Destined to do it at the last moment.

From the day I was born, I have made a reputation of completing things only at the last minute. As an example, I was born at 11:55 p.m. on August 3rd. I wouldn't get out, so the doc had to give mom an injection. (Family folklore)

I have almost never submitted an exam application before the last date. This drives my parents crazy! Especially mom, who has a habit of doing things early.

But yesterday was the worst! I reached the examination hall at 9:35 while the exam had started at 9:30. I had forgotten to take my hall ticket.

To be quite honest, I couldn't study anything at all for information theory and coding. It relies heavily on linear algebra, we knew nothing about it and since I almost had an attendance shortage for the subject this semester, you can guess my condition. So, at 8:30, I left the house, feeling dejected. I was not sure whether I would pass the exam. I rate the subject to be the third worst I have ever studied, after engineering graphics and power electronics.

I boarded the college bus. (This is a good sign, I thought. Usually, I never get the college bus.) I even got a seat to sit! (hint: happens very rarely, because mine is the last stop.) When the bus almost reached the college, I had an urge to check whether I had taken my hall ticket.

I found that-I had not taken it! It was 8:50 already. Mom would have left the house at 8:35; so there was no point in calling her. I checked my bag. Whoops! I had forgotten to take the key of the house. So there was no point in returning back.

If you forget the hall ticket and still have to write the exam, you have to get a letter from your Staff Advisor and get it signed by your HoD. I found that both of them had not reached the college. So I called my Staff Advisor on the phone. Surprise! She did not take the call.

Now I had just one option left - call mom, ask her to return so that I could take my hall ticket. I called mom, and asked: 'Well, mom, can you do me a favour?'................

I hired an auto from the auto stand near the college. It was 9:03 already. We had two small traffic blocks on our way. To cut a long story short, I reached home at 9:17. (God alone knows how the driver did it, for he seemed so slow. But then, at such times, any driver would seem slow.) Mom had hired a taxi to get back. I took my hall ticket, said a quick 'thanks' to my mom, and ran back to the auto.

While returning, I was feeling grateful to the auto driver but he crushed my gratitude under his feet by getting into a petrol pump at 9:24. I had no time to waste. So I paid him his money and hired another auto. I was sure I would be late. But the new driver seemed to be practising exclusively for Formula 1. So I reached the college at 9:30. Meanwhile, one of my classmates called and told me that my exam room was in our department. So I ran to the department. When I reached there, two of my classmates told me that there had been a slight misunderstanding; we were to write the exam somewhere else. So we climbed to the second floor of the main building ( I do not know which dumb fellow had proposed this dumb idea of putting the seating arrangement in the second floor! Can't they put it in the ground floor, for God's sake?) We learnt that we were to go to the Mech Department. So ran again to the Mech block. The invigilator was a bit angry, but I didn't mind.

The question paper was specifically designed to intimidate the students, I suppose. I found it very tough, but then, I had not prepared properly.

I believe I will get through. I learnt one thing, however - never forget your Hall ticket. Or at least, don't forget your keys.