How I met your…
It’s been hours since I started to scroll and browse through the intranet articles available in my company’s website. Yeah! Boring as it sounds, as a new joiner first couple of weeks really sucks if you are not clubbed with any other new joiner then it’s worse. The awkward silence in team huddle, not knowing what’s happening around you and the guilt that you literally not doing anything while other team mates are working their ass off. As everyone says please enjoy those days because soon it will be gone and you never goanna get it back.
As I sat there pretending to learn something, I heard a news stating that another set of new joiners have come. As a lone guy, I pretty much got excited. Thinking that, I am going to make some friends and hangout near coffee machine, making some lame jokes. But trust me guys that will never happen, it’s all the movies and sitcoms that fooled us. But myself a 21-year-old who believes that plots in the screens happens for real, expected the same. Yeah, its lame!
Wow! what a rhyming I should try poetry next time.
So, the next day, I noticed some new faces in the floor. I also figured out they are also new joinees, by their looks on not knowing what’s happening around them and staring every other person who passes by, like I did. Every time I see them near the coffee machine, I said to myself ‘come on man, go and say something like: Hi, I am also a new joinee and build some conversation’. As everyone know it’s not as easy as it sounds, especially when they seem very posh and your insecurities are higher than never before.
Couple of days passed by and I saw a new face again, not just some random other face, the silky hair… that tugged behind her beautiful ears, an elegant black watch in her lean hands which adjusted her specs, a Julia Roberts smile with tooth braces and only when she stood next to my VP, I realised how tall she is. I observed all this like three rows away in the floor, a pretty good stalker, right? Really not proud of myself. But again, this proved the fact that my type wears specs as usual. Also, her skin tone was not sunlight friendly and face structure said she is from any state but Tamil Nadu. My first guess was Kerala, not because of her skin tone but my company was over powered by Keralites. Come on Keralites leave some job for us.
As you guys know the next step is, to find her name. Even though our company got some id card 1st of all there is no name in it and second of all I can’t look at the ID card that hangs around her neck. As months passed, I was still unable to figure out her name or where she is from and neither did, I talk to her. Its already March 2020 and I joined on November 2019, meaning my perks as a new joiner is fading out. But still whenever I can, I tried to look at her, a glance at her smile or a millisecond of high contact made my day better, I liked that adrenaline kick.
I am also in a different Banking operation than her so there was no opportunity of association to know her except “Friday Fun” activities. Seriously some activities are really fun but in some we can’t even find the F. But I tried to participate as much as possible in a hope to teaming up with her or just being an opponent to her, hoping to share some smile and moment. Unfortunately, it never happened.
As you know its already March 2020 and we already started to get a buzz about WFH due to COVID. It was also anticipated that many companies are letting their new joiners go. I feared the same that I might lose my job and more importantly I had limited time to at least know her name. Finally, it was D-day, Friday the government announced complete lockdown on Sunday. Many where given laptops and started to work from home for couple of day by now, so this is my last chance.
Since my shift starts at 11 AM and hers by 12 PM. I waited and wished that she didn’t take a leave or started to work from home already. But she came, with white earphones on, caring her blue water bottle, wearing a beautiful green top as usual. I waited for couple of hours, then she took her lunch bag and headed towards café tea area. Control-Alt-Delete locked my PC, took my bag and rushed to the lift, hoping that she didn’t pick a lift before me. When I reached there, she was there and she saw me opening the glass door. When I looked at her eye I am already out of breath and this adrenalin kicked in, it became really tough even to breath and I closed my eyes for a sec to take a breath and said to myself “act cool and talk something to her”. When I opened my eyes, I heard a ‘ting’ sound and she was gone. One of the lifts doors was about to close, I rushed to put my hand in-between them to stop it.
Luckily, I made it in time and entered the lift. There was no one inside the lift except her, it was just perfect, like the Universe is giving me a perfect chance to speak to her, even if things go wrong even if I get a big fat slap it will be inside the lift and no one will be knowing it. All these things just flashed in my mind as I entered the lift. I didn’t make an eye contact, as the door closed, I gathered all my courage and said 8th floor please. She was near to lift buttons, so she turned back and nodded at me. Within a microsecond, I just said “you were beautiful on that light green half saree, on women’s day celebration”.
After saying that I just froze, my eyes became wide and my breath became deep, it felt like an eternity before she responded anything.
She smiled in a confusing way and said thank you. The door opened and she left the lift. Me standing there still can't believe what just happened as lift closed.
The Truth:
The truth is I never spoke to her; I never get to know her name. That brief moment in the lift really felt like an eternal but it was not enough for me to gather my nerve to speak out. Even before I tried to say anything the lift was already reached 8th floor and she left. As anticipated, it was my last chance, a week-long lockdown was started from Monday and it was extended to months that came. Fortunately, my company didn’t fire anyone and I was retained in my job.
As weeks passed by, one day we had a town-hall meeting in zoom where member from across teams participated and I get to see her face once again. She remained the same, adorable as always and finally I got to know her name in Zoom stating Neha Sharma. That explains a lot about her skin colour and face structure. Later when I tried to connect with her in social media, I got to know that she is not a fresher like me, she had two years of work-ex in the same organisation, moved from different floor to mine and she graduated couple of years before me, meaning she is couple of years elder than me. Stereotypically speaking even though I didn’t have a chance but without seeing someone in person due to WFH setup, my crush towards her slowly faded away. Eventually I left the organisation as well.
So, guys and girls try to live in the present you never know which is the last day you are going to see that person in your life. Try to be more vocal and expressive of your feeling and nothing wrong in saying a person that he or she is cute, good looking and you like them, wanting to know them better.
Before you know the moment is already gone.
