Then he left

It’s incomprehensible. I would never have thought of him as a person who would make me dependant on him.

I walked into my new client’s office, meeting for the first time the client and the team I was going to be working with for the next 3 months. I saw 2 boys sitting in the waiting room – AM and NT (names changed :P). AM was tall and fair, had a nice smile, spoke well. NT was in tight pants and gel-slicked well combed hair.

That was my first impression. I actually remember telling my friends, “AM is probably the only one on the team I will ever be able to connect with”…. I was so wrong!

Our assignment began in March 08 in a popular investment bank. We learnt a lot together, we made mistakes, covered each others’ asses, and gave a value add to the task at hand so high the client extended our term from 3 months to 6…. AM was luckier, he got out in month 5. I looked at him leave the building with a feeling of despair… Now it was just NT and me. Would we be awkward? Would we even talk? Did we have ANYTHING in common? But this is when we bonded! We were handed new roles and responsibilities and the expectations were higher. There was so much to work on, so much to perform with, there was pressure and stress, and only each others’ support to bank on…

Did I mention he had a CAT score of 98.7 percentile the time he attempted the exam for fun? He was a nerd. He was super intelligent. He was super funny – each word he said was a funny anecdote. He was a year younger to me – and never let me forget it!! But he was my support system.

Our term was once again extended from 6 months to 9…. and this time NT got lucky and he was going to be released in month 8. I think the entire month of 8 (October 08) was torture, but it was bitter sweet… He felt like shit that he was leaving me behind, so he was being extra sweet…:) we shared songs, we shared stories, we shared memories of 8 months, we shared a quiet understanding of support, we shared a rapport…..

We shared.

Then he left…..and I was alone. Ploughing ahead with no one watching my back. This was way worse that when AM left… heck, there was no comparison.

I miss NT… How did a guy who has nothing that fits my profile of a friend, matter to me so much? How did a guy who I wouldn’t have given a second glance to make me cry a little, die a little when he left?