought of Kritika tickled his chest and he felt butterflies
rushing inside his stomach.
No matter how big of a diva Kritika was at the
college, she had never made fun of him or had never joined her friends in
laughing at him. Both of them had an old friendship that traced back to when
they were kids.
Vikrant knew things changed when they grew up
and Kritika didn’t like being associated with him as he was the dumbo of the
class. But he knew, deep down, she didn’t judge him and it wasn’t a coincidence
that they ended up in the same college, in the same class. Vikrant took it as a
sign, for some reason.
------
As soon as Vikrant got settled on the first
bench of his classroom, his eyes got fixated on the door. He watched people
getting in as he pretended to read but Kritika was nowhere to be seen. As the
clock ticked, he started to feel disappointed.
And then came the group of people that Kritika
always hung out with, including Aashish. As Vikrant didn’t find Kritika with
them, he gave out a cold sigh. Kritika didn’t come to college.
Whenever she bunked the classes, Vikrant felt
sad as Kritika was the only reason that pushed him to get through college.
Given the way people treated Vikrant, he felt that the place was a hell hole
but Kritika’s presence around him just brightened up his day.
“Stop waiting. She won’t come today” Aashish
stopped by and whispered into Vikrant’s ear before giving out a scoff and
moving to the last bench. His friends giggled and chattered as they walked
away. A wave of anger ran down Vikrant’s body. He closed his eyes and let go of
it.
Of all the people in the class, he hated Aashish
because he wouldn’t shut up about Vikrant having a crush on Kritika and making
fun of it.
Vikrant could hear him laughing at the back but
he tried to dodge the voices and then, something hit the back of his head. It
startled Vikrant but it wasn’t anything new. Aashish had hit him with a ball of
paper, followed by the laughter of the whole group.
Vikrant closed his eyes again, letting his
feelings settle down. He couldn’t help but feel worse. His cheeks flushed red
hot and his heart started to throb fast. He wanted to yell at them but he bit
it back. All he could do was jump out of his seat, collect his stuff, and storm
out of the classroom. He couldn’t hear anything anymore and the voices faded in
the back. His eyes were bloodshot as he felt humiliated and disgusted with his
own self.
“Why?” he whispered to himself. “Why?!”
A tear escaped his eye but he wiped it off as
soon as it fell off. He boarded the metro back home and as soon as he found a
seat, he plugged his earphones in.
“It's another lonely evening
And another lonely town
But I ain't too young to worry
And I ain't too old to cry…” the song started in his iPod that was on the verge
of giving up on life, just like Vikrant himself. He looked at the device and
gave out a sad smile, holding it closer to his chest he kept listening to the
song.
“…And it's another red light nightmare
Another red light street
And I ain't too old to hurry
Cause I ain't too old to die
But I sure am hard to beat…”
- Shefzy
Song: Ride on By ACDC
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