Okay, Chapter 3 is here...this time it took me just two weeks instead of three. Aren't you proud of me?đ
I'll continue with the actor names in parentheses for a while longer. Let me know when you don't need it anymore. I've also added a recap...hope it helps.
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Recap
The seven main characters meet in their "Indian American Identity" class, in which they are required to work in groups. Things do not start off on the right foot, as personality clashes emerge early between Aditya and Hina as well as Rehaan and Deepali.
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Chapter 3: Power to Choose
"Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country," Aditya (Mohit Sehgal, Samrat) uttered aloud, as he typed the famous line from John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address onto his laptop keyboard. Nearly four years ago, Aditya had read this quote for the very first time, and it had been nothing short of a revelation. The message was simple yet profound - a call to serve, to take action, to shape the future of the nation. And for Aditya, the quote was much more significant. It was the inspiration he had needed in order to chose the path of leadership - to realize his potential as a born leader.
Leaning back into his recliner, Aditya reread the first two paragraphs of his Political Science essay, looking for errors. Just as he finished, the front door of the apartment swung open and Zaid (Ranbir Kapoor) ambled in, appearing completely exhausted. Mumbling a weary greeting, he made his way to the sofa and collapsed onto it, dropping his backpack onto the floor.
"Hey, how was your lab class, Zee?" Aditya asked. "Blow anything up?"
Zaid rolled his eyes. "It's not a chemistry lab, dude. It's an engineering lab. We built this complex circuit with switches, bulbs and fans. It might have actually been interesting, but our battery was defective. I spend over an hour trying to debug the circuit, only to realize there was absolutely nothing wrong the wiring."
"Ouch," Aditya sympathized. "Thank God I never liked science."
"Lucky you." Zaid put his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes. "I could really use a nap."
"You can't sleep now. It's Monday. Aaj to Chashmish ke ghar jaana hai."
"Chashmish?" Zaid asked, perplexedly.
Aditya sighed. "You're such an American sometimes. Chashmish matlab chashma pehnne waali."
"Oh, Neelam. Haan, mujhe yaad hai."
"Yaad kaise nahin hoga, considering who else is going to be there?"
Zaid glared back. He was finally comfortable with the fact that Aditya knew about his feelings for Hina, and was no longer embarassed by every allusion to her. "Are you still going on about that? I was thinking it would taper off since you don't like her."
"How I feel about her is irrelevant," Aditya replied with a smirk. "You know I'd never pass up an opportunity to pull your leg."
Zaid shook his head. "Whatever."
"You and Samira say 'whatever' a lot. Must be a California thing."
"Actually, it's a 'how to get Adi to shut up' thing." Zaid pulled himself up and headed towards his bedroom. "Mujhe aadhe ghante mein jaga dena."
Grinning, Aditya returned to his paper.
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As he walked out of his classroom, Rehaan (Shahid Kapoor) checked his phone for missed calls. There were none. So far so good. Zeenat had not acquired his new number yet, and even her emails were less frequent than before. Maybe she had finally given up on him, Rehaan thought, crossing his fingers.
It was hard to believe that only two months ago Rehaan had felt so secure about his love for Zeenat that he was considering proposing to her. But that was before the unthinkable happened. Without rhyme or reason, Zeenat made an accusation that left him shocked and outraged. And he realized once and for all that the relationship had to come to an end. He knew that it wouldn't be easy to get over what happened, but the opportunity to move over 1000 miles away for college could not have come at a better time. Time and distance would heal his broken heart.
When Rehaan reached the end of the hall, he watched as students gradually trickled out of a large lecture hall. After a moment of hesitation, Rehaan decided to stop at the door of the hall and wait there, leaning his shoulder against a nearby column.
Moments later, Samira (Amrita Rao) appeared in the doorway. Spotting Rehaan, she grinned broadly. "Waiting for me?" she asked.
Rehaan returned the smile. "I didn't want to walk alone, and I thought you might feel the same way."
Samira giggled as she recognized that statement as one that she had said to him at the airport over a week ago. "Should we head over to Deepali's place now? It's still a little early."
"Well, if you don't mind, Mark's Cafe is just around the corner. May I buy you a coffee or something?"
"Rehaan, you don't have to-"
"I wanted to pay for your lunch on Saturday," Rehaan interrupted, "but you didn't let me. I won't take no for an answer this time."
On Saturday, two days earlier, Rehaan and Samira had spent several hours together, taking a limited tour of some of Philadelphia's most visited tourist spots. During this time, they also had the opportunity to chat about their high school experiences, interests and future goals. For Samira, the more they conversed, the more charismatic she found Rehaan to be. He was interested in everything she had to say and always found the right words to respond, though at times she felt like he was a bit reserved when it came to speaking about himself. It appeared as if he wasn't quite ready to open up with her about certain spheres of his life.
Samira smiled as she gave in to Rehaan's offer. "Well, I don't drink coffee, but I would love a smoothie."
Rehaan tilted his head, gesturing towards the cafe, and together they headed across campus along the stone pathways.
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"Deeps, tum kahaan ho?" Neelam (Sanaya Irani, Gunjan) inquired with concern over the phone. "Everyone will be here in less than half an hour."
"Sorry Neelam," Deepali (Rati Pandey, Nupur) replied. "I swear, this campus is the most confusing place in the world. I was on my way home and out of the blue, I found myself in a quad that I've never seen before in my life. I've been looking around, and I don't recognize any of these halls. I don't know what to do. This is what I get for never taking the time to walk around campus despite living here for so many years." Deepali said this all in such rapid succession that she had to take a deep breath once she had completed her story.
Neelam sighed, shaking her head. "Okay, don't panic. Just tell me the name of some of the halls. I might know where you are."
"Wait...I think I found a better solution." Deepali had just walked into one of the buildings and caught sight of someone familiar studying on one of the benches in the corridor. "There's someone here I know, so I'll just ask him. I'll be home soon. Bye."
As she ended the call, Deepali approached the young man (Arjun Bijlani, Mayank) who was still engrossed in his textbook. He was dressed in a plaid collared shirt and dark jeans, and his hair was gelled into neat spikes. When she cleared her throat loudly, he finally looked up.
"Hi," she said. "I've seen you in my 'Indian American Identity' class. I'm Deepali."
His expression remained passive as he nodded.
"And your name is?" she questioned.
"Karan," he replied inertly, his eyes shifting back to his textbook. He appeared in no mood to talk, but Deepali ignored his expression and dropped down on the bench beside him.
"You look like you're good with directions, Karan," she began, speaking rapidly once again. "I thought I knew my way home from classes, but I swear, this campus is a maze. I live near the law school, but I'm guessing I'm not even close to there. I don't even recognize a single building around here. If I don't get back soon, my project group is going to hate me. Well, that is, if they don't already. Will you help me?"
Karan wondered how she could speak so fast without exhausting all her energy. "This is the Wharton School of Business," he responded. "The Law School is at the opposite corner of the University. Just walk north and east." Then he picked up his textbook again and continued where he had left off, hoping not to be disturbed again.
Deepali slowly rose from her seat, trying to process Karan's directions. "The sun is setting in this direction," she said out loud, motioning toward the entrance she had come from. "That must be west, which means that north is-"
"Do you mind?" Karan interjected, staring at her with a frown. "Some of us actually come to school to study."
"Then you should study in the library. The hallways are not your property, you know?" Deepali was finally getting aggravated by his rudeness. "And who the hell remembers which way is northeast? Is it too much trouble for you to point out exactly where I should go?"
"Okay fine," he conceded irately. He pointed in the distance out of a nearby window. "Just keep walking that way. You can't miss it."
"Thank you," Deepali replied, her voice still edgy. Then she readily dashed out the building door.
Karan heaved a sigh. As if it wasn't annoying enough just sharing a class with this girl, now she actually knew him by name.
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Half an hour later, Aditya, Zaid, Samira, Rehaan and Hina (Deepika Padukone) were seated in Neelam and Deepali's family room, while Neelam was getting refreshments for them in the kitchen and Deepali was moving her stereo system in from the living room.
"Are we waiting for anyone else?" Hina asked, impatiently. Deepali's idea to combine the two groups was already going to extend this meeting, and Hina didn't want it to start late as well. Upon Deepali's email request, the class instructor, Leah, had allowed the two groups to have their discussion together, but the write-ups and presentations would have to be done separately. She required that they hold the discussion for an extra half hour since there would be more participants. Everyone else has responded favorably to this, so Hina also reluctantly agreed.
"Carissa's class should have ended a few minutes ago," Samira explained. "I'm sure she'll be here soon."
Deepali entered the room with the sophisticated stereo system on a pushcart. "Hina, just take this opportunity to chill for a bit. I'm sure sitting around chatting with classmates in a comfortable sitting room cannot be your worst nightmare."
Hina managed a small smile and loosened up a bit as they all began discussing the best places to eat near the university. Just as Carissa (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) arrived, Neelam brought out some sodas, a bowl of chips and a plate of delicious steaming samosas.
As they all helped themselves to the food, Deepali informed everyone about her sister's culinary talents. "You now what guys...Neelam makes these samosas from scratch. Aren't they the best you've ever eaten?"
Everyone agreed and began to praise Neelam, which both pleased and embarassed her.
"So, shall we begin?" Aditya asked, once they were done eating. "The prompt says: 'Discuss the role of culture and parental expectations when an Indian American college student selects his or her major. Have these factors influenced your decision?'"
"This should be interesting," Zaid commented with a grin.
"Great," Deepali said, "then why don't you start us off, Zaid. I'll start the recording, and you can tell us why you chose your major." She hit the record button the stereo.
"Uh..." Zaid wondered how to begin. He wasn't expecting to be the first to speak. Hina gave him an encouraging smile, which only made him more nervous. "Well, I chose engineering," he began, "which doesn't really run in the family. My father's side are mostly doctors and my mother's side are in academics. But I guess there was some cultural pressure to chose a professional career. I mean, I don't think my parents would have been thrilled if I would have majored in Theater or Ethnic Studies."
"True," Hina agreed. "Desi parents are only satisfied if their kids become doctors or engineers. I suppose they must view these as the most stable careers."
Carissa had her doubts. "Maybe they just want their children to follow in their footsteps. Zaid, your dad's a doctor, right? Did you ever get the feeling that he wanted you to go into medicine, too?"
Zaid contemplated for a moment and exchanged glances with Samira, seeming unsure about how to approach the subject. "Well, I don't know. Maybe early on he did have some desire for me to choose medicine...but I think he just hoped that at least one of his three children would choose his field. Now that Samira is majoring in Biology, I'm pretty sure he's content." He paused for a moment, appearing uneasy with the current discussion. "Can someone else talk now?"
"Here, I'll go," Deepali said. "I don't think we should be generalizing about Desi parents. Not all of them are the same. I'm double majoring in English and Art, and my parents don't have a problem with it. They said I should stick with whatever makes me happy."
"Your parents might be an exception, Deepali," Hina stated, "but you can't really know what they're thinking. Maybe they would have been happier if you have chosen a science instead."
Deepali frowned pensively. "Maybe."
Rehaan was silently watching the play of emotions on Zaid and Deepali's faces as they were put on the spot. He dreaded having to face the same question because he was very uncomfortable with the subject. Rehaan had not yet selected a major because he had not been able to find a middle ground between his own inclinations and his mother's hopes for him. This was not something he wanted to share with anyone before he figured it out for himself, especially not a group of people he had met only a week ago.
Fortunately, no one was required to share anything about themselves for the next ten mintutes, because the group launched into a discussion about which majors at their University had the most Desi students. They came to the conclusion the greatest proportions of Desis entered college in either the Pre-Medicine or the Engineering program, with Pre-Law and Business coming in as distant number three and number four.
"Okay, lets get back to discussing each person's major," Hina instructed, "or else we'll never finish by eight."
Aditya glared at her. "So what if we don't? No one else is complaining."
"I just think it will benefit us all if we end on time, so we can get to our other school work."
"No, Hina. I think you're just thinking about yourself as usual. We all have busy lives, but you're the only one who is selfish enough to constantly try to hurry us along."
Rehaan stood up abruptly and stopped the recording stereo. "What is it with you two?" he said, angrily. "We have enough issues as it is without you being at each other's throats."
"What issues are you talking about, Rehaan?" Deepali asked. "Why don't you come out and say it? I already know that you don't like me from the way you looked at me and responded to my suggestions in class on Tuesday."
Rehaan sighed. "I have no idea what you're taking about, Deepali, and this has nothing to do with you. You want to know what the issues are? Well, first of all, none of us has any idea how to conduct this discussion session, so we're all confused about whether we're even doing it right. Secondly, Neelam and I have been selected as the spokespersons for the presentations despite the fact that we're the least talkative. Neelam doesn't seem happy with the arrangement, and honestly, neither am I. And finally, we're expected to discuss very personal matters with a group of people that we barely know. Not all of us are comfortable enough to do this."
They all stayed quiet for a moment as they pondered over Rehaan's words. He was absolutely right, of course, having discerned some of the subtle emotions and dynamics that the rest of them had missed.
Finally Carissa spoke up. "I think we all need a break and some fresh air. Let's take a walk outside for a bit."
"There's an ice cream shop down the street," Neelam suggested.
"Perfect. Let's go."
They all consented, and headed outside into the cool evening air. There was very little traffic on the street, and the neighborhood was quiet. The setting sun was just visible on the horizon, and the sky was painted with pink and orange hues. It was the perfect setting to brighten everyone's spirits.
As they walked toward the ice cream store, Rehaan approached Samira with a concern.
"You know, Samira," he whispered, "I think Deepali has a valid reason for thinking I don't like her."
"So, you do have a problem with her?" Samira asked, surprised at his statement.
Rehaan shook his head. "No, but I understand why she thinks I do. I was thinking about everything that happened on Tuesday, and I did reject some of her suggestions a bit insensitively. Actually, I was distracted. Just before we were divided into groups, Carissa had confided in me that she was worried about whether or not she would be able to contribute anything to the project since she wasn't from an Indian background herself. I sensed that she was anxious about the class, so I thought that if I supported her suggestions, it might make her feel more comfortable. Of course, I didn't realize that Deepali was probably feeling even more like an outsider than Carissa at the time."
"It's all right, Rehaan," Samira replied. "It was an honest mistake. You should explain all this to Deepali. I'm sure she'll understand."
"I think I will. Thanks Samira."
They were halfway to the ice cream store, when a gust of wind came through, blowing away the five-dollar bill that Carissa had just taken out of her purse. It hovered in the air for a couple seconds and then fell onto the street.
Carissa looked on both sides for oncoming traffic. "I'll be right back," she told everyone.
She crossed one lane and walked over to where the bill was. Just as she bent down to retrieve it, the screeching of tires was heard. Everyone looked over to see that a pickup truck had just turned the corner and was barrelling toward Carissa at a speed clearly higher than the limit on that road.
The moment they saw the truck, they all knew it was too late. There was absolutely nothing anyone could do to prevent the impact. All they could do was watch wide-eyed as Carissa was struck by the right side of the bumper and thrown several feet into the air before landing on the sidewalk opposite to where they were standing, her scream drowned out by the continued screech of tires. The driver of the truck continued down the street as if nothing had happened.
Aditya stared at Carissa's seemingly lifeless body, then glanced at everyone standing near him. Neelam's eyes were already filled with tears, Zaid was breathing heavily and Samira had covered her mouth with her hands. Any moment now, people would start panicking and panic was the last thing they needed. If there was any chance of saving Carissa, someone would have to take charge. Aditya had made up his mind that he would be that person.
To be continued...
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Question:
1. Shocked? Let me know what you think!
Edited by SuhanaSafar - 16 years ago
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