'Cause You Said I Can

PROLOGUE

Around 8:00 PM

One usual night, somewhere in Bangalore.

I don't want to live...Ammmaaa! :(

Madhumita entered the melodramatic text and pressed 'Send'. Being one of the most frequently used lines, she had it saved on her phone dictionary, thus saving herself the trouble of typing. Thanks to technology, the entire process of her moan traveling all the way to Chicago, Harshit Kumar at the other end receiving it, reading it and finally smirking at it took less than five seconds.

Cool realization. Go ahead ! I would like to know today's reason though. 

He sent his reply and waited for the drama to continue, sipping the hot drink from his mug. Along with this 'Ms.Bro' of his, sarcasm and Masala Chai  too were his Can't-Live-Withouts.

M : After an hour long shower, roomie madam got out of the washroom. When I finally entered with a bursting bladder, I find a huge ugly lizard on the wall right next to the commode. I can't handle this life anymore. As if I did not have other reasons to worry. Help me, loser!

Harshit chuckled. He had not expected something very different.

H : Help? Okay! See you're as tall as the ceiling, so hanging yourself won't work. You live on the first floor so even jumping off the balcony is useless. How about some Mortein rat kill with your favorite Idiyappam for dinner?

M : You shut the hell up ! I'm not dying. Why should I, when an unemotional pig like you is alive? Bye. And yeah, I hate you!

H : Thank you! 

A smile crossed his face. How much he missed getting kicked by her!

-----

Debugging the super long program code, as a part of project simulation has exhausted all the patience that Madhumita has ever had. She is someone who had ended up hating computers and had run away from them. The impending thesis submission has made her restless. Bangalore traffic gets worse day after day. The professor continues to be impossible. A million things she feels but is unable to voice, are making her insides churn. And she hasn't visited home in eight long months!

At the end of all this, she at least deserved a washroom that did not house a lizard, the biggest of her fears!

But NO. 

The lizard had decided to stay. 

The crazy human who unfortunately happened to be her best friend, would not send her a single sweet or comforting message. And his reason was simple.

"You are the 'Madhu' among the two of us. You be sweet. Harshit can only utter harsh words!"

-----

 " Thanks for letting me use your washroom, Poonam. I hope they fix our flush soon! " Madhumita lied, as she emerged out of the bathroom in the adjoining room.

" Mention not re!" Poonam responded.

"  Arre Madhu, Sayali had asked me to remind you of the registration once again. She's at a friend's place tonight. Bye ! " 

'Of course, I know your room mate isn't here. That's why I stepped into your room.'

Madhumita uttered to herself as she said bye and walked back to her room.

-----

Around 11:45 PM

'Tonight is the night. If I don't finish the thesis tonight, I'll change my name to Harshit! '

She repeated for the tenth consecutive night and continued documenting, with strong determination. However, three lines of thesis and three episodes of Sherlock (TV series) later, she decided to lie down and relax a bit.

I have to decide upon the registration today. Hiding from Sayali really doesn't help! Madhumita thought.

In spite of the uncertainties involved, a Post Graduation in Astronomy was something she had chosen on her own, leaving behind an IT job that she had begun to loathe. Especially after Harshit left to US on his long term onsite assignment, she had found her workplace all the more suffocating.

Right from childhood, the sky has fascinated her. She has always wanted to know the secrets of the outer space. And hence, Astronomy. However, over a year into the course, she realized that it was not exactly the smooth ride she had thought it would be. Forget smooth, it was not even fair. Favoritism and internal politics were making her wonder if the daring plunge she had taken was a right decision at all.

Somehow, she had managed to strike a balance and hold on. But of late, the monotony of her life has become so bad that even her Holy Grails - a pack of tapioca chips or Oreo, a satisfying chapter of her favorite Fan fiction , or even episodes of Sherlock were not easing her frustration a bit. And not to forget the weird people of her life who annoyed her!

However , these weird people mattered a lot to her. In fact she had a melting heart for everyone. In Harshit's words, 'If someone climbed a mountain to kill her, she would first sympathize with him for his trouble of having climbed the hill'.

All of a sudden, she came out of her thoughts and picked her phone up, for the usual missed call routine to alert Harsh. In seconds she received his message.

H : What now?

M : What should I do with the camp da? At one instant I feel that I can use up my entire stipend for it. But next moment I feel scared.What will I do for a living if I don't get a job?

H : Don't miss the camp. You can sell your kidney if you don't get a job.

M : But Sayali is coming too. She is eating my head to pay and complete the registration now. I mean, she is good , it's nice to have a known person along. But she'd keep talking about guys and bore me to death!

H : Are you jealous that you don't have cool guys to talk of? Show her my shirtless pics from Miami holiday da!

M : You @&#$ ...

H : Ok ok, relax! :D Why do you even bother about the kinds of people?? Your aim is to have fun, get adventurous. So just do that! Plus meeting different kinds of people is fun man! An experience! Now, you at least have the money and circumstances to attend the camp. Who knows, this time next year you could be busy cooking Puliyodharai for some Ambi your Dad got you married to!

M : F*** YOUU! Don't text ever again, please!

Harsh went back to his computer, chuckling.

Tossing the phone away in anger, Madhumita opened her sleeping laptop in a jiffy, clicked on the tab that was open for over a week now, and completed the payment. 

YES! She is now an officially registered 'Royal Rajasthan Adventure Camper'. A smile of accomplishment adorned her face.

'After all, why would I let him win the argument. Loser thinks I'm boring! I'll even give up my life to prove him wrong!' Madhumita felt proud.

' BUT WAIT! What if the toilets in the camp have lizards? And I just made the payment! '

Cursing her fate, Madhumita crashed on to her bed again.

I don't want to live... Ammmaaa! :( 

-End of Prologue-