C2 CHAPTER-2

They decided to wait for their turn and started leafing through the information brochures lying on the table. The wait lasted for about fifteen minutes and they waited for the boisterous group of boys and girls to exit the room before they made their move. The beautiful ladies at the counter smiled at them and politely enquired about the course they were interested in. Both of them were interested in pursuing BBA as their ultimate aim was to go for an MBA degree from a top-notch institute after completing their graduation. Being the flirt that he was, Akhil's eyes lit up when he got the opportunity to interact with the ladies and started behaving as if he had already made up his mind to join the institute. Seeing his behaviour and sensing the immediate need to quieten him, Rajeev gave Akhil a stern look and a poke in his ribs. Rajeev then took over and enquired about the institute's affiliation, course structure, exam schedule, placement opportunities and the fee structure. Students were granted admission on the basis of their performance in the board exams, interview and written test. But students securing above 70% in their board exams were granted spot admission.

After carefully noting down all the information that was required they thanked the ladies and came out. Next they decided to visit a few institutes located near Rohini and Janakpuri Market. They went to the pre-paid auto stand located near the adidas outlet at one end of the South Extension-I market and hired an auto. As it was admission time, the streets were full of students, many of them accompanied by their parents with anxious looks on their faces. Rajeev let out a sigh, and said a silent prayer to god to enable him to make the best possible decision regarding his future studies.

The journey took them anhour and when they went in, the reception counter was already full of students anxiously leafing through their certificates and mark sheets over and over again while waiting for the results of the entrance test and interview. The staff manning the counter handed them a couple of forms each which they had to fill up and deposit along with a small amount as processing fee to be eligible for the written test.

At that moment a man came out from one of the classrooms and pasted a sheet of paper on the notice board containing the names of those students selected for the interview. There was joy on the faces of those who made it to the next round while sorrow was writ large on the faces of those who were unsuccessful. Rajeev turned his face away and took a deep breath. The next round of written test was arranged almost immediately after the results of the earlier batch of students were announced. Luckily both Rajeev and Akhil were allotted the same room. The questions were tricky and covered topics like general awareness, analytical reasoning, essay writing and grammar. Akhil attempted a few questions and sat chewing his nails and cursing himself under his breath for visiting that institute and waited impatiently for his friend to complete the test. Meanwhile, Rajeev was busy solving his paper and hardly had the time to look up and find out how his friend was faring. After an agonizing wait, the test was finally over and Akhil heaved a sigh of relief. He hurriedly submitted his answer-sheet and left the hall with Rajeev in hot pursuit.

Both of them went back to the reception counter and decided to wait till the results were announced. Rajeev knew that Akhil had not attempted most of the questions from the look on his face and scolded him for his careless attitude. But Akhil was least bothered as he hated exams. Moreover, as he had come to Delhi immediately afterpassing his board exams he was in no mood to even discuss about exams for the next few months. After some time the peon came and pasted another sheet of paper on the notice board. Rajeev walked over to check the list of selected students while Akhil followed him with a look of anger and frustration.

As was expected, Rajeev managed to clear the test while Akhil failed to make the cut. After another wait, the admissions co-ordinator, a smartly dressed young lady, came out holding a register and pointing a red finger nail at Rajeev called out his name. Without looking at Akhil, he got up and moved quickly in the direction of the room where the interviews were taking place. The interview lasted for about fifteen minutes after which Rajeev went and collected the necessary forms required for completing the process of admission and left the building. Akhil was already waiting near the gate and without glancing at each other they got into an auto, which would take them to Janakpuri, their next stop. They did not utter a single word during this journey.