Nenjamellam kadhal

Chapter-8

                                                      Sakthi

       Tuesday had arrived, and it was workshop day, which meant I would have the chance to see the professor. For practical classes, students had the option of wearing either a khaki uniform or their department uniform. My department's uniform consisted of black pants paired with a beige formal shirt. Last week, we were exempted from wearing uniforms since it was the first week. So, today, I was wearing my uniform for the first time, opting for black jeans instead of regular trousers and matching them with black leather ankle boots. I felt relieved to wear something more comfortable after wearing Kurthi's for the past week. Perhaps I was bending the uniform regulations by wearing jeans, but technically, I wasn't breaking any rules as they had specified only the colour of the uniform in their regulations and not the material 😈.

      I entered the dining room to find it empty. My mother yelled from her room that the food was on the kitchen counter when I called her. After quickly stuffing myself with idli, I grabbed my backpack and left home when Sakthi pinged me from our gate.

      My dad left the house early and was unable to drop us off, so we both walked to the bus stop together. When my friends noticed that I was wearing my uniform, they playfully asked me to twirl for them, complimenting me on how well it fits me. This uniform was the most comfortable attire I could wear for a tomboy like me. I was happy, annachi 😌.

      From the next day, after I realized that the professor would be waiting for the college bus in CDK Nagar, I began to sit in the seat closest to the front door just to see him😝. As I expected, I also spotted him there. He was wearing a navy blue formal shirt with beige pants similar to what he wore for that wedding. I couldn't contain my smile, feeling like we were colour-coordinated for the day.

     The morning moved at a crawling pace. At lunch break, Sakthi and I decided to have lunch in Ramya's class. During lunch, we had so much fun fighting for food that the time flew by. With just ten minutes left for the lunch hour to end, Sakthi and I hurriedly collected our bags from our classroom and sprinted towards the workshop.

     The closing bell for the lunch hour rang just as we reached the entrance of the workshop. All our classmates had arrived early, and we were the last to arrive. Our classmates, including the professor, turned their attention to us. The professor gave us a stern look and glanced at his watch. With a blank face, he motioned for us to come inside. I was sweating and finally breathed a sigh of relief as I took my seat next to Pavithra. I grabbed my water bottle from my bag and took a few gulps.

     As I closed the bottle cap, the professor asked "Podhuma ila fan eduthu vandhu vaika solata ma?". I could not quite determine if he was joking, being serious, or reprimanding me for being late. We weren't late; it was just that everyone else had arrived early. In fact, we were exactly on time. Nonetheless, I replied, "Venam sir, konja nerathla, I will get used to the sweat here." Was he controlling his smile? I could not tell from the last bench. He motioned for me to sit. "Come early from the next class to avoid this running race." I gave him a sweet smile and nodded in agreement.

     The professor proceeded to explain the tasks involved in the workshop practical, which were carpentry, sheet metal, welding, foundry, metalsmithing, and fitting. He equally divided our class into five groups based on the alphabetical order of the attendance register and assigned each group a specific task. I ended up with Sakthi and Vidhya in my group, which also happened to be the last group. Our task for that week was carpentry, and each task came with its own instructor. I couldn't help but think, 'Apo professor ku ellathaum vedika pakuradhu dha vela pola inga'.