The Bet

By Tshering Chekii - December 03, 2014



 I was absentmindedly copying the highway engineering home assignment to compensate the class I have missed deliberately, no doubt I love missing few occasionally.  Thank god! As irrigation ma’am was yet to come and I had enough time to complete the assigned homework. Next period was highway engineering. We never know the mood swings of the tutor; when we write and complete notes in a clean sheet they never check and if we leave it unattended in a presumption that they never check, they bombard us by checking every notes. It affects our CA and we land up hanging like a Tarzan in end semester exam. I ignored the pain on my forefinger due to pressure it bore for past 45 minutes.

“Girls usually marry first.” I heard Dorji talking behind me. Dorji was a most talkative guy of our class. He always jokes around and smiles a lot. He was a restless who always had time to tease friends with his typical hypocritical talks. Today, his target was Dechen, a complete opposite girl who rarely talks, a tongue-tied who never smiles. Nobody dares to mess with her, she is known for her temperamental. Dorji was digging his own grave. I silently wished him luck. 

“What a cliché.” I was surprised when Dechen replied.  He surely knows how to provoke people.
“Haha…you will marry first and will have bundle of kids by the time I marry.” Dorji teased her.
“Hypocrite, you will be the one who will marry a first girl you encounter right after graduation. Don’t fool around.” Dechen retorted. 

“It doesn’t matter with me. You should marry in your 20s; otherwise you will marry either a widower or divorcee with three kids readymade.” He was irritating not only Dechen but also passive me with his blunt statement. 

“What an attitude! Pig, male chauvinist.” I muttered. 

“Don’t worry about me. I can stand on my own feet. I don’t need a man.” I heard anger in Dechen’d voice.

“Who said you will stand on husband’s feet after marrying? I assure you, you will stand on your feet only. Are you sure you don’t need a man in your life? Planning to be spinster? Hope you are not lesbian, are you?” Dorji winked at her. I expected Dechen to slap him but was surprised when she didn’t. He was irritating guy who sometimes know how to be funny. I silently laughed listening to their conversation while completing the homework.

“Why do you care? I will rather be spinster or lesbian than with kind of a man of your attitude. Sick!” Dechen surely didn’t find it funny. She was overreacting little, I guessed.

“I don’t care at all. I was just saying that girls marry first. And there is no harm in it. Is there? “He continued.

“If girls marry first, whom do they marry with, a pig? You are saying boys marry later. I am sure there should be a boy and a girl to get married.” I liked her sense of humor. 

“Haha….you haven’t understood my point. See, after completing studies or in between, girls are usually the one who marries first compared to boys of same batch. It is a fact.” I didn’t think Dechen didn’t understand his point earlier; she was deliberately twisting the points.

“You want to bet?” Dechen challenged. I completed copying notes and faced them to listen along with the couple of friends who were already engrossed with an entertainment they provided. 

“Who, with you? I don’t want to. I will win without any doubt. ” Dorji lazily declared.

“Are you afraid or you are already having a wife and kids at home?” Dechen wasn’t a person we thought, not at least tongue-tied though temperamental part was partly true.

“Ok. The one who marry first will have to pay a lakh to other.” Dorji laughingly said.
“Ok, keep your words.” Dechen said fumingly. 

“Yes, your highness.” He mocked a respect and bowed to her triggering laughter from us.

“Yes, class. Any special discussion you wish to share with me?” Irrigation Ma’am arrived wearing a lovely dress glowing with a beautiful smile. Chair dragged, table moved and students positioned to get ready for the class.

After completing three years of services in DOR in Phuntsholing and two years of M.E. in Transportation Engineering from Thailand, I was placed at head office at Thimphu. I was busy shopping around when I accidentally bumped with a person.

“Sorry…sorry” we offered our apologies. “Tshering?” “Dorji?” we spoke together.

“Hi, when did you come back? I heard you went abroad.” Dorji said.

“I came few weeks before. You are at PHPA-II right? “It was a question which felt like a statement.

“Yeah, we came here for a family shopping.” He said with a smile.

“Wait, what ‘we’ and ‘family’? You lost a bet?” I laughed at him remembering an infamous bet of college days.

“No, I didn’t lose.” He sheepishly grinned.

“So, Dechen lost? Did she pay you a lakh?” I asked curiously.

“I guess, neither of us won or lost the bet.” He said. I quizzically looked at him and then 
followed his eyes to the direction where a woman was coming with an infant in her arms.

“Dechen!” I gasped looking at an unexpected family of the century.




  • Share:

You Might Also Like

2 comments