The Waiting Room
Priyanka was all drowned in sweat. She was perspiring. God! What had happened to her? It was spine chilling cold in her air-conditioned office. The office, that she was so used to, day and night. Rather,day shifts and night shifts for four years till now. Life hasn’t been the same when she landed on this job after graduation. An IT career, her parents dreamt of. Infosys was her dream, for a girl from a far away smaller city like Salem. She got what she wanted. Her parents pushed her out of the house as soon as she graduated, and talked with pride about their daughter, to all their relatives. ” You know, my daughter Priyanka is at Infosys. We are looking for a handsome bridegroom.Horoscope work is in progress” her Dad would say this to his cousins when they came home. Her mother would have a proud grin always, as if she had won a lottery.
Priyanka’s pals were taking their afternoon break, and here, she was all alone staring at her blank PC screen. She was a goody-goody girl so far. Just casual chats, no serious stuff with any guy until yesterday. Rahul. Yes. Rahul was the guy who was causing all this sweat. The tall and handsome Rahul, whom everyone at office was willing to kiss in public. Her friends at office would jump into his lap once he arrived, and sip coffee with him for hours together and exchange pizza bites just to taste his lips. This would happen so often that, Priyanka would get annoyed and would just close her eyes when he arrived and concentrate on her laptop.
Rahul had called her yesterday and asked her for a date. At first she just froze. Why me. She wasn’t close at all. It was surprising that he got her number. There were so many cute girls waiting to jump into his car. She was not “Fair and Lovely”. She was above average, but presentable. Ok..She was different. Rahul had asked her to wait at the lounge at the ” Tonic Bar ” at 7 pm. She felt odd. She was there a couple of times with her friends, but wasn’t familiar with the place. It was close to her office, though. It was 6, now and couldn’t take it anymore. Waiting here was the same as waiting at the Lounge. ” Why not be there early, so that this whole thing would get over soon” she thought. She took a break, and took out a few cleansing wipes and touched her face. It was so cool. Refreshing.
She left her office quickly, before she got confused. So if it’s going to be Rahul, why not. It was only the girls who were after him. He was not. He just chatted. That’s it. He was smart, handsome and if it’s me, he will be my trophy.
The Tonic Bar was a small place. Mostly the IT crowd flocked there. Noise and laughter mixed with hiccups was all one could hear. She took a comfortable sofa and dropped down. The graffiti in the wall in front of her was screaming red. She told the guy who came to take orders, that a friend is coming in half an hour and she will wait until then. The guy smiled, and left. It’s so scary to be in a bar without drinking she felt. So many guys and girls were talking the truth. After a couple of shots, it was “truth time”. True emotions, feelings, lies, bullshit, all poured out in each table. She felt like recording the conversation’s, because she knew it would all change the next morning.
She set her gaze, moving her eyes all around. “Holy cow”. It was Rahul. What the… What is he doing at that corner table she thought. It was only 6.30 and here he was, talking to a waiter , so close to his ears and pointing his finger to a cocktail glass on the table. The waiter nodded his head vigorously and Rahul smiled and pressed something into his hands. The waiter was over joyed. Why didn’t he call her and tell her that he would be early. Her mobile vibrated now and started dancing in her handbag. It was Rahul. ” Hi. Priyanka, Sorry , I will be a bit late. Be there at 7.30 at the lounge. OK. I’m at my cousins place. Damn. This traffic is annoying” he said. “I will be there soon”.
Wow. He had mastered the art of bluffing. She was screaming inside but concealed it elegantly. He was a con guy. So, Mr.Rahul was right here, and was giving her the “cake”. She quickly gathered her thoughts. His waiter buddy was busy chatting with him. Her heart was fluttering but she was smart enough to understand, the finger signal by Rahul. They were planning to spike her drink when she arrived. May be after a few rounds. Then….Then, he might even carry her to his car and head straight . Straight to his apartment, or a Hotel. Who knows? Her heart was racing now. It was worth the wait. She was lucky to be early. Early enough, to know the real Rahul. She quickly, but silently got up, turned her head slowly, and dashed her way to the exit. She wasn’t noticed at all. The dim lights came to her help.
The wait was finally over.
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This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.
This week’s WOW prompt is – ‘The Waiting Room’
Waiting rooms are a pretty common sight, being ever present in many places. In the doctor’s office, at train or bus stations, at airports or in universities. You might have been directed to a waiting room before your interviewer was ready to meet you. Waiting rooms not just denote a halt, but also a transition, don’t you think? What are the stories that can take place in a waiting room? Write a superb blog post on ‘The Waiting Room’ as soon as you can, because we can’t wait to see your entry!
