"Treading on thin ice" - Infosys, Mysore Diaries - #BlogChatterA2Z

 After our trip to Scandagiri Hills, we had body pains for about 2 – 3 days and we could hardly walk. In my case, along with the body pains, I was very sad. I was missing home terribly. It’s been a long time since I met my parents, younger sister and I had this sudden longing to see them immediately. I couldn’t stop thinking about them and I was missing them like crazy. 

“I want to go home this weekend and see my family”, I said to Myra while walking to the class. 

Myra stopped walking. 

“This weekend to Hyderabad? How’s it possible? “, she said.

“I can book a direct bus from here or I’ll go to Bangalore and take a bus from there.”, I said.

“When I asked you how’s it possible, I was not asking you the itinerary. How can you travel when we have the JSF module test next Monday?”, she asked, slightly alarmed.

“I want to see my parents this weekend at any cost. I cannot wait for another week”, I said.

“Can’t you wait for one more week? JSF is a tough and important module.”, she said.

“No, am going. I’ll book tickets after going to class”, I replied. Myra seemed annoyed. I knew that she meant well and that I was treading on thin ice. But I couldn’t describe my frantic thoughts about going home. I almost felt as if something bad is going to happen if I don’t meet them ASAP. I couldn’t beat that feeling. I HAD to go home that weekend. 

After going to the class, I started looking at tickets. There was no direct bus from Mysore to Hyderabad and hence, I booked 2 tickets from Mysore – Bangalore and a super deluxe bus from Bangalore – Hyderabad.  Beside me, Anusha and Rishi were wondering what I was up to. I signaled to them that I’d tell them later. 

I then sent detailed emails to Myra and Arjun and a second email to Anusha and Rishi. This was to avoid any follow-up questions. In short, I did not give them any scope for advice or questions. They could do nothing but send me “Take care” replies but I knew their opinion on my impromptu and reckless decision.

Soon, it was Friday evening and I boarded the Bangalore bus at about 4 PM at the Majestic bus station. 

 

I was traveling alone for the first time but the anticipation of going home took away all my fears and gave me a lot of strength. I reached Bangalore at about 7:15PM and boarded the next bus at 8PM. I had to travel overnight for 12 hours to reach Hyderabad. I was seated in a 2-seater beside a guy, who was also a Software Engineer. I did not realize how reckless my decision was until the guy next to me extended his seat to a sleeping position. I felt quite uncomfortable. One thing was sure – I was not going to use my seat as a sleeper. I stay wide awake the entire night. At about 5AM, the bus stopped at a location and the driver asked us to use restrooms. The guy next to me was a thorough gentleman and brought me tea. 

“Guess you did not get any sleep”, he said to which I nodded.

In about an hour we reached the MGBS bus station at Hyderabad.

I got down the bus and the minute I saw my father, I ran towards him and hugged him. I went home and met my mother and sister. All the heaviness in my heart had melted, I felt lighter. And then, I started talking. I did not stop until I had shared every single detail with them. When I’d told them about my impromptu decision, they were alarmed but they know me and did not argue much. They had also missed me a lot.  They told me what was happening at their end. Talking to loved ones in person beats phone calls any day. In the evening, I met my best friend from school, Sridevi, and spent quality time with her. 

The weekend passed by in the wink of an eye and before I knew it, it was Sunday afternoon. My father dropped me at the bus station. For the return trip, I got tickets for a direct bus to Mysore. I had brought the material to study on my journey but I was extremely tired and couldn’t study.

On reaching the campus, I had a familiar feeling as if I belonged. This was the first time that I realized that the campus had become my second home. I hurried to my room, got ready, and met Myra. We started walking to the class when Myra revised a few important topics for the test. I felt slightly alarmed because I did not remember most of the topics that she was talking about. I remained silent but I knew it – I was going to fare very badly. On reaching the class, the atmosphere was extremely tense – just like it had been for the POJO module. 

Soon, the instructor came in and we all started taking the test. People were not lying; the test was tough and without any proper preparation, it was horrible. Before I knew it, the time was over and my test got submitted without my intervention. I was staring at the screen – I had flunked!!

-- To be continued

This post is a part of the Blogchatter A2Z Challenge.