One step closer. Chapter 1 - Meet

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I feel a bit nervous. True that I've been dreaming about this day for years - but now that it has come and I'm finally getting to work at an animation studio - it feels quite unreal. 

It is a small studio, they started about 3 years ago, but are making quite a good name for themselves. I can't believe I got in. I hope everything goes well today.

I look around and spot this very tall building. The studio should be somewhere around this corner.

'Excuse me,' I hear someone calling out to me. I turn around and I see this teenage girl with an elderly lady. They are carrying a couple of bags with them - I guess they are from out of town.

I look at her and she continues, 'Do you know where the Care Hospital is?'

I have no idea. This is my first time in this area and I'm not familiar with it.

"Sorry...I don't know, let's ask someone else," I offer.

Because I started very early to work, it's still quite early in the morning and the roads are pretty much deserted. I look around and I find this guy walking towards us. He's wearing track pants and walking shoes. He must be from around here. He has long hair, half of it pulled back into a small bun. How is his hair thicker than mine?

"Hi.. do you know where the Care hospital is?" I ask and he just walks past me.

I try again, but no luck. He is so engrossed in his phone, he might not have noticed me. 

I turn to the girl and the grandma and they look at me with hopeful eyes, so I instinctively do something I wouldn't have done otherwise. My hand reaches out to him, and I tap on his shoulder. What am I doing? He's a stranger. As I stare at my hand in disbelief, he turns around at once. It's intense, the way he turned around.

He looks at me confused and I feel a little ashamed. I shouldn't have touched him.

"I'm sorry, but could you let us know where the Care hospital is?" I ask, braving my fears.

He looks at me very intently as I speak and then looks beyond me - probably at the girl and her grandmother. He points to a place a little ahead of where we are.

"The blue building?" I ask.

He nods and walks away. That was quick.

"It's over there. Let's go, I'll come with you." I say, turning to the girl.

Her face, which is tensed up until a moment ago, brightens up a bit. She must have been scared.

The three of us start walking towards the hospital and I don't know why but I turn around. And it just happens that he does as well. We end up meeting eyes. I give a little nod and mouth a 'Thank you', but he just stares at me. That's embarrassing.

I quickly turn around and quicken my pace.

We reach the hospital in no time and I stay with them until the patient registration is done. I know how hard this gets.

I still remember the day we joined amma in the hospital. I was so scared back then. The numerous forms Nanna had to fill and the consents he had to give. 

Amma never got to come back home. I'm still a little scared of hospitals. They make me feel anxious. 

Looking at this girl, I can see myself. I was just as scared. Or even more.

I hope everything goes well for them.

"Take care. And don't forget to text me once your parents get here."

She nods and the grandmother gives me a faint smile.

"Ok then. Do call me if you need anything. My workplace is close by and I can come here as soon as I can."

I look at the time and I still have about 20 minutes left. I wave goodbye to them and resume looking for my new workplace.

I'm finally here. I look at the little house in front of me. So green. No one could take it for an animation studio if not for the sign by the gate. It looks cozy. Nice!

It is an old independent house with lots of trees around. I can't wait to see the inside. I open the little metal gate, and walk inside. The house welcomes we with couple of plants and flowers, and a yellow door donned in vines.

As I go through the mustard yellow door, which is oh-so-cute, I enter a huge hall with a couple of wooden desks and chairs. The chairs are all different. Bean bags, gaming chairs, wooden chairs, there's even a rocking chair in here.

On the tables lie the drawing tablets - huge ones. The biggest one I saw in person is a 16 inch drawing tablet, but there are a couple of 32 inch ones here. Wow. I wish I could get one of those. Also, the windows are adorable. They have this nostalgic charm - with turquoise indents, metal bars, and a little bit of greens peeking inside - they are perfect.

This place looks less like an animation studio, and more like a cottage-core getaway. To the right there's a kitchen. A full size kitchen. It has a huge window that extends along the counter top, around the kitchen, bringing in view the beautiful trees and plants outside. Cooking here will feel fantastic.

Next to the kitchen is the storage room. The sign said so. On the other side of the house are two more rooms, one said conference room, and the other didn't have a sign. Towards the end of the hall, tucked to the left, there's a toilet. And to the right, there's a door leading to the little backyard. This is amazing.

But why is there no one here? I look at my watch again, and it's almost time, about 5 or 10 minutes left. Perhaps they are inside the signless room. It is the only one closed.

'Hey! You're here!" I hear someone from behind, and I turn around.

It is Manoj. He's the one who interviewed me.

"Hi!," I say. Did I sound nervous? I hope I didn't.

"Good to see you. How are you? So glad you are here," He says with a wide smile and I immediately feel very welcome. There's something about this guy's smile. It makes you feel at ease.

"I'm good. How about you? By the way, I love this place. It's so cozy," I say, taking in the beauty of the house again.

"This is actually my friend's place. Both of us started the studio here as it's just the two of us back then. Now the studio is growing and we are considering moving to a bigger space. Wait a minute, I'll call him - he should be in his room," Saying that he walks to the room that had no sign.

Move out? I wish I could spend a good amount of time here before that happens.

People start coming in. I talk to them, introduce myself, and it all feels so good. People here are nice.

"You've all met Sanju then," Manoj says as he comes out of the signless room. So someone lives in this place. I feel a little envious. 

All of them say a cheery yes and then Manoj guides me to my desk. There are two desks, facing each other by the window. One of them is full of things, but is very well organized, and the other is empty.

"This one is going to be yours. Hope you like it." Manoj says with a smile as he points to the empty desk.

"This is so good. Thank you." I smile. I lucked out. Right by the window. The trees!

"Ok then, make yourself comfortable, and I'll be back in a moment," saying that, Manoj leaves and everyone else goes back to their desks as well, gearing up for the day.

By the other desk next to mine, the wall has lots of illustrated posters. I go closer and lean on the desk, to take a good look at them. Beautiful. The illustrations are just so vivid, and warm, and have this heartful vibe to them. I look at each of them, taking in their playful innocence and warmth.

Knock knock.

Is that a knock? It's from the desk.

I turn around and I find a hand knocking on the desk. I look up at their face, and it's the good hair guy from earlier. Wait. Does he work here? Is this his desk? Why is he knocking on it?

As I'm about to say something, Manoj comes back.

"Adi, this is Sanju - our new hire. And Sanju - this is Adi, He's the cofounder and our inhouse background art guru," He says as he puts his arm around the other guys shoulder. Adi. "And all those illustrations are his. Pretty neat, eh?"

"Hi. Glad to meet you," I say, with a huge smile and he gives a nod. Just that. Not even a smile. It's not even a proper nod, it's too small to be considered one. He then proceeds to sit at his desk. 

He looks at me again, stares at me for a couple of seconds, and starts working. 

What was that?

"Sanju, i'll meet you in the conference room in an hour. We'll talk about the project you'll be working on. Look around and get a feel for the place. You can reach out to any of us if you need something," saying that Manoj leaves.

I sit at my desk and take a look at everyone - they are all smiles for me, except for one. And he's sitting right in front of me.

Maybe he doesn't like me? Was he angry about this morning?

I take my ipad from my bag and put it on my desk. I turn it on, and look him up on instagram. I can't find him. I go over to Behance and type in 'Aditya - Mint Animations' and his profile pops up.

His portfolio is impressive and his background art is great. I look at him again. Why didn't he appear at any conventions? It's always Manoj who's representing the studio.

He suddenly looks up and I realize that I'm staring at him. He raises one of his brows and gives me a questioning look.

I shake my head and then bury it into my ipad. 'Scary,' I mumble.

I sneak a peek at him and I find him still looking my way. His eyes wide. Wait, did he hear me? No way, It was inaudible.

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