Chapter 15

The night was torrid. I hadn't tossed and turned in anxiety even the night before my board results. I could not rest, fearing the worst and overthinking multiple permutations and combinations of what could happen tomorrow. However, I had decided that I would leave for Kolkata immediately if Jigar would not be of help, not wasting time and money simultaneously. My resolution helped me in calming my nerves and I don't know how soon but I fell into a deep sleep by the early hours of the morning. I was woken up by my mobile ringing. I was too groggy to make any sense of the number on my screen. I picked it up on the fourth ring unnerving my bua and uncle for being so late.

"Hello," I croaked into the phone.

"Is this Abhilasha?"

"Yep,"

"Hi, this is Anita calling from FMN, just wanted to let you know that your reporting time for work today is 8:30 am sharp and Rasika would meet you first thing in the morning and assign you to work."

I rubbed my eyes and before I could ask anything further, I heard a blank sound indicating that the phone had been disconnected. I scrambled out of my relaxed position and hurried up to get ready. Seeing me in action, my bua enquired if everything was okay. I informed her about the call from the office and my reporting time. She got up too to prepare me a sumptuous breakfast.

I quickly bathed and avoided the thought of pooping as far as I could. I was on a mission to change my poop timings; from early morning before breakfast to later in the day. In a scurry to reach the office on time, I completely forgot to call Jigar and thank him. I mentally reminded myself to do that as soon as I had some free time. It was my first day and I did not want to disappoint. I was acting like a stupid fresher but that I was.

I gobbled the two omelettes my bua made for me and quickly kissed her goodbye. I did not have the time to plan on what to wear and therefore stuck to a simple white tee shirt and my old worn jeans. I was out of the house before my uncle could make any more faces than I knew he could make. I had to take the bus again because I hadn't found out anything about the locals. Thankfully today of all the days I managed to get on the bus without much trouble. It was the lack of time that made me do all things. When I entered the office, it was quiet. I found only the receptionists and the peon working. I smiled at the lady at the reception and made my way to the office assigned to FMN.

Everything was dead. All I could hear was a few girls giggling at the other end. I walked towards them and asked for Rasika.

"Rasika isn't here. You will have to wait. New intern?"

"Yes." My eyes twinkled.

She drew out her hand and introduced herself. "Anjali, interning here for the past four weeks."

I shook her hand and nodded at her in acknowledgement. She introduced me to the rest of her group Binodini, Jessica, Manpreet and Swati. I smiled at them and introduced myself. "Abhilasha, people prefer Abhi."

"Cool, yaar, sit with us. This is the place for interns to sit and lounge and get called on for work. Rasika won't be here before 10:00 and the office wouldn't start functioning before 12:00, so might as well chill with us."

I sat down and kept my bag beside me. They were chatting about some guy in their college and how he was caught with his pants down in the hostel at the wrong hour. They seemed to be knowing each other for long and I could easily fathom it from their camaraderie and ease with each other.

I was observing their dressing sense and how beautiful all of them looked with their shaped eyebrows, manicured hands and shiny hair. I ain't superficial but I just couldn't help notice how well dressed they were.

I found Binodini to be the most beautiful among them all. With kohl-lined eyes and long hair, she was a dusky beauty. Dressed in a small printed, long cotton kurta and leggings she stood at the same height as me. Every pore of her dressing sense screamed of elegance and class. She seemed reserved than the other three but I found her a little snobbish too.

I jutted into their conversation wanting to know something about the work. "Binodini," before I could speak any further, she chided me for saying her name incorrectly.

"Bini is fine."

"Oh! Bini, umm." I was tongue-tied.

Anjali scolded her for intimidating me. Anjali was the sweetest of all. Her pretty face lighted up every time she smiled and displayed her two dimples. Dressed in a long tee shirt dress and black jeans that did full justice to her slender frame, she seemed like a person I could gel with.

"It's okay Abhi, no need to be scared of her. She does that too everyone."

"I just wanted to know something about work and how things function here."

"Rasika will explain everything in detail to you. Do not bother." Jessica told me in a resigned manner. She seemed to have got bored working at this place.

Jessica or Jessey as her friends called her was cute. Slightly plump, she had curly hair and a jovial attitude that worked for me. She cracked up at the silliest of things and kept the mood around her light even on a dull morning like this. She was vibrant and lively. Dressed in a mini skirt and a shirt that hugged each and every protruding body curve; she still managed to exude cuteness from every inch on display.

I was bored of sitting without work. I could in no way participate in their conversation and seemed like an unnecessary intrusion. I decided to call Jigar. I got up and walked out with my phone towards the studio area. He picked up my call on the first ring.

"Hey," I said lazily.

"Hey," he replied. There was suddenly an awkward silence between us. I broke it by speaking first.

"Thank you."

"Really?" Jigar enquired as to if he was shocked to hear me say those words.

"I mean it really."

"Thank you for trusting me and believing in me."

A gorgeous smile flitted across my face at his candid words. I teased him back with his own words.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Abhi, Rasika is here and calling for you." I turned back to see Anjali waiting for me. I disconnected the phone immediately and typed a call you later message to Jigar.

"Boyfriend?" She enquired.

Even if I was taken aback by her personal question, I did not show.

"Best friend," I answered.

She nodded her head and smiled slyly, not believing what I had said.

Rasika was waiting for me at her desk. I greeted her with the customary good morning and acknowledged her as ma'am since she was the one, I was reporting to.

She welcomed me into the team and instructed Swati to take me around the office and explain the daily workings of the office. I smiled at Swati and she beamed at me with enthusiasm. I got to know later from her that Rasika never trusted her with any work and therefore she was on cloud nine to be assigned to take me around.

Swati was kind and warm. How did she fit into the group of other girls; I had no clue? She was bright, lively and sweet. She was more than happy to teach me the basics and take me around the office building. I asked her to start immediately. While Swati and I decided to make a move, the other girls hovered around Rasika's desk to talk to her. Perhaps something important to discuss I thought and left with Swati.

Swati took me around diligently and showed me the studio from where all the live news was reported. Also, it was the place where certain shows of the channels were shot. Next, she showed me around the different cubicles and gave me a heads up on the different reporters in the team and their beats. She blurted out in our short time about the eccentricities of each and every reporter. Whom should I look forward to assisting and whom should I ignore completely if given a chance? I was wondering whether I had a choice. I refused to air my opinions and questions to Swati because I judged her to be a loudmouth.

Next, she showed me the editor's cabin, where I had been before for my interview. We did not stop to check it out and I could sense her inhibition to do so. Opposite to the editor's cabin was the conference room, which my fleeting eyes noticed was done really well. Nice couches, artwork and flower vases; I just guessed it must double up as a room for important people to be seated and chatting with the reporters. Okay...celebrities!

We walked out of the closed space of our office and went to the bridge that connected us to the reception. The bridge was a smoking zone. I had seen people standing and smoking, the last time I was here for an interview.

"Do you smoke?"

"No," I answered in the most poker-faced way I could.

She kept on walking and led me on from the reception area to a bigger hallway at the other end. She greeted the receptionist and waved at the other one who was busy on the phone. I wondered whether I would become familiar with everyone and share a rapport that Swati seemed to share.

"So where are you from?" Swati enquired.

"Kolkata." I quipped.

"Oh! Bini is from there too. She finished her schooling there but she graduated with us from MC Pune. Currently, we are doing our Masters in MC again."

"Interesting."

"Yep. Bini is the star of our college. She is a topper and excellent sportsperson." I smiled at Bini's achievements. It seemed like Swati was making it clear to me not to mess with Bini ever. And why would I?

She broke my trance with, "the library."

"What?"

"This is the library," she said.

"Yeah, I nodded in acknowledgement.

"For the first few days, you would just be made to run from the office to the library to collect old tapes. You really have to be lucky to get some work. Bini is the only one to land a chance to assist a reporter, immediately after she joined here."

I smiled and I am sure it did not reach my eyes because I had forced one out of myself. Why was I being narrated glorious achievements of Bini? Was I jealous of Bini's success? Hell, no! I was just upset that it was my first day at work and...

"This is the server room. You will learn the importance of it very soon."

I cocked my eyes at her but she failed to get my sarcastic look. Why was I being mean to her?

"Anything more to be seen?"

"Yeah, yeah come."

She directed me towards an area that was small but opened up into a huge office space that housed more than a hundred people under one roof. The area was buzzing with energy, the loud voices of everyone trying to outdo one another in speaking first seemed to give off an electric charge. I was engulfed in the scene within moments. People were shouting at the top of their voices, talking numbers and asking each other to monitor the screen. I looked at Swati who had a bored look on her face. I turned towards her to see her staring at someone in the studio. I snapped my fingers at her to bring her out of her reverie.

"Done?"

"No!" She shouted as if I was deaf.

"I can hear you."

She nodded and made a goofy face at me. We went back a few meters to check out the studio of the business channel running from this space. It was huge and equipped with much better pieces of equipment than at our office.

"Is this the office of the FBN?"

She nodded while continuing to look at the proceedings at the studio.

"Wow!" I exclaimed.

"Finance people are in vogue."

"Yeah, and they get to enjoy the weekend too," Swati spoke grudgingly. I agreed.

"Mumbai is the finance capital of the country, so anything less would be a shame for our channel."

She moved ahead now to show me a very important area in the office, the cafeteria which was huge and a lifesaver. I stole a quick glance at the board to find meals were affordable and looked hygienic too. We got introduced to Narayan uncle, who was the owner of the cafeteria.

"Hey, Swati! You guys didn't have breakfast today?"

"No, uncle, we had coffee and had some idlis outside the office at the corner of the station."

Swati seemed to be brutally honest with people or was really innocent. I smiled at Narayan uncle. He seemed to be a friendly figure. Tall and bald and dressed in a long shirt and trousers, he was the quintessential uncle I had been used to meeting at cafes.

Swati moved on from the cafeteria to show me the terrace. It was not very big and not at a height too. Yet the lovely potted plants and colourful railings were very inviting.

"I would love to have a cup of coffee, here!" I announced.

"Next to the washbasin is the coffee machine. And trust me you would not even like to stand here for a second with your coffee when this place is buzzing with stressed reporters, fagging their hearts out."

"Hmmm," I drew in a long breath.

Swati suddenly seemed to have made a face that indicated she had forgotten something.

"Hey, Abhi remind me of showing you the coffee machine and our go-to place to take calls in our office."

"Sure." I mouthed.

Swati and I went back to the office but not before stopping by the studio. I literally had to pull her away and take her back to our designated zone. Interestingly the office did not deem it important for the interns to have their own desks. We were at the mercy of the reporters to use their computers and complete our allotted task- information that was passed on to me from Swati and Anjali.

When I went back to the intern's lounge area, most of the girls were sitting and waiting to be allotted work. Binodini aka Bini as true to Swati's words had been fetched by the first reporter looking for an assistant.

The morning passed in waiting to be called by someone to do some work. I was literally bored to death with nothing. At lunchtime Mohit, Rasik and Chiri entered who introduced themselves without any help from anyone. Rasik was the assistant editor, Mohit the producer and Chiri were given some fancy designation with an Executive attached to it.

Their cubicles were located just next to each other and were opposite the intern's lounge. Rasik was a Maharashtrian and everything he did, his mannerisms spoke of his roots. His paan stained teeth and black lips were a clear indicator of his bad lifestyle, add to it his rugged dressing sense which made him look like a roadside cheap floozy. But he was the Assistant Editor and a very important person if you want to learn and do some good work at your internship.

Mohit was the quintessential, laidback, chubby producer who was just pretending to be tough while he was a softie at heart. Chiri was just a tag-along to these two and at the first instance, I could not pick much on his character traits.

"Who's the newbie today?" Rasik enquired.

"I Sir," I stood up to go and stand before the three of them. Rasik gauged me from afar and asked me to run to the library and get the B series tape. I ran to the library not wanting to waste his time or goof up my first chance at doing something productive.

"B Series Tapes, please," I told the librarian.

"The Librarian – a man in his fifties snorted. I could not get the joke. He asked me to call Rasik and enquire about the numbers. I told him I did not have Rasik Sir's number. He asked me to give him a call on the intercom and dial 426. I smirked.

Before I could give Rasik a call, the librarian told me to go and tell him that this tactic of bullying young girls was quite old. He should try something new and better. And to stress it out to him that he was bored. I was mortified. I was trying to figure out what to tell Rasik when I heard a loud commotion that distracted me.

My curiosity got the better of me and I decided to find out what the brouhaha was all about. Before I left, the librarian was kind enough to let me know that I had to smile and not worry about trivial things that were beyond my control. He asked me to suck in and brace myself for some small skirmishes on a daily basis till they found someone new to beat down.

I opened the glass doors and turned towards the noise when Mr Librarian enlightened me with the source of it all.

"Must be the TRP announcement for the week. And the channel must have done well."

I smiled bravely at him as if I knew everything. I walked towards FBN to see a ghetto formed around a guy, who was being congratulated and thrown in the air. I could not see his face and swarms of people from all over the office gathered near him to participate in the revelry. The applause just did not seem to die around him. Every time it seemed the cheers were getting over, a new one would arise from another direction.

The noise died down only to allow the Editor to speak.

"Thank you and congratulations to all! It's teamwork that has resulted in such high TRPs." He turned to the man who was the cynosure of all eyes. People made way for the Editor to reach out to him and as the crowd thin around them, a small sigh in awe escaped my mouth.

I stared at him in disbelief. How was it possible? Was this the worst dream of my life? How could life mock me in such a cruel way? The Editor shook hands with the young man and asked him to get on the table and speak to his co-workers and motivate them. I wanted to hide my face and run. But before I could do any of that, our eyes met. We stared at each other for a few seconds but not long enough for people to suspect anything amiss. He turned his eyes from me to the crowd and addressed them.

"Congratulations to all of us! This win is as much for me as it is for you. I am going to go on working harder to break barriers, are you guys with me in this?"

The room erupted in loud applause and a big yes in answer to his question. He seemed to be exuding positive energy that was absorbed by all.

"Party in the evening at the cafeteria to be hosted by me. Everyone is invited. Please inform."

His eyes found their way again to me and I could see them dancing with recognition and mirth. I broke away from his gaze to return back to Rasik and his stupid joke of the tapes.