**July 27th.** I've been holed up at home for thirteen days straight. The university is caught up in football fever, leaving me with plenty of time to relax. My days have been blissfully carefree, and I've taken full advantage of it by binging on anime series without a care in the world. If only there were a way to get a break like this every month, I'd truly appreciate university life. I can't even remember the last time I got to enjoy anime in such peace.
Back in high school, most of my time was passed up by college and coaching centers, while my school days were plagued with the constant pressure of "model tests" every month. If attendance wasn't at least 95%, one had to endure a lot of hassle just to get an exam entry pass. For me, though, the bar was set even higher—98%, as decreed by my father. He's one of the most successful businessmen in town, a man of integrity, discipline, and relentless punctuality. Naturally, he wanted me to follow his ideology. That meant spending most of my days at home, isolated.
Enduring Loneliness was tough, but one day I stumbled across *Samurai X* on TV. I was fascinated by the story, and the protagonist, Kenshin, with his cleverness and maturity, left a lasting impression on me. I was hooked. Then came *Dragon Ball Z*, and it was the best action anime I had ever seen. These shows pulled me into the captivating world of anime. Since then, I've developed a fondness for action, romcom, and detective anime. Right now, I'm about to dive into episode four of *Gintama*. I open the file, ready to escape into its world, when a message pops up on my phone. It's from Meem:
"Make sure you come to tomorrow's final match, or the seniors will rag you."
*Sigh. When will this senior hassle ever end?* I'm not in the mood for it at all.
The next day, at 10 AM. It's time to head out. As soon as I step outside, I'm assaulted by the blazing sun. Even though it's supposed to be the rainy season, today feels more like a scorching April morning. I glance at the sky—no signs of rain, just relentless heat. The sunlight reflects off the pavement, blinding me as if the streets are paved with molten silver. Dilemma, I retreat into the house, but I know I have no choice. The dreaded seniors await, and so, umbrella in hand, I set off once again. I grab a CNG and start my journey, cursing the fact that it hasn't rained in over five days. The temperature's nearly 40°C, and I wonder who even in their right mind would want to play in a 90-minute football match in the midday sun. This is nothing but madness to me. At least I had the sense to bring an umbrella—no way am I sitting under the scorching sun without protection.
By 3 PM, I arrive at Dhanmondi, sector 7. Today, Saurav and a senior are with us, both from our department. Meem had quietly introduced them earlier. Apparently, they've come along to help with something. The senior suggests, "Let's grab some lunch at a nearby restaurant."
Rima enthusiastically agrees. "Sure, there's a great place just down the road. We can walk there."
We enter a narrow side street to the right, and as usual, Meem and I trail behind. I mutter under my breath, "The match was boring. Not fun at all. I shouldn't have even bothered coming…"
Before I can finish, Meem swiftly clamps a hand over my mouth, signaling with her eyes for me to look ahead. One of the seniors is glaring at me with obvious annoyance. Hasan, ever the mischief-maker, smirks and says, "Didn't enjoy it, even though we won?"
Luckily, the senior doesn't make a scene in front of everyone. Meem leans in and whispers, "The match was fun! Both teams played equally well, which made it exciting."
"Hah! You need to learn to be honest. That was just my personal opinion," I respond.
Suddenly, the senior asks, "So, you think you could've played better?"
I chuckle, "No, not at all. I'm just not that into sports."
We arrive at the restaurant, a modest building tucked into a multi-story complex. Inside, the place is surprisingly well-decorated. A young man in uniform greets us and leads us to a table in the back. The restaurant has about ten tables, arranged in two neat rows. The first eight tables have four chairs each, made of iron but cushioned for comfort with brown fabric. At the very back are two larger tables with sofas, meant for groups of six. The walls are cream-colored, with vibrant oil paintings hanging in between intricately designed ceiling fans. A beautiful mural of a bustling village marketplace decorates one side of the room.
Rima and the senior take turns posing in front of the paintings while Hasan snaps pictures for them. We settle into the corner sofa, with Saurav and the senior on one side, and Meem, Rima, and Hasan opposite us.
After taking everyone's orders, the senior turns to me with a sly smile. "So, why didn't you like the match?"
The question catches me off guard, but I decide not to get into an argument. "There were no goals the entire game. In the end, it was decided by penalties. If that was the plan all along, why make us suffer through 90 minutes of nothing? I had to sit there for no reason."
Everyone bursts into laughter at my response. The senior nods, "I actually agree with you. It wasn't the most exciting game. But, fair enough, you gave a good answer."
A short while later, a waiter arrives with our food. Hasan recognizes him immediately.
"Hey, Shuvo! How's it going?" Hasan calls out.
"Hey, man! I'm good. How about you?" Shuvo replies.
"I'm doing well. Didn't know you worked here."
"Yeah, I'm doing a part-time job here. Are these all your friends?" Shuvo asks, gesturing at us.
"Yep. They're all from the math department. And that's our senior," Hasan points to him. "The rest are my batch mates."
As the conversation flows, I sit back and relax, finally feeling a bit more at ease after the long, hot day. Maybe this afternoon won't be so bad after all.
"Oh, I see!"
From behind, the hotel manager called out to Shuvo, "You guys continue eating. I need to go over there. Introduce me to your friends later."
Shuvo left.
Rima turned to Hasan and asked, "Is he from your department?"
"Yeah, a good student."
The senior was stirring his food with a spoon, occasionally leaning down to blow on it. Meanwhile, Rima and Saurav were copying him, trying to cool their food the same way. It reminded me of how my father once taught me table manners as a child—never blow on your food. I've stuck to that advice all my life, so I only stirred my food gently. Hasan and Meem seemed to be following the same rules as I was.
Suddenly, the senior spoke up, "Part-time jobs—a great thing, really. He's gaining experience early on, and it'll benefit him in the future."
Saurav instantly nodded and said, "Exactly, brother. I also believe everyone should work part-time."
He then stuffed a spoonful of food into his mouth. I couldn't hold back a smile. Is he for real? Someone makes a statement, and without thinking, he agrees, acting like the guy made the best point ever. The senior caught my smile and realized I was amused by their conversation. "I see you don't agree with us. But think about it—by doing this, you can become financially independent. You could even support your family. For students at private universities, the costs are even higher. This could help reduce some of those expenses."
Meem, having just wiped her lips with a tissue, put down her spoon and said, "Tutoring is better. You can earn more money working just a few days a week than spending six or seven hours a day in a part-time job."
The senior, still full of pride, replied, "Tutoring might pay more, but the experience you get from a part-time job will help you throughout your life. When you apply for a job, they'll ask about your experience. Without it, getting hired is hard. Many of our seniors are struggling to find jobs because they don't have the experience to mention on their CVs. If they had done part-time jobs earlier, they wouldn't be having such a tough time now."
His sense of pride felt irrelevant as if he needed to win this argument no matter what. Saurav chimed in again, "Right, brother."
How can a university student agree with everything so mindlessly? Is he that naive? Meem remained quiet, and both Rima and Hasan seemed to support this idea from the start. I stopped stirring my food and looked down at it—it had cooled to a comfortable temperature.
"Only fools brag about experience. Wasting so much time to gain experience is nothing but foolishness." (I set my spoon down on my plate and placed both hands on the table.) "And just hearing the word 'experience' irritates me. While it might help you get a job, it drains the excitement from life. That's why I believe:
'If you know everything,
It will be boring.
And if you know nothing,
It will be interesting
To see what's coming.'"
The room fell silent at my words. I looked up at the senior. He seemed like he wanted to respond but couldn't find the words. The way everyone stared at me as if I were an alien didn't sit well. To break the tension, I said, "The food's getting cold."
Everyone snapped out of their thoughts, and we resumed eating.
Suddenly, a customer at the next table shouted, "Waiter!" and began cursing. We all turned our heads. Hasan's friend, Shuvo, approached the table.
"What's the issue, sir?"
The man shouted, "What's the issue? Look at this!"
Shuvo glanced at the food on the table, then politely said, "Sorry, sir. This might be our mistake. We sincerely apologize. I'll get you a fresh food."
"Are you joking? I went to eat and found a cockroach in the food. You're going to give us that food, and we're supposed to eat it? Call your manager here."
"Sir, please calm down. I'll bring the manager right away."
Shuvo went to fetch the restaurant owner, but the customer continued yelling. Eventually, all the blame fell on Shuvo. Rima looked at me and said, "This isn't Shuvo's fault. The kitchen here is really clean, and the chefs maintain good hygiene. It's impossible for a cockroach to be in the food."
Why is she telling this to me? Hasan also glanced at me.
"He's an outstanding student. If you asked anyone in our class who the most polite student is, they'd all point to him. There's no way he'd do something like this."
"What are you implying? I'm not the one causing trouble. Tell that to the customer."
"They won't listen. Can you help his friend out?" Meem asked.
Sigh! Even when I try to stay out of troubles like these, trouble always finds me. "Alright, I'll handle it," I said.
"What will you do? Pay their bill?"
"No, brother, he'll deal with the customers," Hasan replied.
What?? Ha! "How? He doesn't have any proof, and none of us know who the real culprit is. He won't be able to solve this," the senior said, clearly skeptical.
"Brother, you don't know him yet. He doesn't need proof. He'll solve it easily," Rima said.
"Really?"
"Yes, brother," Rima affirmed.
"I still don't believe it."
Hasan paused and then proposed, "How about a bet?"
"A bet?"
"Yes, if he can't solve it, I'll pay the entire bill today. But if he can, you'll cover it."
"Alright, let's see."
The senior agreed without hesitation. If I had tape nearby, I'd have stuck it over their mouths by now. They're pushing me into this. I turned to the senior and Saurav and said, "Move aside a bit. I need to get out."
I walked over to the table and took a picture of the man's food.
"Hey, go ahead, take pictures! You can't even take a photo of your own food, and now you're snapping pictures of mine?" the man said.
"Oops! I'm sorry. I was trying to take a photo of my food and accidentally took yours instead."
"Are you messing with me? Get out of here! I'm already angry after finding a cockroach in my food, and now you're here taking pictures!" the man shouted.
Without arguing, I left. I noticed he was still scolding Shuvo while the owner, thinking of the restaurant's reputation, offered the man a free meal. The man accepted the offer and quieted down.
I took a closer look at the photo I had taken.
"You seem to know the owner of this restaurant pretty well. Could you ask them to give me the responsibility of serving that man's meal? And in exchange, you'll cover the bill," I said to Rima.
"Me? Cover the bill?" Rima pointed at herself in surprise.
Her expression made it clear that the extra expense would be a burden for her.
"Don't worry about the bill," Hasan reassured her. "If necessary, I'll take care of it. No problem."
"So, what are you planning to do now?" the senior asked me.
"Let's see what to do," I replied.
Rima convinced the owner, and I brought the man's food back to the kitchen. After fetching a freshly cooked meal from the chef, I served it to the man and returned to our table.
"What have you done? Now the man's going to leave after eating the free food, and Hasan will have to pay the bill!" Meem said, worried, as soon as I sat down.
"Don't worry," I said. "In two or three minutes, that man will start yelling again."
The senior asked, "Why?"
"Just wait and see," I replied.
Rima said while frowning, "Now I'm getting worried."
"There's no need to worry. Just keep an eye on the time."
Sure enough, three to four minutes later, the man started shouting again.
I went over to him, and Shuvo followed. I asked politely, "What happened now, sir? Any problems?"
The man said angrily, "Are you messing with me? How could there be a cockroach in my food again?" (He looked nauseated, but he didn't vomit. His eyes welled up with tears, and he spoke in a shaky voice.)
"What on earth did I just eat!!"
Meem came over and whispered in my ear, "What have you done? Instead of resolving the issue, you've made it worse!"
I told the man, "I returned your cockroach to you. Otherwise, I would've been fined for keeping it."
The senior asked, "What are you saying?"
I turned to him and asked, "If I served you food with a cockroach in it, would you eat it?"
"Of course not."
"And what if I didn't mention the cockroach?"
"Then I'd find it while eating. Oh!"
"Exactly! After the first meal was served, the man knew there was a cockroach in his food. So, he didn't eat a single bite and just pushed the food around with his spoon to show the cockroach to Shuvo. Because he had planted the cockroach himself." I showed them the photo, where the cockroach was buried deep in the food.
"Then, I placed the cockroach in the exact same spot, but the man didn't know it was there this time. So, after eating for a while, he discovered the cockroach."
The senior burst out laughing. "Oh, I get it now!"
The man, still shouting, said, "Do you have any proof that I didn't eat a single bite of the first meal?"
"You said earlier, 'I went to eat and found a cockroach in the food,' didn't you?"
"Yes, so what?"
"You're claiming that you went to eat and found a cockroach in the food. Are you saying you ate the food after seeing the cockroach?" The man fell silent at my words. He left after paying double the bill.
The senior said, "They were right. You really are smart."
Saurav, half-joking, half-serious, said, "I was amazed. Master, I've become your fan!"
Ha! No need. I just want to go home quickly and watch some anime.
Shuvo thanked me, "Thanks, bro. You saved me from a big fine."
I replied, "Be more careful next time. There are plenty of people like that who wait for opportunities. Anyway, at least no money was fined."
The restaurant owner approached me and said, "Money isn't the big issue. It's the reputation that matters. If this had spread, we'd have to shut down our business."
Meem said, "That man learned his lesson. Next time, he'll think ten times before trying something like this again."
Hasan laughed and said, "Looks like I don't have to pay the bill today. Yay!"
We had lunch there. The owner gave us a 50% discount, and then we returned home.