The Train Journey that Changed Destiny - Part 6

Note: Feels great to be back home, totally worth it!

He picked up the phone "Yes dad", at the other end, "Ishant, are you at Delhi already? I just saw the news, I think you need to see this....." Ishant was scared, he wasn't sure what his father wasn't telling him, "What is it dad? What happened?". "There has been a scandal, s sting operation, an office manager was caught accepting lakhs of rupees to ensure that some applications to Delhi University are accepted. They suspect a whole bunch of people, including the professors who scrutinize the applications. The government has stepped in and cancelled all admissions for this year. They are going to start over with new laws in place."
"Oh No!" Ishant thought, "This can't be happening to me, I have talked to prof. Sharma, he had told me that he will take care of my application package. What will I do now?" A million thoughts ran through his head, he felt a little dizzy and then, his phone started vibrating. He took the phone out of his pocket, a new text message was waiting for him, "Looks lik u r bk,finaly sw a rply frm u! So, hw ws ur trp? Hw did u lk bein in the vilage? hd fun wid d vilage babes?" "Yeah right! fun with the village babes?" he thought to himself. He hollered for a taxi and started texting as soon as he settled inside for the long ride home, "Trp was gud, vilag is even bettr,ur presnce thr wil liven it up,also u can becum a vilag babe!", he wondered if this would ever get any further"Damn!" he thought to himself, "I wish I could tell her something, anything!, atleast I would get to hold her hand!" His phone vibrated again, "Watcha doing 2mrw? Meet up @ ma place? i'l b all alone, cud use d cmpany" He didn't waste a second replying to that msg, he would miss anything to be spend time with her.
It was late by the time Ishant got home, he had a quick quiet dinner, his father asked him about his trip and they talked about the latest sting operation that exposed the admissions scam. Ishant didn't want to talk about it, honestly, he was scared now, would he make it to DU? He wanted to be in Delhi badly, more so for her than anything else. He made an excuse about being sleepy and went away to the bedroom, phone in hand.....

The Train Journey that Changed Destiny - Part 5

Note: Sorry for the long delay guys. I have been working my butt off over the last 3 weeks for a meeting. The upside: My meeting went really well!

Ishant looked at this watch...He would be in Delhi in a few hours. He had spent a large part of this week traveling. His mind slowly drifted to the happenings of this week, he had just taken up computer engineering at KIT. The feeling that he was already a KITian was still to sink in. He tried not to focus on it, there was something that he hadn't told anyone.

A couple of weeks ago, Ishant had been to Delhi University and met with Prof. Sharma. Prof. Sharma was the Chemical Engineering department head and co-ordinated the admissions. Ishant had spent the afternoon talking with Prof. Sharma, he had outlined a couple of research ideas that he wanted to pursue in Dr.Sharma's lab as he worked towards his bachelor's degree. Prof. Sharma had been impressed by Ishant's motivation and had encouraged Ishant to apply to the chemical engineering department, although Ishant hadn't scored enough marks to get in, Prof. Sharma had promised to personally handle Ishant's application packet.

Ishant's thoughts drifted back to the things he would do when he started college at DU, bunking class to have chaat outside the campus, hanging out with friends and taking time for bird-watching. Ishant was confident about making it to DU, he knew he had made an impression on Prof. Sharma. With these thoughts in mind Ishant drifted off to sleep, he was tired from all the traveling and he could barely keep his eyes open.

A few hours later, Ishant was getting off the train, he dug into his pocket and retrieved his mobile phone and turned it on. As soon as the phone came to life, a flood of 6 SMSes landed in his inbox, he opened and read each one, a light smile appeared on his face and he almost started blushing. He was waiting outside the station for a cab that he could take home.

Suddenly his phone started ringing, Ishant was almost expecting that call, the delivery reports would have reached by now, he thought. Excitedly, he dug out his phone, one look at the display and he was almost disappointed. He picked up the phone "Yes dad", at the other end, "Ishant, are you at Delhi already? I just saw the news, I think you need to see this....."