CHAPTER 7

It was already 11 am by the time I woke up. I forgot to plug in my dead phone.

“Just great”. I got out of bed, unable to keep at bay the thoughts from yesterday. I had missed my morning lectures but with my attendance, I can’t afford to miss the afternoon lectures. So I eat a bit before heading out, my phone left to charge in the room. It wasn’t raining thankfully.

When I reach the college premises, I see a police van parked outside. Wonder what this is about, I mutter to myself. Jina spots me and comes rushing towards me before I could enter the college.

“Where the f*** have you been? I’ve been calling you nonstop! Did you see the messages?”

“No I- my phone’s dead. What happened, is everything ok?”

Jina glances back and seats us both down near the corner. “Something bad happened after your trek. Some kids from our class apparently got drunk last night and hit an old man with their car. The police are here to investigate” she says in a nervous tone.

“Wha- Oh my god- Who- Who drank? And is the old man okay or did he- did he die??”

“The old man’s is in ICU, Patil sir said he was going to be okay, he had some minor fractures… As for the people in questioning, there’s Madhav, Garvit and Rujwal, I think; Principal sir was really angry and CR had an earful from him. Sims is also scared, if the old man dies those three and going to be in a LOT of trouble!” she glances back at the police van and then looks at me, “Vivan, You’re okay right? Sims told me you weren’t in the hospital in the morning.”

“I’m fine, I just- I just didn’t sleep well. I thought everyone went home yesterday, where in the world did these three get the energy to party? We were all so tired, we could barely walk! And that poor old man, if he dies, shit’s gonna go down for sure”

“Exactly! Everyone’s been saying the same thing. Classes were suspended for the time being, but there are strict instructions to not leave the classroom before everything is settled.”

In our group of four yesterday, It was I, Simran, Riya and that southie guy – Madhav !

……..

As Jina and I enter the classroom, the air is tense and heavy. Some people are sitting while some are standing together discussing amongst themselves.

Simran, the class rep – Shraddha, Riya and some other guys are standing in a corner and as soon as they spot me, they call me over, “Vivan, Hey!”

“Are you okay? Where were you in the morning? Did you hear?” Shraddha asks with concern. I couldn’t help but notice her red puffy eyes, she definitely cried.

“Yes, Sorry, I’m okay, my phone was dead. Shradhha are you okay, what did the princi say? Is everyone else fine”?

Simran nudges my arm a little with a worried look in her eyes and I tell her I’m okay.

“Yeah… am fine, just those three guys… Principal sir is just very upset with the police and everything that’s going on. He was on and on about how we people do everything other than studying and those three morons- wait, wasn’t Madhav on your team yesterday?”

“He was, but- how the hell did he end up drinking with the other guys, I have absolutely no clue”

“Apparently Madhav and Garvit went with Rujwal in his car. They told their parents that they were going to have a sleepover at Garvit’s place after the trek was over, but they drank and crashed into that old man late at night. In fact, they were the ones who brought them to the hospital at dawn and raised the alarm. The Police is questioning the boys; their parents and Principal Sir are trying to mitigate the situation.” Riya explains calmly.

“Sigh, what a mess”

I have mixed feelings. After yesterday’s homophobia I had hoped Madhav would fall in a ditch or something with the other guys who were laughing, but right now, I feel bad since so many other people are involved because of their mess. And that poor old man, what did he ever do to deserve this. Jina, Simran and I disassociate ourselves from the conversation and sit down. I drink some water. I know they were worried about what was happening, but I decided to tell them about what happened the night of the trek.

“That homophobic murderer piece of shi-“ Jina scoffs in disbelief.

“And you’re only telling me this now?! I would’ve broken his face yesterday had you told me sooner! This is unbelievable, I can’t believe I let him help me up the steps. Argh, I’m so mad right now.” Simran fumes in anger. 

……..

The somber faces finally lit up when the class group chimed with good news. The surgery went well. The old man had a fractured clavicle and femur, he will recover in no time. Dr Patil is a good surgeon.  The old man didn’t have any family. He was all alone, that is also why the case settled down so calmly. The parents of the three boys paid for the hospital bills in entirety and even compensated the poor guy. The guys were pardoned with only a drink and drive charge and a three-day suspension from college. The Principal gave a brief scolding to all students and told us that such alcohol abuse will not be tolerated from future doctors, that we needed to get our act straight. The brunt of it fell on Shraddha somehow. Her self-confidence was shaken badly this time. It wasn’t her fault at all, but a leader will be prosecuted for their subordinate’s actions, that’s what the principal wanted to say. I don’t think she would go on treks with her classmates for a while.

In all of this mess the one who was the most wronged was the old man. Even though we are taught to keep our emotions at bay, it was still overwhelming when I would go and change his bandages and help him with the food. I would try to hold conversations with him at times.

“Here. I warmed up the water for you, take these medications”

“Thankyou doctor sahib. Cough cough. I hope the youngsters are okay…In God’s good name I wouldn’t want to hold them responsible, I’m going to die someday soon anyway. I don’t want to be a burden to anyone before I pass away. God took my daughter early, but may God bless you all. You took care of me so well. The boys and the girl’s parents even gave this poor man such warm clothes and so much to eat, cough cough, what more can I ask for”

“What girl, ajoba?”

“Oh that young doctor with the pink specs, what was her name- Ah Riya, Dr Riya. In our days no girl would even touch a bottle of alcohol. Your generation has really moved forward, women these days smoke and drink, they even earn their own money, my little daughter also puffed my cigarette one time, haha, my poor little girl”

…….

NOTE: To avoid any confusion,- most medical and paramedical colleges have an adjoint hospital, also known as a ‘teaching hospital’, where the professors teaching in the colleges are the presiding doctors and the students learn practical skills there. They deal with patients, watch surgeries etc