It was 8:34 pm when Jahnvi entered her hostel building. She remembers the exact timing because her hostel entrance has a digital clock just above the lift, opposite to the main entrance. She signed the register, marking her return. Wishes the security lady a warm good night and enters the lift.
Her room is on the 5th floor; she should reach there. Unlock her room, take a quick shower, and change; check her fridge if she has something to eat. Which she definitely does not, as staying in the room for junior residents is a luxury, and she has no time to refill her food stores. So, she should order something, eat it, and sleep.
As she was planning out the event, she realized she was too tired to think about her own dinner. Before thinking twice, she pressed the third-floor button and reached there. Knocked on room 310. As soon as the door opened, she barged in and collapsed on Niharika's bed.
"Agh, at least change your clothes?" Niharika tried to show her fake annoyance.
Niharika was her senior, one of a kind, a senior resident in her college. She had been her pillar ever since she came here. Help, whether professional or personal—she is the go-to answer. She might not come up with the most brilliant idea, but she had this energy: 'I know what you are doing right now is weird, but I'll not question you if it goes wrong.' This support and her guidance brought Jahnvi near her.
So near that right now she was about to pass out on her bed from exhaustion. On Hearing her voice, she sat up and started looking at her with the best puppy eyes she could.
"Heya, you're not good at this. I'm not letting you wear my clothes anymore. Go to your floor and get your own."
1, 2, 3, 4, 5.... 5. It took 5 seconds this time for Nix to give in.
After changing a random grey top and sweater and black pants of her senior she collapsed on the bed again.
"Ma'am, do you have anything to eat? I'm too tired to think about food and too hungry to sleep without it."
Niharika stared at her with annoyance. But she gave in; she could see her girl was sweating exhaustion from her sweat pores at the moment.
As she was booking something on her phone.
She asked her, "So how was it? Worth the excitement? Looking at you feels like they asked you to clean that area."
Jhanvi gave her a soft nudge and smiled, "NO, I was busy with important people, you know, those whom you won't see randomly on the road."
"You'll not see anyone randomly on the road, Jahnvi; everyone needs a reason to get out of the house in this chilling winter."
"Arey, I mean rich and busy doctors." She shouted with excitement and narrated everything she had indulged in.
"Show me your notepad. Let's see if you learned something or just passed your time."
Jahnvi grabbed her bag to take out her notepad when the napkin fell from her bag. Niharika noticed it and took it.
Tamarind rice.
"What!? These are your notes. You went there to keep a note of food items? Nah, not yours; the handwriting is too pretty to be yours," Niharika tried to tease her.
"These are my notes, in this notepad, that is...."
"This is?"
"That is a food suggestion someone gave me there."
"Oh, do people give food suggestions on paper napkins? Great, I never got one; they just verbally tell me."
"Sometimes you meet arrogant strangers in Delhi; they do so." Jahnvi said, but she was not sure how much of that incident she should share.
"So a stranger came out of nowhere and handed over a paper napkin to you?" Niharika could not get a hold of what exactly happened.
"Well, technically I asked him too." Jahnvi was unsure whether sharing this with her is right or a mistake. She might tease her forever.
"You asked a random stranger to write food suggestions for you? Wait, I'm not getting it; start from the beginning."
Jahnvi gave in; she trusted Nix too much to not share this incident with her. She narrated the incident. She could see her senior's expressions turning from genuine curiosity to playful smirk. It was in this moment she knew she... messed up.
"Oh, so we have a man in olive green here. The way you described this incident, everyone in the cafeteria saw you turning into a mess there."
She had not thought about others till now, and this embarrassed her further. That guy really, really ruined her image in the eyes of people she does not even know.
"You are officially worsening a situation that was already tragic." Jahnvi said, folding her hands and showing her annoyance.
"Acha, what was his name?" Nix inquired.
"I did not ask," Jan said, deadpan.
"They do wear nameplates, you know; you just have to look at them."
"I did not pay attention." Same annoyed tone.
"Wow, these are your observation skills."
"You don't understand the situation, and you are making things worse."
Niharika could sense Jahnvi on the verge of loosing her mental stability and thought she should stop now.
"Okay, let's eat some chocolate until food arrives." Niharika tried to comfort Jahnvi while keeping that paper napkin in the front chain of her bag.
Jahnvi noticed it but did not retaliate. Let the napkin in question rest there for now.
----
The next morning, Jahnvi packed the same bag for her hospital rotation, well aware of the napkin's presence in the front pocket, but did not throw it away deliberately.
---
On the other side of the city, Aditya was back in the Secretariat, walking down the same corridor, with a soft spot for a certain location there.
---
Two people, in two corners of the capital.
One busy with a stethoscope.
One busy explaining the missions.
And neither ready to admit that a stranger in a pink saree or an olive green uniform had taken up a square foot of permanent mental real estate.
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