Essentials
“You travel like you have kids, you know that?”, my colleague mused as she took a mini pack of biscuits from it.
Looking at the extra stuff I carry in my handbag, one would assume that easily. But booking back to my formative years in school and college, I suppose it has become a habit of necessity.
It is the annual college fest season in Delhi University, students are busy rushing from classes to practice grounds to sponsors. Fest season is what the university campus has been famous for apart from the obviously mind numbing cut-off lists and students swag. So why exactly is everyone losing their minds over this one? Well for starters it is my second year in college, so my happy high has waned off, I know the amount of responsibility taking up volunteer work is. Secondly, I have my girl gang with me, now that I have been in college for over a year and finally made some strong bonds. Last year to enjoy we all thought, as final year would be all about finding a higher degree enrolment and jobs alike so we would not have much time for fun activities. We were chalking out details to our plan for tour de fest, when Varnika nudged me to make sure I take notice of Simarjeet aka Simz, the last person we wanted around, not that we did not like her. Just handling her was like taking responsibility of an overgrown 10 year old who new how to curse.“Hi, ,. . . Hi ? Maaaa yaaa”
“Hi Simarjeet”, I forced a smile.
“I’ve been calling you for so long, dhyan kidhar hai?”
“Just caught up with something, phone bag mei tha”
“Chal na ek round maarte hain, let’s check out all the fun stalls.”
“Ya I will, soon”
“Kyaa bhuddi aurat jaise baithi hui hai, uth na yaar”, A few glances were shot at me from different directions, but what can one do, friends are friends.
Going past one of the tarot card tables, Sims could not hold onto her excitement. “Chal na yaar, dekhte hain ye kya bolegi”
“How about we get some of those marshmallow pops first and then check it out? Kha lena better hog kuchh”
“Good idea” She was easy to distract.
*Phone ringing* “Ya anamika wassup, where you at?”
“I am close to the spinning wheel for amusement park tickets, and I see you”
“To aa ja na yaar”
“No way man! Simz k sath nahi, I still have a fresh image of our nightout last week, tu to thi nai”
“How bad could it be, she may be a little childish, but dost to ai yaar. And its okay, I mean we all have our quirks right”
“Dude! Tujhe kuchh nahi pata. She boozed beyond what she could take, threw up like crazy, and almost fainted. I know how I brought her home, with all her weight falling on me. Added to that, she stood up erect like a pole the moment her mom was at the door. That was weird and frustrating!”, Anamika pauses then adds, “I’ll see you in a while maybe, before the evening celeb performance. Okay?”
“Okay, have fun”
“Kaun tha?” Simarjeet looks up from her paper cup full of hot coco and marshmallow.
“Anamika” I shrugged.
“Wo aari hai na?”
“Ya she’s nearby”
“Dunno, last week k club scene k baad se baat nahi kar rhi hai wo”, she shrugged like nothing had happened. I felt a doubt creeping in my head, was Anamika right? Was Simz actually blind to her own mistakes?
“Uh Oh, Mayo [Her own twist to the name Maaya], where can we find sanitary napkins? I think my water broke” She made a silly face, she knew I got uncomfortable with the very mention of the situation. I rushed her to the college medico lady, and we got her some napkins. She was back to hopping around like no big deal. Everything seemed under control, as she licked her ice cream and used my shoulder as an armrest and decoy to slyly point out all the cute guys with ease. How wrong I was, for slowly she had her weight resting on me, and unfortunately my small frame failed to hold up the fort that Anamika probably had managed. Apparently Simz lost consciousness due to low blood pressure, something I learnt much later in life, often happens during periods or is considered a part of post menstrual syndrome in many women. All I could manage was to prevent her tall frame from falling speedily to the ground. The impact was low, I tried my best to wake her up to no avail. There were other people around but none seemed to be bothered until I heard a deep, hoarse voice from behind.
“You seem like you could use some help, is your friend okay?”, A guy with curly hair, and a shy demeanor asked.
“Sure please”. With one swift move he had her propped up and we both held my unconscious friend.
“Is she on her periods?” He asked, I simply nodded.
“Which way to the medical facility”, he asked, I guided and we managed to bring Simz to the care. The Medico staff gave her some fluids, some glucose and about an hour or so later she was good to go.
“Mayo, tu akele kaise layi mujhe yahaan? I remember we were in the ground before I woke up here”
“Well, I dragged you by the feet so your head would hit every step on the staircase.” I chuckled. “Okay some random guy from Hansraj, theatre society helped me bring you here”
“To random kaise hua?” She eyed me suspiciously
“Uski T- Shirt pe tha college ka naam. And before you ask, Haan cute bhi tha”
“Number lia” She looked at me eagerly and my expression was enough to burst her bubble.
I thought I’d ask Simz to be extra careful about her health and at least learn to make sure she informs people around her in advance if she has something going on. God forbid, had she been out, instead of the safe space of a college campus, or had I or that helpful stranger not been around. But then I figured, not everyone is the same. Some of us are extra cautious, on behalf of those around us too. Simz was carefree, for her faith in her friends who she knew would always take care of her.
As for me, I needed to learn to open up more and accept people unapologetically. Each one of us lives on the same planet and yet we all live in a different world we spin for ourself with our daily perceptions, feelings and emotions.
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