The words "extraordinary," "special," or "unique" don't have any real existence. Yet, these words hold a lot of importance among people. A while ago, I was part of that crowd too, striving to be extraordinary. In our country, I learned that to be extraordinary, one must study at a public university. So, I studied hard to get admitted. The result? I became an extraordinary student. But upon arriving here and seeing so many extraordinary students, my perception changed. I realized that overcoming adversities and moving forward is an achievement of ordinary people. But when we escape these adversities and witness others' successes, we think they are extraordinary. How irony!
Getting into university, I achieved a simple accomplishment. As a result, I had to move from distant Chittagong to the bustling city of Dhaka. Here, I stay at my uncle's house, near the Chapra Mosque in Azimpur. The house is quite a distance from the bus stand, nestled deep within a maze of narrow alleys. Initially, my cousin Naim, who is in the ninth grade, helped me find my way around. When he wasn't available, I relied on Google Maps. But now, I navigate using landmarks.
Just now, seeing the grocery store 'Bela Seshe' on the left, I knew I had to take the road next to it. It's a short walk. I visited this place with my parents when I was a child. Over time, the area's appearance has changed drastically. However, I've taken landmarks like 'Bela Seshe' and 'Virus Pharmacy' as my guides.
Entering the gate of the house, I faced a daunting staircase. My uncle chose this upper-floor apartment in the old building because of his diabetes. The once-white walls of the building, probably painted a few years ago, now bear black stains and have turned grey. The ground floor of the building looks straight out of a horror movie—pitch dark. If a black cat suddenly appeared and meowed here, anyone would have a heart attack. Turning on my phone's flashlight, I climbed the stairs, and finally, reaching the apartment felt like winning an Olympic gold medal. Naim opened the door after I knocked. Naim is fourteen or fifteen, with a slender build and almost as tall as me.
The room on the right is mine. It's big enough for two people, with a bed, a bookshelf, a wardrobe, a computer table, and an attached bathroom. The only window in the room is next to the bed. Sometimes, a breeze comes through, cooling the room a bit. For me, it's a great place. Since the buildings in the area are a couple of decades old, light and airflow through the window. However, the main point is that because of the poor girl losing her money today, I missed out on watching six extra episodes. Just as I was about to relax, Naim called me for lunch.
The Next Day
I arrived in the classroom on time today. Sitting on the last bench, I tried to listen and understand every word the teacher said. However, unfamiliar words pulled me away from the lesson. The middle-aged man, wearing a white checkered shirt and clean-shaven, who stood about my ear height, explained today's lessons with various interpretations. In his class, there was no need to write, but every word he spoke demanded attention. He wandered around the room as he taught, resembling electrons orbiting an atom. As Hemayet Sir moved on to the second topic, I noticed that the past half-hour felt like two hours to me. I then saw two students on the left side of the room exchanging notes.
While the male CR was present, the female CR was nowhere to be seen. Just as I thought about her, she appeared at the door. Dressed in a beautiful yellow dress with black floral designs, she stood at the front of the room, panting. "Sir! May I come in?"
Sir, who was between the second and third rows near the door, walked back to the front of the class and said, "Ah, the class CR! Why are you late?"
"Sorry, Sir! I was delayed by some work."
"Come in, come in. But next time, if you're late, I won't let you in."
"Yes, Sir!"
She entered the room and came directly to sit beside me. She looked genuinely tired. Taking out her books from her bag, she gestured to me with her hand and said in a gasping voice, "How are you?"
Matching her tone, I replied, "I'm good. You seem very tired."
"Yeah, I'll tell you after the class."
What could she want to talk about? Yesterday's money issue or something else? It didn't seem like it would be anything else. Suddenly, I wondered why I was so restless. I decided to focus on the teacher instead.
When the class ended, Sir left. The next class was with Shariful Sir, who usually arrived ten to fifteen minutes late. These fifteen minutes were precious to me. Like people in rural areas who quickly charge their phones or finish other tasks during the short periods when electricity is available, I used this time to prepare for the next class. I put on my earphones and started selecting the right song. CR poked my hand with her pen from the side. I looked at her and rubbed the sore spot on my hand. Everyone was busy, so no one noticed. CR said, "Sorry, you didn't respond when I called you several times. Anyway, listen to today's story."
I was surprised both by her story and by the way she spoke to me as if she were a close friend. Unable to refuse, I nodded. She began eagerly, "Yesterday, someone left a book on the bus. Today, I've been exhausted searching for our department to return it. The owner is very worried. We have to return the book somehow."
Is this girl crazy? Is she really planning to search the whole university to return a mere book? "Doesn't the book have a name or address? If it does, you can just return it based on that."
"No, it doesn't. But inside the book, I found a piece of paper, two thousand takas, and some numbers written on the last page."
"You found money in the book?"
"Yes."
Money inside a book? I'd never heard of such a thing. But it's a good method, I suppose. Less chance of theft but higher risk of losing it. Given the money involved, it made sense that CR took personal responsibility.
I advised her, "Oh! Then hand the book over to the office. The officers there will ensure it gets returned properly."
She frowned and said, "But how will they find the owner? There's no name written in the book."
Curious, I asked, "So, what's your plan?"
"I'm going to find the owner."
I encouraged her, "Oh, I see. Well, good luck with that. Returning the book is a noble thing to do. All the best."
I took out my phone and earphones. She seemed lost in thought, staring at the book with a somewhat embarrassed expression. I started searching for some songs on my phone. Suddenly, she hesitantly said, "You're coming with me."
I was distracted and replied without thinking, "Okay." Realizing what I agreed to, I quickly added, "Wait, what did you say?"
"Yes, you're coming with me to find the book's owner."
Is she joking? It would take two to three hours to search every department and batch in the entire university. I couldn't waste that much time.
I said, "No thanks. I have things to do. I can't go."
She looked desperate. Finally, she said, "Do you want a girl to wander around the whole university alone just to return a book?"
Oh, her act of looking helpless was clearly fake, but her expression was so endearing that I couldn't resist. I felt like I was dragged to do another odd job.
Looking away, I said, "Well, I mean, there are plenty of others you could ask."
"They won't go."
"And I don't want to go either."
"What can I do? You're just like them, leaving the responsibility to me. I thought you were a friend. Never mind, I'll search alone."
"Why do you want to return the book so badly?"
"Look, the owner must be going crazy having lost both the book and the money. You know how important two thousand takas are to students like us."
Her reason was good. Did it really have to involve such a big search?
"How about this? You help me find the owner, and in return, I'll grant you one favor?"
"Alright, we'll return the book after class. Now, give me the book."
She handed me the book just as the next period's teacher walked in. Inside the book was a torn piece of paper. I tried to focus on the lecture, knowing this teacher would scold us if we didn't take notes.
the second period ended, and the teacher left the classroom. We had a fifteen-minute short break before the arrival of the next teacher. I decided to use this break to optimize the search area. I glanced at the CR, who appeared deep in thought.
"I think I figured something out. The book's owner is from the CSE department."
"How do you know?"
"Did you see the book's title?"
"Yes, Modern Physics."
"The Modern Physics book is crucial in about six departments: Physics, Mathematics, EEE, CSE, Mechanical, and ICT. You've already checked our Mathematics department building thoroughly, so five remain. Plus, there's a torn paper with some generations listed. Checking the context, it referred to computer generations. These are vital in both CSE and ICT because they're part of their history."
"Why are you only considering CSE and not ICT?"
"Yesterday, ICT had a festival. I saw them decorating the open stage while coming here."
"Alright, so we'll check the CSE department. You've made the task much easier. You're really smart."
I did it to save time. Either way, this task needed to be done quickly. Now we need to search the entire CSE department. No, even that appeared inefficient. Let's see the code once again.
#651041149741110116108
721111135311610143
49831059710949
Something seemed strange. The numbers were written in black, red, green, and blue ink. What could this mean? Red, green, and blue. Wait a minute, that aligns with RGB color codes. But RGB color codes are usually six digits. Here, we have many digits. So, it's not a color code. What else could it be? RGB codes contain several numbering systems, but which one is this?
I asked her, "Do you have data on your phone?"
"Yes."
"Then turn on your mobile hotspot."
"Okay."
After she turned on the mobile hotspot, I entered the password. I started checking various number systems of RGB color codes on Google, but nothing matched. After a while, I noticed a hash sign in a PDF. Which indicated these codes didn't carry RGB values.
Scratching my head in thought, I said to her, "Have you seen these numbers in the book? Look, there's a hash sign here: these aren't normal decimal numbers. They could be another type of code."
She asked excitedly, "So, you think these codes will help us find the owner?"
I replied, "Maybe, maybe not. I can't say for sure yet. But it could give us some information about the book's owner."
Then she said, "Let's crack it."
"Yeah, but it would be better if we had a laptop."
"Then after classes, we'll go to the library. There are computers on the fourth floor of the library building."
The library building? That would take another hour after classes. No, I must figure this out during this class, or I'd miss my anime episodes. Nazimuddin Sir's class was going on, and I was pondering over the code in the book borrowed from the CR. What could it be? I remembered some codes from my ICT textbook. Could it be one of those?
At the end of the class, I saw the CR sitting absent-mindedly with her hand on her cheek, lost in thought. I cleared my throat to get her attention, but she didn't notice.
Finally, I said, "Hey, CR."
She looked up and said, "Yes, what is it?"
"Check if there's anyone named Ahsanul Haque Siam in the CSE department."
She immediately started searching, looking like she'd seen the moon in broad daylight. A few minutes later, she said, "Yes, a first-year student."
I asked, "Give me his contact number."
After she gave me the number, I called and asked him to meet us at the cafeteria to collect the book.
As soon as I hung up, I noticed the CR looking at me. "You want to say something?"
She suddenly asked, "No. I'm just surprised. How did you find him so quickly?"
I closed my eyes and replied, "It was an ASCII code."
She looked puzzled. Seeing her confused expression, I said, "Write down the numbers excluding the red ones in the first set."
She wrote them down. I took the notebook and pen from her and underlined 65, 104, 114, 97, 110, 116, and 108. Then I asked, "What's the ASCII value of the uppercase 'A'?"
She promptly replied, "Sixty-five."
I wrote 'A' under 65. Realizing she was a brilliant student, I thought she could decode the name herself.
I asked again, "What's the lowercase 'h' value?"
She answered, "One hundred four."
I wrote 'h' under 104. She took the notebook and finished the rest on her own. I said, "See, you can do it."
The next class hadn't started yet, so I took out my phone to read some manga. She asked in amazement, "How?"
I looked at my phone and said, "What do you mean, how?"
"How did you figure it out?"
"They used red, blue, and green ink, representing the RGB color system. The hash sign indicates a hexadecimal number, which denotes ASCII. Ignoring the colored numbers, I converted the rest into ASCII codes and got the name."
She looked at the book and asked, "Who writes their name in ASCII code in a book?"
I replied, " Maybe Siam lent the book to his friend, who failed to notice that Siam's name is not written on the book. This friend of Siam, probably a nerdy type, wrote the code for Siam to solve but lost the book before he could return it. This is just a hypothesis of mine. It could be something else."
Satisfied with my explanation, she said nothing more.
After classes, we went to the cafeteria and returned the book to its owner. As we were leaving, she said happily, "Thank you so much! If it weren't for you, I'd have had a much harder time."
"Actually, there's an easier way to find the book's owner."
She asked, "What is it?"
I joked, "You could have announced it over the PA system. That would've been less work."
She laughed and said, "In that case, I'd take you along. You'd do the announcing, and I'd stand by your side until the owner showed up."
I said, "No, this way was better."
She agreed, "Yes, it was. Now, tell me what you want in return for helping me. But it has to be within my capability."
"I missed the Calculus lecture. Can I borrow your notes to copy?"
"Sure, here you go."
I took photos of her notes and returned them. "Okay, I'm leaving now."
"Let's go. I'll head home too."
And with that, I headed back home.