Anecdote #49

It was Assessment day today! All of us were a bundle of nerves in the morning as we were anxious to do well. Thankfully as it was in the morning hence the stress was short-lived. 

It was the first time I was giving a test without my entire support system that is the Malhotras. Mom or Dad always sent the driver who would drop me to college. Then I would call them  to inform them that I had reached. After settling in the examination hall I would call my grandparents who told me to relax and assured me that I had their blessing. Finally I would call my parents again just before we had to keep away our phone and start the examination.

That day in I walked from  accommodation to Cripps Court for breakfast as usual but it felt unusual to not have the same test day drill as the one back home. When I sat down at the breakfast table I remembered how at times I got so anxious during exams that I went to school on an empty stomache. I remembered how my mom tried to make me laugh before my board exams, cracking nonsensical jokes to keep me from stressing. She would take a holiday from office and created a highly conducive environment while not exercising any kind of pressure on me. That day I missed and reminisced those moments repeatedly.I wanted to do my parents proud today and prayed that I would not forget the complicated theories of International Security.While these thoughts were racing through my mind Urmeen and Manmeen came and sat on the dining table. They had a class presentation instead of a test. They told me that a group member of their’s, a boy from Mexico had not sent in the work and their presentation was only half an hour away. Somehow the seriousness of the situation had not settled in because instead of worrying we started cracking jokes at his expense. We had never seen him at the mess so we conjured some crazy theories about his absence. The hysteria that came with laughter started peaking and we were in splits. Incidentally it was at this very moment that this guy decided to walk in. Despite coming in this he was oozing with confidence telling their group how well they’d do. I was amazed at his guts. Firstly this guy had vanished, not sent his work on time and was really late and now he was acting like he had everything together. I had not yet recovered from the laughing spell so experienced my amazement decided to express itself through laughter. The Mexican guy must have wondered what was wrong with me. As I kept looking at my friends, their laughs further instigated me further. This went on until it was time to give the test.

The best part was that this laughing spree chased away my anxiety completely and I gave the test with a calm head. I was able to tackle the tough questions and when the test was over I rushed to my friends.Incidentally, I found them with Danny Pan the Junior Dean of the programme. He was telling them about his family in China and how strict his father was. When he saw me he immediately remembered meeting my father who had reprimanded him badly the day I had received my accommodation. In my father’s defence he was trying to get me a room in Cripp’s Court. Danny then asked all three of us if our fathers hit any of us. We were shocked that he even asked such a question and refuted it vehemently. Turns out, Danny had been slapped a lot as a kid by his father but he was talking about it quite humorously so Manmeen remarked casually, “Your father must have played squash on your face.” After that comment it was natural that the three of us started laughing uncontrollably, yet again.

Now all we wanted to do now was celebrate that the assessment was over.The Programme Organisers had made sure of that as we had sports later in the day. The venue was the very beautiful and aesthetic garden ‘Jesus Greens.’ Although it is a garden it is huge, lined with lush trees. Provisions for different kinds of sports were made available hence we could play as per our preference. My friends and I played football and naturally we were on Danny’s team.  Sadly he abandoned us in the middle as he began clicking pictures of everybody. You could say that the loss was on Danny. 

Post games, in the evening we had more activities planned but the one everyone was the most excited about was the pub crawl.  As we had gone out for shopping and gelato right after sports we had not changed and were still in our athletic attires. We had made it just in time for the pub crawl so while the others were formally dressed in shirts, dresses, heels we were in our tracksuits.I told my friends that they should not worry, after all athleisure is currently trending.Needless to say we burst into laughter again and that was the mood for the evening. After all being teetotallers we had to keep ourselves engaged while everyone was chugging their pints.

There we were in a pub in Cambridge having hot chocolate but acting like the drunkest people in the house.It was by far the best day.