FF Complete: Closing the Loop (Part 18-21 - Pg 64) - Page 6

"Nidhi. Rakesh' parents are here. Would you like to handle them?"

"Yes... Yes Sir. I will." She had no idea as to what awaited her and how she was going to handle it. But she was going to do anything to make up for the slip of her duty and this was one such chance.

"They might be distraught and might blame you or the institute. Be patient, but firm. Don't say anything that can get the institute in trouble."

On hearing the last piece of his advice, Nidhi felt very nervous.

"No. I can't handle it. I might do or say something wrong."

"You won't. Just go there and be calm."

Nidhi didn't oppose him and went inside the room where Rakesh was resting and his parents were watching him over.

"Mr. and Mrs. Sharma!" Nidhi addressed them softly.

They turned back to look at her. She answered their unspoken question, "I am Nidhi Verma. I teach at the institute."

"Who is responsible for this?" Mr. Sharma asked angrily.

Nidhi froze for a moment on hearing that question. Was she the one? But she gathered herself together, "As doctor might have told you, it was a suicide attempt. He might have been worried about his exams..."

"Nonsense. My son is not that weak," it was Mr. Sharma again, while his wife just continued weeping.

"Mr. Sharma. It is best if we talked outside the room. It might disturb Rakesh otherwise."

Mr. Sharma was not affected, but Mrs. Sharma seemed to see her point. She nudged her husband and they came out in waiting area. Ashutosh was not there. Nidhi was partly relieved that he wasn't there to judge her. At the same time, she was also scared about what would happen if things went out of her control.

"Mr. Sharma. I know it is a difficult time, but please try to understand that Rakesh would need support..."

"Don't talk nonsense young lady. My son has been a topper all through and..."

"Topper?" Nidhi interrupted surprised.

"Yes Ma'am. Have you joined recently or what? I want to talk to someone senior..."

"Mr. Sharma. Rakesh is a decent student. And very good at sports and extra-curriculars too. But no - he is not the topper."

"Really? Now I need to find out what is going on. You are now trying to prove him to be a bad student who attempted suicide because he was going to fail the exams. You are trying to prove him responsible for..."

"Please calm down Mr. Sharma..."

"Calm down? My son is being targeted by someone who is jealous and you are asking me to calm down..."

"Someone jealous? Why would someone..."

"Because he is good. He is the winner..."

"Okay. Let's get this straight Mr. Sharma. Your son is not a topper."

"I have received all his grade-sheets..."

"I will get you the originals. But that is not the point..."

"That is the point..."

"Mrs. Sharma. You know something, don't you?" Nidhi saw her fidgeting uncomfortably and asked her suddenly.

"Y... Yes," she looked at her husband guiltily and then looked down as she spoke, "The grade-sheets you got were tampered..."

"How can that be? They come directly from the institute, right?" he looked at Nidhi for confirmation and then looked back at his wife, "How could he tamper them?"

"He didn't. I did."

"What?"

"I knew you would be mad and I wanted to protect him."

Mr. Sharma was clearly at loss. Nidhi sighed. She was relieved that the exact situation was clear and Mr. Sharma won't be able to hold the institute at ransom. At the same time she felt extremely sad for the boy. No wonder he was so stressed. She had sat with him earlier and tried to convince him that he was doing pretty well with the academics and he need not take all the stress. But he never appeared to be at peace. Even multiple sessions with a therapist had not been helpful. He must have been distressed after exams yesterday and made a call to the counseling service late at night. It came to her as she was on the pager duty and she failed to respond in time...

Thanks God, he survived. But if he hadn't? Nidhi shuddered to think of the possibility. She realized that Dr. Mathur had covered for her. She had to find him to thank him. But first Rakesh' parents needed counseling. She turned her attention back to Mr. and Mrs. Sharma. Mr. Sharma looked like he had lost everything in his life.

"He hadn't been doing well in his studies and to top that both of you have been lying to me. Let him wake up. He needs a piece of mind."

"Mr. Sharma, please!" Nidhi's voice was confident and stern this time, "You will do no such thing unless you have decided that you want to lose your son for good."

"What do you mean?" Mr. Sharma was angry at the insult.

"What I mean is that your son is a living being, an individual, not a medal you can wear on your chest. Let him be. He is doing fine. By putting all this pressure on him, you are doing him no good, only harm."

"You don't need to interfere. This is between me and my son."

"Really? And just a while back you were ready to take on the entire institute and me because you thought we were holding him responsible for his condition. Mr. Sharma, he is not responsible. You are. And if it is between you and your son, we will do what an outsider strictly should. We will report it as a suicide attempt to the police, suspend him from the college and then you can deal with it, all right?"

"You are threatening me?"

"No. Only showing you a mirror that everyone here, the institute, we all care about Rakesh. It's high time you did the right thing for him too. Take your time and make your decision. I will wait for you in the hospital reception area."

Nidhi stormed out of the waiting area. She met Ashutosh while walking towards the reception. She realized that he had witnessed her exchange with Rakesh' parents and became nervous again.

"I messed up again, didn't I?" she asked.

"It was unusual, but I think you did well." Ashutosh' reply surprised her.

"I shouldn't have lost my temper. He might try to do something against the institute..."

"We will see that. I think you need some coffee. Let's get a cup form the canteen."

Nidhi followed him.

The silence, as they sipped their coffee, was broken by Mrs. Sharma's voice, "Hi!"

"Hello Mrs. Sharma. I..." Nidhi started saying something nervously.

"Dr. Verma, right?"

"Yeah. Nidhi Verma."

"Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?"

"For telling my husband everything he needed to hear for years now. Hopefully my son will live now."

"Mrs. Sharma... I don't know. I lost my cool. But I do have his best in my mind."

"I believe you."

"Meet Dr. Mathur. Head of the Department for History," Nidhi introduced Ashutosh to her not knowing where to take the conversation.

"Nice to meet your Dr. Mathur. If it is all right with you, we would like to take Rakesh with us as soon as possible. And he should be fit to come back in few days."

"Sure Mrs. Sharma. We'd look forward to having him back. Our administration in-charge Ms. Meher Khan is here. She will help you finish the hospital formalities," Ashutosh replied.

--

While coming to the college from the home after freshening up Nidhi recalled what Ashutosh had told her when she had taken up the responsibility of representing the department in the student counseling forum. He had said that this job was very sensitive and she should take care of her students. But she was so occupied with her own hatred for him that she hadn't paid enough attention to his advice. She had never intended to ignore her responsibilities, but at the same time she hadn't thought very seriously about them either.

She walked into his office for a meeting as they had agreed to do while leaving the hospital that morning.

"Sit down Nidhi. Are you all right?"

The concern in his voice surprised her, "Why are you asking about me? I have been so irresponsible. You should be..." her voice trailed off.

"I should be?"

"You should be scolding me. Throwing me out of the job. May be I should resign."

"Come on Nidhi. I thought you were more of a fighter than that."

"Sir?"

"Look. We all make mistakes. That cannot be the reason to give up."

"You mean you don't mind me continuing to work here..."

"I want you to continue to work here... What are you talking about? That wasn't on my mind at all. What makes you think..."

Nidhi looked even more embarrassed and did not say anything. So, Ashutosh continued, "Look Nidhi. Like I said we all make mistakes. But it is important to learn from them and not repeat them. You are intelligent and mature. You understand things. Yes - you have not been the most responsible person. You were not so even as a student..."

Another surprise for Nidhi, "You remember things from then?"

"Of course, I do. You, yourself, are in the profession now. You will always remember the good students you come across. But the point is this Nidhi. The student days are gone. It's good to not let go of child-like creativity and innocence as we grow up. But it's absolutely necessary to let go of childish immaturity and irresponsibility. I'm sure you understand and will be able to do so. Right?"

"I will try my best."

"That would be more than enough I'm sure," he smiled.

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