J : Joker in the Pack #AtoZChallenge2020

Joker in the Pack - A Short Fictional Story

Jagdish took a sharp right turn. A passenger was waiting for him near the mall entrance. He sensed panic in the passenger's voice, when he called to confirm his location. There was some news broadcast on the radio in the cab. Jagdish's mind was focused on reaching the mall fast, so he faintly registered some snatches of the news on the radio.

"Janta curfew successful"
"... an impending lockdown"
"Hoarders will be punished"

Jagdish aka Jaggu always lacked focus in life. But he was an excellent driver and knew his way around the city well. He reached the mall on time. The passenger looked familiar. But Jaggu wasn't sure. He thought he looked like his schoolmate Rohan. But he chose to remain silent. The passenger sat in his car in a hurry. He didn't even look at Jaggu. He was lost in his thoughts. And looked forlorn.

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Rohan had come to the mall to buy groceries and vegetables, straight from his office. He wanted to stock up for next 30 days as the government was about to announce a lockdown soon. There was panic everywhere. The store at the mall was empty. He wasn't sure what he would tell his wife upon reaching home. As he boarded the cab, he was fiddling with his tie and mobile phone repeatedly. The driver inquired if something was bothering Rohan. Without looking up from his phone, he asked the driver, if he knows any place where he can get groceries and vegetables from. The driver said in a very assured voice, "Yes!". Rohan asked the driver to take him there. Rohan was sceptical, as most of his friends on WhatsApp were telling him that all the stores were empty. The driver took a detour and entered a less posh area of the town. Rohan failed to notice this. As the car came to a halt, the driver told Rohan that he will get everything here. Rohan was disgusted with the smell. But he had also realized by then, that the store here was less crowded. It seemed to him, as if the news of the lockdown hadn't reached the poorer parts of the town. He quickly went inside the store and came back in 20 minutes with three big bags filled up to the brim and a big wide smile on his face.
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Jaggu by now had checked his passenger's name on the app, and he was happy to know it was Rohan, as he had suspected. He directly told Rohan, that he was his school mate. Rohan felt little uncomfortable, with this new found familiarity in cab driver's voice. But he made some small talk just for the sake of it. Jaggu was the proverbial Joker in the Pack. Good for nothing fellow! He always used to flunk his exams and was always punished by his teachers in school. As they kept chatting, Rohan recollected all these memories from his school days. He smirked inside his head. He had become a corporate bigwig and Jaggu a cab driver. As Rohan reached his home, he offered a big tip to Jaggu. Jaggu declined politely as he felt a tinge of sadness.
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Ten days later, the city was under complete lockdown. No cars or cabs were allowed to ply on the road. Rohan's mother had fallen sick and had problems breathing. They called for an ambulance. Ambulance reached timely. As Rohan stretchered his mother inside the ambulance, he recognized Jaggu, despite the mask on his face. He felt assured that his mother was in safe hands. That night Jaggu informed Rohan, that as lockdown forced him to take his cab off road, he had no source of income. So he volunteered as an ambulance driver at the local hospital. There is no salary to be earned. But he is getting free meals daily for himself and his family from the hospital canteen. And some times he gets tipped by the patients' relatives. Rohan fished into his pocket for some money to tip Jaggu. But Jaggu had already left to attend to another distress call.

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My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is Lock-down Blues. I intend to write and talk about how I deal with it, what it inspires me to read or watch or any aspect of it which fascinates me. You can read the theme reveal post here. 

Previous Challenges : Letter J

2017: Joy

2018: Jugaad that we don't need

2019: Johar's Cliches - Hindi Films / Bollywood