One Night at the Call Center Read online

  Qualis stuck in traffic

  Will b there soon

  “Who's that?” Esha asked me.

  “Nobody important,” I said.

  “Shefali?” Radhika said.

  “No,” I said and everybody looked at me.

  “No,” I said again.

  “Yes, it is. It's Shefali, isn't it?” Esha and Radhika said together and laughed.

  “Why does Shefali always babytalk?” I heard Esha whisper to Radhika. More titters followed.

  “Whatever,” I said and looked at my watch. The Qualis was still on the NH8 road, at the entrance to the concrete Delhi suburb of Gurgaon. We were ten minutes away from Connections.

  Cool, I'll meet Shefali by 10:10,1 thought.

  “Can we stop for a quick tea at Inderjeet? We'll still make it by 10:30,” Priyanka said. Inderjeet dhaba on NH8 was famous among truck drivers for its all-night tea and snacks.

  “Won't we be late?” Radhika crinkled her forehead.

  “Of course not. Driver ji saved us twenty minutes in the last stretch. Come, Driver ji, my treat,” Priyanka said.

  “Good idea. It will keep me awake,” Esha said.

  The driver slowed the Qualis near Inderjeet dhaba and parked it near the counter.

  “Hey guys, do we have to stop? We're going to be late,” I protested against the chai chorus.

  “We won't be late. Let's treat Driver ji for getting us here so fast,” Priyanka said and got out of the Qualis. She just has to do things I don't want to do.

  “He wants to be with Shefali, dude,” Esha elbowed Radhika. They guffawed again. What's so damn funny, I wanted to ask.

  “No, I just like to reach my shift a few minutes early,” I said and got out of the Qualis. Military Uncle and the driver followed us.

  Inderjeet dhaba had angithis next to each table. I smelled hot paranthas, but did not order as it was so late. The driver arranged plastic chairs for us. Inderjeet's minions collected tea orders as per the various complicated rules laid down by the girls.

  “No sugar in mine,” Esha said.

  “Extra hot for me,” Radhika said.

  “With cardamom for me,” Priyanka said.

  When we were in college together, Priyanka used to make cardamom tea for me in her hostel room. Her taste in men might have changed, but obviously not her taste in beverages.

  The tea arrived in three minutes.

  “So what's the gossip?” Priyanka said as she cupped her hands around the glass for warmth. Apart from cardamom, Priyanka's favorite spice is gossip.

  “No gossip. You tell us what's happening in your life,” Radhika said.

  “I actually do have something to tell,” Priyanka said with a sly smile.

  “What?” Radhika and Esha exclaimed together.

  “I'll tell you when we get to the bay. It's big,” Priyanka said.

  “Tell us now,” Esha said, poking Priyanka's shoulder.

  “There's no time. Someone is in a desperate hurry,” Priyanka said, glancing meaningfully at me.

  I turned away.

  “OK, I have something to share too. But don't tell anyone,” Esha said.

  “What?” Radhika said.

  “See,” Esha said and stood up. She raised her top to expose a flat midriff, on which there was a newborn ring.

  “Cool, check it out,” Priyanka said, “someone's turning hip.”

  Military Uncle stared as if in a state of shock. I suspect he was never young and was just born a straight forty-year-old.

  “What's that? A navel ring?” Radhika asked.

  Esha nodded and covered herself again.

  “Did it hurt?” Radhika said.

  “Oh yes,” Esha said. “Imagine someone stapling your tummy hard.”

  Esha's statement churned my stomach.

  “Shall we go?” I said, gulping down my tea.

  “Let's go, girls, or Mr. Conscientious will get upset.” Priyanka suppressed a smirk. I hated her.

  I went to the counter to pay the bill. Vroom was watching TV.

  “Vroom?” I said.

  “Hi. What are you guys doing here?” he said.

  I told him about the girls' tea idea.

  “I arrived twenty minutes ago, man,” Vroom said. He extinguished his cigarette and showed me the butt. “This was my first.”

  Vroom was trying to cut down to four cigarettes a night. However, with Bakshi in our life, it was impossible.

  “Can you rush me to the call center? Shefali will be leaving soon,” I said.

  Vroom's eyes were transfixed by the TV set on Inderjeet dhaba's counter. The New Delhi news channel was on and Vroom is a sucker for it. He worked on a newspaper once and is generally into social and global issues and all that stuff. He thinks that just by watching the news, you can change the world. That, by the way, is his trip.

  “Let's go, man. Shefali will kill me.”

  “Shefali. Oh, you mean Curly Wurly,” Vroom laughed.

  “Shut up, man. She has to catch the Qualis after her shift. This is the only time I get with her.”

  “Once you had Priyanka, and now you sink to Shefali levels,” Vroom said, and bent his elbow to rest his 6' 2” frame on the dhaba counter.

  “What's wrong with Shefali?” I said, shuffling from one foot to the other.

  “Nothing. It's just that it's nice to have a girlfriend with half a brain. Why are you wasting your time with her?”

  “I'm weaning myself off Priyanka. I'm trying to move on,” I said and took a sweet from the candy jar at the counter.

  “What happened to the re-proposal plan with Priyanka?” Vroom said.

  “I've told you, not until I become team leader. Which should be soon—maybe tonight after we submit the website manual. Now can we please go?” I said.

  “Yeah, right. Some hopes you live on,” Vroom said, but moved away from the counter.

  I held on tight as Vroom zipped through NH8 at 120 km an hour. I closed my eyes and prayed Shefali wouldn't be angry, and that I would get there alive.

  Beep Beep. Beep Beep. My mobile went off again.

  Curly Wurly is sad

  Eddy teddy is very bad

  I leave in 10 min : (

  I jumped off the bike as Vroom reached the call center. The bike jerked forward and Vroom had to use both his legs to balance.

  “Easy, man,” Vroom said in an irritated voice. “Can you just let me park?”

  “Sorry. I'm really late,” I said and ran inside.

  Chapter 3

  10:18 p.m.

  I'M NOT TALKING TO YOU, ”Shefali said and started playing with one of her silver earrings. The ring-shaped earrings were so large they were almost bangles.

  “Sorry, Shefali. My bay people held me up.” I stood next to her, leaning against her desk. She sat on her swivel chair and rotated it ninety degrees away from me to showcase her sulking. The dozens of workstations in her bay were empty as all the other agents had left.

  “Whatever. I thought you were their team leader,” she said and pretended to work on her computer.

  “I am not the team leader. I will be soon, but I'm not one yet,” I said.

  “Why don't they make you team leader?” she turned to me and fluttered her eyeslashes. I hated this habit of hers.

  “I don't know. Bakshi said he's trying, but I have to bring my leadership skills up to speed.”

  “What is ‘up to speed’?” she said and opened her handbag.

  “I don't know. Improve my skills, I guess.”

  “So you guys don't have a team leader.”

  “No. Bakshi says we have to manage without one. I help with supervisory stuff for now. But Bakshi told me I have strong future potential.”

  “So why doesn't your team listen to you?”

  “Who says they don't? Of course they do.”

  “So why were you late?” she said, beginning her sentence with a “so” for the third time.

  “Shefali, come on, drop that,” I said, looking at my watch. “H