Days passed quickly and but progress was slow. Nishant was trying to understand techniques of writing better by reading as many books as he can. Book reports were being written without prompts from Rajat or any other senior member of the Lit club. Occasional writing assignments were given to Nishant, but those felt easy and did not bother him much. Shradha was helping him occasionally, but for free. When Nishant had offered money again, she laughed in his face and in between the laughter spree, she had confessed that it was just a prank. Things were not progressing well with Shradha. She was still struggling to save money for a laptop and just like she suspected, her father had refused to give her any money. "Why will you need laptop? Paying for your college itself is waste. I should have saved that money for your marriage instead of giving in to your stupid demands" these were the exact words Shradha's father had uttered. Despite of trying not to take these words into consideration, shradha was sad for few days. Sessions with Neeta were helpful, but money for laptop was still a problem. She had even thought of giving up on buying laptop and just accept her fate. But the sessions made her realize, she should give it a serious try before giving up. So shradha was looking out for a second part time job.
One could say that Shradha and Nishant were friends now; acquaintance would be a better word to describe their relationship. They spoke occasionally in class about computer programs and coding. Shradha would ask him if she did not understand any of the academic topics or coding questions. But mostly their conversations outside the class were about books. They suggested books to each other and occasionally discussed about their thoughts on the topics. By now they chatted few times, but mostly on instagram. Shradha had never given him a phone number and Nishant was not going to ask for one anyways.
Semester was almost coming to an end and lab exams were starting in couple of days. Shradha had some questions on the syllabus and Nishant was helping her. They were sitting under a tree in the campus and discussing when shradha got a call. It was from one of the bars where she had applied for part time job. There would be almost 3 months of holidays after the exams and Shradha wanted to earn as much as she could, during this time. Unfortunately they needed someone with prior experience. So they were calling to tell her that they rejected her application. Nishant could hear only half of the conversation, but Shradha's sad face told him that it wasn't a good news. Upon asking, Shradha simply replied that she was not able to get any summer jobs.
Nishant was puzzled for a minute. Even though he was from a middle class family he never had to take any part time jobs. Sure, having some extra money would be really good. But his parents had always told him not to worry about money at this age and concentrate only on studies. According to his observations shradha was not from a rich family, but they were not poor either. So her sadness for not having a summer job was really puzzling for Nishant. So he asked her directly why she needed a job now. Shradha gave him a smile upon hearing the question. "Because I need a laptop. I love gaming."
"So just ask your parents to buy you one. Why would you struggle with all these low level jobs".
"Because pretty boy, not all parents care about their kids. Correction, daughters. "
The look on Nishant's face told Shradha that he had not understood her words and sighing, she tried to explain.
"My dad thinks he is already wasting enough money on me by sending me to engineering college. If I had studied some other degree in some random college, he could have gotten rid of me in just 3 years instead of 4 years and also could've saved more money for my marriage and dowry. Despite knowing that, he will not give me a single rupee, I asked him to buy me a laptop. Result was an hour of constant ranting from daddy dearest and 1 hour lecture from mom about knowing my limits and what not. So pretty boy, I have to earn money by doing the LOW LEVEL jobs. "
Nishant was shocked to hear this. Living in a patriarchal society, he knew there were people who looked down on daughters. But he never expected shradha to be treated that way. He always thought that she was this spoiled girl who obviously had support from her parents. Otherwise why would someone will be so stubborn, headstrong and adventurous. He had also heard that one time, Shradha was involved in some dispute which resulted in warning from principal. Someone had mentioned that Shradha's mother was also present while talking to the principal. So listening to her now, he had more questions.
"But still, you could find some other way to earn money. You can probably work as freelance editor or something like that. These days a lot of options are there for online jobs. "
Shradha laughed listening to his suggestion.
"How do you expect me to earn money online without a laptop? "
She was right. He had not thought about that. He was thinking of other ways when shradha continued speaking.
"And we should never look down on jobs. Work is work; no job is low or high. I have been working as receptionist all these years and these jobs help me earn money and also I get practical experience. So I don't mind working; in fact I prefer working outside than staying at home during vacation. I will have to learn cooking, do household chores if I stay at home. So its win-win situation for me. "