The next couple of months went by fast. The classes and the assignments, and the weekend teaching sessions at the coaching Institutes left me with a very hectic schedule.

I only had the evening time of Sunday free for now. And since I didn't have any urgent work to attend, I spend most of that time in the Church. It gave me some peace of mind and to think things through.

After a couple of months, one day, Mary asked me to meet her. She said she wanted to introduce someone to me.

During lunchtime, I went to the canteen and saw Mary sitting at a corner table. There was another girl with her. They both seemed to be engaged in a very enthusiastic discussion.

Only when I sat at their table did they finally notice me.

"Hey, what's up?”

"Hi. So how you been genius?”

That's been the nickname Mary had been teasing me with since the medical exam results came out.

"Just usual. Classes, studies, and tuition. Not much time left after all that.”

"Right. So let me introduce you to my friend and hostel roommate. This is Priya.”

For the first time, I looked at her properly. Priya was a beautiful girl, and from the way she carried herself, she came from a well-to-do family. And last but not least, there was something different about her eyes. She had light blue eyes. It was not something you saw every day.

I suddenly realized that I have been staring at her without saying anything for a while. And now both the girls were looking at me with a weird expression now.

"Oh yeah. I'm Jacob. Nice to meet you, Priya.”

She was a bit weirded out by my earlier stare.

"Hi. My name is Priya. Nice to finally meet you. I have heard a lot about you.”

"Really? I didn't know I was that famous.”

"You have no idea. I'm pretty sure a lot of students must be facing the same issue as me. And by that I mean, parents telling us to learn from you as a role model. And of course, then there is Mary, who speaks nonstop about you all the time.”

I was a bit surprised by our conversation so far. Still, I didn't want to waste too much of everyone s time and decided to get the point directly.

"So, why did you want to meet me? “

I could see that Priya was not entirely comfortable about whatever was coming next. So I decided to look at Mary for an answer.

"Well. Priya wanted some help with her studies and was looking around for someone to tutor her. I thought it would be a good opportunity for both of you.”

"What do you mean by that?”

"I mean, I doubt she would find a better teacher than you. And I know you are always looking for ways to earn extra income. Priya can pay you well. So win-win if it works out for both of you.”

I thought about it for a minute in my mind. I was not thoroughly sold on the idea but was not against it either. I still had the weekend evening time slot free on my calendar, and I could use that.

While I was lost in thought, I could see both the girls were waiting for my reply.

"Ok. I can do it. But I have few conditions.”

"What conditions?”

"I take my time very seriously. So I would expect the same from you. We can have weekly classes on Sunday evening as that is the only time I have free. If you want to skip a session, you have to let me know at least a day in advance.'

"I also won’t guarantee any results. It will depend completely on your efforts, and my classes can only help with that. If you skip a class without prior notice or if I feel you are not taking this seriously, I will stop this arrangement. Are we clear?”

I could see Priya was already starting to have serious doubts about this arrangement. But after few seconds, she nodded her head and clarified her queries.

"Ok. And what about your fees.”

"You can let me know what you think is reasonable, and we can take it from there. I’m sure we can agree on something. If that is all, I have to leave now. And I'll see you on Sunday evening in Library.”

Initially, I was a bit sceptical about the new arrangement. But when Sunday came, it went better than I expected.

Priya came at the agreed-upon time, and I spent time understanding where she was facing issues.

Based on this, I then devised a proper training plan for her and agreed to prepare her some special notes to help her cover those areas more easily.

Considering we only had another 5 months for the yearly finals, we were short on time. I gave her a lot of homework and decided to focus the classes on the most challenging parts.

The session went ok, and it became part of my new routine. Now my entire week was fully occupied, and I didn't have much free time left. But I liked it this way. The more routine life was, the more detached you could feel from it and let time flow freely without feeling too much discomfort.

Most people I know had the perception that I enjoyed studying. Unfortunately, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I wished I could enjoy life like others. Having fun and going out to movies and parties. But I knew this was not the right time to enjoy it for me.

Very early in my life, I had read an interesting article.

It was about a study Stanford did in 1972 called the Marshmallow Test. They did the study on some children.

All the children were provided with a marshmallow which was a type of sweet, and they were promised they would be provided one more if they could wait for 15 mins without eating the one in front of them. And the results were fascinating.

Some of the children could resist the temptation and get the second sweet, while some of them couldn't.

By tracking the future of these children, it was observed that the children who could resist the temptation were able to achieve success in their life. They were able to achieve better jobs, better lifestyles, and better health.

The study proved that you could accomplish a lot more in the future by having the will to delay gratification.

This was an eye-opener for me. For someone who was starting from nothing, this gave me a lot of inspiration.

I had then decided to train my willpower. I was still an 8-year-old kid then. I used all my savings to buy the chocolate that I liked the most and then refused to eat it.

I wanted to see how long I could control myself. The time went from minutes to hours, to days and weeks. Every day morning, I would look at it but still refuse to eat it. I wanted to see how much I could control myself.

At first, it was difficult. But I realized it became more manageable if I kept my mind focused on something else even when the chocolate was in front of me. Later I made the time I spent with chocolate a part of my routine. This made it easier.

After some time, I realized I have been doing this for almost a year now. I wanted to continue it more but realized the chocolate was nearing its expiry date, and I didn't want to risk it getting spoiled.

On the date, when it was precisely a year after I bought it, I went and bought another one and ate both the chocolates one after the other.

It was one of the happiest days of my life, and I enjoyed that feeling more than anything. I felt like I had won a bet. A bet against myself. I realized I could control my emotions if I wanted to, and this could be my key to success in my life.

I wouldn't be a slave to my emotions, and it would be the other way around. Since then, I bought the same chocolate every year and kept repeating the process. It had become a ritual of sorts for me.

Everything was going well in my life with everything as per my routine.

That is until one Sunday when Priya didn't show up for our regular session without prior notice.