The classmate – part 1

“Hello Susan” Jyothika said entering the house and hugged her.

“It is always a pleasure to see you” Susan replied and both of them sat on the sofa and started speaking to one another.

Pramod came in after few minutes and sat on the chair opposite to the sofa set and said “Though we live in the same city it has been more than 10 months since we met Jyothika”.

“Very true” Susan nodded and walking towards the kitchen said “you keep talking and I shall get some coffee”.

Little Bharathi came running out of her room and sat on the lap of Jyothika. She said “Aunty you do not come to our house often”. Jyothika smiled.

Bharathi continued “In which standard were you classmate of my father?”Jyothika replied “We were classmates in our post graduation course”. Bharathi looked confused.

Jyothika laughed and continued “To make it clear for you, we were classmates in 17^th and 18^th standards”.

“Mangalorean coffee is as good as always” Jyothika said sipping the coffee served by Susan.

She continued “Pramod do you remember Apoorva?”

“Of course yes. How can I forget her? She was one of the brightest students in the class but was very shy though. It is close to two decades since we completed our course and I have vivid memories of her” he replied.

“I have good news for you. I could trace her. She lives in our city. I got her address yesterday and met her. I thought I should inform you about this” Jyothika said.

Pramod looked delighted and he looked at his wife Susan and said “Apoorva was the only engineering background student who had fancy for finance subjects in our management class. In fact she stood first in Financial Management”.

“Her father was a Chartered Accountant and she got it from him” Jyothika added.

Susan commented “Pramod keeps telling me about many of his MBA classmates, seniors and juniors but has never spoken about her”.

Jyothika was silent for a while. She said “She was like that. An enigma sort, very beautiful and would dress up in simple Indian dresses without any makeup. We were roommates for two semesters. I used to talk to her about subjects and she would teach me many topics. Whenever I spoke of films, boys or other topics she would become silent and did not encourage me to talk further.

She was reluctant to participate in group discussions as she felt the other participants were arguing more and discussing less. She would shy away from Mock plays also”.

Susan asked “Group discussions and mock plays are very important for any Management course. How could she manage then?”

Pramod replied “I think it was in second semester. Jyothika spoke to me about her and told me that Apoorva was comfortable talking to me and wanted me to help her overcome inhibition during such discussions.

She started sitting next to me in group discussions and I would consciously provide a cover to her whenever the other participants started arguing with her. Within no time she could overcome her reluctance to participate actively and started performing very well.

I remember the evenings when we both used to walk on the beach. The crimson rays of the setting sun and the cool breeze were catalytic for a romantic time to be spent but she was not of that sort. All through the walks she would discuss about the subjects and nothing else.

Couple of times she held my hand while walking but her mind was on the subjects and not on the person walking with her”.

Jyothika interrupted “Tomorrow is Sunday. Shall we go to her house?”

Pramod was ecstatic “Of course yes. In fact am ready to go there right now”.

Susan said “You both go to her house tomorrow morning as we have some shopping to finish today”.

Jyothika got up from the sofa and walking towards the door said “Pramod please come to my house by 10 AM in the morning tomorrow and we shall proceed to her house from there”.

Pramod, Susan and Bharathi waved to her and walked into the living room.

“You liked Apoorva during your management study days?” Susan asked.

Pramod gave a naughty smile and said “Jealously thy name is Susan. I liked only one woman and it was during my engineering study days. I fell in love with her and ultimately married her. Her name is Susan”.

She laughed and said “I did not mean it that way. The way you were telling me about Apoorva and the long walks on the beach you both used to take, made me doubt a bit”.

Pramod replied “There was nothing of that sort between us. She is the only one who is not in our batch Whats App group. A good new addition will be there soon. Let me meet her tomorrow and I will update you in the afternoon”.

To be continued in part 2…