Part 1: FC-18 (Prologue)

I don’t know if any body thinks like me…

I come to office only for the traditional three thirty tea break. It’s embarrassing even to confess, even to myself. I am this mature adult 25-year old, who should think about life and money and responsibilities and all such big terms … but my life is defined by a tea/snack break

Even in school I loved the intervals more then my classes but that was general apathy towards studies…this is different…

We have many food courts that serve many cuisines within the office premises; after all I work at one of the biggest IT companies at Bangalore. It is one of the employee friendly arrangements at work…

Our three thirty break is always delayed as one or the other run into some undefined urgent work and seeks a delay of five mins. These five minutes are never five minutes but much more. We work in different projects and different building, the workload is also way different and so is our sincerity towards it. Abhi is usually the most anxious to get the group moving and is most irritated at the phrase ‘just 5 more mins’. Probably he being his efficient self thinks it to be yet another task he should get over with… Me? Oh! I savor it…

Everyone has their own reasons for this break, like Anandi joins us only to stay in our group. What is special about us? Nothing. Just that she is not a charmer and can’t make many friends and want to hold on to even a bunch of PJ cracking idiots, who only came to know each other by the virtue of their names. Ah!! actually by virtue of a brain wave our parents had while naming us…Yuck!! And Yup, we belong to the same training batch.

Ajay and Avi are loitering behind, hoping I will run out of patience and join the coupon queue…then Ajay can come from the side and say …”Long Queue Man, get me a tea and Dosa” and will rather loudly ask Avi if he needs anything … just to prove they are not partners in the crime…

Atul has joined the queue, he is above such petty issues. He has bigger responsibilities on his shoulders. He has to find a wife and that too from the girls eating here, here in the food court located in building 18. He earnestly stares at each and every female dining here. As if his penetrating eyes will impress a girl and his X-Ray vision find his true love… Of coarse he is standing behind a white kurta clad gorgeous girl and at this very movement he is the happiest soul in this FC…

The drama unfolds as usual and as usual I stare without blinking at the stairs leading to the food court ... Ha!! Green again… she is wearing the green kurta… my heart skip couple of beats as she come running….Anjali is late again… She looks around for the usual faces… Of coarse she missed me ...locating Ajay, Avi and Anandi she joins them on the table… she forgot to order again. She probably asks for other when she is pointed in the direction of the queue where Anandi, Abhi and I stand… me with anandi and Abhi behind the angel in white….

I wait for our eyes to meet and when they do…I raise my eyebrows to ask what she wants… she folds all fingers except her thumb and move her thumbs-up fist to her mouth.. she wants the usual, a Pepsi