The daily routine at school was more of a forceful orgy than intrinsic dedication. The faculty went about their daily ritual and Sameer sat through the psalm waiting to hone his prevelant gumption. Studies and keeping up with school activities was more innate for the likes of Riya and Anamika and Sameer was forced to be in the reckoning out of peer pressure. The intermittent breaks were normally spent in the usual chats amongst Riya, Anamika and other friends. At times, Anamika would indulge in some prattle which more often than not, made him twitch brows. Ocassionally, Liz and Jenny would join them. The rigor, at times, proved more than a handful for Sameer and he found it hard to dedicate himself to people and things, high on priority for him. He inculcated two new favorite pastimes, watching movies on youtube and looking for old school or collegemates on facebook. One such search led him to Shashank, his old buddy in school, who incidentally was in the US on work. He promptly sent him a message to catch up. Sameer realized that the existence in solitude had made him intrepid in his outlook, but his inner self was turning out to be timid due to his yearning for near and dear ones around him, which unfortunately, hardly anybody understood.
The exams for 1st quarter passed with its normal share of dramatics. There was a furore over the instances of cheating and plagiarism that students got involved with, in their finance exam and everyone was made to retake it on a different day at an unearthly hour. Finally, on Dec 6th, 2011, after the final exam was over, everyone headed to Hofbrauhaus at Newport to quench their thirst. Spirits ran high and everyone made merry, singing and dancing. Riya's chicken dance atop the dining table, especially impressed Sameer.
Kyler's wake-up call at 5am on 7th Dec, 2011 wasn't really needed. Sameer was all set and ready to head to the Houston airport. His flight to Chicago was scheduled to depart at 9.30am and the ensuing American Airlines flight to New Delhi from Chicago would be at 3.40pm. It was a long-haul flight which Sameer was eagerly looking forward to. It was more than three months that he was away from home. He hadn't seen Simba, Mansi, his parents and his near and dear ones for so long. Kyler dropped him at the airport with a big hug, promising to see Sameer back soon. After checking-in, Sameer walked across to Terminal 2 and waited for Riya and Adarsh. Riya was taking the flight to Boston for a short vacation, at 9.40am. Her flight was exactly the one after his. After bidding her adieu with their usual 'high five', Sameer came back to Terminal 3 and waited for the boarding announcement. At Chicago, as he waited patiently, Anamika called and kept him company over phone.
While Sameer helped himself to a warm Starbucks cafe latte, he wandered back in time, into the intricate realms that his mind had laid thread-bare. He couldn't help but think only about Mansi. No metonymy would befit her in appropriate measure. The nine years they had been together had seen its fair share of ups and downs. But seeing him always through the tempest, being with him through thick & thin, making him see reason with aplomb and unconditional love, Mansi had stood up to the test with defining ease. It was this yearning and connect that had brought them together. She was his best friend. They were now proud parents to the apple of their eye, Simba. In precisely 20 hours, he would be in their midst, feeling them in flesh and blood. He would be with his parents, whom he loved and revered so much. He was also excited about the fact that Janki, Sarika and Sharat would be there at home, awaiting his arrival. On 10th, Mansi had planned a formal 'homecoming' get-together for Janki and there he would get to meet Priti, Pramit and Avik too. With oodles of excitement about being with his dearest, Sameer stepped into the airplane impatient and eager than ever for it to traverse the distance and usher in the moment of him attaining his candid bliss!!!!
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