Salsa

"Hello, sweetheart...how's it going?" Shilpy asked her daughter on the phone.

"It's fine Ma.." Reena replied, with a slight melancholy, " completing the assignment."

"Okay, okay...that's good. My sweet little daughter.....had your dinner?" Shilpy asked.

"No I'll have in a bit....don't worry my wingmates will call me when they're going to mess," Reena said, "you and Dad have your dinner. "

"Yes, yes, we sure will, " Shilpy replied; and after a slight pause, asked, "okay, Reena....what's the matter?"

This was the most tricky question that Shilpy would ask her daughter. Usually, Reena would try to hang up the phone before her mother even reached that stage. But if by chance, Shilpy ended up asking that question, then Reena knew there was absolutely no way out. It was almost like her mother would sense through telepathy that something was wrong with her daughter. And ever since Shilpy had seen Reena off at her hostel in the Engineering college at Hyderabad, and come back to her home at Kolkata; the frequency of this question had increased. In fact, there had been times when Shilpy asked this question even before Reena herself knew something was bothering her!

"Ma, it's nothing big, " Reena sighed; not trying to hide her emotions this time, "there's going to be a long break after the exams. Most of my batchmates from Kolkata are going home...they're booking seats in Falaknuma express together. I'm thinking I too will tag along.."

"This is not your semester break, right? Shilpy asked, interrupting Reena.

"No, of course not..." Reena confirmed, "there are two holidays in the week....and if I take leave at college for the other couple of days, it'll become a long break with the weekends."

"Understood, " Shilpy contemplated," why don't you come straight during the semester break? There's barely another month to go. I'm sure there'll be some students staying in college during these holidays? Be with them.."

"Yes, there will be, " Reena said, " but most of my friends and wingmates are local residents...so they will definitely be going home. It's okay, let me see."

Right then, there was a knock on Reena's door. Reena told her Mom a quick goodbye, kept aside her assignment notebook and came up to open the door. It was Aneesha. She too had joined the college in the same batch as Reena's, although in a different stream.

"We..umm...we're actually being called outside," Aneesha stammered.

"By whom?!" Reena asked, surprised.

"By..well..them, " Aneesha said, pointing towards a group of girls who were standing, huddled up like gangsters, on the corridor right outside their room.

The next few minutes of Reena and Aneesha's lives were about doing pole dance with long mopping-brooms, answering embarrassing questions and faking a romance with each other. Whatever they did, seemed to entertain the senior girls well. Eventually, it ended with the group of girls enquiring Reena and Aneesha of their hobbies and home town.

" There's a dance club audition tomorrow...be there, " one of the senior girls told Reena; "and you; I want you to be there at the art club meet tomorrow evening," she commanded Aneesha before leaving.

Days passed amidst exams, assignments, lab works, dance club; and before Reena realized, the week-long break was there.

"Hello sweetie, how did the last exam go?" Shilpy asked after all the exams were over.

"Aahhh..it was fine, Ma" Reena chuckled. She didn't get to the details of how Engineering was all about running along corridors the night before to see who could teach the important sections. Shilpy had always witnessed her only daughter to be the topper in every class. Her main focus had always been to push Reena out of their small town home and get enrolled in a good Engineering college. She had succeeded so far. But the story beyond that would be a bit too new for her...hence Reena decided to not shock her with all the details at one go.

In their college, the boys' hostel had no in-time, while the girls had to abide by a curfew that forced them to be inside hostels by 11 pm. So, around 10:30 pm the stall selling coffee just beside the girls' hostel would be crowded with lovers, who would be bidding painful adieu to each other till the next morning. Also, the main college gate had an in-time of 10 pm. But Reena hadn't yet gathered enough courage to tell her mother how often she, along with her group of friends would come back late from a trip to the city, and sneak in to the college campus from a secret path, well after the main gate was shut, and be just-in-time for the girls' hostel.

That night, Reena had another knock on her door. When she opened, she saw another group of girls.....this time, from her own batch. Some of the faces were known to her, others she had barely seen a couple of times.

"Hi...this is Payal," one of the girls with a friendly smile and narrow aspects told Reena," We stay upstairs. We all are from Maharashtra...and most of us are from Nagpur, so we're often called the Santra gang," she chuckled.

"Feel free to join us whenever you want...if you're feeling alone any time," another chirpy girl said, "My name is Madhuri...I was int he dance audition the other day....you and me, we both are going to join the club! By the way, I'm not going home in the upcoming break.....if you too are here...let's pick up some new dances?"

"Definitely !!" Reena exclaimed.

"Great! I'm good at Salsa.." Madhuri said, "I know a few boys in our batch who know a bit of that too...let's try that."

A few days into the break, Shilpy called up Reena to check how she was doing.

"I'm fine Ma, " Reena smiled, " You know.... one of my friends from Hyderabad itself, invited some of us for her sister's engagement. So we all are going to her place for the weekend !"

"That's awesome!" Shilpy exclaimed, "Enjoy! But take care of your health....and yes, book your tickets for homecoming during the semester break"

Keeping the phone, SHilpy stood in the balcony, smiling, staring indefinitely into the distant.

"What are you thinking so much looking at the moon?" her husband asked, jokingly.

"Nothing much, " Shilpy said, " My mission is accomplished. I wanted Reena to grow out of homesickness. Looks like she's on her path now......"

"Then why do you look so mellowed?" he asked.

"I'm just nostalgic about my college days when I used to sneak in past hostel times and you used to drop me, and the times when my batchmates taught me exam syllabus last moment, " Shilpy winked.