Divya watched as the bus slowed to a halt, the attendant lady standing with a perfunctory look as she pulled the door open for the hundredth time that day. Divya hated that she was one of the first people on the bus everyday and Kalpana one of the last, which meant nearly half an hour of mind-numbing boredom. Until a few years they hadn’t even been in the same class. It was a wonder they’d even become friends. Maybe it was the fact that there were so few other girls in the bus, and that the boys were all either weird or repulsive.
Kalpana walked down the aisle looking almost sickly. She took one look at Divya’s knowing smirk and made a face.
“How many bricks have you shat since the morning?” Divya said.
“Enough to build myself a new house, because mom’s probably gonna kick my ass out after she sees the results,” Kalpana said.
“You always overreact. You don’t even know what the paper’s like.”
“Easy for you to say,” she said. “You’ve probably finished your fifth revision by now.”
“Dude, honestly, I barely studied for this exam.”
“You’re a fraud, Divya. That’s a lie and you know it.”
“Fine, have it your way,” Divya said. “Want me to help you revise now, at least?”
“Yeah, no. Looking at a now textbook might just trigger me.”
The bus rumbled noisily down the road, starting and stopping in the traffic, and they were rocked to and fro in a dull, ponderous rhythm. Kalpana felt herself drifting off to sleep, the warmth of the bus wrapping itself about her, drawing her eyelids shut. She’d barely slept last night. It wasn’t so much that she’d stayed up late to study — she’d done all she could about that.
But her conversation with Gaurav hadn’t left her mind since that day. What he said before he left. It just played over and over in her head. Why did he keep mentioning Divya? She tried to think back to that day at the café, tried to remember if there had been something Divya had done, something she’d said that would make Gaurav think those things.
But she’s not like that. She’s never been like that. Divya wouldn’t do that to anyone, especially not me.
And yet, she couldn’t believe Gaurav would lie to her about this. That wasn’t like him. Perhaps he was just wrong. Yes, that was possible. He was just misreading her behaviour and it was his huge bloody ego that was making him think like that.
She heard the familiar sound of children talking and shouting as the bus took a right turn, and she opened her eyes to the sight of the school compound. Divya was asleep next to her, and Kalpana found herself staring at her for a few seconds. If only she knew what was going on in my head just now. She’d probably walk out of here and never talk to me again.
The classroom they were writing the exam in was about half-full when they walked in. Some people were had their heads bent over textbooks, mouths moving like a goldfish’s as they tried to squeeze 2, maybe 3 more useless pieces of information into their heads.
“It’s kind of pathetic, honestly,” Kalpana said, her lips pursed in disdain.
“You can’t deny it gets them results,” Divya said.
“But look at them! They look like zombies swallowing and regurgitating sentences word-to-word from a textbook. They have no idea how institutionalised they are.”
Divya dropped her bag on the table, looked at Kalpana with a measure of scorn.
“And you just happen to be one of those ‘woke’ people who sees through the whole façade like that guy in the Matrix? Get over yourself, Kalpana.”
Kalpana was about to retort when she saw someone entering from the corner of her eye. Surabhi walked into the classroom with Lakshmi in tow like a puppy tailing her master, and the girls settled in a seat in the middle row. When she turned and noticed Kalpana and Divya, her eyes lit up.
“Oh my god, you guys are in the same exam room?” She jumped up and walked up to the two of them. “That’s so cool! I had no idea.”
“Yeah, that’s some coincidence, huh?” Kalpana said unenthusiastically, which Surabhi noticed.
“Oh Kalpana, you’re so jokey, man,” she said, tittering politely.
She felt a kick on her shin just as Divya leaned forward.
“So anyway, how were the study holidays?” she said, smiling genially. “Got any actual studying done? I know I didn’t.”
Surabhi chuckled. “Well, actually Kiran organised these group studies at his place with a bunch of people from our batch. We all studied together, so I guess we got something done? I don’t know, we’ll see today.”
She paused a moment.
“Oh, wait, Kalpana, you’d come for the group study too, right? I mean, at least in the beginning. Then you ran off with that Gaurav fellow.” She chuckled politely again, and to anyone else listening to the conversation, it would have seemed no more than a simple tease between friends. Kalpana’s fists clenched, but she felt Divya’s foot on hers, pressed and held down.
“Anyway, I’m just glad we’re getting done with chemistry today,” Surabhi continued as if totally unaware of what she’d just said. “But honestly Divya, your boyfriend’s the best.”
Divya’s eyes suddenly shot to Surabhi’s face, a small frown forming.
“Who, Bharath?”
“Yeah, of course. Why, is there someone else we don’t know about?”
“No, I was just not sure what you meant.”
“Wait, he didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?” Divya’s voice was a little louder. There was a tightness in her tone.
“Oh, I didn’t realise he never told you,” Surabhi said sheepishly. “Sorry.”
“Surabhi, what are you talking about?” She was beginning to sound slightly manic. “What was Bharath supposed to tell me?”
Surabhi covered her mouth in an almost mockery of surprise. “Oh, oh no, it’s nothing major, Divya. He’s just been coming over to give me some organic chemistry lessons, that’s all. It’s no big deal, I just thought he’d told you.”
“He’s been going to your place to teach you chemistry?” Divya said. Kalpana noticed the way she’d grabbed hold of the table’s edge, the redness creeping up her fingers.
“Yeah,” Surabhi said blithely, “I only asked him because he’d topped in chem last year. He’s so smart, man. And so patient. The only reason I’m passing today is because of him, not even joking.”
“That’s an awful lot of studying in just a month, Surabhi,” Kalpana said in a dead tone. “I never took you for the academic type.”
“I know, right?” she said. “Even I never guessed you’d actually land a boyfriend. That’s awesome, I’m so happy for you!”
The teacher strode into class just as Kalpana opened her mouth, and the whole room became a frenzy of activity as people stuffed their books back in their bags and went to leave them outside the door.
“All the best, guys!” Surabhi said cheerfully.
“All the best,” Lakshmi said with forced smile, before carrying her bag and Surabhi’s outside.
The exam seemed to take forever, and the right words just didn’t come to Kalpana’s mind as she sat staring at the paper, pen lying limp in her hand. She found herself staring at the hands of the clock more than once a minute, and every time she did, it seemed like they’d barely moved. She could not get her mind off her conversation with Surabhi, and the look on Divya’s face. The implication was plain to her, though she wasn’t sure how much of it was true.
And yet, so what if it was? Couldn’t that have been all that happened? Kalpana was well aware of Surabhi’s intentions by saying that, but perhaps it was no more than a malign bluff. Bharath never lacked for female attention, and he was their senior besides. Surabhi wasn’t exactly known for being completely truthful. There was no reason to believe this wasn’t another one of those times. 3 hours passed as she languished there, the last half hour a frantic scramble to get words onto the page.
Her heart sank as the teacher reached her table, yanking out the answer sheets right from under her pen, and she looked longingly at the paper, silently wishing she hadn’t wasted nearly all her time on Surabhi’s poison.
The chatter in the room had grown to a dull roar. Tables and chair slid as they were pushed and students stood up, packing in their stationery as they talked excitedly about the paper.
“Hey, did you 46 joules on this question?”
“Dude, I completely forgot that formula! I wasted like 10 minutes solving trying to balance this equation.”
“I didn’t answer 3 whole questions, man. I’m failing this time for sure.”
Kalpana had to tune out the voices to even be able to think clearly as she dumped her stuff in her bag and walked up to Divya. They could hear Surabhi from the other side of the room.
“That was so easy, Lakshmi, I explained that to you just yesterday,” she said, grabbing the paper from the small girl and looking at it with irritation. Divya and Kalpana watched her derisively explain the answer to her.
“Wonder who taught her that,” Divya said, slinging her bag on to her back, not taking her eyes off Surabhi.
“Divvu…” Kalpana said in a low voice, reaching for her arm. Divya pulled away roughly, walking out of the classroom without saying another word. Surabhi had noticed that, Kalpana knew. She hadn’t a shadow of doubt this was what she’d been waiting to see the whole time they’d been writing the exam.
Kalpana sighed. She didn’t know what to say to Divya except that she hoped it was a lie. That, sure, Bharath might have taught her some chemistry at home and nothing more. That she was just overreacting and she’d just need to call him and talk to him, she’ll see.
Surabhi’s eyes met hers then, and Kalpana realised in that moment nothing she could say would fix the damage she’d done.
Vimala pressed the button to the 4th floor of the lift, and the doors seemed to collide with an ominous finality as they closed off her view of the wide, well-lit building entrance. Now there was only cold fluorescent lights illuminating the clinical interior of the lift. This wouldn’t have bothered under any other circumstance. But looking at the smooth lift door and seeing the reflection of a man a foot taller than her made her gut stiffen.
The numbers on the lift display rose, but not nearly fast enough. These were old buildings, and this lift could be half her age for all she knew. The seconds ticking by seemed eternally prolonged, and she found herself hoping desperately that the lift wouldn’t stop halfway. She looked first at his face, then at is hands to make sure they didn’t move. They didn’t.
Kaanta stood unnervingly still even as the doors opened, waiting for her to step out before he did. They walked together across the short corridor towards the now familiar office on the other side. He didn’t say a word. They stopped in front of the Dion Productions office, and Vimala looked at him hesitantly. He nodded his head to the door, and Vimala reluctantly obliged.
Nandan was the first to see her come in. His smile was taut, guarded as he reached for a handshake.
“Hey, so glad to see you again,” he said, sounding anything but glad. His eyes stole a glance at Kaanta before returning to Vimala, an expression of discomfort settling on his face. “So you’re gonna be working for us after all.”
“I wouldn’t say for you,” Kaanta said, and Vimala realised it was the first time she’d ever heard him speak. “More like with you. I thought Rajanna made that clear.”
“Yes, yes, of course he did,” Nandan said, not able to meet the rowdy’s eyes for more than a second, “I just said it without thinking, that’s all.”
The look on his face amused Vimala, and she couldn’t help but notice the way Nandan’s hand moved unconsciously to his chest.
The restroom door opened and Surya stepped out. It was a small office with thin walls, and she figured their voices had carried because there was no surprise when he appeared. Only resignation. Despite everything that had happened, it bothered her that the first place she would work in after she’d been fired from Radhakrishna Studios welcomed her with contempt and loathing. She wasn’t exactly thrilled about it, either. Vimala couldn’t see any way this would be healthy or even last very long. I’ll be spending more time putting out fires than doing actual work. She sighed.
“So you’re here,” he said, his tone stiff, awkward.
“It wasn’t really my decision,” Vimala said, meeting his eyes. “Why? You’re not excited to see me?”
“I’m thrilled, actually,” he said. “Can’t wait to see what you’re going to do here.”
“I hope you don’t intend on making me meet with your clients,” Vimala said. “I might accidentally tell them what the contract says instead of trying to hide it under some meaningless clauses and sweet talk.”
“You’re an idiot if you didn’t read the document carefully and a hypocrite if you did and just didn’t bring it up because you were so desperate. Either way, it’s not my problem, because the fucking contract wasn’t in my hands in the first place.”
“When you three are done catching up,” Kaanta said, standing, “you can join me in here.” He walked up to a glass door that led to Nandan’s cabin, pulling the door open. He turned to face them and the look in his eyes communicated in no uncertain terms he meant right now.
Vimala and the two men followed Kaanta into the room, and the gangster gestured to some chairs sitting before the desk. He went to the high-backed swivel chair behind the desk, dragging it out to the middle of the cabin and sitting heavily down. The sudden creak made Nandan stiffen visibly, and he did not relax in his chair after that.
“Dion Studios as it once was doesn’t exist anymore,” Kaanta said. “I think you knew that, but I’m going to make things as explicit as possible, because I won’t be on speed-dial ready to solve every little problem you guys will have. And definitely not Rajanna. I’m going to make that perfectly clear right now before we speak about anything else.
“We’re assigning an accountant who’s going to be in charge of the studio’s finances. He’ll close all affiliated accounts the studio currently has and open new ones. He will know of every rupee that enters and leaves Dion, and he reports directly to me and Rajanna. You’re going to cooperate with him absolutely and unquestioningly.”
“Do you mind not leaning so far back in the chair?” Nandan said sheepishly. “It’s pretty expensive.”
Surya looked at his partner as if he were an idiot. “What is wrong with you?”
“Rajanna’s decided not to involve himself in matters regarding the business itself,” Kaanta went on, his position unchanged. “He believes you’re capable of running a successful studio without his intervening. But that naturally comes with its caveats. We will be closely monitoring your operations, and it won’t take us long to figure it out if you’re trying to run the company to the ground on purpose. That conversation will be…less than pleasant.” Kaanta’s small, inset eyes studied them with an almost hungry attention, and he seemed to delight in their discomfiture.
“Why does your boss want a production house in the first place?” Vimala asked. “It has nothing to do with his line of business.”
The large man smirked as though he’d been expecting the question. “He likes movies. He decided he wants to make them.”
Vimala looked at him for a few seconds, confused. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“It’s not some front for turning his black money white?”
“Why would he tell us that?” Surya said, not bothering to veil his contempt.
“I suppose it serves that purpose, too,” Kaanta said, “but that’s not the endgame. Why does everything have to have some ulterior motive?”
Vimala looked at him curiously. It would be impossible to tell if he were lying, of course, but she got the feeling this wasn’t something he was just saying to get her to stop asking questions. Maybe Rajanna’s reasons were that simple. It was hard to imagine, if she was being honest with herself. But then again, maybe that’s because she’d grown so used to people not revealing the true intentions behind what they did. So painfully used to it. It was an odd feeling, to be sure…but not unwelcome.
Kaanta stood up from his chair, startling Vimala.
“I think I’ve spent enough time conselling you three. I expect you all to behave like adults and run the business as your own, because in every sense except on paper, it is. Rajanna will contact you if there’s anything regarding production he wants to talk to you about. You are not to try and contact him through any means except through the accountant. He’ll be coming in tomorrow. Along with your first movie contract.”
The three of them were jolted alert by those words.
“First movie contract?” Nandan said. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ll meet him tomorrow. Vimala, I expect you to review his screenplay and begin editing it. You two, work out the details of the contract and prepare for production.”
“No, wait, sir, who are you talking about?” Vimala said. “Who is this guy? What kind of movie are we doing?”
“How the hell should I know? Talk to him.”
“You can’t drop this on us and expect us to just go with it, man!” Surya said, standing. “This female’s just come in today. How do you expect us to settle in that quickly?”
Kaanta’s eyes bored into Surya, black, burning embers set in his wide face that turned the smaller man’s insides to liquid. Surya reached limply for the armrest, sitting back down in his chair.
“You could have been dead and buried in some godforsaken patch of dirt where your body would never have been found and your family would go the rest their lives never having known what happened to you. He didn’t have to give you a second chance. That could still change. Just remember that.”
They didn’t turn to watch him leave as Kaanta left the cabin, the sound of the front door closing faint, seeming to echo across the walls. Funny, Vimala thought. It had never echoed in here before.
Oxfords, Not Blogs 