A Great Fall [ #Wattys2017]

Chapter 1: Something Different

Rish

"I see you have come up with yet another elaborate excuse and this one is unprecedented, Rishikesh, atleast in your case", was the principal's curt reply after reading my letter requesting him to let me leave a little early.

"Sir, it's my cousin's marriage and am just asking 3 hours off of the 14 hours I spend here daily", I protested.

Yeah, you read that right, I spend more than half of my day in this apartment cum college which runs on the motto - "Study. Fun is just a fantasy." I still have no idea how to deal with all those terrible jokes which these nerds constantly crack or the stench permeating from the so-called "cafeteria" which gives a hint about how old the food really is and serves as a silent warning to stay away from it. I still don't know what made me commit the bad mistake of joining this college but this isn't the first blunder I made in my life.

I had trusted the superficial smiles which my "friends" flashed at me and then ended up betrayed,stabbed in the back. I've had two breakups, not including this girl who had a huge crush on me in school which bordered on obsession, but I did not make any move and she's still single. (Does it count as a breakup if you weren't really together in the first place, but you still end up having to tell someone it is over?)

I have never had the occasion to find my life boring. If anything, adjectives like eventful, crazy and dramatic described it the way it was. Never had I ever had to spend a day staring despondently at a textbook for weeks at a time, skip cricket matches, put aside my suddenly dead social life or dread Sundays when I wrote weekly tests.

Until now.

I still fantasize about what I would do that person who suggested this college to me if I ever got my hands on him. There is a special place in hell for him, I assure you. I am not a sadist but if that person was hanging off a cliff and I had a rope, I would use it to cordon off the area. This wasn't where I belonged, caged up in a dark prison. I was a free bird born to be carefree, have fun and live in the vibrant blue sky.

I was brought back down to the ground when the principal told the famous dialogue which almost all teachers and parents(your friend's parents too) tell you a hundred times, especially to the engineering aspirants.

"Look Rishi, it's not for my sake that you are studying here. If, you prepare well now, you may get into a nice IIT(Indian Institute Of Technology) and your future will be bright." He adjusted his horn-rimmed glasses which were falling off his nose. He was a complete weirdo, with absolutely no dressing sense. He wore pants much high above the waist and shirt tucked in. He paired it off with his slippers which was a complete contrast for the personality of a Principal.

With a sight like that, there is no wonder why I couldn't take his words too seriously. That, and the fact that I disagreed.

I wanted to tell him that only IIT's weren't the means to succeed in life but at that moment, considering the situation at hand, I kept quiet and silently nodded my head.

"Hmm I'll let this slide for this one time but make sure you or your friends don't come up with any such letter for at least a month". I thought for a second that the principal was just concealing one of his famous outbursts but his face was expressionless.

"Can't say sir, you know how Indian marriages can be. Thank you for considering this request. I will take your leave now". I anticipated him to say something more, so I was out in a flash to skip that whole ordeal.