Mobstruck

The morning star was already up and shining. It was a bright yet breezy morning. The road that usually would be jam packed by now, seemed deserted. I love to sit by the table’s corner and watch this view all day. I have three others staying with me in my room, factually it is not ‘my room’ but I love referring to it that way. In this one year of my stay with my friends it has always been me who sleeps late at night and wakes early in the morning! I have never had a continuous sleep all my life, I wake up several times. One of my friends, Max Turbo, always wanted me to consult a doctor. He was more worried that I might turn into an insomniac. While I was enjoying the morning view it just struck me, this is an important day to Jessie. Oh my God! Just one second to seven o'clock and I…

“I'm back!  Get off that thing, and dance 'till you feel better, Get off that thing, and dance till you, sing it now! Get up off that thing…”

“Whoa Whoa Whoa! Wake up Jessie, come on!” I fear every night when it gets dark and silent. When the whole world waits for that moment where they can forget all their miseries and just rest or remain dead temporarily until morning, that’s when I panic more. It is definitely not the sleep that worries me; it is the sound of the alarm that literally stops my breath. I cannot tolerate the alarm-tone that Jessie picks every time. It instantly hauls me to hell in less than a second. The vibrations tickled every part of me and nauseated me to death.

“Ah! I wish you never existed, I hate you…” It was Jessie.

I am bored of hearing this every morning. She wouldn't start her day without cursing me. She always has this bad habit of talking nonsense when she is half-asleep. No matter what, I know she loves me more than anything in this world.

“Hey Jessie! Good morning.” I said.

“Ah Zee, she hasn't responded to you in months but you still keep wishing her every morning. Come on man, it’s enough!” It was Max Turbo.

Max Turbo is nine months younger to me and has always been my best buddy since he stepped into ‘my’ house. He is from Gurgaon, India and his full name is Micromax Canvas Turbo, such a long name to call.  I perhaps shouldn't be teasing him for his long name because I own a drawn-out one myself! Yes, I am Sony Xperia Z and I love the way Max calls me “Zee”.

“Rekha is still sleeping and she sleeps all day. It bores me to death,” Max frowned.

Rekha is his boss and Jessie is mine.

“Come on buddy, that’s how humans spend most of their Sundays. Haven’t your parents taught you this before packing you to the showroom?”

“Ah Zee, she leaves me to charge up before going to bed and never unplugs me till she is awake. My battery is already full. It’s less than eight months and it looks blown up. I might burst soon.”

“Ha-ha! Aren’t you aware of the modern medical science? We can easily have a battery transplantation Max. It hardly takes a minute. Stay cool!”

“You fool! We both have non-removable batteries.”

“Oh yeah! But I trust humans more than I trust myself. No matter what, be good to Rekha and she will fix you in a day or two when you fall sick.” When the last word fell out of me I felt butterflies in my stomach. Ah man, the signals were fast approaching and in less than a second it hit me hard.

“We found love in a hopeless place…. We found love in a hopeless place…” It was Jessie’s dad calling her. Jessie loves this song so much that she hasn't changed this ringtone past a year.

“Zee, I wonder how humans named this as ringtone. We are screaming our batteries out man.” He giggled.

Jessie was busy dressing herself up for this great day that she had been waiting for the past one year. She came running towards me in her favourite jean and a purple tee. She had a grin as she lifted me up swiftly with her soft fingers and as she dragged the green button to the right, she had her fingers crossed. She appeared excited and nervous the same time.

“Hello Dad, when will you be starting?” A hush honeyed voice hit my microphone.

“I am already at the airport and will reach there in an hour. I need to return here before twelve noon,” he said.

Don’t ever think that I have this habit of overhearing Jessie’s personal calls. I am not that type of a guy; this was how they designed me.

“Dad, that is too early. You said you will be here till tomorrow. I have asked Jack to come over by six in the evening.” Her hushed voice was turning shrill second after second.

“I have to attend an important wedding, I totally forgot about it. Just inform Jack that we are meeting in the morning. I am going to board the flight dear, see you!” The line went dead.

I was worried looking at Jessie, all the excitement that she had when she picked the call started fading. I could see dampness on her forehead all of a sudden. “Jessie, everything is going to be alright.” I wished that she heard me. 

She and Jack were completely in love for the past two years. Though I came into her life a year back, no one other than me would have known how much they need each other. They both are working for the same IT Company. Last week Jessie told her dad about her love and he promised that he would meet Jack the coming weekend, which is today. Jessie is staying with us in a rented house which is near to her workplace. Her parents live in a town that is around 450 Km from here. Her dad is a businessman who flies overseas almost every month and her mom is a retired government employee.

I was desperately waiting for her to dial Jack’s number. No, I am not fond of jack but I am crazy about the black lady that he has with him. She is the love of my life. She is nine months younger to me. She is a dazzling black angel who would probably come till my shoulders. She just swept me off my feet with her 8 MP eye during our first meeting. In short she is a 130 g Taj Mahal born in Americas yet brought up in the southern part of Korea. I know I used Taj Mahal because I remember Max using the same statement on his girlfriend. He is an Indian guy and he is all I know till now. Her parents named her Nexus the fifth. I am Japanese, she is an American. I am white, she is black. We belong to different religion, cast, community and what not. Nothing bothered me; it was just her love that I wanted. Love united us.

It was 8:15 AM, Jessie decided to call Jack. I was impatient. She called him several times and all her calls went unanswered. After fifteen minutes, I felt the signals moving towards me very fast. I decoded the signal in less than a second and yes, it was Jack. I wanted to scream “Jessie, my black lady is calling. Pick up the call,” unfortunately I screamed, 

“We found love in a hopeless place…. We found love in a hopeless place…”

Jessie took the call and made me feel the warmth of my lady’s hand. Yes, we were now connected heart to heart. Oops! I actually meant Sim to Sim. I have to wait for another one hour to meet my black lady.

“Hey Jessie, I will be there in the evening. I am at the stadium now. Can I call you back later?” He asked.

“Oh Damn! I totally forgot about your match today. How is it going?”

“The match will end in the evening. I will immediately pack my things and run to my baby. Is that alright?”

 “What! Now??

Jessie, are you out of your senses?

You know cricket has always been my passion. I wanted to get into the Indian cricket team someday. I am striving hard for that. This is not a normal match to leave as I wish. I am playing for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy Final. I should prove myself today.”

“I know it dear. My dad called me minutes ago and he will be here in less than an hour. Please Jack, can you rethink?”

“Jessie, please understand me. Calm down. Can you make your dad stay longer?”

The conversation prolonged for another fifteen minutes without any conclusion. Gradually they broke into arguments and it was getting intense every minute. They were literally fighting and hurting each other out of angst. They were shouting, screaming and calling names. They were literally knocking each other with words. I could feel how they both would be bleeding inside. I just wanted to shut myself down and end this fight. I really don’t understand why humans hurt each other so easily with words and let their anger take control over them.

“Beep”, Jack disconnected the call abruptly. Jessie looked awfully broken. I prayed that she shouldn't get watery-eyed; it hurts me even more to see her so. Humans call it ‘tears’.

 “For God’s sake, stop doing this to me,” I cried out of pain. She held me too tight and started bumping me on and off her forehead. I would rather prefer her lips to forehead. Come on, don’t take it in a nasty way. I meant it would hurt me less, a soft landing! I have read this in my graduation in a subject called ‘Human Anger Management’ which says, “Humans have a habit of bouncing any solid material on and off their forehead out of mere tension. This may prolong till their brain cells got activated.” 

“Oh… No, No, No, don’t do that to me. Jessie, please don’t do that to me…” She just threw me on the table that I hit the wall hard and bounced back to the corner of the table.

“Jessie, it hurts me. Did you hear that? I am in pain.” All my cries went in vain.

“Zee, are you okay man?” It was Max.

“Did you not see what she did to me? She threw me Max. I am hurt, I guess I got a scratch on my shoulder.”

“Thank God, Rekha is still single! I can’t face all this.” He smiled at me.

"Don't irritate me Max."

"Okay, let me cool you down. Can you believe that I was the only reason for Rekha still being single?"

"Really?"

"She was dating a guy two months back. She texted him one morning 'Dear, I am dining with you tonight!' They broke up just because of this message." 
"This is such a loving message and why would they break up for this?"
"Ha-Ha! I autocorrected the message and sent it as 'Dear, I am dumping you tonight!'" He started laughing.

I couldn't control my laughter either. But if Jessie hadn't met Jack, I wouldn't have met my black lady. Jessie was sitting on her bed confused not knowing how to handle the situation. She was holding her head tight and staring at me relentlessly.

“Stop staring at me like that Jessie. I am not your Jack. I am Zee.”

“Ha-Ha, He is Zee!” Max joined me.

Oh no, I see her eyes twinkling like a star, shining like a diamond. In a second, a tear rolled down her cheek and to my shock it started rushing down continuously wetting her beautiful cheeks.

“I feel so lonely!” She changed her WhatsApp status and went to the phone settings and quickly changed the ringtone and threw me to the corner again and went back to her bed. “My Goodness, what has happened to this generation?” I thought.

“Don’t feel lonely Jessie, I am here for you. You can have my shoulders. I am made water-resistant, I can wipe your tears. I am your best friend, do you hear me?” I know she will not hear me but I couldn't see my best friend crying.

“Hey Max, I am feeling hungry. My battery is draining and she isn't taking care of me.”

“Zee will tap you hard. I am so bloated.”

“Max, listen to me. It is 9:00 AM now and her dad will be here any minute. I want to grab her attention by doing something. Even if she takes a look at the wallpaper it will cool her down. She should contact Jack again which is the only solution.” The wallpaper that she has kept now is of her in Jack’s arms, sitting in a park with a huge grin on their faces.

“What’s your battery status?” Max asked.

“15%”

“Awesome, just 1 more percent down and you will have the battery notification popping up. Come on, do something and heat up your battery.”

He said that very easily but humans are brilliant that they designed me brainless. I cannot make calls myself, I cannot do anything without the help of my boss. I was lying down helpless. Like a bolt from the blue someone sent a message in one of her WhatsApp groups. Yes, I gained on my confidence. Within a minute there were lots of messages flooding in the group chat. I kept beeping to each of the messages and I was waiting for one last beep that would bring my battery down. It finally happened. I wanted to shout “I am starving to death Jessie, give me food.” But I beeped and threw a warning message “Please connect charger”. As expected she looked at me and got up from her bed. I was flying out of happiness and I looked at Max. He was still carrying the fear of death expression. She neared me and lifted me. She slowly leaned and unplugged Max from his charger and plugged the same into mine.

“Oh no! Have you gone nuts? Jessie, use my charger. He is a Li-Po 2300 mAh battery and I am a Li-ion 2330 mAh battery. You can’t do this to me. JESSIE. My battery is getting heated up.”

“Ha-Ha-Ha” It was Max having a nice time watching me suffer.

I convinced myself that this would be the first and last time such a thing was happening to me. Amidst this chaos I just realized that she is still holding me in her hand and staring at the wallpaper. She did not run back to her bed and sit still like a statue.

“Our plan worked out Max,” I wanted to give him a hi-five.

She started brushing me gently, so passionately. I should probably rephrase it as she was brushing the wallpaper so passionately. She lifted me and kissed Jack on the wallpaper. She wiped her tears off and started typing a message speedily. It read, “Jack, I am sorry for behaving so. I know joining the Indian cricket team was your dream. I shouldn't have been so rude at you. I will make my dad stay back till evening. We will be waiting for you. Love you Jack.” The smile that she gave once she hit the ‘Send’ button looked priceless. “This is love Max. This is love!” I said.

This time she made sure she placed me carefully on the table and went to freshen herself before her dad arrived. “Awe”. Suddenly, I had that tickling feeling in my stomach and I started decoding the signals fast and it was a call from her dad. I screamed,

“Show me the meaning of being lonely… So many words for the broken heart, It's hard to see in a crimson love…” It prolonged for less than a minute and the call ended. She was in the adjacent room that she missed my screams.

“Ting-Tong!” someone chinked the calling bell continuously. I shouldn't be saying someone because it was so obvious that it would be her dad. She ran to the door correcting her dress and hair. She didn't want her dad to know what she was going through in the past hour. She held the latch and before opening it she ran to me and took me with her, hastily unlocking the screen. May be, she wanted to check if Jack had replied her. But that fellow didn't bother about her message. She frowned for a second looking at me and opened the door with a smile.

“Hey dad,” She hugged him instantly. But within a second she just bounced back. My goodness, I couldn't feel my batteries for a second. It was my black lady. I know this wouldn't amuse anyone of you. It was Jack who was standing alongside her dad with a gentle smile on his face.

“Hey Jessie, you never told me that Jack was going to pick me from the airport. It was a surprise.”

She was not able to hold her emotions back when she heard that. She looked at Jack and gave him a loving smile. Oh No! Jack put my black lady in his pocket. I was not able to take this. As Rekha was sleeping in this room they moved to the dining hall.

“Let me refresh quickly dear. I am all worn out.” Her dad said as he walked to the washroom.

Jessie and Jack were sitting beside each other on the dining table speechless. She placed me on the table and relaxed herself on her chair. But Jack just broke my heart; he behaved so cruel to us. He still has my black lady in his pocket.  “Hey Jack, don’t you know that sitting on the wallet or mobile is not much different than walking around with one shoe on and one shoe off? It hurts you substantially man.” No one hears me. I just feel like jumping off this table and killing myself.

“Jack, what happened to your match?” Jessie asked him.

“Ha-Ha! I opted for batting first, I lifted my bat. My goodness, the ball hit the stumps and I walked out.” He laughed.

“What?” She couldn't react to this anymore. “Did you just throw your dream for me?” she asked.

“This is not the end Jessie. I will play again. So don’t worry about this. You are more important to me in this world,” he said.

She held his hand tight and struggled to bring out those words, “I love you Jack.”

“We found love in a hopeless place…. We found love in a hopeless place…”

No, it wasn’t me. Jessie changed my ringtone minutes back. Wow, it should be my black lady and wait a minute, he has the same ringtone? My god, I am not able to understand this ‘love’ at times. It makes people crazy. But whatever it is, he took my black lady out of his pocket. He disconnected the call and placed her beside me. “Hey Zee!” Ah man, her voice just boosted up my battery from 20% to 100%.

Her dad joined us in sometime. He was impressed with Jack the moment he saw him in the airport. They had a good chat for the next one hour.

“Time for me to start dear. Jack is a very good choice. I am happy for you both. I will bring mom next time so that we can meet his family.” Her dad walked out of the room as he spoke.

“I will drop you uncle.” Saying thus Jack followed him.

This was an unforgettable day in Jessie’s life. Rekha was still asleep. Max was bored to death while I was enjoying my day with my black lady. Yes, Jack left her here with me. He left her here because he wanted a reason to visit Jessie again but according to me, my black lady stayed back for me.