the Restaurant Odyssey Part-5

" Baag ki baat baag ka maali hi samjhe...

Phoolon ka dard Jhukti daali hi samjhe,

Yeh kaisi reet banaayi Duniya waalon ne.....

Diye ka Dil jale aur log diwaali samjhen...??"

Those are the weirdo senti Shers one tells to himself, when he has become a Devdas.

I was coming close to Mr. D, to give him competetion.

Zindagi mein kuch baaki nahi reh gaya tha.It was all over with one blow.

Few words that changed my life:
"The number You have dialed is out of service. Yeh number asthaayi taur pe Sthagit hai"

I should have expected that !
Y The hell did'nt I ask her to give me a missed call on my number?? What difference would it make? She can always hang up the phone !! But a WRONG Number??? Hell !!Was I THAT BAD ?????

Swami was grinning ear to ear, on having salvaged his lost pride !!Amit n Amber were laughing to each other about that funny guy behind us in that same Freezeland.I had every reason to believe that the Funny guy was ME !!

Never had it felt so BAD.....
She gave me a Phoney Number?? Shit !!

But where did I go Wrong ?? Okay, I wasn't a pro like my other friends. I was'nt as handsome as them. I did'nt have much cash( Change does'nt qualify)I did'nt have gr8 clothes...But would it have made any difference??Naah.

Well, on second thought, yeah....It would have !!
Poor me !! I could just rue upon my luck. How could such a beautiful and innocent girl lie?? Lying is done by WICKED girls having horns on their heads and tails at their backs.

Am I going wrong in my analysis of her?? Maybe I misheard the number !
Maybe I did'nt take it down properly!
Or maybe I was slayed.....Yeah...I was !!

My mind was running riot, storming with thoughts. Although my first beginning was good, it did'nt yield to me the desired results. Or maybe I just plain expected too much !! How can a novice get a girl THAT good?? he he...Yeah..it is right..It was plain foolish to even think of that...he he..Ya, Here'z where I went wrong. I was'nt good enuf for her !!

Good consolation man....I was telling to myself. But still I was'nt satisfied!!Bad breath?? Naah.....I never smoke or eat non-veg..I brush twice daily too!
Bad odour?? Naah..I haf a repertoire of deos at my disposal!
Bad hairs?? Naah...I just had them stylized a week back. But maybe the guy did'nt do a gr8 job
My talks?? Naah...I was decent n polite enough !Clothes?? hmm...Maybe....But I CANNOT be rejected on THAT..Can I??

Ohk.....Never mind....Leave that damn girl !! She was'nt worth me anywayz. She had a pimple on her face. N I remember her slippers were'nt class. Her hairs were all messed up. That jeans she wore was'nt branded. Interior designer..Huh...She might have been a cheap model..No more!!

Whom was I kidding....I don't know..!! I had lost her...And there was no hope for me. No salvation, except eating that small sandwich piece that was on my plate, and was eyed ravenously by Amit, who seems to posess an in-satiable apetite. I made my moves reluctantly towards the piece. Even it seemed to tel me "hey loser...Get Ur hands off me...U don't deserve me...Had I had legs, I would have walked away..

"A big loser...!! Yeah....Perfect...Why did I try at the first place??
Just to lose??
Atleast I tried......But what does it matter ??A near miss is as good as a miss !!

For some time, Swami and Co. did'nt try to placate me. They seemed to be more interested in the girls swooning here n there. Somehow, mysteriously, all of them seemed to have turned more gorgeous n I was sure that they were giving all my friends inviting glances. And my friends had left me to die. Could it get any worse ???

The waiter dropped burning tea on my brand new jeans.

The rush of expletives from my mouth was about to break the dam, had it not been for a top-of-the-voice conversation, that had caught my attention.It was a girl, who was chastising a boy....and by chastising I mean, Beating black n blue, with words alone ! Don't know what she would have done, if she had a hunter in her hand. I pitied the poor guy. She would have been the same age as that of Shruti, but less Beautiful. The guy was quite much like me.

" U moron....What do U think I am....A commodity?? All you guys are the same....U perverted pigs !!
"But vineeta...."
"What do U want to explain...haan...tell me...How wud U explain your seing my room-mate..U bastard !!"
"Look Vineeta....U know she is a good frnd of mine, before we had met.."
"So that means U can screw arnd with her behind my back??"

She was screaming

"I did'nt do....."
" Of cource.....U R soo innocent....U went into her bathroom to clean the drain..Is'nt it??"
"She was locked inside...I was just trying to..."
"yeah...Of cource...The prince in the shining armour....Always to the rescue....Ten-tenan...Stop kidding me U moron...Do U think I am a baby, whom U can entice with these fairytales of yours??Look Rahul.......I am not going to leave U...I swear..I am gonna kill U"

"No wonder"I thought !! If she keeps the same tirade going, either the guy is gonna drown in self-depression...Or she is gonna get the fork into his throat...But it was entertainment nevertheless....And FREE too!!"

Look Viny....Just gimme a chance to explain...."
" U Loser...U still have nerves to explain!!..After what I had seen with my own eyes....?? No-one can tolerate you more than I have done....Your Bad breath.."
"Bad br.."
"Ur incessant loitering..."
"wh.."
"Ur foolish comments"
"Com.."
"Ur Senseless talks, Ur forgetting the dates...Ur Monkey looks.."
"Monkey??"
"Yeah...And U smell real ugly......And U R a LOSER...U understand that!!L O S E R...Loser.. Don't even think of contacting me from now on......From now on use your personality for Birth control...Goodbye Sucker"

I had no interest in that girl...I was looking at that guys face. It was RED....Enough to put a tomato to shame !!He kept sitting there.......Every1 was looking at him...But he didn’t care to notice !!I don’t know what took me to his table….Amit and group caught my Tee, but I moved on, as if in trance.

I reached him, and said, “Can I sit with you for a second”?

“Yeah…And what would you prefer to call me….A dickhead…A moron..?? Impotent?? Ohh….Nope…Not at all….A SAVAGE HEARTED BASTARD …Yaah..A SAVAGE HEARTED BASTARD will be perfect….THAT’s WHAT I AM…RIGHT??? Isn’t that what You are going to call me??”he exploded..” I DON”T NEED YOUR SYMPATHIES..!! BUZZ OFF !!!!”

“I just wanted to tell you…That you are a great person to have maintained your cool…I couldn’t have done that. I respect you for that. And I wish you all the best”His expressions changed from a maniac, to that of a gullible infant intent to listen.

As I turned around..He said “Wait, sit down”He stared in oblivion and muttered, not looking at me
“Three years….I and Vineeta have been together. I have always understood her and tried to take care of her. When she didn’t have a shoulder to cry upon, I gave her one. When she didn’t have any1 to discuss her chemistry doubts, I solved them for her. When she had no one to go with for Disc, I volunteered. When she missed Maths lecture, it was I who copied them for her. 106 fever..She had no-one besides….But me. I kept awake all night, just so that she can sleep in peace. And never ever have I mentioned her this. And she tells me, I am …..”

…It is strange how Boys cry..They are really Hoarse….They should not cry. Crying should be a privileged domain of girls…It is their copyright..And it should be left to them to rule.

“ What did I do?? Help her friend?? It was Jenny who called me , since she had been locked inside that bathroom, while I was passing down Viny’s room. What should have I done….Let her screaming ?? Yes..I should have done that…That would have pleased Viny. But I am a human being…What the hell…WHY am I?? I LOVED her DAMNIT!!!”

I was listening….And thinking…Is that the fate which one meets after true love??Don’t know..I have never been in true love…And if THIS is true love…I don’t want to experience it. Maybe not every girl is Vineeta. But IF MINE is…?? I shall be doomed !!

I put my hand on Rahul’s Shoulder and pressed it inadvertently…and moved on.

The adage came to my mind

“ I always cried that I did’nt have good shoes….Till I met a man down the street, who had no legs !!”

It was a revelation, how you can take what happens to you….when it happens.

Its revealing how you can have an extreme rollercoaster of emotions with the same person.

Its revealing also that accident do not happen only to others.

I moved on !!

I heard a familiar voice, crying “Ankit,….Is that YOU..??. I am sorry, I.. ”

I don’t know who she was.
Neither did I want to know

.…I moved on !!

"The restaurant Odyssey: Part 4

Time:01:03pm

" I don't like You ! "
"Excuse me??"
" yeah...U heard it correctly....I don't like U at all !!"
"You talking to me, Mister??"
"yeah...Very much to you !! " I was speaking...A faint smile on my lips.
" U are Bad ! Since last 10 minutes, I have been thinking of talking to U, but I could not muster enough courage ! So all I can say is....That YOU are bad !! "
"Are U crazy??"
" What do U think"?
"I think You are nuts"
"Being frank means U R nuts?....Then I am nuts"
" U mean U REALLY waited 10 minutes to talk to me??"
"No, I was joking"
" That was a bad joke"
"M sorry then....My sense of humour needs a better company"
"Don't go too far"
" I am just standing here"
(The second visibly amused n famished girl gets a call from GOD and she leaves the drrama in between....That was GOD helping me on his part)
" What exactly do U want...I am getting late"
"A chance to talk to you"
"What if I say No.."
"I will go straight back out of this building"
*A Pause*
"U hitting on me?"
"Nope...Just want to have a good time in talking"
"But I don't know U"
"Me too: N i especially don't like talking while standing"
"Ohh soo sorry...Please have a seat!"

I could'nt believe what was happening ! I had come totally unprepared ! I just had a faint idea how I wud proceed. The approach was novel, but immature. It was weird.It suited me becoz I was a guy who never took things to heart, n spoke my mind. I did this here as well. N LO...!! I got a seat....Instead of a slap !!! It was worth the effort as of now. Even if I lost 100 bucks, I had made a good start in my PR. But this was not a time for self appreciation.

TIME:01:15

"So what do U want to talk abt. I want to tell U that I already have a boyfriend, who is due to come in here anytime now. Please make it fast, before he sees you and thrashes you.

I had thanked GOD a lot earlier....This was a blow out of the wild. I was let flabbergasted. I still did'nt let it show on my face.
" He won't mind his girl talking to a friend...Would he?"
"If HE thinks that YOU are a friend"
"Why won't he: Don't I look like one??"
"its not like that...."
"Ankit"
"Its not like that Ankit ! U seem a nice guy at first look"
"First impressions can be deceptive, and I think U should not trust them. World around us is cruel U know"
"So I shud'nt trust U , right??"
(Blunder.....Log Paanv pe kulhaadi maarte hain...Maine Kulhaadi pe paanv maar liya..Shit..Shit!!)

"Err....I did'nt mean that...I meant that U MAY trust me if Your heart says so !!"
"Lets not talk abt mushy stuff now...I hate that"
"I don't especially like it either"
" So what do U do Ankit, besides flirting with girls?"
(So much sarcasm??? U R my first prey; I thought)

" I do NOT flirt with girls ! I just wanted to have a time to tell you that you are one of the prettiest girls I have ever seen in my life. Not that you don't know of it ! Still telling U this"
" I am flattered...Tell me something new !! "
( I did'nt know what to speak !! Momentary confusion ! I th8 girls liked flattery.But it was getting me nowhere !!!! 2 minutes were over long back....What to speak now??)

" Your Name is Nivedita !! "
"Nope....My name is Shruti"
"I told U somethin new...Which U asked for"

*Laughter*

Her laugh was like chiming bells.For a second, I almost lost touch with reality.This was the first time she smiled n my heart lost a beat. Was she beautiful..!! Cool breeze that blew over her hairs came to my face with a moist sensation. I wondered if I was lying on the beaches of Kerala...

"I don't know Ankit weather I should talk to U or not...but I think I will take a chance with this MEAN world"
She smiled again..

"The pleasure shall be all mine..Btway, what do U do??"
" I am an interior designer !!"
"Which firm??"
"Reynolds Associates"
"ohh..I see, are'nt they the ones who just had a merger with Rascolo Ltd. this saturday?"
"ya...Haf you been researching on my company?"
"Naah....Just preparing for a few exams"
"You, exams??"
"Ya...U know, Interior designing was my first love...My mom is an interior designer too"
"That's good !! Is she a professional"
"No...She decorates our home..."
(That beautiful laugh once again.....I was elated with myslef....But this time I did'nt thank GOD..)

" U R funny....I like that"
"Gee...thanks !!"
(Now was the tough part ! I knew I could'nt retain her interest for very long ! N even her BF might come.I have accomplished my purpose. If I hafto meet her the next time, I hafto play my cards perfect right now.This is the big exam of Ur grit buddy !! )

"hey, I should be leaving now ! It was really a pleasure talking to U."
"Y ankit...What happened??"
"No...Nothing Shruti.I haveto catch a class, and my friends are waiting for me too, over there"She glanced at them, and they flashed their beatific smile that would have put a baby to shame !She waved at them too !!I had won the bet !
"ohk...Never mind !! We shall bump into each other someday"
"I sure hope that this someday comes tomorrow ! Had it not been for this damn class..."
"It was nice to know U Ankit"
"Well, it would be nicer if U can take down my phone number, and call me whenever U feel like having a talk with a friend. Maybe Ur BF won't mind MUCH"
" We split !! I lied that time to scare U off...But U were too persistent"
"I am sorry !! U would find a better guy someday"
"I am not looking"
"I know Shruti....U are a sweet girl and I would be very lucky to have you as a good friend"
" same here Ankit"
"My number is 098985 xxxxx"
"ohk..U want my number??"
"Can I say Yes?"

Same smile again !! Same flashing of bells !!
"Yes, U can ! It is 098988 xxxxx"
"AIRTEL!"
"yeah!"
"Don't worry, I would call U only 10,000 times a day"
"Lets C, how much patience do U have"
"I seem to have lots of it ! Okay Shruti..I will take leave of U now.I hope U won't mind chatting to me once a while over a cup of coffee !"
"No Ankit...It would be great ! Good and decent conversations are difficult nowadays"
"That I can bet upon, C you soon Shruti"

Time: 01:37

I reached at my frnd's table.They were staring at me with mouth Wide agape.
Amber showed me the watch.
"35 mints !!!!!! What were u telling her???? Fairy tales????"
"Shut up n lets go"I said slowly.

They all were quiet....And then we left in a hurry.The rest of the story ends with Swami getting a good verbal thrashing for having ridiculed me, and his shelling out 100/-But it was long past money ! I began dreaming of tomorrow...

The restaurant Odyssey: Part 3

"Can I have Ur order mam??"
" I will have Extra cheese burger, with caramel toppings, extra layer of beef with extra mayonese sause, alongwith DIET coke"-She said.
(Was she famished?? Did’nt look so !!

There are times, when U wonder WHY you were born...Worse, Y do people having a 100000 calorie burger diet insist on DIET Coke....WHY in the name of GOD?)

"Sure Mam..." I said, wondering about what MARATHON would she be running in her spare time, to maintain that svelte figure after eating that diet !!
"By the way Mam, I think I have seen U somewhere...On TV perhaps ! Do U mind giving me the autograph please??"(2 mints over...Good going already..Just the intro remains! Think think...)

"Ya, Sure...Why not?"
(Yess.....the arrow hit the bullseye in the darkness !! Tukka kaam kar gaya !Hey what tukka?? She is so good looking...Had to be a model on TV ! I was perspicacious enuf to sense that: My mind was blabbering)
" And one more favour Mam, if I am not asking for much...My friends are on that table...It wud be great if U can wave to them n sign them an autograph as well. They are a big fan of yours too !!"
"hey, did'nt YOU come from that same table right now ??"
"well..mam...err...I....err.."
" Hitting on me, U cheap coot !!!!!!"
"Mam U R........"
*SLAP*

I came out of my day dream as water splashed my face. I had taken the route to the washroom, instead of going to her directly, to BUY time n that was paying good dividends already. Saved me a slap already.

Not good enuf. That bastard Swami was clever enuf to include that condition in the bet that I hafto introduce her to them ! Shit..I am doomed. This trick won't work at all.Think Ankit--U moron-think....Where is all your thinking gone...Hibernation??
Your TRAIN of THOUGHTS have refused to leave the STATION buddy, I heard myself saying.Think think...there has to be a way !!!!

Lets begin !!

"hi there....This is Ankit....Ankit Agrawal"(In the lines of Bond....James Bond !)
" I have been studying(can I say OOGLE here...NOPE...DEFINITELY NOT) you since U came to this restaurant. I wonder if I have seen you somewhere ?"(would that be a nice opener???)

"ha ha...Every Tom dick n harry uses this punchline man ! Think of something new ! U R not getting anywhere with me by using cliches ! Better luck with someone else, WEIRDO !!"

I heard her say this in my head ! Ohkay..Weirdo is better than a slap.....M progressing already....Cool !!

The waiter in the restaurant stood beside me, wondering what this CARTOON is doing for so long in front of mirror, when he doesn’t have a face to show in the mirror!( I am sure he would have th8 me as a cartoon..I am certain). Un-amused by my histrionics, he brushed me aside, had his hairs styled, n went off !!

(Y the hell does he need HIS hairs styled....Is he eyeing that beauty too?? Shit..!!)

Naah...He went into the kitchen...Maybe his love interest was waiting there...Gone for GOOD I hoped..!!
I went along with my train of thoughts.

"Can I talk to you for a second.....please"
"Yes, what is it??"
"I want to discuss with you an urgent matter, can I take 5 mints of yours?"
" Just now U said a second"
" I mean...."
"ok....Is it really important?"
"Matter of life n death"
"ok..Go on"
" My mom is seriously Ill...She has an extreme form of Hypertenso-nostalicano-Catapurved Tendenitis of ganglions"
(I thanked my Bio professor to help me with ganglions, which I know had something to do with body parts"
" I am a doctor...N I know such a disease does'nt exist...U bastard !!"

*SLAP*

Naah...Not possible...She can't be a doctor....That is a chance I hafto take nowLets begin again!!"

" My mom is seriously Ill...She has an extreme form of Hypertenso-nostalicano-Catapurved Tendenitis of ganglions"
"ohh...I am soo sorry to hear that....Whatever that means"
" ya I know. She needs some blood urgently, and my family doctor,who also happens to be your family doctor too, told me that only one patient in his knowledge has the same blood group as my mother, and its YOU !!"
" And how exactly did he know I will be here at this time??"
"Well, apparently he happens to be an excellent astrologer too !!"
" what crap...That is not possible!!"
" what's Ur blood group??"
"A+ve"
"exactly...My mom also needs A+ve...Look that proves it !!"
" U R just hitting on me...I can just sense that...Go away before I slap U"*Gone..All hopes, outta the window*
I am running out of ideas.....It is already 15 minutes since I made the bet. It’s now or never. My mind went into top Gear, and a thought struck me.

I was ready for the final frontier.

* An ace of Spades*

The restaurant Odyssey- Part 2

Conversations started.....Taking off from motleyed topic of a boy being born in the place called sabinakuka in albama's town verincuoh(Don't try searching for it in Google...U won't get it...It is not yet discovered....A News reporter just discovered it, and published the article..He is due to lay claims to be the next columbus)to a man who had 12 wives.

Being jealous, my frnds ate more than their share of the sandwich, which left me with a little lesser than a starved stomach. I was looking here n there, when I saw the most beautiful sight of my life. Yes, U perverted minds, u guessed it right, She WAS a girl, and unlike most which I have ever seen in my life. She had just entered the cafe with a visibly famished frnd of hers, who was nothing but a skeleton draped in vestiges of flesh. But our eyes barely left the legendary beauty to have noticed the existence of that near "homo-sapiens sapien" frnd of hers.

It sometimes made me wonder abt the selective eyesight which we males have. We are all adroit at seperating fact from fiction, sifting good from bad, and discerning wow from Yuck instantaneously. Maybe we have inherited this all after months of evolution. Watever be the case, my eyes were still pinned upon that resplendent female, which my frnds had somehow not noticed yet. Maybe my share of sandwich kept in the plate, attracted them more than that female. Their eyes looked so innocent and devoid of any malaise, that I continued to gorge on my eye-candy.

Again, I was surprised with the rapid transition in the eyes of my frnds. The eyes which initially had an innocent look of a small tiger cub, were now transfigured into the ravenous look of a wolf, in search of its prey.Apparently my sandwich had vanished into thin air. They did'nt hafto search long. My eyes guided them,(and I hated that....) and a cried emerged from their mouths, that resembled that of a nomad, who had been traversing the desert for 200 years, and has just had the sight of an oasis. It was just the decency of the place, that stopped one of them from whistling, other from howling and Swami from approaching her. Still we all oogled endlessly.

She was a beautiful female ! Maybe 21-22. Long black hairs(wow..I love black hairs). A svelte hourglass figure. Her eyes were doe shaped, and conspicuously blue. Very fair. Arnd 5'10. She wore an orange top and a strinking blue Levis jeans, on heels arnd 2 inch high. Her face would have given a serious threat to Mrs Chopra (naah..Not priyanka Chopra...The MRS Chopra living near my house, whom we considered a benchmark for any such activity: Sometimes I doubted weather my frnds really came to visit me, or to have a glance of Mrs. Chopra; I find that very ridiculous.She is a nice lady who gives me a lotta goodies to eat...So I am naturally perturbed).

It wud have been a dream to get just a smile from her. Anything more, a word maybe, would have been a 100%bonus, with equity, on my dreams. A sentence....too much...Cud'nt imagine that. that goes faaaaar beyond....!!
She looked towards us...N my heart cried out....Yes, its ME..!! YES, it was ME who U had seen while U were in that boring Economics class.....It was ME who tried to run U down with my car(that I do not have a car is a different matter). I just wanted her to recognise me and talk to me...Even if she th8 I was a serial killer or a filthy billionaire, it did'nt matter, till she thought abt me !!

But her gaze moved sideways....J
ust one thing interested me ! She came with a girl, not a boy.Maybe SINGLE?? Naah.....BF wud be out of station for sure. If such a girl has no BF, shame on the Indian Youth. But what to do....???Naah, nothin to be done !!Just see her, n then forget her, like a dream..Like I have always done!

Amber was well aware of my intentions. All of them knew that for that matter, coz they had all stoped oogling long bak, and I was the only one still in the hopeless pursuit.
As I turned to them...All started laughing !!
"Love at first sight..eh loverboy !"
I said.."Naah...Not my type"
All of them started laughing...Then came the resounding chorus "Angoor khatte hain"
I was startled.
Challenge?? To me??? How dare they..?? The male ego started bellowing inside me...

"What R U ppl talkin abt? I can talk to that girl if I want to ! But I don't feel like doing that at present.Make no bones abt it !"was all that I could muster.
"Look whoz talking !"said Swami, who had stopped oogling the girl on every table, and had been responsible for finsihing most of the sandwich...the most handsome amongst us all!
"U can't dare to talk that girl efor a minute even if U took 1700 births", he continued in same breath, which oozed of mocking!"

So U challenging me, U Moron !!" I retorted, so as not to sound too timid, neither too arrogant.What if my pretense of attitude was blown off, n they throw up a challenge??

"Ya, I am" came the reply.
"We are !!! U R not worth a dime ! Just shut up n sit in here"said Amber n Amit together.
The male Ego had bellowed to full swing.
My cover had been blown up, and I could only just accept n shut up, or try the inevitable.
One which no man has ever dared before.....talkin to an unknown girl !!

" Okay, then....BET??"I said...At my last attempt to fight out of situation so that I can still avoid the in-evitable. But it was all sensed through my eyes: my fear.

"How much?? U still are'nt worth a dime" said Swami.
"100 bucks"
"Condition?"
" U talk to her for 2 minutes...Get her to smile...Introduce us....N that's it. I won't expect more from some1 like U"
"Agreed !!"

Swami hunched back on the chair, as though he had just had his prey. All were smiling.While I was walking for her table, I sensed a wicked fear enveloping me.The sort of that which would envelop a lamb if it volunteers for slaughter.
I had been the lamb. The geenie in the bottle trick was coming back to haunt me.I had been packed in the bottle...And no way seemed out, except trodding the road ahead, that led to the orange top n Blue jeans !!

The restaurant Odyssey- Part 1

TIME:12:30

We were sitting in Freezeland:An uptown snackbar-cum restaurant-cum coffeeshop-cum ice-cream parlour-cum-cum-cum.....humph whatever. I, with 3 of My frnds.

The weather was fantastic (saying romantic hurts), and the only thing that was bothering all of us and which was left unsaid, was that neither of us wanted to be together. What the hell...!! Who wants to be with guys, when one can have a Beautiful female frnd. But all of us knew silently, that getting a girl for ppl like us, is akin to expecting Mount everest suddenly being the DEEPEST point on earth !

Result: 4 Goons sitting alone in a snackbar. The song playing in the background "Akele hain....Toh kya gum hai...." from Quayamat se Quayamat tak, did'nt help our cause either.All 4 of us were chatting, as though trying to ambush our coloured desires behind the veils of occasional chuckle n laughter.

The waiter was eying all of us with a malicious intent. He circled over our table as a STARVED vulture hovers over a DEAD caracass. Maybe he saw in us those 4 kids who did'nt pay his bill and ran out of the place.No, we looked of decent upbringing. So THAT could'nt be the case.

But then Y did he insist on us paying before we ate??This was'nt the rule in the restaurant earlier....!! Maybe they just changed the rule !!!

Even after telling him to let us ponder over what to eat for 12 times, he threw in the menu to help us ponder.

The going was already tough, when the eyes went on the right hand side of the menu, and there sprang the BOLT from the blue.All of us looked at one another, refusing to trust our eyes. All of us were speechless...Dumbstruck...Horrified...Aghast. The waiter was summonned. HE smartly obliged. Hell....What is this, Still HE...?? Can't they keep even a female waitress to oblige the starved but nevertheless doting customers? With much hesitation one of us spoke...."U increased the price by 5 Rupees???....Per sandwich????.....Really??

"The waiter looked at us askew, with eyes that would have made the ancient legend of dracula proud for the discovery of his legitimate heir, to carry on the legacy.
He nevertheless took trouble to explain to us, that the food price was increased to compensate for the decreasing fuel price, so that people do not get enough to spend on food, and get to be lazy pot bellied bums like us(well, he did'nt say that...But we had every reason to believe those prying eyes, that each polished word was a white lie). That it was a civilian restaurant, and killing people inside had been forbidden in their rule book, came to our aid.

Satisfied by his explanation, and patting ourselves on our literary backs for being a good citizen of India to demand explanation, and not taking the hike, on our STAPLE FOOD, lying low, we proceeded towards our wallets. Every1 was looking at the other, to see who dares to take out his wallet first. A wallet filled with 100/- note was a rare sight in an economic recession of 2006(hey...U did'nt know that there was a recession in 2006...?? Sure...?? U maybe did'nt take time to read papers buddy...!!)

I was the first one to take out my wallet, and the rest 3 hands in no time were folded adroitly on the table (Unless U see it, it is difficult to believe, that hands which were reaching for the pockets, can trace the trajectory to the table, in fermi-seconds.....). They reached their respective pockets only when the eyes were sure, that they saw just 10/- notes in the wallet.

Incidently, that was the reason, why my wallet came out aloud, like a knight in shining armour waging a battle against ferocious dragons.
A sarcastic smile flashed across every face, as if ridiculing the indian government, for the lack of cash in pockets.
Total: 110/- including postage stamps and Amber's Coin collection. He refused to part with it. As a result, French fries were dropped. Mortgage in the restaurant was not allowed, otherwise we could have done away with Amit's Shirt. It would have fetched us a few coins.

After much pondering over tussle between the nutrient requirements of growing youths, and their fiscal condition, it was decided to order a single jumbo sandwich costing 58/-. The poor helpless sandwich was to be shared between 4 hungry souls, that would have given a hungry King-kong a run for his money....It was akin to throwing a newborn baby before a pack of ferocious Sharks !

The waiter, who had desserted ANY hope of getting an order from our table....Leave alone getting the tip, hussled another of his peers towards us. I don't think that he would have been too obliged by the 2/- tip Amit gave last time we came to the restaurant.He heard the order....And he understood, why he was ushered to our table. Clever CHAP !!
He thrice confirmed the order, and after making sure that he had heard it correctly, and we did'nt miss out on any of restaurant's speciality, he left us pondering in Oblivion!

Maybe he was wondering over the fate of the sandwich too !