The bell rang every day at 8:00 a.m. sharp, knocking me out of my dreamland, pushing me into the hell I found myself stuck in. "The wails and the weeps of my sisters"- I ceaselessly repeated to myself as I peered at the gleaming world ahead of me, glamorously waving at me, alluring me as if she were a charming maiden. She and I, so close, yet at an unmeasurable distance.
I grew up loving the idea of dreams, my dreams, which had now regressed into responsibility. Being the only man of the house is hyped extravagantly. Reality is brutal. I once dreamed of being a sportsman; touring the treasures of the world and being legendary. Now I'm sitting in front of a whiteboard, baffled by the question I was just asked, wondering what I did wrong to have my dreams snatched away from me.
My sisters were unmarried, waiting for my success in order to succeed in their own lives. My mother, a woman who had no choice but to bid my dreams for their happiness, sent me to medical school with all the money we had left, praying for a myriad of hope to show up at her doorstep one day. Yet, here I was, selfishly pondering upon what could have been.
The distinct livelihoods of my peers reminded me of the posters of faraway places I once dreamed of visiting as a child. The posters, once a source of inspiration were now mere reminders of the world I truly longed for. I wanted to run. I wanted to give up the façade of altruism and live the life I wanted rather than the one forced upon me. The world was ready, with nothing in my way, yet the burden of responsibility was barricading me.
I was sulking in my misery as usual, when suddenly, hope walked into the room. Well, her name was still a mystery but she looked as if she could compete for the face of hope in every hoarding of this hospital. Her hair appeared long, black and silky, as if those of a beautiful black stallion, leaping towards a win. Her smile curved against the strands of her layered hair, waiting for the right man to tuck them behind her petite ears. Her dimples sunk into her cheeks as she laughed, scrutinizing me to crack jokes. Her eyes resembled the almonds that would be found at a Queen's palace, perfectly rounded with the sharpest edges. She didn't need make up, however, her cherry red lips called to me, the pink blush on her cheeks wished me every morning, the corners of her eye pointed at me, directing her towards her perfect man.
Every time I looked at her, every single cell in my body froze. What was I meant to do? She was the queen bee and I was just a loner. Losers like me could never get the girl. It was the third day of first year, and by this time, I knew every inch of how she looked, yet I was unaware of her identity. She made me want to attend class. She was cluelessly my inspiration, my muse, and my only hope to ever survive here, or so I believed.
In three days, I had become the target of six bullying experiments. Apparently, newly arrived juniors are like freshly baked chicken wings at an "all-you-can-eat" buffet for the seniors. One would believe that this is a way of 'character building', well not me. It absolutely sucked how I was being tossed around like a football stuck in between life on one side and child-like adults on the other. Someday I had to do their chores, someday I was unable to finish mine. It was vital that she knew that through all this loneliness and peasant-like treatment, she was my only beacon of hope. Her smile alone could cure the illnesses we were about to learn. Her eyes could communicate simply without the movement of her lips. It must feel like I'm exaggerating, but how would you be describing an angel that fell to Earth. My mind built up scenarios for me to stay distracted from the fact that my whole world was crashing down. Someday I was at the beach, buying pina coladas for my angel, someday the movies were keeping us entertained. And then I thought to myself, there had to be a way to talk to her!
A lot of people had made friends, some had their roommates, some people knew each other already, and I had Sammy. Samantha, or Sammy as I called her, was seated next to me on the first day. It has been said that outcasts always attract one another, and I had Sammy to prove it. She was a goofy tomboy, who preferred to dress as if she were homeless, because according to her, the fine dressing belonged to the rich elitist types. Opposed to my forced lifestyle, Sammy actually wanted to be here. In fact, her enthusiasm towards the nerd life astounded me. She wore thick framed round glasses, which she personally approved so as to cover the dark landfills under her eyes. Unlike my beacon of hope, Sammy actually did need make up, however I loved her as she was. Her messy hair helped me hide my sneaky eyes as I glanced at the girl with the dimples. She was good at understanding the human body, but emotions like love completely went over her head. If there were to be a competition on reciting Sammy's lectures about how much she hates love, I would have no doubt won. Using Sammy to get to the dimple-girl would have been my last option, or even beyond that.
Unluckily, a month had passed and I had officially surpassed all my options. Sammy was the only one who could help me. All I had to do was convince her to do this favor for her best friend. Sammy and I had grown pretty close in a month, to a point that people started questioning our friendship for what it was. It was time to show off the one I truly longed for, to tell the world about the real woman of my dreams. Of course, I knew it wasn't going to be easy convincing love-hating Sammy, but after her million disagreements and the puppy-dog looks I gave her along with the promise to give my to-be profession a try, she finally agreed!
The plan was simple. All Sammy had to do was go up to dimple-girl and ask her if she wanted to study together. This way, Sammy could bring dimple-girl to our spot where we would finally be meeting. The later consequences would then be managed by me, the mastermind of the plan. The day was finally here. After months of practicing 'hellos', I was finally about to implement one. I practiced in front of the mirror, as a gelled my hair down with my father's old hair-kit. I imagined her reaction as I lost track of time. I peered out the window to see Sammy screaming my name in anger, waiting for me with a devilish look in her eyes. I was two hours late and the hostel doors where about to close in an hour. It was now or never. We had to complicate the plan with a few tiny changes. Sammy suggested that we go together to approach her for studying. While this plan sucked, she was now the master.
The girls' hostel was all the way across campus. It would take us at least fifteen minutes to get there. I decided to be as quick as I could as I buttoned down the most expensive shirt I owned and took a last look in the mirror. The fear of being denied frightened me. What if I were to lose the only hope that was keeping me here? What would happen if she wouldn't turn out as I hoped she would? What if she were no angel but the devil herself? All these questions had been haunting me, along with the thought of what Sammy was going to do to me for being so late. I shook it off, shrugged up my shoulders and ran down the stairs, immediately hugging Sammy. It was actually the first time I had seen Sammy look at me with a smile on her face. It was the first time she ever complimented me- "You clean up well handsome." However, I was too occupied to notice.
Our destination had arrived, with only a few minutes for the hostel to close off, we took a leap of faith and completely disregarded our plan. "Uh hello, my name is Neil. I am one of your classmates. This is Sammy- no, Samantha. Well anyways, we were wondering if you sort of maybe or it's fine if you say no... we were wondering if you wanted to go out with- ", and I immediately stopped as I saw the sight of myself being at a loss of the right words, or the right English even. Sammy, my savior, continued for me, "he means, would you want to study with us?". That's when the angel smiled and I knew, life was about to get better.