he said 'i would have died a long time ago'
"I would have died a long time ago," groaned PeePeeDoc, when he saw the latest invention in the world of literature. "Kids 'reading' from mini pods? What does that even mean?" "Don't be a dinosaur PPD," consoled the Guest. "Do you remember the time we used to read physical books, printed on sheaves of paper?" "And now look at what has happened!" he lamented, like the hero of a Greek tragedy. The Guest rolled her eyes. She was used to PeePeeDoc's dramatisation of the past, confabulating it into a magical time when children behaved respectfully, sat in corners reading books in strange halls called 'Libraries', and stood silently in front of their elders when they were spoken to. It seemed like something out of the stone age! She watched her students saunter around on segways in the hallways of the school which was built in the shape of a pyramid, with escalators criss crossing across like Escher's staircase. "Make sure you slow down your thoughts this time," she cautioned PPD as he strapped himself into the AI tutor pod to transmit his thoughts to the data base from which the kids would dock in, and do a cranio cranial share of information. The last class has been flagged as "1.25x speed" which demoted PPD to an orange tag on the faculty label. "That was an electrode malfunction," clarified PPD, who clearly didn't like losing his numero uno green tag as a teacher. "Well, whatever it is, Jamal is now on a green tag," explained the Guest. "Jamal?" Asked PPD incredulously. The Guest transmitted a holograph of Jamal into the space between them.
"Isn't this guy Jamal?" asked the Guest, clarifying. "Yes," said PPD ruefully. This was the second time he had come second to Jamal. He immediately retreated into the Past, and sat back pensively in his Pod. Slowly, the Guest saw his thoughts playing on the holographic projection in front of them, like a movie. Jamal and PPD looked young and handsome in the image screening. They were cycling together in a beautiful field, next to a station labelled "Surat", munching on some vegetarian samosas, expertly maneuvering their bikes with one hand each. "I met the girl of my dreams," said PPD to Jamal. "You fall in love too easily!" teased Jamal. "No. Seriously, she's perfect! She's an anesthetist, she came for the case today." "Hmmm...." muttered Jamal, distracted by his samosa and the muddy route ahead. "Her name is a weird one though, it's Athithi," remarked PPD. "Athithi, you must mean Aditi?" corrected Jamal. "No no. I'm pretty sure it's Athithi, like Guest." "Strange name," remarked Jamal. "Where is she from?" "Bombay, i think," remarked PPD. "She's got a wicked sense of humour, very pretty, and quite a chatterbox." "Sounds painful," rued Jamal, who preferred a life of solitude, and avoided women like the plague. "Anyway, if you ever need a wingman...." Jamal trailed off.
The holograph disappeared momentarily, and the Guest sighed. She was enjoying the banter between the two young doctors. She prodded PPD to continue with his memories. PPD swallowed hard and lay his head back in the pod.
The holograph began to flicker again. "Hey Athithi," said PPD to a cute girl in green scrubs with curly hair peeping out from the sides of her cap. "Hey PPD," said the girl with a warm smile. "What is your list like today?" asked PPD. "I have some urology cases," noted the girl. "Oh nice," said PPD, his palms sweating. "I'm pretty excited about it," she said. PPD felt his heart skip a beat. "Does urology excite you?" he asked hesitantly. "Actually," she blushed, "I am intrigued by Dr Jamal." She giggled nervously. "Do you think you could introduce me to him?" PPD felt the blood drain from his face. The bro-code of the Urology Brotherhood was a strong one. He would have to step aside at this expression of interest. "He's a great guy," said PPD truthfully. "I think you two should definitely meet." Athithi gave him a warm hug and ran ahead down the long corridor to the Urology OT. PPD slumped against the wall and groaned. Another one bites the dust!
A brief crackle and the holograph disappeared. PPD awoke from his reverie and the Guest started laughing. "Really? Over a girl?" she laughed incredulously. PPD ran his hands through his hair. "Well at that time it hurt," he admitted. "Look at you, ever the Greek Tragic hero," teased the Guest putting an arm around his shoulders in consolation. "The number of times you have been infected by the love bug, you should have died a long long time ago!"
The End