Namaste New York: A Novel

  ***

  This was the first time Lucky had been in the Dean's Office. As promised, Vijay and Raj accompanied him, but they were asked to take a seat outside the room. Lucky looked at both of his friends, and then reluctantly knocked on Dean Horwitch's door.

  "Come in."

  Dean Horwitch was a short, compact, middle-aged man with graying hair. He asked Lucky to sit while he finished writing an email. As the dean typed on his keyboard, Lucky broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that he must be typing his dismissal letter. But wouldn't he have an assistant for that?

  After a few minutes, the dean pushed himself away from the keyboard and looked over his desk at Lucky. "How are you, Lakshminarayanan?"

  "I am good, sir" Lucky responded, wiping sweat from his brow. Wet stains were beginning to spread under his armpits.

  "Hmm. And how were your exams?" the dean continued.

  "Good, sir," Lucky replied. He didn't trust himself to say more.

  The dean looked at Lucky for a full minute without saying anything, and Lucky began to squirm in his seat. Finally the dean opened his desk drawer and took out a few blue answer books. Lucky recognized his name on the front covers. Dr. Horwitch flipped through them casually. "You did really well in all of your exams."

  "Thank you, sir."

  "You also have very good handwriting, Lucky. I've seen the handwriting of hundreds of students in my career, and I have to say, yours is quite unique."

  "Thank you, sir," Lucky said, swallowing hard. He didn't think the dean really meant it as a compliment, but he didn't know what else to say.

  "Do you know a Mr. Dhansukh Patel?" the dean asked.

  Lucky's stomach fell as his fears were confirmed. He put his head down, and the first teardrops fell from his eyes and onto his folded hands that were resting in his lap. He nodded his head.

  "Hmm. Surprisingly, Mr. Patel also performed extraordinarily well in his final exams this semester, particularly as compared to his midterm grades and all of his previous semesters," the dean remarked as he pulled more blue books from the drawer. Lucky knew that these books were not his. "So I had a little conversation with Mr. Patel, and he was very forthcoming about his?arrangement with you."

  Lucky realized he shouldn't have been shocked; he always knew that Dan was an asshole. Still, he couldn't help but to feel angry and betrayed. The minute Dan had been cornered, his first move was to rat Lucky out.

  "I wasn't entirely convinced," the dean continued. "So I compared Dan's bluebooks from this semester against those from previous semesters, and then against yours. And I think you can see where I'm going with this, yes?"

  Lucky nodded and wiped at his eyes.

  "Your handwriting and the handwriting in Dan's blue books from this semester are a perfect match, at least to my untrained eye. See?"

  The dean pushed the blue books in front of Lucky and Lucky burst into tears. The dean didn't need a confession; Lucky's physical response to the dean's accusations convicted him faster and with more certainty than anything he could have said.

  The dean got out of his chair and handed Lucky a box of tissues. He could see that Lucky was consumed with guilt, but it wasn't guilt that interested Dean Horwitch. He wanted to know what would drive a good student like Lucky to commit such blatant acts of dishonesty. He put his hand on Lucky's shoulder.

  "Mr. Lakshminarayanan, you are one of the best students I have seen in this school in a very long time. I never expected such kind of behavior from you. Why did you do this?"

  Lucky still couldn't look at the dean, and his guilt was all-consuming. The dean walked over to the water cooler and pulled off a paper cup, filling it to the brim and handing it to Lucky. He then pulled up the chair beside Lucky and sat down.

  "Do you know that you can be expelled for this?" The dean's voice was gentle, and Lucky nodded.

  "So why did you do this? Did he force you?" Dr. Horwitch asked. Lucky shook his head no.

  "Then Mr. Lakshminarayanan, you had better start speaking because I don't have all day for this meeting," the dean said, momentarily losing his patience.

  Lucky wiped his tears. "He gave me money."

  "I understand that. But as far as I know, we gave you a full scholarship. So why did you need more money? Help me to understand."

  Lucky drank the cup of water, cleared his throat, and then he started to tell the dean his story. His life, his family, their illnesses, his struggles, his hard work and ambitions, his off-campus job, the robbery, and how it resulted in him working for Dan. Lucky knew that he was taking an even bigger risk confessing that he had been working illegally for months, but he didn't think his situation could get any worse than it already was, and if he was going to get expelled from the university, he at least wanted the dean to know everything.

  Dr. Horwitch was flabbergasted. As a Harvard graduate, he had always enjoyed the benefit of privilege. He couldn't imagine what Lucky had to go through just to get to graduate school in the U.S., and as he sat back in his chair, he realized that he had no idea how to penalize a student who had known nothing but punishment for the first twenty-one years of his young life. The dean guessed that the university probably wasn't doing enough to recruit and retain brilliant but economically challenged students like Lucky, and he made a mental note to have his office look into the matter. It was unconscionable to think that there might be other students like Lucky, students who bore the heavy burden of being their family's only hope for escaping poverty and leading a better life, students who would take desperate measures just to avoid failing their families so completely and irrevocably.

  By the time Lucky finished telling the dean about Dan's fake ID card, Dr. Horwitch was convinced that dismissing Lucky from the university wouldn't benefit anyone, but would serve only to destroy Lucky's dreams and deprive the university of a brilliant student. But he also knew that he had a responsibility to the university and to the faculty, and he couldn't just pretend that this incident never happened. "Mr. Lakshminarayanan, I understand your situation, and I have complete sympathy for you. But your actions cannot be tolerated in academia."

  Lucky listened carefully, hoping that the dean would offer him some glimmer of hope, some alternative to dismissal.

  "Usually, in such cases, I recommend severe punitive measures," Dean Horwitch continued. "But after listening to you, I'm very confused about the best course of action. I'm going to have to discuss this matter with a faculty committee, who will render a final decision."

  Lucky hadn't prepared for this, as he thought that the dean would hand down his decision today, one way or another. To have his fate hanging in the balance for days or weeks was too much for Lucky. "Please, sir?I will never do this again! Please, please? mom swear! I have worked so hard to reach here. If I do not complete my masters, it would destroy my dreams and my family's dreams. I beg of you, sir?please," Lucky pleaded.

  Dr. Horwitch was moved by Lucky's circumstances and he wanted to help, but as the dean, he had a bigger responsibility. He stood up and put his hand on Lucky's back. "Son, I can't promise you anything, but I will try my best to convince the faculty to consider your background and factor it into their decision."

  Lucky looked at the dean's face and realized he was telling the truth. It wasn't a guarantee, but Lucky would take whatever comfort and reassurance he could come by. "Thank you, sir. I will never forget your help," Lucky said. "What should I do next?"

  "Nothing. Within a week or so, we will get back to you with the committee's decision. If I need anything from you, I'll contact you. Until then, you're just going to have to wait."

  "Yes, sir." Lucky blew his nose and wiped his eyes, and began to gather himself to leave. The dean stepped back behind his desk and looked at Lucky.

  "Mr. Lakshminarayanan, did you consider an internship this summer, before this unfortunate situation happened?" the dean asked.

  Lucky was surprised by the question. "No, sir. I did
not get time to apply properly."

  Dean Horwitch took a business card from his wallet and handed it to Lucky. "This is my management consultancy. Should the committee decide in your favor and allow you to continue your studies here with us, why don't you consider coming to work for me this summer?"

  Lucky's face lit up and he looked at the card he was holding like he was afraid it was an illusion. "Yes, sir! Definitely, sir. Thank you, sir," Lucky bent to touch the dean's feet in a show of respect and gratitude.

  Dean Horwitch was not expecting Lucky's behavior, and he uncomfortably cleared his throat and reached to pull Lucky up from his kneeling position. "Okay, Mr. Lakshminarayanan, that's not necessary, young man. You take care, and try to hang in there, okay?" Lucky thanked him again and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

  Vijay and Raj were still waiting for him outside, and they couldn't believe the look on Lucky's face when he emerged from the Dean's office. They were sure that he'd be in tears and they'd have to call 911, but the little Indian man was beaming from ear to ear.

  Lucky quickly explained what had happened. "Hmm, I do not know," he said, bobbing his head. "I could get kicked out, maybe, very easy. Students have been dismissed for less than what I did, I am sure of it. But I feel something in my stomach and in my bones."

  "What do you feel?" Raj asked.

  "I feel like my luck has finally turned."

  "Frosted Lucky Charms?they're magically delicious," Vijay said with a smile, patting him on the back.

  Lucky looked at him quizzically. He still had no idea what the joke was about, but he didn't care. He truly felt that his life had just taken a 180-degree turn, and that was all that mattered to Lucky.