At six in the evening, I was brain-dead and I couldn't even move a muscle without experiencing a stinging pain. The thought of taking a Rickshaw to the railway station, standing midst a sea of crowd in the train and hopping onto a public bus, after the train ride, to get to the bus-stop near my building drained me down; I was tired simply thinking about it, I didn't know how I'd get through the journey without passing out or throwing up, or anything of that sort. A monstrously loud grumble emerged from my stomach, as I shoved my water bottle inside my handbag and slid the volumes of textbooks towards the corner of the table; I had an extremely light breakfast because I had to catch the train, skipped lunch because I wanted to read as many pages as I could, and that moment, I was in desperate need of dinner but I had a train to catch.

"What a cursed life!", I muttered under my breath in annoyance, and downed the warm from the bottle in one go, before rising to my feet. Everyone around me rushed through the process of packing up, and hurried towards the elevator, as though the freedom from work was all they ever needed in life; everyone look dead and tired and sleepy. Everyone, except Darshan Raval, who sat inside his cabin – where the thick curtains were drawn open - and he flipped through a set of papers, while chewing the tip of the ballpoint pen he held between his fingers. I clung onto the strap of my handbag, walked towards his cabin and knocked on the glass-door twice, grabbing his attention. He looked up at me and raised his brow from inside, clenching the ballpoint pen between his teeth.

"May I come in?", I pushed the door open and stuck my head through the gap. "Where did all the manners come from, all of a sudden? Come in", Darshan smiled and I shuffled my feet towards his desk. "When did you return? I didn't even notice", I narrowed my eyes. "You were dedicatedly reading the book", Darshan answered. "Now, how may I help you?", Darshan calmly questioned, dropping his pen on the desk. "Do you have food? I'm starving. I haven't eaten anything since morning. I feel I'll faint in the Railway station if I get into the crowd with a hungry stomach", I complained and made a face. "I just finished the last protein bar I had...", Darshan absently said, dragging a drawer filled with A4-sized papers open. "Do you want me to order something for you?", Darshan shifted his focus back on me. "If I had time, I would have ordered something, myself. I'll miss the train. I need to go", I exhaled and began walking away from him, when his voice forced me to stand to my ground. "I'll drop you home", Darshan said, and slowly, I turned back around to face him. "Even I'm hungry and I'm going to dine-out in a while; we'll have something together", Darshan suggested. "And then, of course, I'll drop you home; I won't strand you in a railway station, I'm not stupid. Just wait until I double-check and sign these papers", Darshan rolled his eyes. "Oh, so you are going to drop me home? Like, The Darshan Raval is taking the trouble?", I said, sarcastically, and collapsed back on a chair, making his smile as he shifted his focus back to the papers.

"Do you have a problem in your spinal cord, or something, Dityaa? Sit straight, and a little respectfully, at least until everyone clears the office. I don't want the other employees to have the wrong impression because I'm being extra friendly with you", Darshan said, signing a sheet of paper. "Number one, what does my sitting position have to do with them getting a wrong impression about us? Am I sitting on you? And, number two – too bad you're not friendly to this extent with your other employees, and know what? They don't deserve it because they're extremely unfriendly people. I lost count of the number of people who ignored me and turned their face away when I smiled at them!", I huffed and Darshan laughed. "Spend a week in Mumbai, working a nine to five job and travel from one station to the next in the heat, carrying your extra and pending work back home on most days - you'll be one of them", Darshan stated, stapling a set of papers together. "Oh, you think I cannot be this lively human being I am while working from nine to five? If that's a challenge, Darshan Raval, I'll show you!", I smirked. "That is a challenge. If you rise up to your word and prove me wrong, I'll give you a ten-thousand Rupees bonus on your first salary", Darshan put forward his condition. "Seal the deal, then", I coolly said, shrugging my shoulders, and Darshan smiled. "But hey, you cannot back off from your words, okay? If you back off...you'll end up...end up...slipping on a banana peel and break a bone. Dare you play with my trust! Of course, unless and until you want to spend a holiday in the hospital", I warned him. "Oh, that's---", Darshan abruptly fell silent just when his cabin-door swung open, which forced me to sit straight and, as Darshan said, 'respectfully'.

"What is she doing here, Darshan? Any issues?", it was Mr. Joshua; even when my back faced him, it wasn't hard to figure out that the voice belonged to him. I got to that point where I could identify him by the sound of his breath; that man was all over me. "Uh, Sir—", Darshan fumbled, and the two of us exchanged glances before he looked back at Mr. Joshua. "Someone said that she was late to work this morning, so I'm just talking to her about that", Darshan blurted out a lie, conveniently, like it was at the tip of his tongue. "That's good, and I'd suggest you to pay attention to your own advice, son...", Mr. Joshua paused. "...whenever you don't have concerts or recording sessions, show up on time, at least until your dad returns from the business trip", Mr. Joshua advised Darshan, who sincerely nodded his head, and I pursed my lips together to hold my laughter in. Seconds later, the door clicked shut and Darshan let out a loud sigh, shaking his head to his sides with an embarrassed smile stretched on his lips. "When you try to embarrass someone, but end up getting embarrassed; how does it feel?", I joked. "Don't talk too much; I'll strand you on the roads, on our way", Darshan lightly threatened and stood up from his chair, stretching his arms out. "OMG, that's so terrifying", I gasped, dramatically, and rose to my feet. "You're one weird human being", Darshan judged, holding the cabin-door open for me. "I'd rather be weird than boring", I wrinkled my nose and walked past him.