Koffee with Rohan*

A few weeks ago, I was having coffee with an old friend of mine, Rohan* at office. I had just found out that he too was working there and I mailed him, we decided to catch up. In fact, I'm glad we did because we hadn't spoken to each other since we left college (a year back).

After the usual, How-are-things-at-home and I-heard-he-broke-up-with-her, he asked me the question I was waiting for. "So, How is life at XLRI?" I immediately started a rant on how its the best place in the world, the most fun experience ever and how we somehow land up with fat packages at the end of it. He took me over the moon and reminded me how I was always the most brilliant person, I totally deserved to get in there and that he always knew I would make it.

Now, I don't understand when people say they don't like flattery, because its the best thing that I ever get to listen to. It lifts me up when people say nice things to me and for my own listening pleasure, I tend to believe them. In fact, I boast of modesty only in being modest. So, I nodded along, as listened to him call me a genius and how I should give his little sister career guidance.

Thats when a colleague of his walked in and my friend immediately called out to him.

"Hey, Rahul!* Come here!"
"(approaching) Tell me."
"Remember, I always used to talk about this friend of mine, Sumana? She topped my college and she got in to XLRI when she was 19! Remember??"
"(clueless, irritated, yet confidently) No!"
"Oh! (hesitantly) Meet Sumana" (pointing at me)

I don't know who was most embarrassed at that point. I got up to shake hands with him, but we never actually got to doing that. The three of us somehow found other people at the cafeteria interesting and hence started looking at them to avoid further awkwardness.

Ah! So much for what I thought was a good day for my ego. I'm still feeling down, I could do with some buttering. Anybody else has something nice to say about me?

Disclaimer: "The story you have just heard is true. The names have been changed to protect the guilty."