I could not sleep at all that night.
"What do I do now, what do I do now, what do I do now, what do I do now?"
What was I thinking back then? Why did I even put up that proposal to her when I didn't even have a camera to begin with? ARGH. This is driving me insane.
As I was busy questioning every action I took last night, a voice came from over the other side of my door.
"Ahan, have you woken up?" asked my mother.
"..."
"Ahan."
"..."
"Ahan!"
"A-Ah, yes, I am changing right now. Coming in a minute," I said rushing towards the cupboard.
"Okay, breakfast is ready. Don't make us wait too long."
"..."
"Humph! Who even wants breakfast?" I murmured.
.
.
.
"Ahan, why did you skip school yesterday?" asked my father. A man in his forties, sitting on the couch and holding the morning newspaper in his hands. Professionally, he is the headmaster of a government school in the neighbourhood.
"I was not in the mood," I said.
"What's your mood have to do with it? Don't mix up your mood with your chores."
"Dad, school is not a chore, it's a burden."
"Burden? That's why I suggest you take Arts and pursue the path to become a doctorate."
"It's not as easy as it looks to you."
"Then take commerce for example, and pursue to become a Chartered Accountant," said my mother. A woman in her thirties. She was serving tea to my dad. Professionally, she works for a prominent consulting firm in the region.
"Mom, Dad, let me decide for myself."
"That's all the more reason I am concerned about you," she said.
"Look, I don't see any problems in being an Arts major. My colleagues are earning handsome money these days as teachers," he suggested.
"Dad, it's not all about money. There are more things in life than just cash."
"Then how do you expect to feed your kids in future? With your cheap talks?"
"Dad!" I screamed.
It has become a recurrent scene in the house. Now that I had been promoted to the tenth class, it was about time we started discussing which major I should take in high school. My mother, obviously being in finance, suggests I go along with that too, but my father believes that I should pursue becoming a teacher. I don't dislike their suggestions, but I really do not get the urge to do any of them.
"Mom, Dad. Do we have a camera?"
"Where is that coming from?" asked my mother.
"Do we have one?" I asked again.
"But why do you want one now?"
"We have one?"
"Ahan! Answer what I am asking first."
"Likewise."
"AHAN! What is this behaviour? What has gotten into you?" my father screamed while clenching his newspaper into a roll in one hand.
"..."
"This disrespectful kid. Can you not answer a single question we ask?" he continued.
I just glanced at my mother for once before I stood up from my chair.
"I am done, heading to my room now. Don't come to bother me," I said while walking towards the door.
"..."
I didn't want to pay any attention to their murmurs, so I climbed right away to my room and lay down on my bed.
"Camera prices in India," I typed on my phone's keyboard.
"Thirty thousand!! That too for a base model," I screamed as I got up and sat on my bed. I might have never seen that amount in my entire life. This is expensive. Take two.
"Used camera prices in India. This is still pretty expensive. Seventeen thousand for a refurbished model. I can buy a smartphone in that."
Come to think of it, what was the camera she was using? I vaguely remember the brand and the model imprinted on the outer body. It had an attached lens from another Japanese brand. Now let me see…
"2.5 Lakhs?!! And that lens, another 1.5 Lakhs?!!" My hands holding my phone trembled for a moment. A setup of 4 Lakhs in total, and I held that much money in my hand back then. What would have happened had I dropped it accidentally? I must have been immediately put in jail. And what is she, carelessly handing over that expensive equipment to a stranger like that? She must be so careless. Rich kids. The next time we meet, I must smack some sense into her.
"Ah, the camera problem."
What should I do now? I cannot go empty-handed to her. She must think I am an idiot. ARGH. I just can't get over this.
I slept for the rest of the morning, wondering how to get hold of a camera.
.
.
.
KNOCK-KNOCK.
"Ahan, you there?"
"Yes, come in." Wait, didn't I just ask them not to bother me?
"Your friend is waiting for you downstairs," said my mom, pointing towards the stairs.
A friend? What time is it? 12:30, huh. Who might it be? Do I even have friends? Wait, is it Chhaya? No, I have not given my address to her.
"I am going," I said as I climbed downstairs and across the hallway to the door in a hurry. I reached for the doorknob and turned it, opening the door. The bright afternoon sun blinded me for a moment.
"Hey there, Mr. India. Having fun all by yourself at home?"
Even before I could register the face of this person, her voice gave it away.
"Why are you here for? If you don't have a job, go get one. Stop bothering me. I am not coming," I tried to close the door, but she stuck her shoe in, obstructing the door.
"Hey now! Is that how you treat a visitor? Look, mister, I came all the way in this chilly wind to your home, and you are closing the door on me? Do I not deserve the least respect and honour as a guest to be invited in and be served a cup of tea with some biscuits? This is a clear violation of my rights. I wish to be redeemed," she said while holding an overdramatic pose like she had been deprived of her family wealth by her siblings.
That was Ishika, my classmate. Argh! Why does it have to be her today?
"I am not in a very good mood today. So please leave me alone," I hoped she would walk away.
"Hey now! Do you think I would have ever wanted to come to this peasant realm? Not even in a million years. What prompted me to come here was Tarak sir. He asked me to get you this envelope. Probably a letter of permanent termination from school," she said while handing me a brown envelope and giving me a faint smirk.
"Okay, thanks a lot for delivering it to me. I am busy this afternoon, so you can go now."
"Oh, busy doing what? Jerking off to anime girls?" she said while holding her laughter, covering her mouth with her hands.
"You cunt," I clenched my fist.
"Oh boy, Mr. India. Look at you go all vulgar on a woman. Is that how you react when you first see a woman? You didn't invite me in, I could let that slide, but to be disrespected publicly by my genitals, this is a violation of my rights as a woman to lead a respectful life," again, that overdrammatic pose of hers.
"Ahan! Invite her in. Why are you keeping a guest by the door?" said my mom from the kitchen.
"Sorry, aunty, I wish I had all the time to chat with you, but today I was just on an errand. I will have to take my leave. Thanks a lot for having me, aunty."
"You are leaving already? Come, take a cup of tea. It's very cold outside today, isn't it? I would feel awful to part you like this," said my mom as she walked across the hallway towards us.
"No, no aunty, it's completely fine. You don't need to feel that way. I was never an obligation. Besides, it's almost time for my dance classes. Next time, I will make sure to take some time off my schedule to make up for today," she said with her hands clasped and an angelic smile on her face.
"Oh dear, take care then."
"..."
She nodded and went towards the road. Her chauffeur was waiting for her in their car. That car was not the one she used to go to school in. I wondered if she always had that one? No, that was a new one. As the engine ignited and the car drove away, she waved at my mother from the window. She gave me a brief look, smiling with her eyes closed. Absolutely cunning. Just look at the difference in how she treated me and my mother. It was like a deep pit dug all the way to the middle of the earth. She is just a two-faced brat. She has every right to be forever hated by me.
"I am not very happy with your behaviour today, Ahan," said my mom before returning to the kitchen.
Like I care.
.
.
.
"Whoa! This place is huge. Can't believe this three-storey building sells a single product."
Instead of wasting the rest of the afternoon in my room, pondering, I decided to go to a nearby camera shop. It was the largest camera shop in the entire Kolkata. It had everything from cameras to lenses to accessories. Although, I was in no condition to buy anything, a little window-shopping does not hurt, does it?
"So, the ground floor is accessories, first floor cameras and second floor lenses. I might start with the camera section first," I decided while reading the information board pasted outside.
Window shopping is not just about taking a look at the items displayed without actually buying anything. It's also about gathering as much information as possible to make an informed decision. As I entered the building, I was greeted with a mob of people inside, some bargaining, some looking at the shelves, and some just like me, window shopping. The variety of sounds inside, people's murmurs, soft music playing through the speakers in the ceiling, card machines beeping, drawers and shelves being opened, were all interfering with each other, forming a loud, continuous noise.
"Nothing better than a Sunday business, huh?"
Good that there was a lift on all the floors.
"Okay, so, first floor," I said to myself as I exited the lift.
Now the main task was to decide where to start. All four walls of this floor were covered with cameras. There were multiple shelves stacked one after the other with cameras of all shapes and sizes placed in the racks. It was like a large library, but instead of books, there were cameras. From cameras as small as 5 centimetres that will fit in the pocket, to cameras as large as over 5 feet. The large one was the one used for shooting professional films. Each one had a sticker with its price and specs noted down. Most of the cameras had an attached lens, I guess they sell it in a combo. I was curious about the price of the big film camera.
"14 Lakhs, huh?" At this point, I was not surprised anymore. A Camera is an expensive equipment after all.
I tried roaming around a bit along the racks.
"2 Lakhs, 2.5 Lakhs, 1.3 Lakhs, 4 Lakhs, 70 Thousand, 65 Thousand, 8 Lakhs. Man, on what basis are they arranged here? This is really confusing for me." I wondered while reading the labels beside each model.
All I was able to grasp were the prices. ISO? Shutter speed? Mirrorless? What the hell are those? The only thing I know is megapixels, that too because it's the same with mobile phone cameras, but what is with these numbers? What am I even buying? Chhaya should have been more specific with the camera requirements. This is not helping me at all. Oh, yeah, wait, she said something about a wide-angle lens. Let's go to the second floor then.
The second floor had a similar layout. Shelves, racks, posters, but instead of cameras, it's all lenses here. A lens is a long, tube-like attachment on the front part of the camera. It has transparent lenses inside that help focus the image on the camera's sensor. The wider the lens, the more focusing power it has. Basic physics.
"Wide-angle, Wide-angle, Wide-angle, Wide-angle," I murmured while reading the labels on the shelves one by one, searching for a wide-angle lens.
"Okay, this is a wide-angle one. No wait, this entire shelf is for wide-angles only!"
"2 Lakh, 1800 ISO, f/32, 120mm," what's up with these numbers everywhere, argh!
Should I ask the staff? No, I am not buying anything. What might they feel about me? Idea discarded. Let me search on my phone for these numbers.
"So ISO is the sensitivity of the camera lens, f-number is the aperture, and 12mm is the lens's focal length," I wondered after reading an article on the web. But what is my requirement?
"Budget wide-angle lens for astrophotography," I typed on my mobile screen next.
"I see, so I need to search for this brand and model with a 50mm lens."
I began walking towards the poster near the lift entrance, which had a detailed map of all the shelves.
"So it's in Shelf 2, Row 12. Okay. Shelf 2, Row 12. Shelf 2, Row 12. Shelf 2, Row 12. Ah, here it is. So this is the budget lens recommended on the internet. 20 Thousand! What kind of person has a budget that high?!"
I feel doomed, lost in despair.
"I should go for a camera and lens combo. That must be cheaper."
I went back to the first floor to check on the combo cameras offered there. Unexpectedly, they were priced quite high. The cheapest one with a 50mm lens I could find was priced at 40 thousand.
"I see. I am really doomed, ain't I?"
Let's think about what might happen if I went to Chhaya without a camera. One, she happily gives me her camera as a gift. No! I cannot accept such an expensive gift from a person I just met yesterday. That was really selfish of me. Okay, so, two, she gives me more time to get a camera. Not happening. Three, she gives me that angry look and dumps me. Why does this seem to be the most possible outcome? Four, she pushes me off the roof. Yes, totally a possibility. Five, she brings out a gun from her bag and shoots at me. Scary!
"Hey now," as I was flowing in the river of my thoughts, a voice whispered in my ear.
"Wh-who, just now?" I said before turning around to see this person.
"Oh, boy, I am so busy in the afternoon watching my anime. Ah, why do 2D girls look so much better than 3D girls? This is totally unfair. A handsome hunk like me must totally get all the girls. Girls these days are blind or what? Imma stick to my 2D waifus. Oh, I need to fap one more time."
"Stop it! I never said those. Stop imagining stuff on your own. And why the hell are you even here? You were following me, weren't you?"
"Hey now, this was totally what you said to me. Every word of it. Calling me a liar. How unfair. Just so that I happened to not record our conversation does not mean you can claim it to be whatever you want it to be. And about me following you? You must be the one imagining stuff, some wild stuff. To call me a liar, then simultaneously a stalker, this is against my rights, it is totally unforgivable. I must be redeemed."
This girl, Ishika. Just what beef does she have with me? Meeting her twice in a single day. This must be the unluckiest day of my life.
"Come to think of it, what is a peasant like you even doing in a camera shop? Don't tell me you mistakenly came here instead of an optician to buy new eyelenses? How foolish," she said while trying to hold her laughter.
"It has nothing to do with you! And don't answer your questions yourself, it feels weird," I replied in a raised voice.
"Hey now, can't you see this is a public place. Keep your voice at bay."
This witch.
"Listen, I am here looking for a camera with a wide-angle lens and a tripod. Yes, you heard that right. In case you didn't, let me repeat myself. I am here looking for a camera with a wide-angle lens and a tripod. Got that?"
"Hey now, no need to be so infuriated. I was just trying to help you. You see, this place, this entire building, is owned by my dad. He recently invested in the retail business. As you can see, it is paying off quite well. I just so happened to come here to drop something from my dad to the store manager, as it was on my way back from my classes."
"Yeah, and you were quite helpful. Now, please just go and leave me alone for a moment."
"Not happening."
"You, asshole!"
"Hey now! Remember what I said this morning? Don't make me repeat myself twice, Mr. India," she said while leaning forward and shaking her index finger at me.
"ARGH, would you ever stop bullying me?"
"Not happening."
"Just what is it you want?!"
"Love."
"Excuse me?!"
"Nothing."
Did she just blurt out something from her mind? Either way, this brat is wasting a lot of my time. It will be evening soon. I need to send her away and find a solution to this camera problem.
"Hey, what was it that you were looking for, you said?"
"Huh? A camera with a wide-angle lens and a tripod," didn't I repeat that twice already? Does she pay no attention to what I say?
"Darshani!" she screamed near the staff section. Must be a staff name. Is she reporting me?
"Yes, little ma'am. How may I help you today?" A lady wearing the staff uniform came closer to us and responded with a bow.
"A tripod with a wide-angle lens and a camera. The best ones we have. Quick!"
"Yes, ma'am. Please move on to the reception downstairs, your order will be forwarded there."
She messed up the order, but I guess it's still understandable. Wait, why is she buying these? For me? Don't be ridiculous.
"Hey, why are you buying them?"
"You can't tell? For you," she responded while walking towards the lift. I tried following her.
"I never asked for a charity," I said in a raised tone. She stood still for a moment before turning back for once, her eyes wide and fixated on me.
"Huh? It's not for free. You think I will give them away for free. Give me a break. What are you, an idiot? Oh, but you are one. I am the daughter of a great entrepreneur. Business runs in my veins. For every give, there is a take, and for every take, there is a give. What do you have to offer me in return? Oh, your body and your soul," she said with a smirk and held her hands out to me like she was inviting me to hell with her. It felt like I dealt with a devil just now.
THE FUCK IS WITH HER PERSONALITY!!