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Anuj passed through a small corridor and saw a glass door on his left side. Kevin knocked at the door.
“Come in, please,” a voice came from the inside.
Kevin let Anuj move inside and wished him the best of luck.
Anuj entered and saw Dan sitting behind his desk facing the computer.
“Come, take a seat,” said Dan without turning to Anuj.
Anuj grabbed a chair. Dan was busy typing something on his computer. The click, click, click sound of the keyboard was making Anuj more and more nervous.
Just then Dan stopped typing. He took out an application form (presumably Anuj’s) and started reading it.
There was pin drop silence in the room.
“What is the first question going to be?” wondered Anuj.
Dan looked at Anuj with his deep green eyes.
“So do you really eat everything?” Dan chuckled with a smile creasing his eyebrows.
Anuj was taken aback. He had not expected this to be the first question. Then he remembered having mentioned in his application form that he was neutral, to having either vegetarian or non-vegetarian meals.
“Yyyy-eessss,” said Anuj. Puzzled.
“Really??? How about snails???”
“No, I don’t eat snails,” stuttered Anuj.
“Frog’s legs?” and Dan laughed without waiting for Anuj to answer.
“Anyway, we can’t afford to serve either. But you may know that most Indian students who stay here complain that our food is pretty bland,” remarked Dan.
“I don’t mind that. I actually have more problems with spicy food,” said Anuj.
“But I can’t really comment for other Indian students,” added Anuj.
“Hey don’t say anything about my Indian students. They’re very dear to me,” said Dan.
Anuj nodded, with a hint of a smile on his lips.
Dan was quiet. He again started reading Anuj’s application form. Anuj stole a glance at his dreadful photo stapled to the application form. He tried to look down at the table to avoid seeing his own photo.
“So you studied at St. Stephen’s College?”
“Yes, that’s right,” said Anuj.
“Wow. Do you know who St. Stephen was?”
“Yes. He was the first Christian saint who attained martyrdom. He was stoned to dea—”
“Uh, uh, uh—I never asked how he died,” remarked Dan.
Anuj felt a little weird. Strangely Dan was smiling from ear to ear.
“Are you a Christian?”
“No. I am not,” said Anuj.
“Then how do you know so much about St. Stephen?”
“From the college brochure,” said Anuj cheerfully.
“Ah I see,” Dan said. He sounded amused.
“And you studied philosophy?”
“Right,” said Anuj.
“Wow,” said Dan.
He became quiet again.
“Philosophy has taught me the art of asking the right questions,” Dan read aloud from Anuj’s application form.
Dan’s lips twisted as if he wasn’t convinced about the somewhat bombastic statement. Anuj was wondering—what was he going to say next?
“That sounds more like cross-examining. Don’t you think there is more to philosophy than asking ‘just the right questions’?” Dan queried.
“I agree that philosophy could be a way of life. But to me, the biggest gift of philosophy has been the ability to question everything. In school, we were taught—things that were absolutely true—and then things that were absolutely false. Philosophy taught me to question both beliefs,” replied Anuj.
Dan blinked, as if he wasn’t still convinced. At least this was the impression Anuj got. Anuj felt that burning sensation in his stomach again.
“Anyways—I think you have your own perspective of looking at the world,” said Dan.
He started reading Anuj’s application form aloud again.
“I have studied philosophers from Socrates to Aristotle, from Descartes to Kant... gosh that’s a long list of dreadful philosophers you’ve studied,” said Dan with a mild chuckle.
Anuj laughed nervously. He wasn’t sure whether Dan was being humorous or sarcastic. He hoped it was only the former.
“Are you aware of the Scholastics?”
“Yes I am,” said Anuj.
“Descartes completely wrecked the Scholastics,” said Dan.
Anuj nodded. “I agree.”
Dan quietened down.
“So are you going to study law at UCL?”
“Yes.”
“But why law?”
There came the question Anuj was dreading to hear.
“To me, law sounded like a natural progression from philosophy. I enjoy seeing things from a different perspective, excuse me—different perspectives. There are no right or wrong answers in law too. That’s why judges differ from each other so much while hearing appeals. It is ultimately a matter of interpretation. There is no final meaning. And this is what I found fascinating about law,” said Anuj.
“Really?” said Dan. His voice screamed of disbelief.
“Are you going to be a lawyer then?” asked Dan.
“Certainly,” answered Anuj.
“Do you know that I worked as a solicitor for over 5 years with a firm called Allen & Overy? I am sure you would have heard the name. It’s a Magic Circle firm,” said Dan.
“Yes, I have,” Anuj’s face lit up.
By the way, in England & Wales, corporate lawyers are called solicitors. They are the kind who never visit a court but instead sit in their swanky offices drafting legal documents for mergers and acquisitions and so on.
“I gave up on my lawyer dreams some time ago and became a Director here. What can I really say about that place? It was great. The working hours were extremely long. But the money was good. Anyway you’ll find out eventually what you’re in for,” said Dan.
Anuj was puzzled. What exactly did Dan mean?
Dan put the application form on the table. He looked at Anuj again. Those green eyes.
“Why should we hire you?”
Oops, Anuj felt goose-bumps.
Anuj became quiet, gathering his thoughts. What could he really bring to the table? What was unique about him?
And then he started speaking:
“I read your rules and thought I would fit perfectly well in this place.”
Dan blinked again. Almost in disbelief.
“Really?”
“I come from a different cultural background and would only add some more colour to your existing—what do I say—international, multi-cultural and, and—oh yes, colourful atmosphere,” said Anuj. His voice sounded hollow to him. He knew Dan was looking for more in him than what he said. But what else could he bring to the table?
Dan smiled.
“Rest I really don’t know much about this Hall. I mean—I did some research but I’m not sure—what extra-curricular activities do you offer? I would love to get involved in some,” said Anuj.
“Well, there are plenty of them. We have sports, plays, musical shows and even our own monthly magazine. You’ll become familiar with all of them in due course.”
Anuj was puzzled for a moment. Was this Dan’s way of saying he had made it? From what Anuj had gathered from the interview was that—Dan never spoke in clear terms. He preferred speaking in riddles instead.
There was a brief pause for a moment.
Dan got up and so did Anuj. He shook hands again with Anuj.
“Welcome to Netherhall House. It was a pleasure meeting you. You may move in today, if you so wish,” said Dan.
Anuj couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He thought he had quite messed up the interview.
“Thank you so much,” said Anuj.
“But remember one thing—you should pay the first instalment of fees by next Friday. Otherwise your application form goes into this bin here.”
“Oh by the way, you haven’t told me anything about your room preference. Where would you like to stay—old wing or the new one?”
“New wing, please,” said Anuj.
“Great choice,” said Dan. He looked at a sheet of paper and then allotted a room number to Anuj.
“Don’t forget that lunch is at 1 p.m.,” said Dan.
Anuj nodded. “I won’t.”
“Any questions?”
“I do have one,” said Anuj.
Dan blinked again in mock horror.
“Go on,” said Dan.
“Are you in any way related to Dan Brown, the famous novelist?”
“Yes, he’s my uncle. But why? Did you read the Da Vinci Code before coming here?” asked Dan. His tone sounding friendly.
“Yes, I have. It was one of my favourite books,” said Anuj.
Dan grabbed his chest with his hands as if he was about to get a heart attack and faint.
“And you still came here knowing that this place is run by Opus Dei?”
“Yes,” said Anuj.
“Your parents never had any objections,” asked Dan.
“They were fine with it. But I think Dan Brown says some terrible things about Opus Dei which do not sound fair,” said Anuj. He was trying to be polite.
Dan laughed.
“I think Uncle Dan portrays Opus Dei accurately. He is bang on target. You’ll soon find out when you meet some of the mad monks here,” said Dan and left laughing.
A chill ran through Anuj’s spine for a moment. He once again pictured albino monks roaming around in brown robes and hoods till he realised the stupidity of his vision.
Damn Dan for pulling his leg!
