A 'Miss' Communication

“Love is in the air”, they said.

In B.tech, Love is everywhere.

In the cafeterias you banter, in the coffees you sip, in the gossips you share, in the surprise tests that are really surprising and what not. Everywhere and everything, you can see love.

Arun had a daily routine in his 3^rd semester which include fully packed classes from 8 30 AM to 4 PM. To relieve himself from unending headache, he stumbled into cafeteria with a drowsy look. It was quarter past four and people were rushing to reach their bus (Day Scholars) in time. He spotted someone in the crowd.

Breeze turned cool accompanied by Ilayaraja background score, with an accelerated heart rate. Entire world seemed to be moving in 10,000 frames per second. Arun blindly followed her to bus. He was lucky. He found his friend Sneha in the same bus.

Not only in Govt. offices, even in engineering bribery works. Arun treated Sneha, finally for that day he figured out her name to be Iyshwarya. He could not approach her directly or have intro through mutual friends and have proper conversation after college hours. She is a day scholar and she shall disappear by 4 20 PM. Arun’s only hope is Sneha.

Arun was not direct; he just started with a nominal question “Is Iyshwarya single?”

“She got a boyfriend” replied.

Cool breeze turned hot. Ilayaraja background score was replaced by fuss of crowd around. Heart rate was normal and world around moved in 24 frames per second (normal vision) with tiresome faces.

“After effects of 4 PM” he thought.

Time just passed like ‘moving trees’ that pass through a window in a train journey. Arun reached his final semester. Final days of engineering, last one week, it was hectic due to packing and patch work left with college office. He left college with an empty heart and ‘single’ status.

Arun was well prepared for his Master’s program in United States. On his way to Los Angeles, he was waiting for connecting flight in Dubai. At the airport, to kill the time he happened to use facebook. He abruptly found Iyshwarya online.

Iyshwarya was a geek in her department. She never happened to be socially active. With the formal intro to Iyshwarya that Arun got through Sneha, he happened to be her facebook friend (one need not be best friends forever to send a ‘friend request’ to someone on fb). Iyshwarya re-activated her fb account post college to stay in touch with her pals.

Arun could not stop himself from buzzing with a ‘Hi’. Irrespective of time he had, he bantered with her. After ten minutes of chat, to fill the void,

“How is your love life” queried Arun

“What? I did not get you” puzzled Iyshwarya.

“I meant your boyfriend” clarified Arun

“LOL. I was single. I never did have a boyfriend” answered Iyshwarya.

His head started spinning, he was dumbstruck to utter a word and the world around him went to chaos. He rushed to the shopping mall. Grabbed some coins for an exchange of 10 $ note. He called Sneha from Dubai airport.

“You told Iyshwarya got boyfriend. She is single idiot” yelled Arun on phone.

“She is never single, she got boyfriend, enquire in her department if you have any second thought with it” declared Sneha.

“I was texting her on fb, she herself told me. Iyshwarya is single”

“Wait which Aishwarya you are talking about? I got four friends with same name in my bus” queried Sneha

“I-Y-S-H-W-A-R-Y-A, ” spelled Arun

“Oh that girl, yeah she is single. I thought A-I-S-H-W-A-R-Y-A. You must have shown me in advance before querying.” replied Sneha.

Arun slammed the receiver. Utter havoc prevailed all around. Three years, Six semesters, Thirty Six months, One Hundred and Fifty Six weeks…………

Just went in vain. Now he was a very distant which is a few thousand miles to get back to her.

A ‘Miss’ Communication  ruined his chance of changing his status from 'single' to 'in a relationship'.