Love Takes Time {Completed} {#Wattys2017}

21. Farewell

                      It was last semester in college with only five months to go, out of which more than a month went into pretests, PL's and final exams. Seventh semester results looked like the toppers played musical chair and ended up taking each other's usual position. Abhimanyu was first with Sunita at second and Ram at third. Abhimanyu had topped Computer Science and was ahead of Sunita by a huge margin. Shanaya who had highest marks in E&TC was a close fourth with only point one percent less than Ram. Professors and Abhimanyu's classmates weren't shocked as they knew engineering came naturally to him, and he was the best even if he didn't top. Abhimanyu didn't hold back himself in final year. He had accepted the challenge and he decided to go all out to show what he really was. It was altogether different thing that the B.E degrees were mailed home by university and hardly anyone visited college to know the toppers. The university toppers also received a certificate along with degree stating their position in the university.

                 Many prestigious companies came for the recruitment in last semester. The placement cell was active inviting  companies to campus with many university toppers in the college profile to boast of. College alumni helped by getting their companies to come for recruitment. Students were busy studying analytical and logical reasoning books. They also mugged up the most asked technical and personal questions in interviews. Samsung was the first company to come and also the company that offered highest annual pay package. Samsung allowed only first three toppers from Computer Science, E&TC, Instrumentation and Electrical to undergo their selection procedure. In morning, a panel of five members from the company gave Analytical and Logical Reasoning test of very advanced level to candidates that met their criteria. From the test, they shortlisted only six for interview that included Shanaya, Ram and Abhimanyu. Interview was in afternoon after the lunch.

                   Chairs were put in a row for the selected students in the corridor to wait for their turn outside the test hall in which the interview took place. Shanaya came running with a file as she got late. She stood at the door as it was her turn next. She saw Abhimanyu sitting on chair looking very handsome in a fitted black suit and a tie. He was looking so good that her eyes didn't even see others sitting beside him. He glanced her way and smiled sweetly. She smiled thinking what he was thinking. She knew he was smiling because she was wearing the same white suit that she had worn on that rainy night. That was her favorite and most lucky kurta- chudidaar. The student who was inside the room for interview came out. Abhimanyu whispered 'all the bests' from his chair. Shanaya said 'thank you' before going in.

                 After the interview got over, they all waited nervously for the result. The selectors came out to announce the names of selected candidates. They called out 'Abhimanyu Singh' and that's all. They selected only one out of six to join their Bangalore office. They usually selected candidates from IIT's but on recommendation by a college alumni at a senior position in the company, they came to their college. Selectors congratulated Abhimanyu and wished rejected students luck with other companies. Sad rejected candidates including Ram and Shanaya congratulated Abhimanyu before one of the panel member took him in to finish other formalities. Shanaya walked back to hostel with heavy heart. She knew she shouldn't be disheartened as it was the first company and the most difficult one to crack. Sometimes it went back without selecting anyone. For some reason in some corner of her heart she was sad to not make it in the company Abhimanyu did. She thought perhaps it was in her destiny to never know him. College rules didn't allow students to try for other companies once they got selected in one.

                     Shanaya went to library in evening and saw her classmates sitting at a table discussing about Samsung interview. Yash and Ram were also there. Shanaya goes and sits with them.

Rohit: Abhimanyu damn, what a guy! He must have won half the interview with his looks only. I heard there was one lady interviewer also. She must have said 'selected' before interview itself. He laughed.