chapter 6

My Standards, His Rules!Everybody was shocked by the news of my job.“Pratham Khatri hired you?” Riya, one of our classmates, gasped. As usual, she was eavesdropping for gossips.“Yeah. Why?” I enquired. She was one of the wanna-be girls who literally did everything just to get noticed.“You are lying.” She was clearly jealous!“Ishana never lies,” Shiva defended.“Well, if he really gave you this job, then good luck,” she rolled her eyes. “What are you talking about?” Shiva demanded. Unlike me, Shiva was on good terms with Riya, but still, she stood up for me. I was grateful that I had loyal friends like Sarv and Shiva. Without them, I would never belong here.“Pratham has a crooked reputation of not knowing boundaries,” she started.“What do you mean?” I was scared now. He said he would be professional, I wondered what his professionalism entailed.“I mean, he pays handsomely so that he can command you to work at any hour,” she informed, and Sarv asked, “How much is he paying you?” I didn’t respond. “His last assistant got five-thousand,” Riya supplied. My jaw dropped. “Why, is he paying you much lesser? Guess he pays as per the standard too.” She looked at me, scathingly. “What happened to his previous assistant?” I was curious.“Every assistant of his finds way in the fashion industry. I wonder where your path will lead you, given what you are…?” I wanted to say something, curse her maybe, but resisted.“You cannot work for that man for three-four thousand rupees, Ishana. We know you hate to borrow money from us, but working at odd-hours for someone is wrong.” Shiva tried to explain once Riya was out of earshot. Sarv nodded.“He is paying me ten-thousand,” I whispered, wondering about his generosity. Now it was their turn to be shocked. “I am yet to understand what is expected out of me. This other guy, Ankit, will tell me everything later today.” Shiva was quiet now, and Sarv spoke this time. “Well, I think for ten-thousand, it is okay.” Shiva gave him a reproaching look and barked, “You should have told that Riya about it. It would have put that whore in her bloody standard.”“SHIVA!” Sarv and I yelled together, but she just laughed.  Shiva was totally against my working. But Sarv was unopinionated. As per him, if I wished to be independent, so be it. Life had already given me a lot of troubles; I should at least have the freedom to do what I desired.Ankit explained to me my work, and it was fairly simple, I was supposed to maintain Pratham’s schedule – which apparently was always chaos. Pratham was in his first year of MBA. Ankit was in the third year of Engineering. However, their passion lied in photography. Pratham’s talent was so widely popular that he many times went to shoot fashion shows, events, etc. So far, he had sent portfolios of eight girls, and six had been selected by the ad agencies. “Oh, that’s why you said ‘I want to be a model?’” I asked Ankit with raised eyebrows. It had been one week since I joined work, and I was now pretty comfortable talking to him.“Yes. You clearly are not the model-material. So, I was confused,” he regretted his words instantly. “I am so sorry, it came out wrong,” he apologized immediately.“I get that a lot…” I was used to it now, but I couldn’t hide the hurt that his words had caused.“Ishana, I am really sorry,” he apologized again. He was about to say something when someone interrupted, “Apologizing in the very first week. I guess I did right by hiring you.” It was Pratham. Both Ankit and I were shocked by his sudden appearance. I had not seen him since I started officially. It was Ankit who was telling me everything. “You really are not that dumb as you pretend to be, isn’t it?” His tone and look were so arrogant that I was speechless. Maybe my initial judgment for him was wrong.“Ankit, file for the Mehar’s show?” Pratham asked.“Oh yes,” and Ankit rushed outside, leaving us alone.“So miss Ishana, enjoying the first week of your cool job?” he asked as he sat opposite to me. Our knees brushed, and I was about to move, but instead, he did. I appreciated that.I was considering what to reply, but he didn’t wait.“Listen, I have two rules,” he spoke matter-of-factly. I stared at him, confused. Many people, especially girls, had told me a lot of things about this mysterious, brooding Pratham Khatri, but nobody mentioned anything about his ‘rules’. “Rule number 1, you cannot live in a hostel. You have to find a PG.” His declaration felt like a punch in the guts. Leave hostel?  “Your hostel has many strict rules, which of course you cannot break. If you do so, you will face expulsion. So, you have to move.”“I…” I was speechless. “I know you have issues, financial and otherwise. Move-in with your friend and her boyfriend. I don’t care with whom you live, just you cannot live in a hostel and work for me.”“But why?” “Because next year we have a big fashion show and the preparations will start in a few months. Many photo shoots will be lined up. Girls will queue outside our office to get their portfolio done. These shoots are mostly done late in the evening. And your warden isn’t going to be kind enough to allow you late-entry every day.”“I…” I didn’t know why I was dumb-struck. I wanted to ask, ‘do I need to be there for all shoots?’ but couldn’t.“Your salary doesn’t come out of my pocket. We make maximum revenue through these shoots. So, you have to be there.” The finality in his tone stated that the case was closed.“Shiva and Sarv are not a couple,” I supplied. I knew it was out of context, but somehow, I felt it was my responsibility as their best friend to correct him.“What?” he was shocked for a second. “They are just friends. Not ‘my friend and her boyfriend’,” I quoted him. “Then why do they act like one?” he spoke thoughtfully. “Anyways, not my concern.” He dismissed with a casual wave, but I couldn’t. I knew that Sarv really liked Shiva, but did Shiva share similar feelings? I decided to observe them more closely.“So, when will you move out?” he asked.“End-sem exams are starting in a few weeks,” I started. “In six weeks precisely. Enough time to move out.” “I need to focus on my studies. I already…” I considered explaining my situation but decided otherwise. “I cannot move until after the exams. Also, I would need to find a place.”He gave me a deep searching look as if trying to read what I was hiding. Then, he picked up a diary and copied something from it. “Here,” he handed the paper to me. “Mariam is a very good landlady. She has a three-BHK apartment which should be available from next semester. She allows co-ed stay too.” “You really want me out of that hostel, don’t you?” I couldn’t hide the sarcasm in my tone. He smirked. “You really want this job, don’t you?” he spoke in the similar tone, and I bit my tongue. Reading my answer in my quiet, he continued, “So, move out.”“What is the second rule?” I frowned.He looked around, there was no one. Lowering his voice, he spoke, “You need to change your wardrobe.”I couldn’t understand his meaning. “Of course. I would have to change because I am moving. I cannot take the hostel’s wardrobe with me,” I snapped. And he laughed. He slapped his forehead and laughed so hard that his eyes watered. I couldn’t help but smile idiotically at his laughter. While he laughed, I noticed the same kind, caring nature surface in his eyes. He controlled himself and spoke, “With ‘wardrobe change’ I mean change your clothes.”My smile vanished. “What is it you want me to wear?” I was enraged. “Mini-skirts? Backless tops? Short dresses?” I was fuming with wrath. I had endured enough of shit from boys back home, I was not going to take it here too.“Hey, watch it!” his angry tone silenced me. “You can wear a burkha for all I care. I don’t care about which body part you expose. All I care about is work, and that should be done.” “Then why do you want my wardrobe changed?” I snarled.“Because you are my assistant. And my assistant cannot wear hand-me-downs and live up to the tags like ‘Sag-Doll’. Buy whatever you want, but at least wear decent clothes. And not these rags.” His words were brutal. I wanted to scream at him, say abusive words, but none came out. I looked down at my clothes and realized what he meant. I was not wearing branded clothes or elegant dresses like other girls. I was wearing a suit made out of my mother’s old-saree. And the worst part was, it was one of the best clothes I owned.“See Ishana, I know your situation.” His sudden change in tone made me look up. He had warm expressions on his face now. “I have heard all about you. Your reputation precedes you.” My reputation? The only reputation I knew I owned was of a slut – all thanks to Dev and his folder named ‘The Slut Chronicles’. Tears welled up in my eyes again. “I know you are very hard-working and dedicated,” he continued. Now, this was unexpected. “I know how you missed the first three months. Then how you caught up with the studies. And in recent tests, you are scoring really well,” he smiled.“I… well, thank you.” This was all I could say to him.“I hired you because of your qualities. We can always change a person’s look, but the character is unchangeable.”I was dumbfounded. For the first time ever, someone had spoken such words to me. I didn’t know how to react. “You need a wardrobe change Ishana. And it is non-negotiable. Please do buy some decent clothes. The girls we shoot are high-profile. They are real bitches and will make your life a living hell. And I cannot tolerate bullying. So, if not for you, then for me, please do me a favor and go shop.” I knew he was right. The way girls shied away from me showed what they felt. They considered me ‘untouchable’. Even Shiva had hinted a few times that I needed to buy new clothes, but how could I afford them. I had no money. “I will shop after my first pay. As you know my ‘condition’, I literally have no money,” I spoke, raising my empty hands.At this, he pulled out his wallet and placed twenty-five-hundred rupees on the table. “Your first week’s salary.” I gaped at him. “You cannot be offended by this because you have earned it.” He added as he read my expressions. I pocketed the money and Mariam’s address carefully. “Happy shopping,” he smiled politely, and I left confused. I was not sure what to make of his gesture. Should I be grateful for his consideration, or should I be offended at this insult? Anyways no matter what, I obliged.