The night before....

Love can make you do some really wonderful and some really strange things. With love by your side, you know you ll coast through easily. And when the thought does sink in, you realize. wow man !! how in the world did I just freaking do that. Okay, maybe I am exagerrating a bit here cuz Jimmy really didn't anything like lift a mountain 10000 tonnes in weight or stopped some fast moving locomotive or something even crazier like jump from 25 storeys and still come out unscathed. He, however, in his own silent special ways convyed it to Gina, how much he loves her.

Jimmy was always an enthusiast when it came to social activities in college. Always being one of the organizing committees he actively participated in all the college fests that came by, be it sports,cultural,social or technical or anything else. If there was a fest happening, Jimmy had to have a major part in it [both in success and failure :) ].Gina had organized a kind of a mega event during one of the fests in the college. The event comprised of a huge hall with a maze set in it in the form of a jungle. Though this was the brainchild of Gina, it was difficult for her to always supervise everything cuz she was stuck up in something or the other. So, she entrusted the designs, the layout and the idea as a whole to two of her friends, who she felt would do a decent enough job(And they two a damn superb job of things which I ll explain later on. For the moment, let's just know that their names are Shawn and Kris). Jimmy, who had done a similar event the precedding year but with a different theme was the obvious choice to be consented. He immediately liked the idea and jumped on the team to work with them two. Not much work could happen up until the last day before the fests started cuz the hall was always occupied for some reason or the other. Even if it wasn't, the college folks were simply not keen enough to lend it any before than that. Anyways, the last day before the fests and since not much work was done inside the hall(the other stuff necessary to set up was done) and Gina, was obviously, apprehensive. Though all three, Shawn, Kris and Jimmy comforted her that they ll do it by tonight, she was still a bit apprehensive. Not beacuse she doubted them. She considered all three to be super darlings!! but because there were too many "negative forces" she thought that there were conspiring against the event. Guys who find such stuff ridiculously funny, mocked at this thought(though later in the night, their asses were working overtime to get the thing into place !!) but nonethless, comforted her and told her to go home and relax. Gina somehow got convinced(maybe it was Jimmy's presence) and left for home soon after.


The three heads now got working. Even they were aware, that the "negative forces" thing was not a silly passing thought or some figmet of Gina's imagination... Things indeed had been tough and their event(though later the most successful) had any supporters. It all seemed just a bit too much to do for some people. The year before too, Jimmy was involved with a mega event in that same hall, and back then, too he faced a similar situation. Back then,they proved everybody wrong and made them all eat their words(ya!! Jimmy is a rebel !! He knows exactly what is the meaning of the word "Rebel") and this time too, they were gonna do exactly the same. [This time,though, things turned out to be even much better than the last time !! Beautiful, isn't it?] Anyways, the task at hand was not some everyday chore that a normal young adult would do. The task involved many things like: Shifting tables that were something like 30 feet long, 5 feet broad and weighed about a tonne. If that's not all, they also had to lift and topple them up on one above the other, as per the requirements of the Map of the maze. Then, they had to stich together various designs and patch some stuff up to get the maze to look more attractive. Then, they had to, walk and work in a huge pile of leaves, flowers, fruits,bushes, hay and a lot of other vegetation debry which was obviously stinking !!!!! But perhaps they were all too sweaty themselves to realize it. In all, there were some 15 of them who worked there that night.....all of them with absolute grit and determination. It was here that Jimmy found one of his best friends, Daniel. Though, Jimmy and Daniel were studying in the same class, they had hardly known each other. That day, when all his other friends turned their back on him, Jimmy found a friend in Daniel, who offered unconditional help to the event... Not cuz he wanted something out of it but simply cuz he loved doing it. Reason or no reason, Daniel was a great boost to all around and the fact that he is pretty muscular helped the cause a lot much more !!!!

Coming back to the event, above were not the only things that these kids had to face that day. Their college was huge and they had to fetch the heavy square stone blocks that were available only on the other side of the campus. The means of transportaion also, was a hand cart of the 1940's that made a lot of noise when dragged around. It was sort of scary at 1 am in the night. :) They had to make quite a few trips before they had enough stones. During these trips, if they found some fallen branch or coir or some heavy branch with a lot of leaves on it.... then they would take that along too !! They were buliding a marvel out of trash !!! If someone couldn't pick it up cuz his hands were already full, he would convey the exact location to someone else in the hall so he can go and pick it up. Also, apart from this, there was the obvious shortage of things that happened. Obviously, at 1 am in the night, you couldn't have any stores open. So they had to get some "Juggad" done. They all lived on a few fast food savory items and coke for the entire night while working round the clock. They all had their moments of ups and downs, laughters, agony, thrill,pleasure,pain and almost every emotion defined. For example, Jimmy was suffering from a major back problem at that time and lifting heavy weights wasa strict no no for him. But crazy that love is, he knew he had promised Gina that everything will be completed by morning. So, he did the best he could. In fact, the mad fellow was always at the lead for lifting,shifting benches going to take the stones buying the snacks, everything. He was the only experienced fellow there and he couldn't let Gina for that matter anyone of them present down. He had a point to prove. They all had a point to prove. They all were rebels!!!! Work progrressed steadily. Gina called Jimmy once before she went to sleep... her voice visibly tensed. Jimmy calmed her by saying,"Don't worry sweetheart... Take a good night's rest. Everything will be ready by tomorrow morning before the fests' inaugration." Gina, well aware of his back problem, told Jimmy to not push too much. Jimmy only said,"Anything for you sweetheart." A few more sweet things were exchanged and they kept the phone. At about 4am, the work now almost finished, everyone was enthusastically thinking about the things to come. They knew they had done a good job. Hell !!! They had done a superb job. 10 hours of non stop intensity had got them there, to that highest feeling of finsishing the job at hand. It's indeed an amazing feeling when you know the job at hand is done. One of them, Randy, hits upon a brain wave. He says that the tea shop at the station is open at this time of the night. Everyone enthusastically ushers in this idea for they all wanted this much deserved break. The college gates were however closed and the only way to get out and get in was jump over them and the walls. The walls of their college,which is itself a pre historic wonder, were shaking vigorously under their weights. Somehow though, they all climbed in and out unscathed. A pack of 15-20 people walking together at 4 am in the morning does bring for a very different sight. And the patrolling policemen soon noticed it. They caught up with them and inquired a few things. After a couple of minutes, they realized that this was just a bunch of poor little kids who didn't mean any harm. [Perhaps from our baby looking, pious faces, they felt we really were a bunch of good chaps. :) Appearances can be deceptive though.... :) ] Coming back to the hall, which was now totally transformed, they all realized that there was hardly any work left to do and a quick nap was the order of the day(or night). So after giving the finishing touches they all went off to sleep. Some slept on the leaves scattered on the grounds. Some near the flowers, some on the 1st tier benches, some on the 2nd tier(i.e toppled on one bench) while some on the 3rd tier(toppled on two other benches) and straight under the nose of the fan cuz that was where they max cooling effect was observed. Jimmy, always a goner for cosy spots, choose a really nice one for himself. It was the place between two 3rd tier benches and provided the perfect blend of cosiness and coolness. It was a very comfortable spot in its own rights and he,alongwith the others, took a short, but much needed rest.


P.S: The event was a huge success. More than 1000 people turned out over the span of the fest. Everyone simply couldn't stop praising at what was on display. The event had everything from swinging over ropes like a tarzan to findind a treasure chest to falling in a pit and everything you could imagine in a jungle. The sponsors of teh fest went beserk on seeing it. Shawn and Kris did not go home for two days. Shawn even forgot to brush his teeth during one of those days. Kris forgot to sleep. Jimmy, the rascal,was enjoying his time with Gina, who has super happy with the way things had turned out. Daniel, intentionally, took a back seat and watched everything with happiness and pride. Jimmy and Daniel became one of the best of friends after that. And to this day, they still are.