Of Course I Love You!: Till I find someone better… by Durjoy Datta

He was soon to be in a place where people would listen to him and not bludgeon him, for they wouldn’t understand the language he spoke. A place where the people would be short-skirted university girls speaking in an infinitely erotic accent. I envied him, even though I knew he had put many months behind this internship. Something I would have never managed.
    ‘So your parents are funding your internship?’ I asked.
    ‘I am getting a scholarship from the French embassy,’ he said.
    ‘What the
hell
? With that percentage of yours? Why? What did you do?’
    ‘I forged the mark sheet. There is this mammoth machine called exxaccopier at the National Laboratory which charges …’
    ‘Whatever. What about the signatures?’
    ‘I forged that too. That’s what I am telling you. That machine with its meta stable lasers …’
    ‘Are you crazy? What if you get caught?’
    ‘I will either be resting in my grave or be too old to be jailed. The forgeries are perfect. So chill.’
    ‘Are you sure?’ I asked.
    ‘Yes, I am sure.’
    For a few seconds, I wished he would get caught soon. I felt I was missing out on something. French girls in summer dresses and kiss-me accents. I tried not to think about it.
    I told myself it was useless to envy him. The Paris internship was just a small piece of the whole career puzzle. With a percentage like his, he would find it difficult to get placed. Or get into a good university for his masters. Moreover, doing a post-graduation in engineering was unthinkable. The very thought of opening the bonnet and looking at an engine made me queasy enough to take a bus back home. But a foreign internship in the midst of French girls would have done no harm whatsoever to my burgeoning health. I couldn’t get the thought out of my head.
    ‘What does Vandana have to say about it? Is she cool with it? You’re going to be away for two months.’
    ‘She is not someone who reacts easily. Were she to discover I had cancer, the only reaction might be a frown. She is taking it easy,’ he said.
    ‘And you? Won’t you miss her?’
    ‘Naah, I will concentrate better without her calls and texts. I may get laid, too. Finally, I will be among people who won’t go into fits of moral frenzy when it comes to sex. Of all the people of this world, I don’t know why Indians are so uptight about sex!It’s not as if we got to a population of a billion people just by holding hands,’ he said.
    Shrey always acted as if he didn’t love her much, since it is cool not to be head over heels in love with somebody. Just because he had a few flings behind Vandana’s back didn’t mean he wasn’t in love with her. Yes, they hadn’t slept together yet. He never tried convincing her.
He loved her.
I am convinced Shrey wanted his first time to be with Vandana, and that’s why his flings never went beyond certain boundaries. His ideals were perfect even in their imperfections.
    ‘Best of luck, man! But trust me, you will miss her.’
    ‘No, I won’t. In fact, I will devote all my time to football and image processing. I have to read a lot too. I will try a little bit of photography, too. It’s not a tough thing to do if you ask me. A sunset, a crying child, a poor old woman … anything looks good if your camera is good. Take big prints in black and white and you are on your way. And with my modified camera and these focusers brought in direct from Sweden …’ And it went on. Nothing short of spectacular could ever happen to him, or so he thought.
    ‘So, when are you leaving?’ I asked.
    ‘In a month, I guess. Damn! I have to get a paper signed from the principal. You coming?’ He got up frantically. I was sure he was late by at least a week.
    ‘Naah! Vernita just messaged. She is coming here.’
    ‘Bye, then. Catch you later. That girl is nuts. And tell her she can sleep with as many guys as she wants to. We don’t give a damn.’
    He walked off with a wave before I could defend her.
    Although they were