Heart Skips A Beat

Pratap desperately searched his bag but had no luck. Amidst the chaos of preparation for a client visit all night, he had ignored the phone & now the battery was critically low. His sleep-deprived mind was in panic & he felt his racing heartbeat. As it was early in the day, he knew that very few people would be in the office. He thought, "How many would carry a charger?" As he scratched his head, wondering what to do, he heard the chatter of women. He silently prayed for either one of them to have a charger. Without wasting any time, he quickly walked up to them & asked, 'Hi, May I borrow your phone charger?" With raised eyebrows & a questioning look, Kanika replied, "I have an iPhone charger." He responded, "Oh, I need an android one." Kanika smiled & pointed towards the woman beside her. Sheetal proudly presented the charger & handed it over to him.

Pratap thanked Sheetal & swiftly retraced his steps. He plugged in one end of the charger to the socket & another end to the phone. When the phone blinked, 'Charging,' he sighed with relief & his heartbeat seemed to regularise. Once Pratap left, Sheetal said in a condescending tone, "You never miss an opportunity to flaunt that you have an iPhone. Do you?" Kanika pleaded, "No, I only enquired to give the charger." Sheetal smirked; Kanika shook her head & went back to the monitor. While Kanika looked into the monitor, her mind associated with her cousin's observation in daily soaps. Innocently, the child had stated, "Akka, all the bad aunties (vamps) have apple phones like you." Kanika thought, "A kid is putting me in the same basket as vamps. What do I flaunt about it?"

A few hours later, Pratap walked up to Sheetal, returned the charger & thanked her. Sheetal asked, "Done already?" Pratap replied with a smile, "I have a client visit in another 30mins. Hopefully, my phone will survive the day." Sheetal inquired Pratap, "I read an article in today's newspaper. Apparently, during an update, a dummy helpdesk number was added to all phones by default." The statement intrigued colleagues around; everyone checked their phones. He replied, "Oh, is it? I haven't gotten a chance to check the newspaper or the phone. Let me check." On verifying, he confirmed, "Yeah, I see it. What do I do?" Quite a few of the colleagues had the same question in the form of expression on their faces.

Sheetal looked around & replied, "Delete it. I did." Kanika stated, "I don't see it in my phone." Sheetal mentioned, "It's not for apple people." Kanika's eyebrows knotted & asked, "What's that supposed to mean?" Sheetal sarcastically replied, "You eat an apple as a snack & own an Apple phone." Kanika glared at colleagues' giggles & exclaimed, "What?" Sheetal responded, "That was an issue with Android, not Apple." Kanika grinned, "Ah-ha! Security setup in iOS is good." Sheetal questioned, "For one phone number, you begin to praise iPhone?" Kanika replied, "It's not about just that one number. Who knows what other security threats are around?" For once, the catfight was technical & the audience was keen.

Sheetal argued, "Now who is flaunting?" Kanika replied, "It is not flaunting, only a hard fact." Sheetal continued, "For most people, it is a social status to own an iPhone." Kanika replied, "Not for me!" Sheetal questioned, "Then why do you own it?" She calmly replied, "I bought iPhone, as the office is paying a portion of it. I don't splurge my hard-earned money on gadgets". Sheetal staunchly replied. "My phone is worth 10k & it works. That's enough for me. I don't have to spend extra on accessories."

Kanika shut her eyes tight & pinched the bridge of her nose. Kanika tried to convince her, "I have used several other branded phones, and they don't last more than 2yrs. The process of setting up a new phone end to end is a two-day task. Most importantly, I had to take care of the phone. Check for the signal, data connectivity, daily drama of the apps hanging frequently, which led to phone reboot and to be on my toes to charge the phone all the time. After I switched to an iPhone, my phone took care of me. I need not switch phones frequently." A few heads nodded at these reasons & Kanika felt some respite. Sheetal commented, "You have done your homework; look at the justification!" Kanika responded, "These are genuine reasons & my experience."

Sheetal muttered, "Whatever!" Kanika sharply questioned, "When we have to click pictures, you ask for my phone; the rest of the time, you only find faults with it." Sheetal reasoned, "Pictures come out well in iPhone. Not that other phone cameras aren't good. We are only making good use of the iPhone, for it cost a bomb. Value for money." Kanika rolled her eyes. Sheetal continued questioning, "Apple claims iPhone is scratch-proof; why do you use tempered glass then?" Kanika replied, "When I hold iPhone to my ears, earrings scratch the screen." Sheetal said, "Oh, I get you. Diamond cuts diamond," Kanika asked, "Now, what is that?" Sheetal responded, "Diamond earrings cut a phone's screen that costs as much as a diamond." Kanika exclaimed, "I cannot believe you said that! I don't even wear diamond earrings."

Kanika was tired of the catfight & she saw no end to it. The conversation was receiving undesired traction & attention. Kanika replied, "It's only a phone; why don't you give me a break?" Sheetal replied, "It's a phone that costs as much as a kidney." Kanika ground her teeth; an ache in her jaw reminded the presence of the troubling wisdom tooth. She relaxed her bite & massaged her jaw. She said, "I don't have the energy to keep up with you. I'm going for a coffee break." No sooner did Kanika get up from her seat than she realised her mistake. She could not afford to witness the fall or the after-effects. She quickly shut her eyes tight & thumped her left palm to her forehead. The iPhone fell with a soft thud on the carpeted floor & her heart skipped a beat.

Take Away:

Highly recommended & advised to invest in a premium quality iPhone case.