John Lucas

John Lucas was an average bloke with dreams and aspirations of becoming an architect. Architecture had always fascinated young John. John’s school projects usually were on unique and differently shaped buildings made by hand out of paper or cardboard or both. John had a knack of stacking up empty match boxes to form a recognizable house or a multi-storied building or a school complex. As a child, John was gifted with the art of drawing too. The outlines of the buildings and bridges he drew were very crisp and visually appealing. He would intensely read architecture based magazines that were kept on tables in a waiting lounge of a hotel or at a friend’s place. At school, he was an average student with grades that were almost consistently average throughout the year. Except for drawing or art classes where he inevitably stood first. Much to the chagrin of the class topper who usually came last in the drawing class. A few of the girls liked John for his ability to draw neatly. The rest flirted with John just to have a cube drawn to perfection though he wasn’t exactly an eye candy. A shy John would nonchalantly agree without responding to their flirtatious behaviour. Sara, a quite and beautiful girl, wasn’t one of them. Among the top five students in class, Sara was slightly better than most girls at drawing. Hence she never saw the need to flirt with John just to have a drawing complete. Sara and John rarely spoke to each other. Both were nervous to start a conversation. Even if one of them did, the conversation would last just two seconds with both exchanging just Hi and Bye. At the high school prom, John spotted Sara in a stunning dress. Their eyes met. Sara waved nervously at John. He began to quiver when she started walking toward him. “Hey Sara, you look wonderful! “ John managed to utter the words without collapsing under pressure. “John thanks so much for saying that! And you look very handsome for once!” John burst out laughing. Sara’s mild sarcasm boosted his self-confidence somehow. There was a moment of awkward silence after that. “Sara..uh..I..wo..would..would you..like to d..da..dance with me?” John asked, feeling a massive lump in his throat. “Sure I’d love to John!” replied Sara. His head began to swell with her fragrant perfume when he held her hand not knowing the correct way. “Oh John not that way! Your right hand should be on my waist and your left hand holding my right hand! Haven’t you danced before?” Sara said in a mildly mocking tone. “Of course I have! “ He lied. “I’m just in a state of shock”.
“May I ask why!” asked Sara. “Ok fine I lied, I’ve never danced before and I’ve never seen a girl more beautiful than you” John shot back and wondered how those words came out. Sara was stunned by what she just heard. She had never heard anything more wonderful than his words. After high school John and his mother Celina moved to a different city. Sara never heard from John after that night.

Celina, John’s single mother, loved and cared a lot for her only child. Celina worked as a Nurse at the Government hospital. Her income was just about enough to give John his annual Christmas present. John cheerfully accepted without putting up a fuss. Celina loved him that much more. As a child, John would make a nice house made of match sticks and cardboard and presented it to his mother and affectionately said “Mommy one day I’ll build you a house like that!” Celina was teary eyed at her only child’s love and affection. She kissed him on the forehead and held him tightly in her arms.

Once out of high school, John was very keen on pursuing his Bachelor’s Degree from a reputed University. Since his overall grades were just above average, he was finding it difficult to get an admission in his choice of University. He rejected offers from the local community colleges. “Son, I think you should take up this offer from the community college since they’re waiving almost half the tuition fee.” Celina spoke softly.
“Mommy I don’t want to join the community college though they’re waiving the tuition fee. I know it would make your life a lot better if you didn’t have to spend half your money on my tuition fee. But then, I’d rather not join the community college. I hope you understand mommy” John explained innocently. “Johnny darling you don’t worry about me. I’ll try to save up as much as possible for your tuition fee. It’s just that I’m getting old and the hospital isn’t such a nice place to work after all.” Celina replied. “Fine mommy, I’ll get in touch with Aunt Betty in Chicago. She knows a place I can work during the summer holidays. They pay well for people who can assist architects with technical drawings.” said John. It would be three years since he started working at the firm.


“Hi John, here’s a courier from University of Chicago” Said the pretty girl at the reception of Mayflower Apartments. “Oh really, thank you so much!” John replied.
“I hope they haven’t rejected my application” muttered John.
John took the elevator and reached his modest one bedroom apartment on the 4th floor. He flung his tote bag on the desk and eagerly opened the courier, barely able to breath with the increasing anxiety. The next moment would be his most happiest after he had dumped his bossy girlfriend a year ago. The letter of acceptance from his dream University was in his right hand. “At last “, he said to himself. Feeling relieved. Feeling very relieved. His knees began to weaken. He took a deep breath and crashed on his bed. “Boy am I dreaming this!” trembled John. He pinched his skinny right forearm to make sure he wasn’t really dreaming. His brown eyes were beginning to moisten. The chaos and agony had finally come to an end. John could barely come to terms with the good news. Finally John got a grip on reality a while later. John rang up his mother to tell her the good news. “Hey mommy, guess where I’m going this Fall!” exclaimed John.
“Son, son what happened please tell me quickly I can’t handle these things! Please tell me what happened to my Johnny!” cried Celina. “Well Chicago here I come!” screamed an overtly excited John. “Oh my good lord I am so happy Johnny! I..I just cannot believe my ears!” his mother screamed. Both became deliriously happy. Soon things fell into place and it was the first day at University of Chicago for John. His joy knew no bounds. There he was, facing the portals of learning, the place he had always dreamt of all his life. He felt his life had just begun. He entered the campus with his head held high. Laughing at his bossy ex-girlfriend, who was probably dumped again by some guy. He felt far superior to her. He quickly focused his attention to the more important things at hand, and closed her case for good. He began looking around at the astonishing buildings and perfectly manicured gardens with dozens of students spread all over the campus engaging in several activities. He found his way to the modern and sophisticated Sir William Bernard building which housed the architecture department. He followed the directions and arrived into a large classroom with about a hundred students or even more. He scanned the room for an empty seat; feeling intimidated by the size of the classroom, and found one in the very first row. Still nervous and excited, he barely noticed anyone around him. The class was yet to begin. A sense of happiness and pride filled the air in the room. It was the smell of sweet success. It was something John would give up almost anything in order to have it.
However, John was still nervous to look around and began the mountainous task of settling down when a voice next to him said, “Hi John, Remember me!” John turned and looked straight into Sara’s eyes.