Friday,16th December 2022
Sanjana And Lizz
An unusually early 8 a.m. The CS lecture had us waiting restlessly, with no sign of Harshwardhan sir. Till then, Ramesh loaned me his college uniform shirt for a quick ID card photo, as reminders from the college were becoming persistent.
When the lecture didn't begin even after half an hour, I ventured out of the classroom, where Ramesh, Sanjana (from B1), Lizz, and Prashant sat in the office along with Vish mam.
"Ma'am, what about sir?" I inquired, my frustration evident.
Situations like these always tested my patience.
"Sir won't be coming today. He met with an accident," Vish mam informed, casting a solemn mood.
Seeing an empty chair, I decided to sit there with everyone.
"Acha, this guy imitates everyone," Ramesh remarked casually as I settled.
"Yeah, Bhai, Sajit sir, Sameer sir, Sunny sir, everyone," Prashant chimed in.
"I plan to mimic students, too. I'm thinking who to start with," I joked, scanning the room.
"Meri kar na," Sanjana suggested, catching me off guard this time. I glanced at her, noticing her hair cascading over her shoulders. It reminded me of Lizz, who often styled her hair
differently from Sanjana's current look—an AOS t-shirt under a black sweatshirt with bold white borders on the sleeves.
"Your mimicry?" I confirmed, still unsure.
She nodded
"But I am not aware of any of your habits...", I excused, as she continued to nod and blinked her eyes.
Seeing both Sanjana and Lizz there made me realize that they were the only two girls from BS College in the integrated course from Batch 1. So, I had titled them as "The BS Girls of B1."
"It feels like a chilly winter night, and you two are sitting alone at a deserted railway station, wrapped tightly in blankets," I interjected, breaking the silence, earning chuckles from everyone.
"Sanjana, I'm hungry," Lizz yawned lazily.
"Let's grab breakfast at McDonald's," Sanjana suggested, surprising me. Until then, I didn't know McDonald's served breakfast.
"Dude, it's quite a walk," someone protested.
"We'll take an auto," Sanjana assured, always having a solution.
"I don't have money," another countered.
"Then Monginis are a good option," Sanjana continued, unfazed.
"What will you have? A pastry?" she asked Lizz.
"Anything's fine. Let me check how much I have," Lizz replied.
"The nearest Monginis in Kharghar isn't open yet. We might need to order from Belapur," Sanjana noted, halting my scroll to the next reel. It was intriguing to see their breakfast choices, noting that from traditional North Indian options like
poha, upma, samosa, kachori, vada pav, and misal pav, or
In South Indian staples, people had moved on to pastries for breakfast.
"Ordering breakfast from Belapur?" I commented, surprised.
Sanjana nodded. I scrolled onward, pausing again to see what I called heaven.
A plate stacked with dough balls awaited frying in a hot iron pan. A steel vessel held chickpea curry, ready to accompany the inflated bhaturas served with onions, pickles, and curd— quintessential Delhi-Punjabi breakfast. I showed it to both the girls.
"Tch tch tch…" someone reacted.
"So oily??…" Lizz observed.
"Alright, how about this?" I suggested, showing another North Indian favorite: samosas with aloo ki sabzi. Their reactions were priceless.
"What address should I give?" they murmured enough for us to overhear.
"Kamdhenu," one suggested.
"But he might come downstairs outside the building," the other countered.
"We'll pick it up from there," the first decided.
"Can't he just deliver here…when he would be about to arrive, just ask her.' Where are you, bhaiya??" I intervened, sensing their deliberations were getting disruptive.
"Bhaiyaa?" Lizz chuckled, baffled by my suggestion. I never quite understood why people laughed at my remarks.
"If not 'Bhaiyaa,' then what? 'Saiyaan' perhaps?" I almost quipped but held back, realizing I didn't know them well enough.
A few moments later…
"I can't find my other sandal," Lizz exclaimed, pushing her hair back.
"Maybe you left it downstairs," Sanjana suggested, bending down to check under the sofa.
"I see it, but it's far. How do I reach it?" Lizz wondered aloud.
"Wait, I'll help," I offered, stashing my phone and retrieving a steel scale. Slipping it under the sofa, I retrieved her sandal and handed it to her, earning a thanks.
Helping others always brought me joy from within.
Returning to class, I found the two girls joined by Naira and Rushika. Their breakfast had arrived, and they chatted animatedly, while I pondered the concept of having pastries for breakfast.
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