Ram And Shaitan (Prompt 19)

I found myself in the most disastrous of situations. A situation which I could have easily avoided had I not listened to my devilish friend.

‘But then again, would you have won?’ said Shaitan, standing behind me to my left.

I was sweating profusely. Wasn’t that an admission of guilt? Mr. Bhurup stared daggers at me. He looked angry or was it just his normal resting face. I didn’t know. All I knew was that I wanted to get out of this mess. 

‘Honesty and a pristine character is more important than any victory. I think you realise it my friend.’ Ram. standing behind me to my right, whispered gently in my ear.

‘What a dork!’ Shaitan commented and immediately fell into a fit of laughter.

I smirked. Realising my surroundings, I immediately reverted to the look of confusion and anxiety. A smirk could be taken as a sign of wrongdoing. If I had to get through this conundrum, I had to be at my very best. Body language was the key. I breathed in deeply, clearing my mind of all doubts. As I exhaled, I started to exude confidence. The sweat, running through my broad forehead, ceased. The itch in my nostrils vanished. Instead of smelling like a pile of shit, I smelt like a bunch of flowers. I was going to get through this.

‘Shyam. An atrocious charge has been levelled against you. A charge, if proven, would strip you off this scholarship and land you in a soup.’ Mr. Bhurup said, trying to gaze deep into my eyes, into my soul, as if he could judge my innocence. His multileveled chin flapped as he moved his mouth, hitting the top of his chest. Where was his neck?

‘Tell the fat man to go home and exercise. It looks as if the buttons on his shirt are bursting to be free of his atrociously rising stomach and will pop off with another one of his heavy breaths.’ Shaitan said. He was in a joyous mood, for some reason.

‘Tell him the truth, friend. The truth will redeem you.’ Ram said.

‘I am not sure what you are talking about.’ I said, surprised at the smoothness of my voice. ‘Sir.’ I added.

‘Bring in the boy.’ The fat man barked at his secretary, who was standing near the door. Without waiting a second, as if expecting the command, the secretary immediately stepped out and returned in a few seconds with Harry in tow, closing the door behind her.

Harry looked at me with vengeance in his eyes. There was an evil joy hidden behind those revengeful eyes. He walked inside the room and stood a few feet away from me, facing the adjudicator, Mr. Bhurup. 

In the small office, worthy of being a cloakroom or a storage cabinet, tensions were rising. Sitting behind his wooden desk, Mr. Bhurup studied, Harry and me. The old, decaying, wooden chair creaked as Mr. Bhurup inclined forward. The chair might be suffering more than me, under the fat man’s weight. He kept his arms on the table, with his elbows resting on its edge. His fingers were interlinked with each other, as he turned his attention to Harry.

 

Harry was a disgrace. The point was not that he was smarter than everyone else, but what burnt my ego was that he loved to show off and make fun of others. He adjusted his spectacles, pushing them against the top of his nose, sniffed twice, like a predator smelling his prey, rested his arms to his side. He stood erect, agile and yet his face was full of sorrow and disappointment. Any judge worth his salt would recognize his shameful act. Unfortunately, Mr. Bhurup was not one of the smartest or the most observant.

‘Speak up boy. What are you waiting for? Please enlighten everyone with your predicament.’ Mr. Bhurup shouted at Harry.

Harry was shaken by the intensity of Mr. Bhurup’s voice and took a moment to gather himself.

‘There’s still time. Come clean. Maybe our plea can instigate the merciful heart of Mr. Bhurup. Maybe, he will forgive our sin.’ Ram whispered softly. 

It was a good thing, no one else could sense either Ram or Shaitan. It was my curse to bear. I was the only one who had to tolerate their contrasting opinions.

Harry glanced sideways at me before speaking. ‘It all started at the commencement gathering, my lord.’

‘My Lord? Uff… what a lickspittle!’ Shaitan muttered.

‘I met the other contestants. Shyam was among them. As every participant does, as is natural at any contest, we were measuring and testing our challengers. Shyam approached me. He offered me a cold drink. I was naive, my lord. I did not think anyone could fall down to a level of such depravity. I took the drink and we spoke about general things. Just before the speeches were about to begin, I retired to my trial room to prepare myself for my big moment.’

 Harry sniffed again, sucking up his tears. He was starting to choke up. His voice became sore. He let out a sob.

The motherly secretary came up to him and handed him some tissues, patting him on his back. Harry wiped off his eyes and his nose and took in a couple of deep breaths.

‘I have to give it to him. Damn! He is one fine actor.’ Shaitan commented.

I looked back at Ram, when nothing was forthcoming from him. He was shaking his head, obviously, reacting to our impending drubbing at the hands of this pig-headed jerk face.

‘There I saw,’ Harry continued, ‘that my placards had been burnt. They had been destroyed. The speech I had worked on for a year had been lost. I cried and cried till my eyes gave out. It was a terrible situation to be in and yet I knew, I could go up on stage and recite the speech that I believed in. I did not need placards.’

Mr. Bhurup was looking at me, convinced of the wrongdoing. It was only a matter of a few more seconds.

‘Just as I was about to leave for the seminar hall, I felt a gurgling in my stomach. It was not the sensation one feels when one is nervous. This was something else. My stomach was upset. I tried to hold it, but couldn’t. I had been poisoned, my lord. I rushed to the washroom. My dreams slipped away. No, they were snatched away from me. I couldn’t make it to the stage. I couldn’t compete. This is what this evil doer wanted. He saw me as a threat and used vile tactics to bring me down. He knew, with me out of the way, he would win. And he did. He won. The most prestigious scholarship in the country has been awarded to the most un savory of creatures. This is injustice, my lord. I want to correct this injustice, not just for me but for all such hard workers, who burn the midnight oil and yet end up losing to cheaters, who take the devil’s way.’ Harry finished with a blast. His fingers were pointing at me. The veins on his forehead were bubbling forth, raging with blood. 

‘Calm down Harry.’ Mr. Bhurup stated in a flat tone. ‘Kaya. bring him a glass of water.’

The fat umpire turned his attention to me. ‘So, Shyam? Do you have anything to say for yourself?’

‘Play it cool bro. You know what you have to do.’ Shaitan said.

‘Yes, friend. You know what you have to do.’ Ram commented, instantly after.

‘I am not sure what you would like me to say, Sir. These accusations are baseless.’ I said, meeting mr. Bhurup’s eyes. Body language!

‘Yeah bro!’ Shaitan commended me.

‘It is true I met Harry at the commencement party. It is also true that I gave him a drink.’ I paused. It was a strategic pause.

‘Good, friend. Tell them the truth.’ Ram replied, obviously mistaken.

‘But that was to calm his nerves. He was dithery. He was shaking with anxiety. I felt pity for him. So I offered him a glass of cold drink, which I picked off the stand in front of him. How would I poison it then?’

‘Oh No! What are you doing?’ Ram asked, terrified. I ignored him.

‘To the question of burning his placards, I would let you know that I didn’t leave the commencement part for a second. I was one of the first to arrive, with my friends Rita and Roshan and never left the hall. You can call them as witnesses, if you'd like. Also, how was I supposed to know which room was his?’ I looked confidently at Mr. Bhurup. As much as I had liked to, I did not turn towards Harry. I was afraid my cockiness might give me away.

‘Frankly, sir,’ I continued, ‘I have met this guy for the first time in my life. How was I supposed to know that he was the best of them all? If I may be so bold to comment, it’s chutzpah on his end to even consider himself as a victor when he didn’t even know who he was going to compete against. I would suggest you kindly bring this mockery, this sham to an immediate close.’ I bit my tongue. The last part was completely rash.

Before, Mr. Bhurup could comment, Harry blasted out. ‘You knew which room I was in. I had told it to Rita, your whore. Don’t think about lying.’

‘Mind your language!’ Mr. Bhurup shouted. Harry shut himself up instantly.

‘Is this the kind of people we want to consider, sir?’ I asked, at the risk of being shouted at. But this had to be the moment. ‘Why would he share his room number with Rita. She didn’t even know him.’

‘Because she honey trapped me. She flirted with me.’ Harry shouted, not wanting to give in.

‘Got him!’ Shaitan jumped with joy.

I stayed silent. Mr. Bhurup was now looking at Harry with a ballistic stare.

‘Enough of this, I say. I apologize Shyam, but I hope you realize that we had to be sure. Mr. Harry Pathak! Get out of my way boy. You have wasted precious time.’ Mr. Bhurup gestured to his secretary and she opened the door. ‘Shyam, we will start with the award ceremony. Let’s go.’

I couldn’t prevent my eyes from glancing at Harry one last time. He was looking at me dangerously. I smiled at him. It was an innocent smile, nothing evil about it and yet he ran away from the room.

‘Great going bro.’ Shaitan patted me on my shoulder.

‘Every karma comes back to bite, friend. Prepare yourself for suffering.’ Ram said, being the godly devout that he was. 

As I stood upon the podium, holding the trophy in one hand and my scholarship certificate in the other, I felt as if on top of the mountain, having overcome all obstacles in my path. Though, my mind kept going back to what Ram said. Was it just guilt or was it an eventuality?