Chapter 12

                                    

                                          


                          
           
                          
                              "To err is human. To be perfect is divine."
                          
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"Mr. Shekhawat and Miss Agarwal, we are indeed very impressed with the concept of your project", one of the judges complimented the duo. Sanyukta had managed to impress them with her elocution and explanation. She was calm and confident all through.
                          
"One final question then..", continued the judge, "What inspired this model?"
                          
And Sanyukta was stuck.
                          
It wasn't her idea, it was all Randhir's. For once, words failed her. She had no idea how to answer the question without seeming obvious.
                          
"Shit! What do I say?" she thought panicking.
                          
"A few months ago a survey had been carried out by a leading international magazine, listing the top 20 cities of the world", Randhir spoke up.
                          
He further continued, "But sir, unfortunately not a single city of India made that list. That got us thinking the reason for us lagging behind. That's when me & my partner here came up with this concept of an 'ideal city'. Our project was aimed at eradicating all the flaws of our cities and to present a model that suited the needs of the 21st century and can be accepted as a 'perfect' city."
                          
The judges had huge smiles plastered across their faces once Randhir finished talking. Sanyukta stood amazed at his response. It was so effortless...no hesitation, no sign of nerves...No sign that he had entirely cooked up the explanation ex tempore!
                          
"He really is the best" she thought with a smile.
                          
~0~
                          
Finally having completed their inspection of all the projects, the judges made their way out of the room to discuss the results.
                          
The results would be announced the following day.
                          
As soon as the judges left, Kaustuki and Jiggy came hurrying towards SanDhir.
                          
"Sanyu, how did it go?" asked Kaustuki.
                          
"I think we did pretty well...What about u guys?"
                          
"We did ok", they replied in unison.
                          
"Randhir bhai, aap theek toh hain na? Kuch khoya hua sa lag rahein hain....Are u feeling ok?" asked a concerned Jiggy.
                          
"I m fine Jignesh..just tired...I will see u guys later.." replied Randhir and left abruptly.
                          
Sanyukta saw him leave and decided to follow him. She bade bye to Kaustuki & Jiggy and ran after Randhir.
                          
"Randhir...wait" she said, finally catching up with him.
                          
He stopped and turned around to face her.
                          
"Sanyukta, I need to be alone...please..." he requested.
                          
But Sanyukta had other plans.
                          
"Randhir, u don't have to hide or deal with this alone...I m here for u...please know that!"
                          
Randhir rolled his eyes. This girl was too adamant! She just wouldn't leave him alone.
                          
"Listen Randhir, let's go meet Parth. He and u need to talk..." Sanyukta suggested.
                          
Randhir furrowed his brows at her remark and spoke, "Sanyukta, may be u haven't noticed yet, but Parth and I aren't exactly simpatico at the moment! So spare me the 'goodwill gesture' mission."
                          
It was Sanyukta's turn to roll her eyes! "Oh come on Randhir! Parth's project got stolen by Vidushi. And as FITE students, the onus is on us to reach out to him and talk about it in a civilized manner. Also, u guys need u settle ur arguments too...This whole idea of the fest was to make friends, not enemies.."