Shelter at last...

When classroom training ended 2 weeks later, we went onto hands on training. We were allotted to temporary teams to see how people work, what the work environment is like, what the general attitude across the floor is...

We went through the hands-on for a week or so, after which there was a combination of classroom and hands-on. I felt like I was back in college doing practicals.

But there were bigger matters to worry about. Our 3 weeks at the hotel were nearly up and we still didn't have a place to live. We'd been roaming around in the vicinity of the office for a few days, but nothing fit the bill. It's like they say, if you're meant to get something, you'll get alright, but only at the time you're supposed to. No matter how hard you try before that, you just wont get it.
After numerous afternoons travelling from one corner of Andheri to another, we finally got a flat. And how!
An uncle of one of the girls I was staying with at the hotel, practically handed it to us on a platter. And we loved it! It was a decent place... more importantly... the money and the location were perfect.

When we finalised it, only two of us were supposed to live in it. But a few days after getting possession, suddenly, there were four!
Bombay is all about adjusting, they say. So we adjusted.

Office and flat became a new world for me, and very soon, flat became home. Initially, we had a congenial atmosphere in the flat. In the coming months, that changed.

For the first time in my life, I learnt how difficult it is to live with three other people, who are nothing, even remotely, like you. I wasn't used to this sort of living. They had some experience of hostels and PGs. Inspite of the experience, things started to darken between us.

The fun we'd had at the hotel, stopped. One misunderstanding led to another. One was too sensitive, the other too blatant, another, too depressed, and another, too idealistic. But none willing to see from the other's point of view. Things began to crumble.

And I just wanted to go back home.