One Night at the Call Center Read online

“Huh?” Bakshi said.

  “Just call systems, sir,” I said and stood up, “using that.” I pointed at his telephone and rushed back to my bay.

  Chapter 7

  11:00 p.m.

  NICE BREAK, EH?” VROOM SAID when I returned to our bay.

  “C'mon, man, I just went to Bakshi's office about the static,” I said.

  “Is he sending someone?” Vroom asked as he untangled his phone wires.

  “He said I should identify the strategic variables first,” I said and sat down on my seat, resting my face on my hands.

  “Strategic variables? What are they?” Vroom said, without looking at me.

  “How the hell do I know?” I snorted. “If I did, I'd be team leader. He also drew some diagrams.”

  Radhika, Esha, and Priyanka were busy on calls. Every few seconds, they would turn the phone away from their ears to avoid the loud static. I wished the systems guy would come by soon.

  “What diagrams?” Vroom said as he took out some chewing gum from his drawer and offered one to me.

  “Some crap 2x2 matrix or something,” I said, declining Vroom's offer.

  “Poor Bakshi, he's just a silly, harmless creature. Don't worry about him,” Vroom said.

  “Where the hell is the systems guy?” I picked up the phone and called systems myself. They hadn't yet received a call from Bakshi. “Can you please come now … yes, we have an emergency … yes, our manager knows about it.”

  “Things are bad around here, my friend,” Vroom said. “Bad news may be coming.”

  “What do you mean? Are they cutting jobs?” I asked, now a little worried and anxious as well as frustrated. It's amazing how all these nasty emotions decide to visit me together.

  “I'm trying to find out,” Vroom said, clicking open a window on his screen. “The Western Computers account is really suffering. If we lose that account, the call center will sink.”

  “Crap. I heard something about it from Shefali. I think the website we made was too useful. People have stopped calling us,” I said.

  A visitor in our bay interrupted our conversation. I knew he was the systems guy as he had three pagers on his belt and two memory cards around his neck.

  Priyanka told him about the problem and made him listen to the static.

  The systems guy asked us to disconnect our lines for ten minutes.

  Everyone removed their headsets. I saw Esha adjusting her hair. She does it at least ten times a night. First she removes the rubber band that holds up her hair so it all falls loose, then she pulls it all together and ties it back again.

  Her hair was light-colored and intensely curly at the ends: the result of an expensive hairstyling job that cost as much as minor surgery. It didn't even look that nice if you asked me. Naturally curly hair is one thing, but processed curly hair looks like tangled telephone wires.

  I saw Vroom stare at Esha. It's never easy for guys to work in an office with a hot girl. I mean, what are you supposed to do? Ignore their sexiness and stare at your computer?

  Radhika took her pink wool out from her bag and started to knit frantically. Military Uncle's system was still working, so he stayed glued to his monitor.

  “What are you knitting?” Esha turned to Radhika.

  “A scarf for my mother-in-law. She's very sweet, she feels cold at night,” Radhika said.

  “She is not sweet—” Vroom began to say, but Radhika interrupted him.

  “Shh, Vroom. She is fine, just traditional.”

  “And that sucks, right?” Vroom said.

  “Not at all. In fact, I like the cozy family feeling. They're only a little bit old-fashioned,” Radhika said and smiled. I didn't think her smile was genuine, but it was none of my business.

  “Yeah, right. Only a little. As in always cover your head with your sari types,” Vroom said.

  “They make you cover your head?” Esha asked, speaking through teeth clenched around her rubber hairband.

  “They don't make me do anything, Esha. I am willing to follow their culture. All married women in their house do it,” Radhika said.

  “Still, it is a bit weird,” Esha said doubtfully.

  “Anyway, I look on it as a challenge. I love Anuj and he said he came as a package. But yeah, sometimes I miss wearing low-waisted jeans like you wore yesterday.”

  I was amazed Radhika remembered what Esha had worn yesterday. Only women have this special area in the brain that keeps track of everything they and their friends have worn during the last fifty days.

  “You like those jeans?” Esha said, her eyes lighting up.

  “I love them. But I guess you need the right figure for them,” Radhika said. “Anyway, sorry to change the topic, guys, but we're forgetting something here.”

  “What? Systems?” I asked, as I looked under the table where the systems guy lurked within a jungle of tangled wires and told me he'd need ten more minutes.

  I checked my watch. It was 11:20 p.m. I wondered if Bakshi would be coming for his daily rounds soon.

  “I didn't mean the static,” Radhika said as she put her knitting aside. “Miss Priyanka has some big news for us, remember?”

  “Oh yes. C'mon, Priyanka, tell us!” Esha screamed. Military Uncle looked up from his screen for a second and then went back to work. I wondered if he'd been this quiet when he lived with his son and daughter-in-law.

  “OK, I do have something to tell you,” Priyanka said with a sheepish grin, making her two dimples even more prominent. She brought out a box of sweets from her large plastic bag.

  “Whatever your news is, we do get to eat the sweets, right?” Vroom wanted to know.

  “Of course,” Priyanka said, carefully opening the red cellophane wrapping on the box. I hate it when she's so methodical. Just rip the damn wrapping off, I thought. Anyway, it was none of my business. I looked under the table for a few seconds, as if to help the systems guy.

  “So, what's up? Ooh milk cake, my favorite,” Radhika said, even as Vroom jumped to grab the first piece.

  “I'll tell you, but you guys have to swear it won't leave WASG,” Priyanka said. She offered the box to Radhika and Esha. Radhika took two pieces, while Esha broke off the tiniest piece possible with human fingers. I guess the low-cut jeans figure comes at a price.

  “Of course we won't tell anyone. I hardly have any friends outside the WASG. Now tell us, please,” Esha said and wiped her long fingers with a tissue.

  “Well, let's just say my mum is the happiest person on earth today,” Priyanka said.

  “No riddles. Just tell the story,” Vroom said.

  “Well, you know my mum and her obsession for a match with an expat Indian for her rebellious daughter to take her away from India?”

  “Uh-uh,” Radhika nodded as she ate her milk cake.

  “So these family friends of ours brought a proposal for me. It came from one of their relatives in Seattle. I would have said no as I always do. But this time I saw the photos, which were cute. I spoke to the guy on the phone and he sounded decent. He works at Microsoft and his parents are in Delhi and I met them today. They are nice people,” Priyanka said and paused to break a piece of cake off for herself. She could have broken a smaller piece, I thought, but it wasn't really my business.

  “And,” Esha said, her eyes opening wide and staring at Priyanka.

  “I don't know, something just clicked,” Priyanka said, playing with her milk cake rather than eating it. “They asked for my decision upfront and I said … yes.”

  “Waaaoooow! Oh wow!” the girls screamed at the highest pitch possible. The systems guy trembled under the table. I told him everything was fine and asked him to continue. At least everything was fine outside. Inside I had a burning feeling, as if someone had tossed a hot coal in my stomach.

  Radhika and Esha got up to hug Priyanka as if India had won the World Cup or something. People get married every day. Did these girls really have to create a scene? I wished the phones would start working again so I didn't have to lis