Two Poles of a Magnet.
"No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it." ~Steve Jobs
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"Randhir Singh Shekhwat ."
The woman checked the clipboard. "Yes, Mr. Shekhwat." She checked off his name on the paper . "Welcome to the Fortis hospital."
Randhir nodded politely, but didn't say anything; there was no need to impress the nurses more than he needed to. He would just complete his punishment here, and then he would more than likely never see them again.
It was bad enough that he had to be surrounded by Pateints, but Delhi, the place where his mother resided, was just a few miles away. His mother could pop in any day. He was sure that PKC picked this spot specifically just to torture him, to make this punishment worse than it already was.
"Come along now." The woman tapped her pen on the clipboard once, and then took off down the hallway. Randhir had no choice but to follow her. Thankfully, The hospital was far enough from FITE that there was very little chance he would see someone from collage. The last thing he wanted was for his final year to begin with rumors that Randhir Singh Shekhwat actually enjoyed doing work at a hospital. Nothing could be more embarrasing than that for an Engineering student in his opinion .
"Here we are." The woman stopped in front of a room with a large gold '7' branded on the door. "You've been assigned to this girl. She's a very nice woman, so you should have no problem with her." The nurse nodded once and looked as though she wanted to say something, but then closed her mouth and headed back down the hallway. However, not before Randhir heard her mutter, "It's always the kind ones who die young." Randhir stared at her as her back disappeared around the corner and frowned slightly. Did that mean the patient was a girl? He did not need another love crazy girl to fawn over him.
The room was rather small; just a small bed, a chair, a small desk and a window. The view outside wasn't great either; it was just the view of the roof. Randhir sighed, sat himself down in the chair, and then looked at the girl.
She was by no means pretty. Her hair was a tumbling mess, outlining her small face. She looked quite like a chipmunk. Randhir narrowed his eyes.
"You're staring at me."
It was only because of his well-trained poker face that he managed not to jump in surprise. The girl had opened both of her eyes, the color of hazelnuts, and was looking at him with a small smile on her face. There was something about her that gave Randhir the impression that she thought she was better than him. That just wouldn't do; Randhir Singh Shekhwat was better than everyone.
"Don't flatter yourself."
The girl raised an eyebrow at his harsh tone, but didn't question it. "Are you the person here to keep me company?" She sat up, and Randhir could spot the pink dressing gown she wore.
"No." Keeping her company wasn't part of the punishment. PKC merely said he had to help out at the hospital. He was helping out by not talking.
"Suit yourself." The girl simply shrugged. "I'm Sanyukta agarwal by the way."
Randhir merely ignored her and stared at the wall.
Unfortunately, the damage had already been done, and PKC had sent him to a hospital to help. He had refused at first, but PKC had blackmailed him, saying that if he didn't go, he would take the case up to Maya and get him expelled.
The stupid girl kept talking. She had a rather melodic name for someone who was as ugly as her. Not that he minded how she looked. When he wanted information, he got it, no matter what the other person looked like. However, pretty girls were always a bonus.
Unfortunately, not only was this girl not pretty, but there was no information whatsoever that she could offer him. This was a complete waste of his time, and he was significantly crankier than he had been when he first got here.
"What brings you to this hospital?"
"Punishment."
Sanyukta blinked. "Punishment," she repeated.
"Yes. It was a mistake." He smiled eerily at her. Unfortunately, it did not scare her; it merely prompted another eyebrow raise from her. She was unnerving him with her calm demeanor. "It won't happen again."
The girl looked like she wanted to say something else, but before she could, the door opened and a nurse stepped in. She smiled flirtingly at Randhir, who pointedly ignored it.
"Your shift is done for today." The nurse smiled. "Thank you very much. We'll see you tomorrow." She took a step closer, glanced quickly at Sanyukta, and then offered Randhir a seductive grin.
"Don't count on it," Randhir muttered, pushing past the nurse and quickly stepping out of the room and slamming the door behind him. He didn't care what kind of punishment PKC had for him; anything was better than being surrounded by Patients ; it made him sick.
However, Randhir sneered as he left the hospital, an ugly look taking over his face, there was something pleasing about watching them sick and crippled, lying helpless on a bed. Maybe there was something good about going to the hospital.
Randhir found himself in the same room the next day.
He had gone to PKC, but the old codger refused to budge, offering him the choice of a hospital, or expelling him. After serious consideration about spending a few years in the prison, he finally decided that Hospital was only slightly better than getting expelled, but better nonetheless.
"Hi agarwal." He threw open the book he had brought with him. If he was lucky enough, she would leave him alone to read in peace. However, if he had luck in the first place, he wouldn't have been stuck in here.
"Hi Shekhwat." Sanyukta was peeking over at the book he was reading.
Randhir froze, and he slowly turned his head to look at her, narrowing his eyes. "How exactly," he said slowly, pronouncing each word clearly, "Do you know my name?"
Sanyukta blinked. "Is it a crime?" She sighed as Randhir continued to glare at her. "Fine, I learned that you were going to be here from Professor PKC. He came here about a week ago." She paused. "Not that I didn't know it already. You're rather famous."
"Famous," Randhir repeated. "And how exactly am I famous?" He was going to be famous one day, but right now, he was trying to keep a relatively low profile .
Sanyukta shrugged. "You were the Genius one, were you not?" She laughed as Randhir's poker face slipped slightly. . "You don't remember? Well, I suppose I'm not as memorable as you are. I was in the Dream Team and in 3rd year when you were in your first year."
"You were in the DREAM TEAM?" Randhir asked, his eyes wide open. It was one of the rare times he allowed his surprise to be shown on his face, but since this hospital was far enough from FITE, he didn't really care what kind of rumors started about him here. And she was right; he didn't remember her at all. He usually would remember things like this.
"Yes, I was and I was the captain." Sanyukta looked rather amused. "Why do you look so surprised?"
"Because you're a girl."
Sanyukta's smile slid off her face and she frowned at him. "I am proud that am a girl," she huffed. ". The fact that you are a boy does not mean that you are more capable." She turned on her lecturing voice. "In fact, girls often have to work harder than boys, and because of that, their efforts often make them more successful.
"Vardhaan made a girl the dream team's captain." Randhir sneered. However, unlike the others, Sanyukta simply looked at him, no fear in her eyes. She even scowled at him for ignoring her whole mini-speech. Randhir didn't know whether to admire her boldness or to be furious that she wasn't cowering before him. "And they let that idiot run the team."
Sanyukta sighed.
Sanyukta eyed him, but once again, no fear was displayed on her face. Did dying make people more daring? It certainly seemed like it.
"Well, agarwal." Randhir purred .Sanyukta seemed to be able to read him quite easily"but there was a lot more to him that even she couldn't figure out. Some things that no one would ever know until it was too late. "It seems like I'm an open book to you."
This girl had piqued up his interest, so it was time to go for another tactic"seduction. It had worked for him every time, and though this girl was different from the rest, he had no doubt he could break her rather easily. He was charming and handsome, after all, and no one could resist his charms.
"I was the Captain," Sanyukta said, though Randhir could hear a touch of defensiveness in her voice.
Randhir raised his eyebrow. "Do you know that much about every single student in FITE? That's rather impressive."
"No, I don't," Sanyukta admitted. "I paid special attention to you since I always saw you in the library." Here, she frowned.. "I petitioned for a quiet reading class. The library was always so noisy, and my roommates had no understanding for my love for books. However, Maya didn't listen to me, saying something about how not enough people would sign up."
However, the fact that she was watching him gave him unexplainable pleasure.
"Hey," Sanyukta said, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Can you do me a favour?"
Randhir Singh Shehwat did not do anyone favors, especially not to Girls. But his interest had piqued up, and he tilted his head to one side and said, "What?"
"Can you bring me something from outside?"
"Of course," Randhir snickered obnoxiously, causing Sanyukta to frown. "What would you like? Some jewelry, or perhaps some makeup?" He eyed her hair. "Or maybe a comb?" All girls were the same, he thought with a sneer. They were all obsessed with their looks and fell head over heels over some handsome boy. They had no depth at all.
Sanyukta looked offended, her hand absentmindedly drifting towards her hair. "I like my hair," she said, scowling. "And no, I'm not interested in makeup. Can you bring me a book?" She added quickly, "Any book will do. It's just that there are no books here unless you count magazines." She frowned. "I don't really want to read more about celebrity life, but that's all they have here."
"You want a book?" Randhir repeated. "Can you even read?"
"Of course I can," Sanyukta said, frowning. "Why wouldn't I be able to?"
"Given your gender," Randhir sneered. "I wouldn't put it past you."
Sanyukta huffed. "Just because I am a girl does not mean I'm stupid!" She jabbed her finger in his direction. "In fact, I bet I'm better than you!" Randhir clenched his jaw, but Sanyukta didn't notice.
Randhir rolled his eyes. He had to work hard to control the anger that was building up inside of him. That last statement sounded suspiciously like a challenge. And Randhir Singh Shekhwat did not take challenges well, especially when the opponent was making him feel inferior. Thankfully, the clock chimed, symbolizing that his shift was over. He got up without another word and headed towards the door.
"Scared?"
Randhir turned around slowly, narrowing his eyes. "Of you?" He snickered evilly, his eyes openly raking up and down her body. She didn't have a good form for working, though it wouldn't have mattered if she did. There was no one better at machines than he was. Except for maybe Vardhaan, though that would change soon.
Sanyukta frowned. "compete me , then, if you're so sure you'll win." we have an agreement .
"What agreement?" he repeated, narrowing his eyes when she didn't respond.
"You don't need to worry about it," came her muffled voice from beneath the blankets. When he still didn't move, she sighed and said, "This conversation is over. Goodbye, Shekhwat."
He understood he was being dismissed, and he did not like that; it was always him dismissing other people. However, he knew that he was not going to be getting any more information from her .He quickly left, his mind on Sanyukta agarwal, the girl who seemed to know so much about him while he knew nothing about her.
Jhanak
