Strikes...

Cars were zipping on the road, vendors were wandering, people chatting on the streets, this was all that Roshan could see across the translucent window. He was sitting besides his father, who was there for a regular check-up at an ophthalmology clinic. It’s been twenty five minutes and still there were eight more appointments prior to theirs. A mathematics student by birth, he was busy calculating the time remaining in this condemned cell, it was getting unbearably boring.

The waiting hall was morosely stuffed with middle-aged people with dark glasses and bandaged eyes. The only pleasure in that dull ambience was a little girl of about three who was sitting next to Roshan and would giggle at any trivial event on the streets. The attendant called loudly “Priya Verma”. The lady beside the child caught her up in her arms and moved towards the doctor’s cabin. Roshan signaled the lady and asked, “what’s the problem with her”. “Nothing serious, just regular check-up” came the reply with a wide grin. The only lively element was gone, the seat was vacant, the ticks of the clock were clearly audible. The blue was getting on Roshan, he badly wanted to get out of there.

The door opened with a feeble sound and broke the silence of the hall. You don’t expect a girl in her early twenties to visit an eye-clinic, and even if one does, she would be the sporting thick spectacles and long salwaar kamiz. Similar thoughts came to Roshan’s idle mind and he didn’t care to have a look at the new arrival.

Suddenly something happened, something that a boy in his early twenties fantasizes for, but without his father in the scene.

“May I sit here?”, asked a sweet voice. He looked up and was dumbfounded. In his stint of three and a half years in engineering college, he could not recall a instance when a girl of such flawless beauty ever approached him. The reason being, partially the dearth of good looking girls and partially his average grades.

“hello???”, she asked again only with a surprised look this time.

“sure you can”, he obliged with a fumbling smile, the same that boys have when they talk to great looking girls.

She was extremely attractive with a low-neck pink top and a denim jacket. the blues of the room were taken over by the bright sparkle. The life was back but only with a cost, his father was beside him.

Everyone was staring at her and so was Roshan, the only factor in his favor was him being the youngest and by far the most charming compared to the middle aged lot. She looked at him and smiled, so did he, but the fountain of joy that was flowing in Roshan’s heart was far more than what his grin proclaimed. He wanted to initiate the conversation but his father, first time ever in his life, was the hindrance. He was badly searching for a way when his prayers were heard. His father’s cell phone rang, he received the call and moved out of the room. This was it, “Paa” was out of the scene but the bigger problem remained. As a boy its very difficult to a start a trivial chat session with a girl, and more so when she holds far better looks than you. The same apprehension was getting on Roshan, how to begin it, seemed like a huge sem project.

Then again someone heard him, may be God himself. It was a miracle, she was again the one to begin.

“what is it you are here for?” she asked. Dumb again but recovered soon, “ here with my father, just routine visit”.

“I thought you had some problem at such an early age”, she said with a smile.

He regularly wore spectacles, -1.0D from both eyes, but the best thing was he forgot them today. “No my eyes are perfectly alright, as good as they come…”

“Hmm… impressive”, came the reply. The main question, was she really impressed.

One thing engineers love to boast is their education and future planning. They find it an easy way to impress commerce and biology girls who hold fear for alpha , theta , gamma and beta from early school life. This time it was a gamble, nobody knew whether she was from arts or science or may be held better education than him.

“I hate this stuff” Roshan said pointing to the huge poster on the wall, holding a cross section view of the human eye.

The disapproval on her face showed that she was not impressed. Strike one, two more to go. This is the way with girls, once you misjudge their likings, the strike count starts.

Now was the time to use the brains and to undo the damage.

“I think you got me wrong, I do not like the poster, it would be better to have a video display of the eye”

The lost smile was back, “that’s a nice idea, you are good”

Still there was a problem he was facing, the problem that’s normal while conversing with girls with soft and fair skin and sharp features. His eyes were slipping of the flawless face to more appealing places, the pink top predominantly. He got himself back with a conviction to concentrate on the face and leave other places for the future…. Maybe.

“I was a keen student of biology in school, but had to give up for the sake of maths”

“I liked that phenomena of iris contraction on entering a brightly lit room”, Roshan said boasting his bio gyan.

“Its pupil”, she corrected with disgust on her face.

Strike two, one more to go and she would be gone.

“I m sorry, that’s what maths does to you, it sucks”, he disowned his most prized possession.

“I m in final year, one more to go and I’ll be a doctor”, the doubt came true, she was a biology freak, may be opposites attract.

The pink top was still luring, it was hard to concentrate, yet he was still trying “just the face” he mumbuled.

“that’s great, doctors move this world, god’s angels”

“thanks, and you, what are you into”

“final year of computer engineering”

“good, the IT guy haa, nice cars, US trips, furnished rooms, foreign clients… “, even she was one of the many who held wrong idea of the “IT guys”. People never realize the meager salary that they get.

“yeah, may be”, he pretended the false smile.

Was this the time to ask for coffee, he calculated. No, came the judgment, some more time to go.

“and how’s been your engineering”, she said removing a strand of hair from her forehead.

“wonderful…. Infact awesome”.

“and yours”

“was great, got a boyfriend in the second year”

“damn’d”, he mumbled.

“but broke up with him last week”

Great opportunity in severe recession. The best time to woo a girl is, when she had just broken up.

“even I m single” he went with the shot.

The suspicious look appeared on her face but it soon disappeared. To judge what was going on was not easy.

“now I have decided, I won’t fall in love….. ever”

This was not good, anyways love was just an added incentive, there were other benefits he was targeting.

“its great if you make a friend in a clinic, what do you think”, he tried the shot.

“I take a lot of time to judge, friends cannot be choosen in a hurry”, she was tough nut to crack, as all good looking girls are.

“I think you are right, you need time to judge”

“anyway, I m Ro......”

He was interrupted.

“Kashish Shah”, the attendant called loudly.

She got up, smiled at Roshan and went to the doctor’s cabin. She had a pre appointment.

His heart was pounding, she may come out and share her number with him or ask him for coffee or better, may be dinner…….

Five minutes went by as five years. The sliding door went open, she came out like a walking angel. He waited eagerly, came close to him, he could feel her perfume. Her lips moved, hard to call it a smile, but that was it. Went to the door and out of the clinic. He heard the engine roar, the car zipped by, she was gone.

The third strike, only this time it was not his fault, the bowler did it……