" ... and the final name is Ritu Johari"
Ritu let out a delightful scream and she and Rohit hugged each other as everyone standing in the hall clapped. Both of them had finally got a well-deserved placement. The mood in the air was jovial with just a few distraught faces. Mine was one of those. The college was done with its final placement drive. 20 students will be leaving with only degrees and no jobs from here. I will be one of them, along with my best friend Bajrang. I quietly stood there at the back, staring at the ground. Sonal was standing near the podium along with other volunteers. Her face was impassive. I didn't have the courage to face her now that everything had turned to dust.
Everything was so simple just a few hours back before I had met Bajrang right before the commencement of the interviews. He wasn't in his usual chirpy mood. It also looked like he had cried a lot. After a little persuasion, he told me that he had called his family and told them that he had made it to the final round of a recruitment drive. He was telling them about everything very casually, however his parents were overwhelmed with emotions. Sensing that something is amiss, he called up his younger sister, and then the truth was out.
His father's factory was on the verge of closure and a severe financial crisis was looming over his family. They didn't tell him anything so that he doesn't lose his focus. In fact, they were looking forward to his placement eagerly. They were oblivious to the fact that Bajrang had not sat for even a single campus before this. And now this was the final chance before everything they had ever dreamed will go up in the smoke.
Bajrang was distraught. He wasn't even sure how to go into the interview room with so many things playing into his mind. I couldn't see him in this situation, and a failure here would have been catastrophic for him. I couldn't have let that happen. But what I could do to help him out? With just over 10 minutes to go before the interviews, no expert in this whole world could have improved his below-par communication skills in such a short period. This was not a Harry Potter world where a magical potion could have done wonders. With such a fragile mental state now when it was a do-or-die situation for him, it was almost impossible for him to crack the interview. My mind, after a thorough brainstorming, could come up with just one way. So I made a decision and then proceeded for my interview. Perhaps I had got a bit too sentimental and my mistake was not discussing the step that I was about to take with anyone. Ultimately I was paying a price for that action of mine. Sonal had been avoiding me since the moment I had told her what I had done.
"Congratulations to all the selected students. Welcome aboard" The HR manager, an Ex-serviceman, had started addressing the students "I'm really happy with the people I have picked up here. I wasn't expecting such a good lot after gaining the knowledge that most of the students here have already been placed." He paused for few seconds as the euphoric students clapped "However, I'm not happy about a couple of things that happened today."
There was an immediate silence. I could sense what was coming.
Final Part coming Next Week
