The Meeting At Noon

The meeting was at noon. I was forced to take some time off from my very busy schedule and meet him. I never wanted to. But sometimes you just bow down to destiny. I had had a gut feeling that this day would come soon. I approached his desk and saw that he was busy. There were many like me, waiting their turn. So I just took a seat in the corner of the office and allowed my mind to wander.

The symptoms had begun to appear way back. Sleepless nights, body-ache, they were just a few. The months of revelry had taken their toll it seemed. I had met him once previously. He was dull and listless, full of facts and advice. I vowed to avoid him but found myself at his desk again and again. He was the best they told me. I didn’t want to believe them, but then again, mine was hardly an unbiased view.

I looked up to see that it was my turn. Every nerve in my body told me that bad news was going to follow this meeting. But fate led me on. He was not alone. A distinguished looking lady was seated beside him. As I took my seat, I saw the degrees that adorned his walls. Having a Dr. affixed before your name is not an easy task. He was a specialist in something, had completed a course in something else……. the list went on. He looked me in the eye and told me, “The results of your tests are out”. I didn’t need the look on his face to know that things were not well with me. He and the lady started asking me questions. Simple ones at first, about what I did and so on. Then they started prying and probing. Asked me things I was very uncomfortable with. I broke into a nervous sweat as I realized what I was saying didn’t make the slightest sense to them. I knew I was in a bad way. There were inconsistencies in every reply I gave.

He stopped and looked at my uncomprehending face. He looked at the clock on the wall and then turned his face towards me. He had a sad look on his face. I knew my time and luck had run out. It was time for me to depart. He spoke the words that announced my doom. I knew nothing about the Principles of Communication. The four months of partying and then Journal Submissions had left me with no time to study. It didn’t help that I had attended only two lectures of his in the entire semester. A K.T. in vivas was inevitable. Study leave, here I come…….