Diary: Whispers of the Heart

Diary: Chap15*** Sharma Sir

The closing time for the Physics lab was 4 p.m. It was 15 minutes past 4 already but it was still crowded with students. I was standing at the Physics lab door trying to peek inside. Most of them stoodaround Sharma Sir. Sir was the tallest among all the students, almost 6 feet tall, lean, and pleasant looking. The greyness in his sideburns gave away, or else his age could be easily misunderstood.

As a few students came out of the lab, I peeped inside again to see if the class had been dismissed. I wanted to speak to him alone. I was prepared for scolding but preferred to be alone while I apologized to him.

" Aviral, why are you standing outside? Come inside. " ~ Lab assistant caught me peeping and called me inside. I was in the Chemistry cycle for this semester and was supposed to have Physics as my second-semester subject. But thanks to the fresher's party fiasco, I had turned into a known entity in the whole college, regardless of whether I attended the class or not.

Sharma Sir and the bunch of students who were completely engrossed in noting down the readings from the Air wedge experiment apparatus moved their gaze towards me.

"Sir, Just wanted to talk to you for a minute when you are free." ~ I Looked at Sharma sir and said meekly.

"Okay, give me a minute. I will be there." ~ Sharma Sir said and got back to his experiment reading.

I wandered around and was looking at the different apparatus in the lab. This was the first time I had entered the Physics department laboratory. It was a state of the art lab with Prisms I had never seen earlier, LCR circuits, huge tuning forks, lenses/ glasses, a microscope, and lots of exciting apparatus.

"Yes, young man! What can I do for you?" ~ As I was lost inspecting the lab, Sharma sir appeared from behind and said aloud, almost baffling me.

"Sir... Sir..." - I choked at the loss of words.

"Tell me, how can I help you?" ~ Sharma Sir asked again, calmly.

"What happened last night was my mistake. I lost track of time. I am embarrassed. I don't know how to apologize." ~ I talked fast, stammering.

Sharma Sir kept his hand over my shoulder and said - "Let's go for tea."

It was going to be 5 PM and the canteen was almost empty. The cleaning staff was wiping the tables with disinfectants. Its faint pungent smell entered our nostrils as soon as we entered. Sir chose the table near the window and signaled me to sit in the opposite chair across from him.

"Let's eat something?" - Sharma Sir asked

I just nodded my head, still ashamed, staring blankly at some random names and alphabets etched by students on the table of the canteen.

The canteen owner himself came down to the table to take the order from Sharma Sir.

"Sir, we would have served you at your office. What would you like to have?" - The Canteen owner asked politely.

"It's OK, it's OK. I needed a break." - Sharma Sir replied while taking his glasses off. "Can we get a Masala Dosa and badam milk for this young man & the usual Elaichi Tea for me?"

As he finished giving the order, his phone rang. The lab assistant wanted his permission to close and lock the lab for the day. Sharma Sir took extra time to explain very crisply about all apparatus had to be set up before the next day's lab experiments.

"You are in Computer Science, right? Chemistry Cycle for this semester?" Sharma Sir asked while keeping his mobile back in his pocket.