Gate B52

Shit…shit shit…shiiiittttt… Aravind woke up screaming. The clock showed 8:05 am.

His iPhone was dead. “Crap not again…”

He gargled some Listerine, threw on some clothes, grabbed his passport and ran out still buttoning his shirt.

“Taxi… La Guardia Airport”

“Can you go any faster… please... I might miss my flight”

“You should have left early sir… this is a rush hour”

“I will give you 20 bucks extra”

“I know a shortcut... What time do you have to reach?”

“Sorry ma’am. We are still waiting for an update. I will announce as soon as we are informed. In the mean time, our agent will distribute breakfast coupons. You can use them at any restaurant here.”

“Can I have mine now?”

“Sorry ma’am, you will have to wait for the announcement.”

“I have been sitting here since 4:30…” The airline agent was looking at her with a blank expression. “Never mind”

“I am on the 11:30 flight to India”, Aravind said gasping.

“Sure sir, we will need your passport for identification”

“Am I late? I ran as fast as I could when I got off the taxi”

“No sir, your flight is slightly delayed. But I advise you to go through security and wait at the gate. They will have the latest information about flight take offs. Your gate is B 52. Thank you.”

Aravind reached the gate and parked himself on a vacant seat, opened his laptop and started typing. There was an announcement – "All passengers on the British Airways flight 122 to Bangkok are requested to…" Aravind looked up from his laptop to listen and then got back to typing. The lady seated next to him got up and left. He was making himself comfortable with the luxury of an additional seat, when she came back.

“I wait here for 6 hours and they give me this lousy 6 dollar coupon. What can I possibly buy with this?” she said slightly agitated.

Aravind looked at her not sure whether it was a question posed to him to answer or was a mere unsatisfactory remark.

“The food here is not worth spending more than that”, he said politely. She almost didn’t hear him and was still staring at the coupon in her hand.

“Are you from India?” he added.

“Do I look like a Caucasian? Think.”

“I am sorry...” he said already regretting saying anything at all.

“No, I am sorry. I am pissed because of this nonsense. Moreover I am up since 1 in the morning; barely slept at all and it is making me cranky. I am sorry... really.”

He nodded approvingly and got back to his typing.

10 minutes passed.

“Yes”

He looked up with a question mark on his face.

“Yes, I am from India.”

“Oh” he said smiling. “See... you could be a Srilankan, a Bangladeshi or a Pakistani for that matter. And your accent too was not giving you away…you know. So my question was not in vain after all.” He added.

“I want to eat whatever these 6 bucks will buy me; do you want to maybe grab a cup of coffee?”

“I will have pancakes and a coffee please.”

“I will have a grilled cheese sandwich with onions, sun dried tomatoes, green pepper and mushrooms and scrambled eggs on the side. I will have a portion of potato wedges too and a hot chocolate.” Aravind was looking at her with a look of disbelief as she was listening to the waiter repeat her order.

“I usually don’t eat this much. I was very hungry, that’s all.” She said slightly embarrassed.

“No, I didn’t mean to. I just thought that you might have to pay slightly more than 6 dollars for what you ordered” he said coyly.

She laughed. “I won’t ask you to pay” she said still laughing.

“Are you visiting US?” She asked.

“No. I live here, for now at least. And you?”

“I go to NYU.”

“Do you like it here?”

“I don’t like it anywhere, so this is no worse.”

“Hmm…”

“Do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Like it here?”

“Yes. Yes I do. I mean I do miss my family at times, but this place suits me.”

“...I don’t think I can finish this.”

“Take your time, we have lots to kill.” “Your travel to Bangkok - is it for leisure or are you visiting someone?” he said adding.

“My mother. She is performing this Saturday.”

“Performing?”

“Yes. She is a dancer. She tours extensively. This time, I am supposed to join her; that is if I get there”

“You are a dancer too?”

“Still learning” She said nodding her head.

“That’s impressive.”

“I ate so much that I can’t breathe. I need a long walk. Shall we?”

“Sure”

“Do you dance?”

“No. I might have said yes before you told me about yourself, but I will save myself that embarrassment now.”

She smiled. They walked from store to store.

“So... what form of dance are you learning?”

“Odissi and Bharatnatyam. My mother is the founder of Kalakshetram, a dance academy in Bangalore. They teach all classical dance forms there. Some time in future, I want to start something that is completely dedicated to experimental dancing and contemporary fusion.”

They stopped at a bookstore and went in.

“Are you going to read all those books?” he asked pointing the pile of books she was carrying to the counter.

“Yeah, I try to catch up on my reading whenever I can.”

“I must admit, I don’t read unless I have to.”

“I particularly like this one. This is narrated from a six year old girl, Scout’s point of view. Although it is set in the great depression time and deals with a serious issue, it has innocence, warmth and humor.”

He looked at the nest, the timepiece and the flying bird on the book’s cover as she pushed it into her bag. They resumed walking.

“Don’t turn around, but I think we are being followed.” he said.

“What?” She said turning around.

“I said not toooo”

“Oh Sorry” She said smiling.

“That guy in that red sweatshirt..I saw him staring at us in the restaurant and at the bookstore too.”

“Oh him? He is just my ex, don’t mind him. I am surprised to bump into him here too", she said waving her hand in a motion telling him not to bother.

“Seems like a creep.”

“Ha ha... he is a bit of a jerk. He must be still wondering why I left him.”

“You didn’t tell him?” he asked with a bewildered look on his face .

“Well, I kind of did. But, I am sure he didn’t get it. It’s just ...complicated. My head is all messed up and he happened to be at the receiving end one day. Poor guy, he didn’t see it coming. It was never meant to be anyways, so...”

“Oh.” He said, all the while staring at her face and nodding at her every word.
They walked silently for a few minutes.

“So, do you have a girlfriend?” she said breaking the silence.

He looked at her with a slight surprise on his face.

“Oh, don’t act so surprised. I told you about my ex and the darkest secrets of my relationship” She said in a mocking tone. “Come on, spill the beans.”

“Oh no. I mean... nothing. There isn’t anything to tell. I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Ok. Let’s bitch about your ex then.”

He laughed. “No no... there is no girlfriend, no ex”

“Come on. Are you telling me that you have never had a girlfriend?”

“Is that so weird?”

She stopped walking, turned to face him and said with multiple expressions on her face, “Weird? More like super weird. Are you still... trying to find yourself?”

He turned into all shades of red before he could open his mouth to answer.

“No no no no no, I mean nooo....”, he said expressing a different emotion at every no. “I used to like this girl a while ago. Never had the heart to tell her. After sometime she changed school. So that was it.”

She chuckled.

“We should probably get back to the gate and check if they plan to take off any time soon.”

“Yeah, we should”, she said still smiling more to herself and they walked back. Their earlier seats were occupied by an old couple. There were lot more people now, so he found a sparsely populated corner and sat down on the floor.

“Mine is not taking off anytime soon.” She said sitting next to him.

“Yeah, mine too. It’s because of the storm. Many flights to London have been cancelled.” He opened his laptop and got back to his typing. She opened her book.

To be continued .....