Stitched Memories
Episode 1 - Direction
Imagine this: An average afternoon. Perhaps meticulous descriptions about the sunlight shining are not the writer's forte. Two friends walking side by side to enter the NLT. It's only been a few days since classes have begun. These two specimens are perfect examples of what a cheerful persona the typical engineers emit in their freshman year. But tragedy suddenly strikes. One of them realises that they don't know the way to a certain department. Said department has remained an unexplored territory for them. As these poor students flail about in their despair (slight exaggeration), they spot another fine pair of students parking their two-wheeler. A decision is made. They ought to beg the new faces for attention and seek out where the department is.
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As one of our fine protagonists is about to step out, the other nudges the former. The pair across from them are seniors. Dread fills their hearts with worry. Dare these mere mortals think themselves brave enough to ask for directions? But there is no other way. No other freshman is to be seen, and class started five minutes ago. They move in towards their doom.
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One of them addresses the pair in a slightly hesitant voice: ' Good Afternoon Seniors. We wouldn't usually disturb you, but do you know where the Civil department is? We need to get to the Graphic Engineering lab. It'd be really helpful if you helped us. It’s totally cool if you don’t, but it would be nice if you did’ (of course, at times like this, one utters very sensible sentences)
The pair pauses. Then look at each other. 'Wait, did you just call us seniors?'
A certain emotion called 'embarrassment' suddenly fills the air.
The one who spoke turns red and immediately tries to play it cool (as anyone would try to do in such a situation); ‘No actually, you looked a lot like these final year students I know, so…’ and trails off, realizing how completely stupid that sounds. Trying to recover, on observing how the two ‘seniors’ and the friend (who was formerly held in such high regard) are failing to hide the smiles adorning their faces, ‘Well, I know a lot of them. And this is a big campus’. This is punctuated by the lovely friend’s laugh. Not awkward at all. Mission accomplished.
Moral: Unless you happen to be amongst the very well informed, you are probably going to be very confused during the first year. About both who the seniors are, as well as the sanctity of an otherwise beautiful friendship.
Episode 2- ROOM NUMBER 303&304
Here lies the experience of two freshmen during their stay in college, yearning to be with their girls whom they had known online for three months, but had never met.
The girls were allotted twin isolated rooms ‘303 and 304’ (one having put too much effort into getting the other allotted the room next door ‘303’). One being an introvert and the other, an extrovert. Both preferred to live in 303 half the time.
Anyhow, after a whole day's mess, they were in their rooms to take some well-needed rest.
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It was a dark and stormy night (you all might remember) when the electricity got cut off. But wait a minute, what's this noise? The damnable rotating device which gave off gusts of hot air was making weird rickety sounds. The 303 girl looked up, exasperated, and mouthed, "After all this time?" ( To which the spirit of Alan Rickman replied with a drawl, 'Always'). She shook her head. Deciding to deal with the issue the next day, she plugged in her headphones and got lost in the music.
Later on, she, along with girl 304, strutted off to the warden's office and filed a complaint. To their dismay, they were informed that it would be days before any action could be taken.
On their way back, one told the other( the sleepy one), about how a senior had had the same problem. So much so, that their fan had fallen down. Not on them, fortunately.
They arrived at the dreaded venue. Looking around, they found weird things written on the walls: 'Stay away from people’, ‘Live alone in peace' etc.
Thinking of how delightful the previous room owner must have been, their concerns added up. A beautiful yet ignorant week passed. One evening, girl 304 was in Room 303 as usual. Realizing that she needed a charger, she got up and reached her door. Still facing 303, talking about the weird noises with her friend, she noticed that door 304 wouldn’t open.
Shocked, she tried again but nothing happened. Calling her friend too, the pair tried everything but to no avail. Freaking out, they called their branch mates from the first floor.
Everyone was visibly terrified. Some speculated that there might be a girl that had locked the door from inside. Finally, they informed the night attendant. The attendant said with a tint of humor, “This can’t be true. Maybe some ghost is trying to scare you", which obviously, the pair didn't find humorous at all.
Out of compulsion, girl 304 had to sleep in 303. Fortunately, the electrician and the repairman got there the very next day. But when the former came to check on the appliance, surprisingly it made no noise.
Not a single one.
As for the latter, he used his tools and soon opened the door too. Embarrassed, the girls saw off the men and warden and went back to their respective rooms.
Surprisingly, this time (in 303) not only did the fan make noises, but the tube light started flickering too. Being done with all the drama, one girl enquired loudly, less to her friend but more to herself, "Now why do we like Horror movies so much?"
To date, no one knows the reason behind those incidents. All we can guess is that rooms also have feelings. One might have felt jealous since his girl preferred her friend’s companionship and room over her own. The other might have wanted to be left alone.
Episode 3- Philosophy
Round and round and round and round. Doesn’t this fan get tired of just going round and round, minute after minute? A fleeting thought that was scrapped just moments later when the engineer-to-be in question remembered that the fan was in fact just a machine. So stupid. A machine that theoretically could attain complete efficiency if not for friction and other similar forces. Not so stupid maybe. From a philosophical point of view, the machine, i.e. the fan did get tired of going round and round and round and round.
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The deadly silence( except for the creaking fan - another sign of tiredness, he decided) and his train of philosophical thoughts was broken by the sound of several footsteps in the corridor outside. “The rooms ought to be soundproof”, he huffed and removed the charger from his phone. “It’s twenty per cent already? Did I spend too much time philosophizing again?” he wondered aloud as he checked his notifications.
Facebook: that_wanderlust tagged you in their post - “Impossible is just an opinion. Success won’t knock…...”
Zomato: Too Lazy to go out? We’ll bring over your Tuesday snacks for……
Google Classroom: Due Today - Assignment 4
Whatsapp: Rahul the intern - Are we still on? I got paid for my internship and……
LinkedIn: Your connection @the_coder shared a post: Take a look at this simple app that I made using React and……
React, he thought, I ought to start with web development now. Later I won’t have time for development at all. Then there’s competitive coding too. Yes, now is the best time.
With newfound motivation, our engineer-to-be headed to the one place which had it all covered. Youtube. It was important to note that this was not his first rodeo. He had indeed sauntered into the wilds of web development a few times previously. The reason as to why he couldn’t keep up with his quest escaped his mind at the moment. This time though he was positive that he would emerge a winner - with a roadmap for the next few months that would turn him into a first-class web developer.
Half a page of scrawled notes and a few videos later, our engineer-to-be found himself in a dilemma. He couldn’t, for the life of him, decide whether he would make his future pet cat wear a witch hat or a frog cap for Halloween pictures. It was a difficult choice. On the one hand, a witch hat would suit the cat’s aesthetic who was most definitely going to be black but on the other hand, a green frog hat would make the black cat look incredibly cute. The cat, Kiki, in the currently playing video had been made to wear a pumpkin hat out of the several much better options. Pumpkins just seemed too out of fashion to him.
His concentration was broken by the entry of his friend into the room. He looked away from the screen for the first time in half an hour. “You’re being awfully attentive in the classes lately. Find something interesting?”
“Unlike you,” his friend made himself comfortable on the limited available space of the bed, “I still care about my attendance and my grades. Talking of which, did you complete the assignment that’s due today?”
“Oh, that? Nah. We’ll ask Rahul later in the evening. But first, tell me whether you would choose a witch hat or a frog hat for your cat.”
“A what for my what now?” his friend inquired, visibly confused.
“Look!” The phone screen was pushed towards the friend for a better view.
“There’s nothing to look at. It says low battery, you idiot!”
Episode 4- Mission Partially successful
Second last day of exams. Two girls, smart and bored. "Something" needed to be done and this "something" is strictly supposed to be out of the hostel. Mission: not decided (still, out of the hostel) Barrier: The warden (spoilers: someone might be a snitch) Ammo: That one over-exaggerated excuse Status: Mission initiated Alright, so they set out, all clear. They passed the warden's office without having to use the AMMO. Phew! They got across the hostel gate. Achievement! Two girls, smart and brave. Their journey, marked with oblivion and caution. Getting out was easy but staying out needed some vigilance.
They were walking down the lane leading out to “somewhere” ,when they realised that someone was following them. There was a snitch behind them. Two girls, smart and nervous.
They tried the trick of confusion by altering paths, but the shadow was sharp. The girls ran in search of a hideout and one of the NLTs saved them.
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After being locked in for 50 minutes and 10 minutes later than the IN-TIME, they returned to the hostel where they were cheerfully greeted by the warden and she politely asked them to be careful not to lose track of time again. When the girls confronted the snitch, she came out to be a batchmate. Alas! She was just trying to return the borrowed money and make friends. Two girls, feeling not so smart but instead, friendly, returned to their rooms. The mission was somehow accomplished, but not something that they could brag about. Nevertheless, their boredom was long gone. Moral: Being less dramatic and having the sense to understand that not everything in life is fresh out of a thriller flick, could be an accessory for a fine survival. Just IET things.
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Episode 5- Procrastination because of dread, dread because of procrastination
"To be...or not to be, that is the question"
That's the first thought that came to his mind as he stared at his birthday gift.
The Republic by Plato, so dry but all his friends were reading it so he should too, shouldn't he? After all one needs some philosophy in life otherwise one would be like a small boat without a compass. Directionless.
On the other hand, looking at it from another perspective, he would be tainting his own philosophy with someone else's views. Then he would need to read another just to broaden his perspective and he didn't think he would be reading another one.
A sigh escaped his lips. Why does one suddenly develop this urge to read just before exams? Anything to escape those gnarly numbers haunting him even in his most pleasant dreams, even if it’s philosophy.
Maybe he should study instead. He would need to or his cgpa would undoubtedly pass into the netherworld. Maybe he should start working on his coding skills for when he graduates as a covid engineer. What will he do when only 2 years are left before he graduates? He could also look for internships online, god knows that LinkedIn account could use some care. Or maybe he could STOP OVERTHINKING HIMSELF INTO EXISTENTIAL DREAD.
He needs something to relax from the mental trauma he inflicted upon himself. The clubhouse app is trending. Should he download it? Maybe talking to strangers would help. But wouldn't it be just like screaming out your insecurities in a room full of people screaming out their insecurities?
Pankaj_udas just broke up. According to him, she was a... woman of the night.
Riri_xoxo feels betrayed by her friends because they went to shop without her. et tu brute!
Rohan replied to your message, he fels da sem. But he can't spell the same.
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"Hey bro! I ordered pizza, you want some?"
His internal monologue is broken by the smell of sizzling cheese and oregano, and the annoying sound of his brother. As they say, memories are saved with senses, and his sense of smell was telling him that life wasn't that bad.
"Who paid?"
"You did."
"I?"
"Yes :^)"
