He gets on the bus to college, the 121 route bus which ferries by every 15 minutes like clockwork. He looks like any other kid, just into college and about 18, trying to look older than he actually is. He gets on, flashed his pass to the conductor and chooses a seat near the window, while plugging in his earphones to his phone and clicking on the random play button.
He looks around, flashing a rehearsed scouting gaze that he's mastered, which could pass of as a nonchalant glance. He notices a pretty girl sitting two rows ahead of him, and another slightly overweight girl that had a cute face diagonally opposite. He remembers having noticed the pretty one before, and it seems like she knew a couple of people from his class. She seems way too well dressed and made up to be traveling in the bus. And people like her didn't take the train either. They got their drivers to drop them off to college or take the taxi everyday. She was the kind that stayed at Malabar Hill, the type that had rich parents who gave their kids wads of cash to spend every week. The kind of cash that had that inimitable stench that only black money does, and comes in non-sequential bundles, which old businessmen had stuffed down their pyjamas or worse.
She hung around with those rich spoilt brats in class. The kids that roamed around in their dad's second or third car, the ones that had managed to get their drivers' license delivered to their places while underage, without even getting off of their backsides, just because their dad had thrown some money at the touts at the RTO. The power of money, he promises himself, would be his soon, and girls like her would be all around him when he got there. His longish gaze is interrupted when someone slaps his shoulder. It is one of his classmates, taking the seat next to him.
"Forget it! Way out of your league", he starts almost snatching the thought out of his friend's mind instinctively.
"Why not?” he says. He is in an argumentative mood today. "Maybe she's smarter than them. And she really gets bored listening to those guys brag about how fast they drove their car at Marine Drive last Sunday. Maybe she wants to have a real conversation with someone!"
"Those types never get bored of those guys. She would be dating the most popular idiot among that bunch of guys and even her parents would be glad that she's dating some rich guy. After all, nobody that stays at Napean Sea Road made any money of their own; they were all 'born with a silver spoon'. And girls like that are only into stuff like that", his friend states matter-of-factly.
"Well, just wait and watch. I can get people like her in 5 years time", he says plugging back the earphones into his ears. As Chad Kroeger rhymes about being a Rock Star:
She looks out the window, with the wind in her hair. Today's not out to a good start, as she's taking the bus to college, a break from her routine. On most days, she gets dropped by her dad on his bike on his way to work. She always insists he drops her off on the street adjacent to her college, claiming that her friends are all waiting somewhere there. Her dad suspects that she isn't really proud of being dropped on a bike, but he's never brought it up. After all, he was the one that insisted she get an education from one of those elite private schools whose fees could easily sustain a small household in the suburbs in Mumbai. He would probably not mind if his daughter came home to him, a few years from now, informing him that she wants to get married to a boy of her own choice whom she knows, preferably from a wealthy background. In fact, he secretly hoped that would happen, ridding him of the burden of going searching for a suitable match in his circles like a commodity. After all, he wants her standard of living to be much higher than his ever was.
She gets off the bus, slowly and gracefully. She catches the stares of two guys getting off behind her. She's not taken aback; she's used to the attention she’d been getting for a few years. During her growing up years, the neighbourhood boys would never let her play with them, until she turned 12, when they started to plead her folks to send her to play. She’d been uncomfortable with the sudden change then, but learnt to get accustomed to all the interest she sparked in the opposite sex.
Her parents have never stopped her from spending on herself. And she knows not to be extravagant, while retaining a certain elegance about herself. It is easy getting lost in the world of girls around her, all dressed and acting similarly. They all watch MTV and Channel [V] religiously, and ape those attires and accessories unfailingly. Nobody was ever different, or bold.
And she wasn't one to get caught up with last season's style. She maintained her 'own' style statement, picking up from magazines instead, those that didn't quite cater to teenagers like her, but to the 20-something woman. And with her attitude and poise added to this, she maintained a constant array of admirers in college, ranging from the staring-type to the more daring-type. The ones she chose to hang around with were indeed those rich spoilt brats with no character. She hated and loved it both at the same time. She loved that she could be with people, for whom money was not an issue of concern in their everyday life. It took her mind off her own family's financial issues. And at the same time, hanging out with them made her suffer from low self-esteem because those kids were also the most frivolous. They always made it a point to judge a person on where they stayed, what brands they owned and what places they visited.
She plugs in to her iPod. She notices that she knows one of those guys from somewhere. She's seen him in college; he's just another guy. She's never spoken to him, but he seems the sharp, grounded kind. It could pay to keep in touch with people like him; he'd at least know how to treat a girl with respect. She catches him off guard as she casts a sideways glance his direction and makes eye contact almost accidentally. She presses the Play button in the centre of the iPod dial, and catches Savage Garden playing... Affirmation
She hung around with those rich spoilt brats in class. The kids that roamed around in their dad's second or third car, the ones that had managed to get their drivers' license delivered to their places while underage, without even getting off of their backsides, just because their dad had thrown some money at the touts at the RTO. The power of money, he promises himself, would be his soon, and girls like her would be all around him when he got there. His longish gaze is interrupted when someone slaps his shoulder. It is one of his classmates, taking the seat next to him.
"Forget it! Way out of your league", he starts almost snatching the thought out of his friend's mind instinctively.
"Why not?” he says. He is in an argumentative mood today. "Maybe she's smarter than them. And she really gets bored listening to those guys brag about how fast they drove their car at Marine Drive last Sunday. Maybe she wants to have a real conversation with someone!"
"Those types never get bored of those guys. She would be dating the most popular idiot among that bunch of guys and even her parents would be glad that she's dating some rich guy. After all, nobody that stays at Napean Sea Road made any money of their own; they were all 'born with a silver spoon'. And girls like that are only into stuff like that", his friend states matter-of-factly.
"Well, just wait and watch. I can get people like her in 5 years time", he says plugging back the earphones into his ears. As Chad Kroeger rhymes about being a Rock Star:
"When the girls come easy and the drugs come cheap,
We'll all stay skinny coz we just won't eat,
Hang out in the coolest bars...
Every good golddigger's going to wind up there...
...I'm going to trade this life for fortune and fame,
I'll even cut my hair and change my name"
She looks out the window, with the wind in her hair. Today's not out to a good start, as she's taking the bus to college, a break from her routine. On most days, she gets dropped by her dad on his bike on his way to work. She always insists he drops her off on the street adjacent to her college, claiming that her friends are all waiting somewhere there. Her dad suspects that she isn't really proud of being dropped on a bike, but he's never brought it up. After all, he was the one that insisted she get an education from one of those elite private schools whose fees could easily sustain a small household in the suburbs in Mumbai. He would probably not mind if his daughter came home to him, a few years from now, informing him that she wants to get married to a boy of her own choice whom she knows, preferably from a wealthy background. In fact, he secretly hoped that would happen, ridding him of the burden of going searching for a suitable match in his circles like a commodity. After all, he wants her standard of living to be much higher than his ever was.
She gets off the bus, slowly and gracefully. She catches the stares of two guys getting off behind her. She's not taken aback; she's used to the attention she’d been getting for a few years. During her growing up years, the neighbourhood boys would never let her play with them, until she turned 12, when they started to plead her folks to send her to play. She’d been uncomfortable with the sudden change then, but learnt to get accustomed to all the interest she sparked in the opposite sex.
Her parents have never stopped her from spending on herself. And she knows not to be extravagant, while retaining a certain elegance about herself. It is easy getting lost in the world of girls around her, all dressed and acting similarly. They all watch MTV and Channel [V] religiously, and ape those attires and accessories unfailingly. Nobody was ever different, or bold.
And she wasn't one to get caught up with last season's style. She maintained her 'own' style statement, picking up from magazines instead, those that didn't quite cater to teenagers like her, but to the 20-something woman. And with her attitude and poise added to this, she maintained a constant array of admirers in college, ranging from the staring-type to the more daring-type. The ones she chose to hang around with were indeed those rich spoilt brats with no character. She hated and loved it both at the same time. She loved that she could be with people, for whom money was not an issue of concern in their everyday life. It took her mind off her own family's financial issues. And at the same time, hanging out with them made her suffer from low self-esteem because those kids were also the most frivolous. They always made it a point to judge a person on where they stayed, what brands they owned and what places they visited.
She plugs in to her iPod. She notices that she knows one of those guys from somewhere. She's seen him in college; he's just another guy. She's never spoken to him, but he seems the sharp, grounded kind. It could pay to keep in touch with people like him; he'd at least know how to treat a girl with respect. She catches him off guard as she casts a sideways glance his direction and makes eye contact almost accidentally. She presses the Play button in the centre of the iPod dial, and catches Savage Garden playing... Affirmation
"I believe we place our happiness in other people's hands
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side,
...I believe your most attractive features are your heart and soul"
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