When will they ever learn ?

Alarm ringing…….. Its 6 am…..

 He has not been sleeping well lately, the very thought of the work in front of him had been giving him nightmares. The “Two” who had to share in his work were not cooperating as he had hoped; they were lazy and not focused. It was driving him crazy, but what had to be done had to be done.

 He slowly pulled away the sheets and stood up. He did not feel tired, the product of years of waking up early. He was feeling happy that the end was well in his sight, no more long journeys and no more waiting. This though energized him and he set out.

 An hour later………

 The rocking of the bus made it hard to sleep, but he had become accustomed to it over the years. Today though he did not sleep, he was deep in thought. He was thinking of the “Two”. He was not sure if they would come today, knowing them, one would probably be sleeping and the other was drunk, both maladies he deprecated, but then no point in fretting about things not in you control.

 The bus had finally reached its destination. The place he had traveled to for 4 years, exactly as he had today, SVCE. He had joined with very high hopes and he had not disappointed, albeit the journey unsettled him till now.

As the bus reached the parking area, he saw sleepy juniors getting out of their buses and walking away drowsily. He was the lone final year among the teaming crowd of 1^st, 2nd and 3^rd years. Seeing them there he felt a tinge of sadness, he was leaving for good. In a few weeks he would probably be making his last bus trip to this place. Pushing away this disturbing thought he made his way to the department.

 Just as he reached the entrance, he saw a group of his classmates sitting on the steps. He remembered that placements were on. The thought brought a frown to his face. “Placements” was a word he did not like. He went and sat down next to them. They were nervous and it showed.

 The professors were slowly making their way to the department. It was early and there was some waiting to be done. He had to catch the person he wanted to meet as soon as he comes, so that he can get back before the sun becomes to hot to handle.

He was convinced that the other “two” were not coming; they had not called him yet. It was no good thinking about it, but somehow the thought kept coming back to him. He brushed it aside for now and made some small talk with the others, wishing the luck for their placement tests. They were gone and still the person he had come to meet had now come. He was getting tensed and was feeling lost, all alone with no one for company.

Far in the distance he saw someone approaching, the silhouette raised his spirit. It was him, their guide, the doctor. He got up and approached him, and they greeted each other.  

He walked along with the doctor to his room. The doctor was in a hurry and was still not satisfied with the way his students had treated him, they had kept him in the dark and had finished their project. The people at IIT had helped them, but his students should have informed him and waited for his instructions before proceeding. This was hard lesson for him and he was finding it difficult to stomach this insult. Nothing could be done now that the project was over.

The doctor had not read their report fully and was not interested in it anyway. There was no change in the text of the report, but still he had made his students make the long journey, just to make them understand his pain.

Only one had made the long journey though and now he was waiting for the report to be verified. He got the rough draft signed from the doctor; he had traveled 2 hours for this one signature. The world was a cruel place to live in.

Now that his ordeal was over, he could return.

The very thought of the long walk back to the toll gate and the even longer journey to his house, made him shiver. He was frustrated. He was alone and without company and this was supposed to be a group project.

His thoughts wandered over to the other “Two”, they were irresponsible, he was angry. This was not the first time something like this was happening.  They had still not called and he was also not going to call them.

When will they ever learn?