My Mother’s Prince –The First Night Away - Part 21
The First Night Away
The training center was larger than he imagined.
Tall gates.
Security desk.
A board that read:
“Regional Operations Training Center.”
He stood outside for a moment with his suitcase, reading the board twice.
“Okay,” he murmured.
“This is happening.”
Inside the campus, everything felt organized.
Too organized.
Buildings numbered neatly.
People walking confidently like they had done this before.
He looked around like a tourist who accidentally entered a corporate world.
At the reception desk, a man handed him a form.
“New trainee?”
“Yes.”
“Room 207. Shared.”
He nodded.
Shared meant roommate.
His brain immediately started preparing for social interaction.
A skill he was still upgrading.
Room 207 was on the second floor.
He opened the door slowly.
The room was simple.
Two beds.
Two desks.
Two cupboards.
And one person already inside.
The roommate.
The roommate looked up from his phone.
Tall.
Energetic.
The kind of person who probably starts conversations with strangers in elevators.
“Hey!” he said cheerfully.
“New guy?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Raghav.”
He placed the suitcase down.
“I’m—”
“I know,” Raghav interrupted confidently.
“They sent the list this morning.”
He blinked.
“Oh.”
“Relax,” Raghav laughed.
“You look like I just announced a surprise exam.”
Within three minutes, Raghav had already asked seven questions.
“Which city?”
“Which branch?”
“Years of experience?”
“Tea or coffee?”
“Cricket or football?”
He answered carefully.
“City – small one.”
“Branch – operations.”
“Experience – two years.”
“Tea.”
“Neither cricket nor football.”
Raghav stared.
“Neither?”
“Yes.”
“What did you play as a kid?”
He paused.
“Ball.”
Raghav frowned.
“Cricket ball?”
“No… just ball.”
Raghav burst out laughing.
“Bro, that sounds like the loneliest childhood sport ever.”
He smiled awkwardly.
It wasn’t wrong.
After unpacking a few things, he sat on the bed.
The room felt unfamiliar.
New smell.
New sounds.
New silence.
Then Raghav suddenly asked,
“So… girlfriend?”
He almost choked on water.
“Why do people ask that so fast?”
“Important data.”
“Why?”
“To understand personality.”
He shook his head.
“Complicated.”
Raghav nodded dramatically.
“Ah. Emotional backstory.”
Dinner at the training center canteen was surprisingly decent.
Rice.
Dal.
Two vegetables.
One sweet.
Raghav looked disappointed.
“Only one sweet?”
He stared.
“You came here for training or dessert research?”
“Both,” Raghav replied confidently.
Later that night, lights in the room were dim.
Raghav was already snoring lightly.
The kind of snore that sounds like someone starting a scooter slowly.
He lay on the bed staring at the ceiling.
First night away from home.
No familiar sounds.
No mother in the kitchen.
No small conversations.
Just a new room and the quiet hum of a ceiling fan.
He picked up his phone.
Two messages waited.
From his mother:
“Did you eat properly?”
From Meera:
“Reached safely?”
He smiled.
Two people in two different places thinking about him.
Not bad for someone who once thought he had no connections.
He replied to his mother first.
“Food good. Room good. Don’t worry.”
Immediately she replied.
“Did you eat the food box?”
He laughed quietly.
Of course.
Then he messaged Meera.
“Reached. Roommate talks more than news channel.”
She replied quickly.
“Good. Someone needs to balance your silence.”
He smiled.
Fair point.
He placed the phone beside him and closed his eyes.
Today had been a big day.
Leaving home.
Entering a new city.
Meeting new people.
Everything felt slightly uncomfortable.
But somewhere inside…
He also felt something else.
Possibility.
Across the room, Raghav suddenly spoke in his sleep.
“Don’t take my dessert…”
He stared in disbelief.
Then whispered to himself,
“Interesting roommate.”
The first night in the new kingdom had begun.
And the prince was learning something important.
Growth doesn’t always start with confidence.
Sometimes…
It starts with complete awkwardness and a roommate who snores like a scooter.
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