Part 8 (1/2)
”You'll have a lot of other people to do your work for you, but I really want this time to myself. I'm sorry.”
”Okay then. Have a great time ahead.”
”You too have a good time. Thanks for understanding.”
I went back to my room, pleased with myself for finally getting the courage to quit. Quitting a society as famous as this one requires a lot of willpower, and a considerable amount of decision making. I was glad that I finally came to a conclusion, and was going to stick with it.
I called up Ayu to meet her in the library now. There were things that I needed to discuss with her, and decide now. I was just praying to G.o.d that the outcome of these discussions would be positive. Her answer on this was going to decide my life for the next few years, at least.
”Hey! Let's meet at the library in an hour? I'll show you the pictures from the trip, and there's something I need to discuss with you, so we can do that too.”
”Sure. I'm done with my work. What about your a.s.signment?”
”I'll do it in the library. So, see you in an hour?”
”Okay!”
An hour later, I packed my bag and left for the library. Ayu was already there when I reached, and she smiled a wide smile when she saw me. She was doing some work of the research group that she was a part of.
”Too much work?”
”Yes, too much of it, and the deadline is tomorrow. But I can manage this. Show me all the photos now!”
I opened my laptop and showed her all the photos of the trip, carefully edited in Photoshop to look as close to the original as possible. She didn't catch any mistakes, and was pretty happy with the pictures.
”Looks like you had a great time there! I'm glad to know you had so much fun. I was bored at home for the entire duration of the vacation, stuck with this stupid project's work.”
”Ayu, I wanted to talk to you about something else too.”
”Go on. I'm listening.”
I needed a steady source of income, and I needed it to come soon. I knew that the girls wouldn't be able to manage with that little money for too long, and I had to help them with whatever little I could do for them.
”I was thinking of starting my own company with you. We are both good coders, and I'm really interested in android application development. I think you'll like it too. It's a very interesting topic, and a lot of fun to work with. I know you're in a research group, but till when will you fool yourself? These people are glad their 'autonomous' car works with a remote control. You can buy what they've made for three hundred rupees at a market in Kolkata!”
”Okay, first of all, stop insulting our work so much. We've made great progress so far, and our vehicle came 9th at the International Compet.i.tion last year. We've been improving every day, and with the amount of effort everybody has been putting in, we're sure to do much better.
Secondly, though, even I was considering leaving the project. It's not because the work is bad, just that the environment isn't good enough. The people I work with are really strange, and they crack very awkward jokes and pa.s.s extremely s.e.xist statements. Being the only girl there, I can't really do anything about it either. One of my senior's laptop pa.s.sword is 'I hate girls'! So yes, I'm in this with you!”
”That's great! I'm so happy we're doing this. So this is my plan for the next month. I'll start working on the basics, while you learn android application development. We can then continue to work on the more difficult aspects of the application, and complete it and then launch it on the Play Store. We'll be generating revenue through advertis.e.m.e.nts on the play store, and we'll also launch a no advertis.e.m.e.nts pro version for a dollar on both the play store and the Amazon store.”
”That sounds good to me. Let's get started on the work then!”
A month later, our first application, Math Bomb, was ready to be published. We published the application with a lot of spamming all over Facebook, pus.h.i.+ng our friends to download the application and review it. The application generated over a thousand downloads in the first fifteen days, but all of them were from the free version, and we were not gaining anything more than a couple of dollars in advertis.e.m.e.nt revenue.
”We need to work harder on this. We have to put more effort. This is not enough. We need to generate more revenue, and we need to do it quickly.”
”Why are you pus.h.i.+ng so hard on earning money? We're in college right now, and have enough for ourselves. I think we should focus more on what kind of applications we are making than how much we are selling.”
”You won't understand Ayu. We need to generate revenue too.”
”Stop being so money minded about everything. We will generate revenue, but in good time. For now, we should focus more on making better applications and games.”
”Okay, if you say so.” Earning money wasn't as easy as I thought it to be. With the money I was earning by winning at debating tournaments I had won months ago due to arrive in more than two months, there had to be some other source of income. I couldn't find any at present, though.
The two months in college pa.s.sed quickly, with my exams going better this time. I would have the occasional chat with Aliya and Meira over the phone, though I as careful not to mention their names or anything that could compromise their present location.
I was scheduled to go back to Vizag in early December, and the date was not coming any time soon. I had never been this excited to meet someone before, and somehow, time was playing its cruel game, ticking as slowly as it could have. I had decided to tell Aliya how much I loved her.
CHAPTER 22.
It was the middle of November, and not my favourite time of the year. The examinations were due to start in a week, and I knew that my grades weren't going to be good this time. Given the spike in my extra academic activities, I was sure that my parents would ask me to cut down on them, and focus more on studying hard and performing better in my courses.
The IIT Kharagpur campus is one of the greenest college campuses one can find in the country. The entire campus is filled with trees, with most of the major roads having trees on either side. The campus manages to maintain a certain level of natural air conditioning, even if only to a minor extent. The rest of the temperature management is facilitated by the immense funding that the inst.i.tutes receive.
The campus has, among other things, a beautiful lake behind the students' activity centre, surrounded by a walking s.p.a.ce adorned with benches and patches of gra.s.s, providing the perfect setting to sit down and relax. Unfortunately, couples who found a lack of s.p.a.ce for certain activities on campus used the dark environment to frequent this place at night, which led to the imposition of the rule that students weren't allowed to come to this place after 11 p.m.
This, however, was the exam time, so there weren't many students, nor were there guards roaming around to drive the students away. Ayu and I could sit peacefully on one of the benches, as we talked like just another 'heart opening session', as she called it. I would freak out every time she said that.
We talked at length about the problems that were worrying her, the issues that she was having at home, her problems with her crazy roommate who had nearly descended into madness, among other things.
”I feel so much better after discussing all of this with you. Thank you so much Ansh. You'll always be my best friend.”
”And you'll always be one of the closest friends I have. If you ever need to talk about anything, just let me know, and I'll be there for you.”
”Ansh, can I ask you something personal, if it's not too much?”
”Sure, go ahead. I'm always open to your questions.”
”I've always maintained that you're my best friend, and made it vocally clear that it is so. I've never expected anything, but always wondered why you've never called me, or anyone, yours. Ansh, you've taught me how to open up to people, but you've never really shown yourself to be one such person. Having several close friends is one thing, but having one best friend is another. Why have you never had one?”
”Ayu, I don't think you should know the answer to this, not right now. This is not the correct time for me to be telling you about this.”
”But why is it not? You've always run away every time I ask you something that is difficult to answer. You need to trust me Ansh, if you want to be good friends with me.”
”Ayu, you don't understand the gravity of the situation. It is not like this is one easy situation to explain, or to understand. You need to understand a lot of things, and I need an a.s.surance from you that no matter what you think, no matter what happens, you will not tell anyone.”
”Ansh, stop talking like you are a secret service agent taking down Osama bin Laden, and tell me everything now.”
”Ayu, promise me first. Promise me that everything I tell you will not go out, even if you think it's for my safety.”
”Okay, I promise I won't tell anyone anything about this.”