I observed him carefully as he
walked to the door. I knew that time was running out but suppressed the urge to
check my watch. I took a deep breath and started counting down under my breath.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."
I believe that counting down
would reduce tension. Ashwin who sat two rows before me, turned and smiled. His
smile indicates that he assumed squad would have moved out but according to my
analysis, he did not. While moving towards the door, I could see his hands inside
his pocket. Before I end up with number one, he entered into the
class again. Now Ashwin again turned and showed his horrible sad face. Not just
Ashwin, but almost everyone in the exam hall seemed to be depressed and had
their eyes glued just at me. Their looks made me understand that they were
really in need of help as I’m just pioneer to everyone but now even I’m
helpless. Exam squad first starts with Mohammed kaadhar from first bench and he
had intensely checking him, from shirt pocket to under wear since there were no
girls in our exam hall. Many started to bath in high sweat. Promptly, some
people who were having small cheat paper they just took out, tar and thrown
away, even some swallow it in fear. But
few like Ashwin and me still kept that. I sat in the last row and had enough
time to throw away but I won’t. This was the last exam in our last semester and
as usual I didn’t prepared well. Already I got placed in a good IT organization
and the main criterion in the organization was to have a no arrears history. If
I throw away the cheat paper which I kept below my bench then I would have fail
in this subject and lose the job but if I kept with myself then surely I will
get caught since squad was in deep checking. What to do now?
Meanwhile Mohammed kaadhar got
caught by hiding cheat sheets in his socks. Squad reported to invigilator and
he was no more going to write this exam. Now everyone in the hall felt jitters
in their stomach. Almost 90 percent people in our hall were having cheat
sheets. But now most of the people had thrown it away after witnessing kaadhar’s
circumstance. Still Ashwin and I dint. Even now I have the option to thrown
away my cheat sheets without letting others know, but Ashwin cant, as he went
one step ahead and kept the subject book under his bench. Actually, we never
expected an exam squad and this was our usual behaviour since we joined
college. We are not good in studies and that too engineering was not our cup of
tea or coffee either. Till date checking is not a part of our college history.
We always use cheat sheets not only to pass in exams, but to score high and act
as an inspiration to other students. It is really strange on how squad comes into
the picture. Totally three people got caught so far and their future was now
doubtful. Now its time for Ashwin. Squad came near him and ask him to stand. Tears are stagnant in the tip of his eye,
full body sweat and started trembling in fear. Unexpectedly, squad let the Ashwin
free and moved to next person. He checked him thoroughly but due to
carelessness or forgot or someother reason, he failed to check below the bench but
he had checked in other rows. Ashwin felt extremely relaxed and relieved. He
turned and smiled. Yes, he got escaped but I’m damn sure that same magic would
never happen again to me. Slowly the knife was turning to my side. It was exactly only three people ahead of me.
If I get caught, then it would become quite obvious to the college management that
the marks I had scored so far and my ranking as a third position class topper is
a fake. I don’t know what to do? My mind started to abuse me that “you should have
thrown that cheat paper before itself” but now I can’t because now squad
standing closer to me and checking other students . Totally perplexed. I’m damn
sure, I’m going to get caught.
Suddenly, unexpectedly, a voice
from my behind called and told, “Hey Vamsi, could you please move to your
place, it’s my place”. Its none other than my friend come enemy Varun, who arrived
late to the exam hall. Varun, my class topper always hated me and the reason was
just a normal human mentality. He is the hardworker, knowledgeable person who
studies hard and get good marks. But Ashwin, me and rest of the students always
use cheat papers in the exam and get good marks. So he always talks about
dharma, honesty, blah, blah and says we will be punished one day severely, but
we usually never bother about him. Now his intention was going to happen.
I slowly checked my roll number
written on the bench. It was not my roll number. In the bench, I sat in the
left side but actually my roll number was next to him. So I moved to the right
side of the bench. He sat in my old place. Varun looked at me, who sat beside
and gave a mocking smile.
Now I’m coming to the current situation.
Varun was sitting before me in the interview panel and I gave a same mocking
smile.
“I never expected you here,” Varun started
after few minutes of silence.
“Even I didn’t,” I replied with a same
smile.
“Soon I will become turn into atheist by
seeing you reach good positions in a good organization where I came here to
work under you”
“Don’t worry, you will never work under
me,” I smirked again.
“Yes I know that. You have to avenge me for
reporting to the principal about your cheat paper affair.”
It was kind of shock but that didn’t bother
me. More than 15 years had passed and it’s very difficult to even remember that
incident. But his words helped me to retrieve it back. Now I understood
everything clearly. Varun is the one who had dropped a mail to principal as a stranger,
stating that our class students were using cheat paper to pass in the exam due
to jealousy.
Now
everything was in Varun’s hand. I felt relaxed but not much. Finally squad
moved to his place. Happily Varun co-operated the squad by looking at me and
gave a mocking smile. His smile indicates, I’m honest and you are going to get
caught for your mistakes.
Squad
moved his hand below the bench and brought out the seven A4 size cheat papers.
Everyone in the exam hall got stunned include invigilator as it was the highest
cheat paper ever found, but to my knowledge it was the second highest as Ashwin
has the whole book under his bench. Varun’s expression totally changed,
“Sir,
it’s not me, actually I’m not sitting here...what I’m…,” he started to stammer
in fear.
“I expected that you would have got caught
that time,” Varun angrily looked at me and told.
“Yes I might have got caught if you had not
saved me,” I retorted.
“You idiot, how could I have saved you,” he
angrily shouted.
“Yes if you had not come to the exam hall
late and ask me to move to my place, I might have got caught, right?”
“So are you saying, Am I saviour?”
“Kind of, Varun. Do you remember you
started to pointing out me immediately once you got caught, and I started to
point you back without knowing what to do? If you don’t come at the right time,
then I don’t know whether I would have sat here now”
Once Varun
got caught, he immediately pointed me by saying that I’m the one who sat before
here and the cheat sheet belongs to me. What else I can do? He itself prepared
good script for me and I started to act in it from then on. At the next second,
I started to point back Varun by saying that, “No sir, I’m not responsible and
its Varun, who might have kept that cheat sheets under his row and now trying
to point me out” and it keep goes on for the next 15 minutes with heavy
arguments. Invigilator, squad everyone tried to check the handwriting written in
the cheat sheets with our answer paper but how would it will match? We were no fools
and we are experts in copying exams.
After
intense arguments, squad comes into the conclusion that we both tried to use
that cheat sheets but anyway he never punished us. He just changed our place
instead, suggested by our invigilator. Another big reason, he set us free that
cheat sheets was not related to our current exam. Yes, unknowingly I kept my
current exam cheat papers in my bag and took wrong one of our last completed
exam cheat sheet. After we were getting caught, squad, invigilator discuss with
them and laughed. That time, I don’t understand the meaning of their smiles but
later once I checked my bag I came to know that cheat paper was useless even
squad did not come for checking.
“I Wondered to see you as a manager” he blurted out.
“If you want to survive in the Indian IT
corporate, you don’t need any knowledge and just your tongue is enough, Varun”
“So, you are setting a bad example”
“No I’m setting a good example to
youngsters that Indian corporate only for the people like us and not for you”
“You
are speaking better than college days , Vamsi”
“Yes that’s why I turned into manager where
you are still a TL”
“Okay anyway I know the results of mine,
you never selected me right?”
I smiled, “Even if I select you, your ego
will never be willing to work under me. The reason for the God to bring you
here is to get the solution of my long time clarification on how the squad came
and checked only our class thoroughly and caught the students. I believe we
will meet again.”
Varun stood and started to move away from
my cabin. But immediately stopped, turned and called my name and asked, “Hey vamsi,
now you got clarified but still I did not clarified my long time doubt”
“What?”
“How come you cleared the final paper? You
cheat papers were gone and I’m damn sure that paper was really tough and you
are not good to clear by your own. That too, you are topper in that paper.
How did
it happen? Any miracle?”
I laughed heavily and replied, “Have you
heard about cause and effect theory, Varun?”
“What is that?”
“Do you believe that because of Hitler we
got independence?”
“What are you blabbering?” he interrupted.
“Yes, varun. Even Hitler didn’t know that
and he is not the direct reason. He destroyed most of the British armies and then
on, they don’t have much financial powers to maintain their army in several
countries and that’s the main reason, we got independence. So you don’t do
things knowingly but unknowingly the effect happens somewhere because of you.”
“Okay, what is the relation here?”
“There is a relation, Varun. As you always
say, I’m knowledgeable then can’t you guess this simple? Okay I will give you
another hint. Here the Hitler is you and India is me”
Still I see Varun’s eyes are wide open and
trying to understand what I’m saying.
“Okay Varun let me give you another clue, Ashwin
got failed in exam but I passed. If you still can’t get solution, then please
retrieve the incident again and again. The answer is obvious. Good luck for
your future”
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