Outcast-4

Siddharth gazed out of the window as he waited.

He had been introduced to his fellow teammates a while back… and now they were all waiting for their HOD to show up so that it could be made official.

They had been waiting for the better part of an hour.

As they all sat in silence… the four students and Mr. Dubey… Siddharth dwelt on his first meeting with the other three.

In all fairness they had not gotten off to the best of starts. His team comprised of Prashant, a talented programmer from his own batch, Prashant’s classmate… a girl called Kiran… and her boyfriend Suraj… a couple of batches senior to the rest.

Siddharth had heard about Prashant before this and going by his reputation was quite satisfied with him being on the team. And not knowing anything about Kiran or Suraj… he intended to reserve judgment on them.

Unfortunately… his approach, apparently did not work both ways.

When Dubey introduced him to the trio… who were already, predictably, on first name basis, Prashant had been polite enough.

Suraj on the other hand… had made it clear with thinly veiled dislike… that he thought Siddharth was not a team player, and as such he expected him to try and steal the limelight.

Siddharth had considered backing out of the project… or attempting to explain his ideology… or even just plain denying the accusation. In the end he had just kept silent and refrained from commenting.

In truth… what some pumped up senior thought of him didn’t matter.… What mattered was his rare chance of testing his limits, getting hampered due to internal friction.

Kiran… the final member, was a simpering, love struck teenager who definitely wouldn’t be focusing on the project… actually neither would Suraj, so that was well and good.

Since, Prashant seemed capable and interested enough in the contest… between the two of them they would be able to do pretty well.

“Sorry I’m late guys. Have you been waiting long?” entered the HOD, Dr. Shaw.

Mr. Shaw had become the HOD of the Computer Section of the college some years back after more experienced professors, like Mr. Dubey, had rejected the post. He was effusive enough if you caught him in a good mood… but tended to blacklist people for trivial reasons and caused them problems for a long time.

Siddharth had not met him personally prior to this… but going by what he heard, he expected Shaw to be in love with his office… and scared of his authority being encroached upon.

It would explain his petty malice towards other faculty members and a few students….

As four of the waiting people heartily declared that they had only just arrived… the fifth hid a smirk.

“So… This is the team Dubey? Well… yeah I already know Suraj… it’s your last year in college isn’t it? You failed to do anything substantial the past two times you tried… hope you break the jinx this time. And you all are second years aren’t you? Well you are a bit too young for something on this level… but if Dubey has picked you… I am sure you will do just fine…. What?”

Dubey had just politely interjected with a cough.

“I chose Siddharth and Prashant…” he said… pointing us out to the Shaw. “Kiran here was chosen by Suraj since I hadn’t been able to find anyone else.”

“Well, no matter” Shaw continued. “I am sure your cumulative choices are well justified. Just write your names on this paper… don’t forget to mention Mr. Dubey as you project guide… thank you. Now did any of you flip through the project topics yet..?”

Siddharth had intended to keep silent throughout the meeting… there really wasn’t, much to say before deciding what they would work on within the group. However, he still felt a tiny bit of frustration when two out of his three team mates looked embarrassed in response to the HOD’s question.

“What no one? Oh c’mon…! How do you expect to do well with this lackadaisical attitude? Get serious or else… yes?”

Shaw screeched to a halt as Siddharth raised his hand.

“Sir I did go through the project topics provided. I short listed a few on the basis of how implementable, useful… and well… how much fun they would be to work on. We just need to discuss it as a team before we can finalize it and submit it to you.”

“Oh…. That’s good…. Glad that at least one member of the team is working. Anyway… do discuss it and let me know so that I can get you guys registered. Now, don’t let me detain you anymore. Dubey… could you just stay back a moment?”

As the four students left, leaving Mr. Dubey in the company of the HOD… Siddharth wished that he had not spoken out….

Sure enough… as soon as they were out in the corridor, Suraj rounded on him.

“Already..? We haven’t even begun working yet and you just have to get into his good books? What would have been the harm in just keeping quite? We all have a life… we can’t surf the internet to find stupid details before we even start on something.” He snarled.

The typical thing about guys like Suraj was their monstrous self assurance, and mile high ego. Either because of their towering heights, ton of brawns… or in this case, being a senior… they felt they could get away with doing just about anything to someone below their statures in any of these categories.

Siddharth caught himself debating whether he really wanted to do the project after all… again.

He had no desire to put up with this guy, and was sorely tempted to leave. Still… the lure of the project proved to me too much….

“Um… ok.” He heard himself say.

The two lovers stalked off… leaving Siddharth with his final team member.

“What were the topics you shortlisted?” Prashant broke the ice.

All the tension of a few moments ago forgotten, Siddharth heaved a sigh of relief. At least someone would be working with him instead of against him… far more than he could have hoped for.

Even before Dubey had exited the HOD’s room, they had decided on a project topic.

“Sir, we decided that we will be working on designing a new social networking site for university students to keep in touch and stay informed with current news, class routines, exam schedules and other updates. These are pretty much a part of the specifications provided by IBM… so we can add something new like what Siddharth suggested… a virtual classroom.” Prashant gushed as the aged professor emerged.

“That’s good… it’ll certainly prove to be interesting to work on. Why don’t you just go in and register that with Dr. Shaw… we’ll wait for you here.” He smiled paternally at the pair of them.

Immediately on Prashant’s departure however… he was serious. He beckoned Siddharth close to him.

“Dr. Shaw disliked the way you spoke back to him back there. He said that it had something to do with your tone of voice. He wanted me to put you off the team… I insisted that your involvement was crucial. Please to avoid any unnecessary altercations with anyone for the time being… ok Siddharth?”

Siddharth was surprised….

“I’m sorry sir.” It was all he could think of saying.

It wasn’t an apology for whatever he had done. He couldn’t bring himself to apologize for something, he very much doubted, was in any way an offense. He was sorry because of the implication that he could somehow have avoided the situation… that he had not done his best. He wasn’t apologizing to the HOD… he was apologizing to the aged man in front of him… the man he respected. He had faith in this man’s judgment… that since he felt that the controversy could have been shunted… it could have been shunted indeed.

“No no. Don’t be sorry… at least not to me. Just try to be a bit like Prashant for a few days… easy going… less headstrong… of course I do realize I may be asking for a lot.” He winked… the corners of his mouth twitching.

Siddharth smiled too. He was glad that Dubey understood. Among all the people he knew… Dubey’s approval or opinion mattered to him more than almost anyone else’s. It was heartening to see that he had his back.

He was also a bit relieved that at least every one wasn’t set against him… yet. What with Prashant’s help and Dubey’s support… the project might actually turn out to be great.

After Prashant had returned and the three had gone their separate ways… and even all the way on his journey home that day… Siddharth did not focus on the altercations he had had. He did not think about the challenges he would have to face…. And he did not dwell on how he was universally disliked…. The only thing that occupied him… was his project… and how he would make it grand.

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