His this week

Wednesday

It was almost time. Two sets of interviews had already passed and for some even more. And they were taking its toll on all the eleven of them. He looked around at these familiar faces and saw the nervousness etched on their otherwise placid countenances. He was anxious too. He smoothened his blue “psychedelic” tie, as it was later referred to. He didn’t like ties too much.

Soon enough, a representative ushered them in to announce the final results. An inevitable note of the ostensible difficulty faced by the interviewers ensued. Get on with it, he thought to himself. Then, he saw it. Clenched delicately in the speaker’s hand. His name, written in black, through the translucent white slip of paper, in its untarnished entirety. He didn’t have to wait for the official read. He was elated and overjoyed but only breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Later, he shook hands with the others, throughout maintaining his cool. He even remembered to congratulate the other two, B and S. Then, he smiled.

Le Royal Meridian. A dinner treat. The doors opened into a large lounge area where a magnificent Christmas tree, or rather Holiday tree to be politically correct, greeted them. The grandeur of all the decorations was quite noteworthy. Something he will have to get used to, he reminded himself.

*Clink*

A few toasts, some interesting food and remarkable anecdotes later, he was caught thinking to himself. He sincerely hoped he had taken the right decision. But then, the trouble is that it isn’t till much later that we realize a mistake, he noted. He saw B and P in similar reflective poses. He smiled.

Thursday

He congratulated his good friend, R for getting placed in Google. Both of them looked genuinely happy with their achievements however different and perhaps contradictory the two routes were. He tried to imagine R in his shoes and vice versa. They laughed over the very idea.

He saw another one of his good friends, K later. One of the final set of eleven from yesterday. He gesticulated a hi to K and mumbled a thank you for his congrats. He wasn’t sure how to respond. He felt a twinge of sadness blossoming in his field of joy. It was not much later when he met yet another friend T, an old schoolmate and also one of the finalists, over a cup of tea, when he came to know that K had taken the rejection badly. Also, although T looked impervious, he remembered B telling him T had been quite disappointed. As they parted, he told T of how he had heard that T had been so close to making it. As true as this was, he hoped it had had the right impact on T. In the corner of his eye, he saw a smile on T’s face. Walking back, he smiled.

Friday

He penned a mail to the other company which had given him an offer. In his best interests, he claimed. He genuinely regretted having to write it. He thought back to the wonderful summer. Thanks for the unforgettable memories, he added. He clicked Send.

J, a tenth standard classmate, called him. He hadn’t seen J in quite some time now. They decided on meeting the following day. He reminded himself to call some of his other friends as well. He called M and they talked a little. M had to refuse because he had to study but asked about the twelfth standard reunion. Just thinking about M’s words, he chuckled to himself. Sure, he replied, hoping that this time atleast, the plan moves from beyond just the initial designs.

Later that evening, he dropped in on his grandparents. In the course of their brief conversation, his grandfather stated, rather stoically, that the company would teach him some good things and then some bad things. In almost the exact words. Nonplussed as he was, he thought it best not to question the remark. He said, that’s true of life too. His grandfather laughed. He couldn’t resist a smile.

Saturday

Thanks to J’s efforts, a mini reunion with some of his tenth standard classmates was on the cards. J was in the naval forces. The one studying to be a doctor, S, graced them with his presence. He was reminded of the words mosaic for some reason. They planned to meet over quake, which oddly enough, was not something he would have preferred. He would have rather chosen a place to eat.

The rendezvous did take place as intended. He realized they actually didn’t have much to talk about. A few niceties later, they got down to gaming. He was thankful. They had avoided a situation which was leading to one of embarrassing uncomfortable awkward silence. He railed and he rocketed until J asked him whether he did anything else in college. He said no and smiled.

It was 9 O’clock and he received a call. It was the beautiful HR lady from the other company. She called in to ask about the three classmates who they had offered a job. She assures him irrespective of his replies, their offers would remain in tact. He was still wary of her questions and tried best to be as diplomatic as possible. He did give one biased answer though. Just before hanging up, she quipped she would catch him by his neck sometime next week. He placed the receiver down and wondered what to feel. He thought about smiling but decided against it.

Sunday

He woke up pretty late as is routine during these winter vacations. In fact, it’s a result of the lethargy induced over last semester. He checked his messages and only then he realized that it was Christmas. One of them was rather good. It read

Merry Christmas! Have a lovely day.. May all things happen your way..
Beers,
G

He was very amused. A smile was predestined.

Smile and the world smiles with you. A smile is momentary, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he cannot get along without it and none is so poor that he cannot be made rich by it. Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.

Sometimes remembering random quotes helps.

Merry Christmas.