FAREWELL ... One last time

23. Wait for your turn

'Who is next?' Shriram called out on the mic.

Ankit volunteered to get the mic from Shriram.

Govind, Shiva and Pritam were excited to hear it from Ankit who was an introvert contended with few words.

*Hi friends... and a special greeting to the ones sitting at the last row. Starting from Govind, Shiva, Pritam, Puja, Namita, Aswini, Rakesh then Chandru and... Kirti. Thank you all for entering my life* Ankit made everyone feel special in his order of favorites. This gesture from Ankit put a smile on all their faces.

*They are the planets in my orbit. And this campus serves the sun to me*

Unable to refrain, Pritam clapped in appreciation for the way Ankit started his farewell speech.

*I am not so good with words but forgive me for it* Ankit cautioned before he started off with his content.

*Friends, we are no longer the same person we were when we entered this campus four years ago. We were new polished mirrors during the first day of us joining this course but over years, these mirrors have been cracked and broken into several pieces by the rejections, failures, insults, guilt we faced over the four years. On the last day, the mirrors you get to see are not new, nor polished neither perfect. Never forget that a mirror becomes the most dangerous when broken as each broken piece reflect separate versions of you. In that way, I feel bad for letting Kirti witness one cracked piece of my mirror. I apologize for sharing a pinch of hatred in that broken piece* Ankit made the auditorium speechless with his speech.

'I am sorry Ankit' Kirti apologized in public forgetting her ego.

*To all my fellow mates, make sure to protect your mirror from any breakages and thereby you not being the reason of breakage for someone else's mirror. Wish you all attain better heights in life* Ankit concluded his speech and walked towards his seat.

'Buddy, I never expected such a speech from you' Govind gave a tight hug to Ankit as token of appreciation.

'Thank you for not letting my mirror break' Aswini expressed her heartfelt gratitude to Ankit.

'Looks like you too have some affection towards me. I thought you hated me' Kirti poured the thoughts in her mind.

'Come on. After all, am a boy. Who will afford to lose such a beautiful friend like you?' Ankit became vocal.

'But wait... still Chandru comes first to me' Ankit clarified after a pause.

'Agreed' Kirti volunteered to give a hug to Ankit.

'Never have I seen such a scene from this beauty queen' Namita was shocked on seeing the gesture made by Kirti.

'He is a sweet guy' Kirti praised Ankit.

'How is this possible? I keep chasing her and she avoids me. You avoid her but she praises you' Rakesh could not digest.

'That is the quality of a gentleman. You won't understand' Kirti praised Ankit again.

'I now feel bad for missing out on such a good friend like you over these four years' Ankit spoke.

'We still have a lifetime left. Come, let us begin our friendship from here. Could you please click a picture of us?' Kirti requested with her arms tied over Ankit's shoulder.

Akshay captured the moment in his DSLR.

'My whatsapp DP is ready for the next month' Ankit jumped in excitement.

'So is mine' Kirti raised her hand for a high-five to which Ankit cooperated.

'I cannot take this anymore. Let me finish my speech and take care of this moron' Pritam scoled Ankit and ran to the podium snatching the mic from Shriram.

Kirti asked Ankit to fill the seat next to her as Pritam left to the podium.

*Hey dudes... Hope you are enjoying the day. Coming to my favorite... the girls of this department. I have fulfilled my wish of proposing to every single girl in my class. But none of the response returned with a positive reply... People say love takes time to blossom which am not aware of... all I know about is FLAMES. In that case if anyone feels to reciprocate my love feeling for you, feel free to text, whatsapp or call me over phone...* Pritam started his farewell speech on his favorite topic.

*That's all I had to say* Pritam said leaving the podium.

'I have never heard such a shitty farewell speech anywhere' Rakesh expressed his disconcern in a tone audible to Govind and Rupa.

Pritam in his midway retraced back to the podium taking the mic back in his hand.

*If you allow me, let me speak my heart for another few minutes. You might all think am always behind girls doing stupid stuff* Pritam began again.

'For your information, you are doing only that Mr.Pritam' Shiva shouted from the last row.

*I truly want to confess that girls have been my weakness and will never be. Wooing girls infront of you all was a mask I was wearing over these years to hide the pain of having lost my father. I and my father shared a beautiful bond which was beyond the closeness of friendship. Till my twelfth grade, I didnot have much friends as it felt unneccessary when my father was with me. All I had was just one friend who would help me with the class notes if I take off from school* Pritam opened up slowly.

Shiva looked at him with a confused state.

'And Shiva, the slam book which Sekhar returned last night belonged to that school friend of mine. If you had keenly noticed inside, none of those wishes would have been addressed to me. Confirm it once you get back to hostel' Pritam clarified from the podium.

*So apart from that one boy, none really spoke to me throughout my years of schooling and nothing of it really made me feel lonely as I had my father by my side who perfectly filled the vacuum* Pritam continued with his speech. The students were eager to know this side of his story as Pritam was always considered to be a care free person by most sitting at the auditorium.

*When I lost him, there was an unexplainable pain within me as the world turned blank after his loss. It was when I came across Shiva who had similar traces of my father in eyes, hairstyle and jawline which instantly made me get connected to him. I used to have a lot of word wars and fights with my father which I missed after his demise. Fortunately, my father from above has sent a version of him in the form of Shiva. When the fights between me and my father turned intense, I wouldn't talk to him for months together. The same thing happened with Shiva as well that I shifted my hostel room for a semester. Never before I have shared this to anyone, after my father left, this department turned my home and you all became my family. And to the girls here, please forgive me if my actions have hurt you in anyways. I AM SORRY* Pritam ended his speech wiping a drop of tear from his right eye.

Shiva ran to the podium and gave a tight hug to Pritam while Ankit and Govind sat teary eyed in their seats. Govind slowly walked to his seat with the feeling of satisfaction.