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"Are you ready for your exam tomorrow?" Pinky asked over the telephone.
"I am. Studied my brains out, took the sample test online, twice" Geet replied. Geet was preparing to finish her secretarial course, one which Maan had insisted she complete. Tomorrow was the last exam and Geet was a bundle of nerves.
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In the morning, Geet decided she'd been foolish and short-sighted to ban Maan from the outhouse the night before. She hadn't wanted any distractions while she reviewed her test manual, and had planned on an early night and a solid eight hours' sleep.
Instead she'd obsessed about the test, pacing the house, second-guessing herself. When she slept, she tossed and turned with anxiety dreams.
As a result, she woke tense, edgy and half sick with nerves. She forced herself to eat breakfast, then wished she hadn't as even that churned uneasily in her stomach.
She checked the contents of her bag three times to make absolutely certain it held everything she could possibly need, then left the house a full thirty minutes early, just in case she ran into traffic or got lost. Couldn't find a parking place, she added as she locked the front door. Was abducted by aliens.
"Knock it off, knock it off," she mumbled, as she strode to her car. It wasn't as if the fate of the damn world rested on her test score.
Just hers, she thought. Just her entire future.
She could wait. She could take the test down the road, wait in just a little longer. After she'd gotten married to Maan. After she'd gotten settled. After'..
Stage fright, she thought with a sigh. Performance anxiety and fear of failure all wrapped up in a slippery ribbon. With her stomach knotted, she opened the car door.
She made a sound that was part laugh, that was part awwww.
The paper lay on the seat, where, she supposed, Maan had put it sometime the night before.
Just a few words which said,
"You don't miss a trick, do you?" she said aloud.
She looked at the main house, blew a kiss to where she imagined he lay sleeping. When she climbed into the car and turned on the engine, all the knots had unraveled.
With the paper riding on the seat beside her, Geet turned on the music and drove towards her future, singing.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Maan settled on his veranda with his laptop, a pitcher of iced tea and a bag of Doritos. He couldn't be sure when Geet might be back. The drive to and from South Delhi was a bitch even without rush hour factored in. Added to it, he couldn't be sure how long the exam ran, or what Geet might do after.
So around two in the afternoon, he stationed himself where he couldn't miss her return and kept himself busy. He sent and answered e-mail, checked in with the office.
Maan poured another glass of tea, and traded his laptop for his files. He wasn't yet satisfied with the plans for an upcoming project. He played around with various styles hoping one jumped out and said: Pick me!
When none did, he considered a cold beer. Then forgot the work and the beer when Geet's car pulled into his drive.
He knew before she got out of the car. It didn't matter that her eyes were shielded by sunglasses. The grin said it all. He headed down, several paces, as she got out of the car, then braced himself as she took a running leap into his arms.
"I'm going to take a wild guess. You passed."
"I killed!" Laughing, she bowed back recklessly so he had to shift, brace his legs, or drop her on her head. "For the first time in my life, I kicked exam ass. I kicked its ass down the street, across district lines and out of the goddamn state. Woo!"
She threw her arms into the air, then around his neck. "I am Secretary Girl! Thank you." She kissed him hard enough to vibrate his teeth. "Thank you. Thank you. I was a nervous, quivering mess until I saw those words. It just gave me such a high. It really did." She kissed him again. "I'm going to have it framed."
"Congratulations." He thought he'd known just how much the certificate meant to her. And realized he hadn't even been close. "We have to celebrate."
"I've got that covered. I picked up some stuff from the pasta place on my way. Let's have a picnic. Let's have a celebration picnic on the roof and dance the day away."
Looking at the way she just shone made Maan say "It's like you read my mind."
To be continued...........
"I am. Studied my brains out, took the sample test online, twice" Geet replied. Geet was preparing to finish her secretarial course, one which Maan had insisted she complete. Tomorrow was the last exam and Geet was a bundle of nerves.
-------------------------------------------------------
In the morning, Geet decided she'd been foolish and short-sighted to ban Maan from the outhouse the night before. She hadn't wanted any distractions while she reviewed her test manual, and had planned on an early night and a solid eight hours' sleep.
Instead she'd obsessed about the test, pacing the house, second-guessing herself. When she slept, she tossed and turned with anxiety dreams.
As a result, she woke tense, edgy and half sick with nerves. She forced herself to eat breakfast, then wished she hadn't as even that churned uneasily in her stomach.
She checked the contents of her bag three times to make absolutely certain it held everything she could possibly need, then left the house a full thirty minutes early, just in case she ran into traffic or got lost. Couldn't find a parking place, she added as she locked the front door. Was abducted by aliens.
"Knock it off, knock it off," she mumbled, as she strode to her car. It wasn't as if the fate of the damn world rested on her test score.
Just hers, she thought. Just her entire future.
She could wait. She could take the test down the road, wait in just a little longer. After she'd gotten married to Maan. After she'd gotten settled. After'..
Stage fright, she thought with a sigh. Performance anxiety and fear of failure all wrapped up in a slippery ribbon. With her stomach knotted, she opened the car door.
She made a sound that was part laugh, that was part awwww.
The paper lay on the seat, where, she supposed, Maan had put it sometime the night before.
Just a few words which said,
THE AMAZING, THE INCREDIBLE
SECRETARY GIRL
SECRETARY GIRL
"You don't miss a trick, do you?" she said aloud.
She looked at the main house, blew a kiss to where she imagined he lay sleeping. When she climbed into the car and turned on the engine, all the knots had unraveled.
With the paper riding on the seat beside her, Geet turned on the music and drove towards her future, singing.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Maan settled on his veranda with his laptop, a pitcher of iced tea and a bag of Doritos. He couldn't be sure when Geet might be back. The drive to and from South Delhi was a bitch even without rush hour factored in. Added to it, he couldn't be sure how long the exam ran, or what Geet might do after.
So around two in the afternoon, he stationed himself where he couldn't miss her return and kept himself busy. He sent and answered e-mail, checked in with the office.
Maan poured another glass of tea, and traded his laptop for his files. He wasn't yet satisfied with the plans for an upcoming project. He played around with various styles hoping one jumped out and said: Pick me!
When none did, he considered a cold beer. Then forgot the work and the beer when Geet's car pulled into his drive.
He knew before she got out of the car. It didn't matter that her eyes were shielded by sunglasses. The grin said it all. He headed down, several paces, as she got out of the car, then braced himself as she took a running leap into his arms.
"I'm going to take a wild guess. You passed."
"I killed!" Laughing, she bowed back recklessly so he had to shift, brace his legs, or drop her on her head. "For the first time in my life, I kicked exam ass. I kicked its ass down the street, across district lines and out of the goddamn state. Woo!"
She threw her arms into the air, then around his neck. "I am Secretary Girl! Thank you." She kissed him hard enough to vibrate his teeth. "Thank you. Thank you. I was a nervous, quivering mess until I saw those words. It just gave me such a high. It really did." She kissed him again. "I'm going to have it framed."
"Congratulations." He thought he'd known just how much the certificate meant to her. And realized he hadn't even been close. "We have to celebrate."
"I've got that covered. I picked up some stuff from the pasta place on my way. Let's have a picnic. Let's have a celebration picnic on the roof and dance the day away."
Looking at the way she just shone made Maan say "It's like you read my mind."
To be continued...........
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