Page 62 - FATE & DESTINY

FATE & DESTINY

“Admire them?” I replied. “Well, I am not into this.”
“Why not?” he asked, grinning. “This is your chance.”
“Not my type. Bit sartorial.”
“Why don’t you approach the tallest one?” suggested Master. “She is damn pretty.”
“No way, guys,” I said. “I am not interested.”
“Can you do us a favor?” said Lambu.
“A favor?” I said. “What’s that, guys?”
He grinned. “Um, I think you should convey our regards to them.”
My eyes popped. “Who—”
“To Miss Palham from me,” he said.
Master’s voice echoed around the kitchen wall. “To Miss Namzam from me, please.”
“Okay, guys,” I said, giggling. “Anything else?”
“That’s it,” said Lambu.
The next day, I greeted the apprentice teachers in the staffroom. “You have regards from my friends.”
They giggled covering their mouth.
“Seriously.”
They dispersed to their classrooms, still giggling.
In the evening, Master and Lambu rushed into the bedroom.
“What did they say?” said Lambu.
“I think they like you,” I said. “They giggled.”
Master frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
In a poised manner, I said, “It was a positive response, guys.”
“They’re making fun of us,” said Master, frowning.
“I don’t think so.”
From that day on, Master and Lambu never entered the staffroom. And the apprentice teachers kept shunning
from us till the end of the teaching practice.

***

The second-semester exams were over. Right after we got the stipend, Bajim and his girlfriend joined me for
Phuentsholing. After we checked into a hotel at Jaigaon, we looked for our next transport for Samdrup Jongkhar.
“Hell no,” I said. “A one-week Assam strike will start from tomorrow.”
Bajim rubbed his arms in comfort. “Why?”
“I don’t know. Police told us to wait till evening.”
Bajim said, “Yeah, let’s wait and see.”
The same evening, his girlfriend left for Samtse. I felt sick to my stomach as I thought about the journey ahead.
Back then, the Assam strike would continue for weeks. So, I turned to Bajim to discuss our next plan, but he was in
a lost state.
I nudged him. “You got relatives at Thimphu?”
He nodded. “Why?”
“We should return to Thimphu or we’d be in trouble.”
He clucked his tongue. “Alas.”
“What’s going on, Bajim?”
“She just left.”
“Yes, she left. So what?”
“Hope she arrived at Samtse.”
“For heaven’s sake, don’t be puerile, Bajim. Think about our next journey.”
“What exactly are we gonna do now?”
“We need to act fast,” I said, packing my stuff. “We’ll go to Thimphu today.”
“What will we do at Thimphu?”
“What? Hope you’ve not lost your mind, Bajim.”
“You should stop ridiculing me, Uncle,” he said. “I’m in a miserable state.”
“Aren’t you going home? We’re boarding a bus from there.”
We checked out of the hotel and searched for the telephone booth.
“Ana, I think I should put up at your place for a few days,” I said. “I am stranded at Phuentsholing.”
“What happened?” she asked.
“I am heading home, but there is a one-week strike at Assam.”

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