Most mornings, I drop Arjun off in a cul-de-sac from where he can walk down to his school. This is a very popular drop-off area for many parents and as such, the intersections are somewhat chaotic with cars stopping and kids crossing the streets. One recent morning, as we approached the last intersection, I noticed his good friend Victor crossing the road in front of us. I was a bit surprised since we had never encountered Victor over the 8 months that I had been dropping Arjun off at that spot - and you tend to see the same cars and students almost everyday. I exclaimed, "Hey, Victor is here too!" But there was no reaction from Arjun - he didn't respond or make any attempt to catch up to his friend. Now, I was not entirely surprised by this - Arjun is a somewhat phlegmatic sort, not given to idle persiflage (I had promised Abhi some Wodehousian flourishes in this blog). Even figuring out what projects and homework are due on any given day is a diabolical variation of Twenty Questions - eliciting Yes/No responses is hard enough, but you also need to judge the reliability of each response. I just shrugged off his apparent lack of enthusiasm.
Then, remarkably, the same thing happens the very next day: I see Victor crossing the street in front of us at the exact same spot. I go: "Wow, there is Victor again!" Again, not a peep from Arjun - he just sort gives me a look. I am a little miffed now - isn't he carrying this don't care, indifferent teenager act a bit too far? I continued: "All these months I have been dropping you here and we never once see Victor. Then two days in a row we see him in the exact place - that's a crazy coincidence! Don't you think?" Still not so much as a shoulder shrug from Arjun - just a look. Now I begin to think that he is just messing with me - maybe this is not a surprise for him? I go: "Unless you guys planned this! Is that what's going on?" I was feeling a bit clever as well for having figured it out - this would explain it all! It seemed like I had finally hit a nerve - Arjun turned towards me and in a calm drawl: "Well...that's not Victor. So..."
"NOT Victor? Why didn't you tell me yesterday itself? Why did you let me keep thinking it was Victor?"
"Well, I kept expecting you to figure it out yourself."
Turns out Victor takes the bus to school and the chance of encountering him anywhere else was exactly zero.
Then, remarkably, the same thing happens the very next day: I see Victor crossing the street in front of us at the exact same spot. I go: "Wow, there is Victor again!" Again, not a peep from Arjun - he just sort gives me a look. I am a little miffed now - isn't he carrying this don't care, indifferent teenager act a bit too far? I continued: "All these months I have been dropping you here and we never once see Victor. Then two days in a row we see him in the exact place - that's a crazy coincidence! Don't you think?" Still not so much as a shoulder shrug from Arjun - just a look. Now I begin to think that he is just messing with me - maybe this is not a surprise for him? I go: "Unless you guys planned this! Is that what's going on?" I was feeling a bit clever as well for having figured it out - this would explain it all! It seemed like I had finally hit a nerve - Arjun turned towards me and in a calm drawl: "Well...that's not Victor. So..."
"NOT Victor? Why didn't you tell me yesterday itself? Why did you let me keep thinking it was Victor?"
"Well, I kept expecting you to figure it out yourself."
Turns out Victor takes the bus to school and the chance of encountering him anywhere else was exactly zero.
