Metamorphosis: Episode 2
Modern Physics
It was 3 a.m. and Gurpreet stumbled out of the taxi cab, unable to steady himself. The fare had already been paid in advance by Ken, a thoughtful gesture when he realized how drunk Gurpreet was. As soon as Gurpreet was out of the cab and the door closed, the driver sped away, leaving him in the quiet darkness, standing outside his home.
Gurpreet attempted to walk in a straight line towards the front door, but wavered and kept swerving left and right. He eventually made it to the door, fumbled with his keys and spent the next several minutes trying to unlock the door. Finally, it was opened by his father.
Gurpreet pushed his way inside. The lights were on, and his mother was seated on the couch in the living room, wrapped in a shawl, her face filled with worry and apprehension. His father stood before him, wearing a robe over his pajama's and nightshirt. He was livid with anger.
"What?" asked Gurpreet, shrugging. His mother and father stared at him, at a loss for words. But he already knew what his parents were angry and upset about. He stood there in the hallway, messy and dirty and reeking of alcohol.
"You come home at this hour!?" his father shouted suddenly, his voice rising like thunder.
Mixed emotions surged inside Gurpreet. He simultaneously wanted to comfort his anxious mother and lash out at his father. He also felt touched that they had stayed up so late just because they wanted to know he was safe. They must really love him a lot to sacrifice their sleep and be so consumed by worry about him. But, thought Gurpreet, they were exhibiting their emotions of love and caring in a very unusual way, especially his father. He felt anger rising inside his chest and eclipsing his other feelings, and he couldn't contain it.
"Hey, it's New Years!" he shouted back at his father.
"And so you get drunk? And you dare to come back home like this!?" his father's eyes bulged, and the veins on his neck stood out. He was shaking with rage.
He turned to Gurpreet's mother, who was sitting silently on the couch, a helpless and desperate look on her face.
"See what he is doing?" he cried, pointing at Gurpreet, "Look at our son! Look what he is doing! After everything we have done, how much we did for him, look at him now!"
Gurpreet rolled his eyes. Not another guilt trip, he thought exasperatedly, not again. He had been through this countless times, hearing about how much his parents had sacrificed for him, and how he was now throwing away all their hard work and efforts, and not only ruining his own life, but theirs as well.
His father's words and the intensity and emotion with which they were spoken had an immediate effect on his mother. She put her face in her hands and began to sob silently.
"Mama," he said, ineffectually. He wanted to sit down with her, to hug her and reassure her that everything was fine. That he was ok. Maybe he would even stop the drinking and parties if it would make her happy. He couldn't tolerate seeing her crying like this. His heart began to break at the sight of it.
He took a step towards her, but his father was blocking his path.
"You dare to drink alcohol and get drunk, and come home in this state? And at this hour! Do you know what time it is?"
His father seemed to be getting angrier. He was shouting at the top of his voice now. Gurpreet gave up, his head was hurting and watching his mother crying gave him a knot in the pit of his stomach. He felt like he was going to vomit. He couldn't reach her, and he didn't want to be subjected to any more of his father’s wrath. So he gave up.
"Happy New Year!" he said mockingly, waving his hands about ineffectually. "I'm going to bed!"
"This behavior is not acceptable, Gurpreet!" his father kept shouting as Gurpreet dismissed him with a wave of his hand and climbed the stairs.
Once in his room, he closed the door and fell straight onto his bed, instantly asleep.
The next morning, he slept until 10 a.m. When he woke, rays of sunlight were streaming in from the window and onto the bed. It was a beautiful day. He climbed off the bed, took off his shoes and clothes from the night before, and took a hot shower. The shower felt good, he changed into clean clothes, sprayed on some cologne, and stood in front of the mirror tying on his turban. He felt very hungry, and he could smell breakfast downstairs.
When he came downstairs, the house was empty. His parents had already gone out. But his mother had left his breakfast on the table. Aloo parantha's with yogurt. A small thermos and tea cup. Butter and toast on the side. A glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. He sat down and devoured everything to feed his ravenous appetite.
After breakfast, Gurpreet picked up his backpack and headed out for class. He had already missed two morning classes, but was lucky that the next class began in the afternoon, so it gave him enough time to reach the college campus by bus.
It was an unusually full class. When Gurpreet walked in, the only available seat was in the front row. With a sigh, he took the seat, and watched uncomfortably as the instructor reviewed the main textbook in preparation for his lecture. Gurpreet felt squeezed in the tiny chair, surrounded on both sides by other students in very close proximity. The person sitting next to him was tall and lean, wore glasses and had a head of neatly cut brown hair. He seemed very studious.
They looked at each other awkwardly in their seats which had brought them way too close for comfort. He nodded briefly to acknowledge Gurpreet and introduced himself.
"Michael Nesmith," he said.
"Gurpreet Dhillon," Gurpreet replied, nodding in return, and managing a small smile.
The professor looked at his watch and then up at the class. It was time to begin. The steady murmur of everyone talking died down into an expectant silence. Then, the professor began.
"This is Modern Physics," he intoned in an authoritative voice, "we will begin today by talking about classical mechanics. Classical mechanics is the basis for all of Physics. It describes the motion of of all objects like particles and mechanical systems and so forth."
He turned to the blackboard and started writing. Michael immediately began taking meticulous notes. Gurpreet glanced down at Michael's notebook and was impressed with his neat and clean handwriting.
"You think homework will be assigned?" he whispered to Michael. Michael grimaced a bit. There was still a strong smell of alcohol on Gurpreet's breath.
"Yes," he said quietly, "this professor always assigns homework, and a lot of it."
After the class, Michael distanced himself from Gurpreet as fast as he could. Gurpreet lingered in his chair, too lazy to get up, until most of the class had left the classroom. Finally, he gathered his books and packed them into his backpack.
Outside in the hallway, a line had already begun to form for the next class. He was walking by when he noticed a girl smiling at him. She had long brown hair, an oval face, and bright, big eyes. He slowed down when he reached her, unsure if he knew her or not.
She spoke first.
"Did you take Linear Algebra last semester?" she asked, looking at him sideways and trying to remember, "Professor Ullman?"
"Oh yea, I did," replied Gurpreet, nodding.
"I thought it was you!" she smiled wide, "I was in the same class."
"Oh, cool," Gurpreet said, thinking that she was very pretty.
"I'm Megan," she said, introducing herself. She held out her hand.
"Gurpreet," he replied, smiling and shaking her hand. It felt small in his, her skin was soft and smooth.
"What are you taking this semester?" she inquired.
"Oh, um, well, this one, Modern Physics, and I have some engineering courses," Gurpreet tried to go through the list, "Bio 101, I had to find some elective, and also that HHP, I think that's what they are calling it. Health and human fitness 101."
She laughed musically, "I took that two semesters ago. It's the easiest class you'll ever take."
"Good! I could use some A's!"
The line started to move as people began filing into the classroom.
"Gotta go," said Megan, "It was nice to meet you, Gurpreet."
"Same here," said Gurpreet, raising a hand in a kind of wave. He stood and watched as Megan walked into the classroom, smiling brightly and nodding as the girl next to her asked her a question.