A strange thing happened with me a few days back. In our daily college life, we continue to gain disparate experiences apart from the monotonous routine of studies. And now this experience depends- whether it’s good or bad, a good one brings smile on one’s face while the other one leads to a spoilt day with the accretion of depressing moments. Sadly, I encountered the latter one recently.
For taking a GRE, you need to register an available date of your choice online and the payment is done by credit card. And you also have an option of rescheduling your exam date in case of any problem or lack of preparation. One of my friends needed to reschedule his date because of the passport delay and as he didn’t have a credit card he contacted me for the payment. I also did accede to his request as there was no option left for him but to postpone the date. It was 3 days before my exam; I got a call from him asking me to come to the library with the card details, I firstly tried to convince him to do it some other time as I also cannot afford much time but then finally acquiesced. When I reached the library, I saw him there in a tense mood and we began with the procedure of rescheduling. It prompted for the personal details and the choice of the next date. After filling all that the real thing finally came, the payment of 50$ and I started with my work i.e. entering the details of card. My friend was dependent on me as I had also extended my date some days back, so he was sure that I will do it impeccably. After entering the card number and pin, it verified the details and then gave a printable display of the registration form. I thought it was done and saved a copy of that form in my pen drive. Things all went fine until the exam date finally arrived. My friend was fully prepared and hired a cab to reach the gurgaon center. Exam was scheduled at 1 p.m. and I recieved his call on my phone at quarter to 1. I wondered what happened and then answered him. He asked me to mail that saved file of the form as the invigilators there didn’t have the updated date data. I assured him to do that immediately and started looking for the form. I found it and took a quick glance of it. When I was scanning through, 1 thing caught my attention and I lost my senses, what a blunder that was? A Submit button at the end corner of that page…. I didn’t know what to do then. I called him and said in a low voice that we are in a big problem. The date was never extended. I could feel the valid astonishment and anger in his voice. Another friend sitting beside me took control of the situation and talked to him pacifying and telling the alternatives. There was no alternative but to take the date again and spend 170$. But then too he tried there, talked to the higher authorities in the office but all in vain. I was in a state of depression thinking why life doesn’t exist with the undo facility, had I given an excuse for not giving the card that day, y I wasn’t careful that day. Although I wasn’t alone while filling the form, he was also there with me but it was my responsibility as I had done it before. I went there to help him but in the end he was suffering because of me and I cannot do anything. My whole day went like this only with all the sad thoughts in my mind thinking how to say sorry to him or help him.
But then I thanked God that it was a GRE. Things can be done right by spending some money. If it would have been a CAT then it would cost a year for re-exam. Finally at the end of the day, he called me; I initially hesitated a bit in picking up the call but then after talking I was in a great relief, he said that it was the fault of both of us; any 1 is not solely responsible for it, I must have checked the form before. He had no personal grudges against me and that was enough for me to get rid of my guilt feeling.
