Just as Ameya walked out of the college building, he lost his footing on the foot path. He looked back to check what it was and found a bag which was lying unattended. He examined the bag for some time. He had heard about bombs being placed in public places and was not sure of what to do.
“Aah, what are the chances of a bomber getting this used college bag?”
He bent to pick it up. Just then, he heard the roar of a motorcycle and turned. But it was too late. He fell face down on the edge of the footpath. From the corner of his eye, he saw his attacker leave with the bag roaring away on the motorcycle. His head was banging with pain. His palms were numb. He propped himself on his hands and stood up. His leg felt wet. He looked down to see, much to his horror that his pant had ripped off and there was blood all over his knee and calf. As soon as he saw this, his leg started pulsing with pain. He collapsed on the footpath and howled.
Dange ran out of the college building soon after. He was fastening he windows of the staff room when he saw Ameya collapsed. He told Koli that Ameya was hurt and ran down. He alerted the watchman who came out of his favourite hiding spot and brought a chair for Ameya to sit.
“What happened?”, Koli’s voice rang out from above.
“Madam, call a doctor.”
Vineeta came bounding down the stairs. “Ameya, are you alright?”
Ameya could barely concentrate. He did not want to pass out from the pain. He asked for water. He knew all the staff had left and he did not want to inconvenience anybody.
“An ambulance is arriving, Ameya. How did this happen? I have called the police SO too. He will be arriving soon. Dange, get the first aid box. Watchman, get Ameya inside.” Koli seemed calm as if this happened everyday. She had built good relations with the station officer at the nearby police station. Her husband was the dean of one of the better known medical colleges in the city. Even in that confused state, Ameya caught himself being in awe of her efficiency.
“A bag was lying in this corner. I bent to pick it up. A biker came and knocked me over and took the bag.”
“Must have been a student…”, Vineeta checked herself as Koli gave her a stare.
“Did you see who it was?”
Ameya shook his head.
When he set out of the college building, his mind filled with plans, Ameya never thought that he would answer this question a dozen times over the next few hours. He found himself lying on a hospital bed with his leg in a cast. His mother had just left to go to his house and get him a change of clothes. His father sat next to his bed reading a weekly to him. Ameya looked lost.
“I cannot believe you missed the cricket match.”
“Dad… stop pulling my leg…it hurts”, Ameya smiled.
Madhav looked at his son and said, “You should not have taken this job in the first place. Rowdy college students. Look what they have done.”
“Look Dad, I know you don’t like me working here, but it is just getting better….I am on the verge on something big….I should not leave now. And it may not be a college student.”
“How do you know?”
“He was huge and looked like a young man.”
“You said you did not see him?”
“Yes, but I saw him leave. He looked very tall and he definitely had experience riding.” Ameya stopped. He did not want to worry his father.
“What do you mean? Tell me.”
“As I bent to pick up the bag, I heard the roar. I was just about to turn back, when I saw the front tire of the bike climb on to the footpath and stop. There was a second where I could have sworn I felt him jerk the bag from my hand and knock me over with the wheel and then he turned expertly and drove off. He stopped on a height, swung the front wheel and turned on the spot. He was no kid, I am sure.”
“Have you told the police?”
“Yeah, they wrote it down. But all they ask is if I saw his face. They have no idea why I am being so thorough with the details of his flair for riding. If I say it anymore, they will surely believe that I know this guy and that I worship him for his skills.”
“You think it was a bomb Dad?”
“I doubt anyone would want to jerk a bomb off your hands and then hurt you”, Madhav smiled and then stopped. “What if….”
“What?”
“Is this college known for drugs?”
“NO…No, No…it is a very respectable institute…nothing like that…”, Ameya trailed off.
“We had an incident in our college once when I was in my final year. There was a group of students who would hang out in the lab, the canteen and all such places where there will be no continuous supervision. We always thought they were studying together or maybe in a drama club, because they always looked so serious and confident. In the end of the term, just before the exams, when the college was almost empty, our librarian saw them in the men’s room doing drugs. He quietly went and told the principal. The principal did not want anyone else to know about this shameful event and approached the students directly. He scolded them, told them that he would inform their parents and how I know all this is that I was General Secretary and I was very close to the Librarian.”
“Then?”
“Then apparently for some days, nothing happened. Things cooled down. Exams took place. After the exams, the librarian quit. He was not old enough to retire and not young enough to hop jobs. He quit just like that.”
“So….?”
“So, it was our theory that he was made to quit by one of the students, if you know what I mean. People doing drugs can be very dangerous and bordering on insane.”
“So you mean the guy who ran me over was a drug addict student and the bag had drugs?”
“You better speak to the principal about this.”
“I don’t want to be the librarian…”, Ameya muttered under his breath.
As Ameya was about to be discharged the next day, his parents went home. He spent the night at the hospital. He felt vulnerable and did not want to admit: scared. In this state of mind, he fell asleep.
Ameya found himself outside the stairway leading into the auditorium. He heard faint noises from inside the auditorium. There was a rather unusual mammoth library card that he had to swing out to enter. His feet took him inside where a group of students sat huddled around a table. He thought they must be studying for the exams. One of the students was dozing off on the desk. The others were all looking very intently at the table. He turned to leave. But just then he heard a collective sucking sound, like they were all breathing in together. Ameya turned back and instead of the group of students, a rugged college bag was lying open on the floor. He was lured to see what was in it. Madhav was saying something in the background to a librarian over tea. Ameya ignored it. He went towards the bag and as he approached it, he saw small packets inside. The bag seemed to engulf him and he could see a small motorcycle figurine inside it. He picked it up and the next thing he knew, he was under the motorcycle and there was a huge man laughing at him from behind the helmet. The pain returned and Ameya shrieked out of his nightmare. He woke up sweating and ready to bolt.
The surroundings, his leg in a cast and the systematic ticking of the hospital clock somehow calmed him down. He steadied himself and drank water. “Whew! What a nightmare.”
As he was about to close his eyes, he thought about what he dreamt.
“Oh my god, were they doing drugs in the auditorium?”
Ameya brain whizzed with possibilities and questions. He took a pencil and a notepad from the bed table and jotted down:
- Students doing drugs in Audi?
- Does koli know?
- Is she under pressure?
- Does Raghuvanshi know?
- Is there history of drug addiction in this college?
- Was that guy a supplier? - Money in the bag?
- Was he a student? - Drugs in the bag?
- From another college?
“This is explosive. I have to do some ground work by myself before I can say anything to anybody.” With a determined frown, he settled down to sleep. As the last traces of consciousness drifted away from his mind, he thought, “Is he after me?”
