Nikhila Kotni
- Aug 27, 2016
- 41 min read

Loving Intern

Updated: Oct 18, 2023

Naina interns at Ratan Industries and falls in love during her training. However, before she expresses her feelings, she is soon separated from him due to the completion of the internship, but before long, she returns to meet him. Find out what is her destiny...

Preface

Hello there,

Firstly, I want to thank you for preferring our book. I would like you to know that this book is exceptional as it is written by six writers and every chapter is framed as a short story. Collectively, we have written a story and every writer did their best to narrate to you the tale of a girl. Being the architect of this book, I tried to give you the finest work but if you find any faults, I hope you overlook them. Hope you appreciate our effort and make sure you give us feedback.

- Nikhila Kotni

Cover Photo by Nikhila Kotni

Free Access

Prologue
Unexpected Start
Love At First Sight?
Intern’al Blush

Credits

This contribution is created by Nikhila Kotni & R. S. Chintalapati, edited by R. K. Chamarla & Sameer Ayyagari & photographed by Nikhila Kotni.

Product

This novelette is available in paperback & ebook.

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Prologue

Dear Diary,

All of us are destined to have a shoulder to lean on and when the proper occasion comes even the person who spent decades in loneliness would have someone caring for him within days. As fate and time are so alike that both of them are random and relentless, while the first one changes the individual, the second one changes the spirit.

But in my case what transformed me was my sweetheart. Life was so tedious until I met him as an intern. Not that he changed everything but he made me recognize things from a different perception like never before. He motivated me by giving me a target and provoked my determination to such a degree that I reached the pinnacle.

Do you want to know how he inspired me? Well, the answer is just by working in Ratan Industries. To tell you the tale completely, I must tell you a long story but before we get started, I want you to know that today is the most awaited day of my life. It is my first day at Ratan Industries not as an intern any longer but as an employee working in the Heat Exchange Department as an assistant engineer.

I am not just cheerful because my name will be printed in his place or I am not just pleased because I would be sharing a cabin with him. I am happy because I am finally getting to meet my Prince Charming after years.

“I love you!”

-Naina

I: Unexpected Start

by Chethana Nagulapalli

A few years before

I packed my luggage and boarded a bus to travel to Konchi from Jamalpur. I booked a window seat and after settling down, I recalled my college trip with my friends. The bus conductor distributed water bottles as the bus started.

As the sun rose, I opened the window for fresh air and pulled out my earphones from my handbag. The fact is this is the first time I was travelling alone. The only thought that lingered on my mind was to start my internship as soon as possible as we were already two days late.

I never wanted to be an engineer but as fate always has its way, I had no other choice. I never wanted to do an internship but the curriculum has its way to get things done. As thoughts passed by, I felt the fresh air playing with my hair. The climate was pleasant and I fell asleep quickly.

I got up as the bus driver honked to clear the traffic. I looked out to see that we almost reached Konchi.

I got down at the bus stop and called Meera.

She picked up and said “Come to the parking lot.”

I looked around to find directions and started walking accordingly. When I reached the parking lot, I found her waving at me.

Meera asked, “So did you enjoy the ride?”

I was exhausted and replied, “It was hell as I lacked company!”

She chuckled saying “Don’t blame me. Curse yourself, I asked you to come with me yesterday. You were the one who said you needed to spend at least one day with your family.”

I replied, “No idiot! My mother would kill me if I left as soon as holidays were declared.”

She chuckled and said, “Anyway, I asked my mother to cook chicken. It would be yummy and let’s hope for the best tomorrow.”

I sat back while she rode the scooty. She is just not a friend like all others but is more like a cousin and I share almost all my secrets with her. I am truly blessed to have her in my life.

After twenty minutes, we reached her place. Her mother stood by the door waiting for us as it was already 9 pm.

As soon as I got down, aunty walked towards me saying, “So you are Naina? Finally, I get to see you after three years. Take your luggage and place them in Meera’s room. I will set dinner.”

As I walked in, I could see Shiva, Meera’s twin brother playing cricket on his playstation. I quickly freshened up and came down to have dinner.

Meera and I started eating and were talking about our internship. Aunty called Shiva to join us and he came after finishing his game. He sat down and looked at me for a moment and kept staring.

Later he introduced himself saying “Hi, I am Shiva. You must be Naina. My sister keeps on telling me about you almost every day when she is here.”

I replied, “Nice to meet you, Shiva. What are you doing?”

He stuffed a big chicken piece into his mouth and could not talk clearly. Meera answered sarcastically, “Currently he is completing his MBA and is very talented.”

He finally swallowed and attacked saying “Really? At least I know to be punctual unlike you attending your internship days after you were called.”

Both of us could not say a word back. Aunty came back from the kitchen and offered more chicken. I refused as I already ate too much.

Aunty asked, “How will you do your work at internship if you don’t eat good food and stay healthy?”

I just smiled not knowing what to say. We completed our dinner and went to Meera’s room. Shiva helped his mother in the kitchen and later brought me an extra pillow and blanket.

Before I thanked him, he left.

We took selfies making weird faces. Meera closed the door and turned on her music player and both of us danced. We also looked into the mirror and felt bad about the pimples and fat. In the end, as always, we spoke about the best qualities we expect our husbands to have. Both of us finally lay on the bed and Meera said, “Finally sleeping at 11 pm after two weeks of end exams. God! Please pass me in the Heat and Mass Transfer exam.”

I was too tired to ask for anything and we both fell asleep. Meera woke up at 8am, got ready and woke me up. Both of us were ready by 9:30am. Reporting was to be done by 10am and we started to have our breakfast which was two bread slices.

Meera called Alokya and Neel and they informed us that they would join us at the front gate. Finally, we started and reached Ratan Industries. We were asked by the guards at the entrance to report to Mr. Yugandhar.

All the four of us reached Mr. Yungandhar’s cabin after getting into the main block. A man in his fifties, a bit fat and oily white hair, asked us, “So you are the interns who want to join late?”

Meera replied, “Yes sir.”

He sternly asked, “Did you guys bring a letter from your principal justifying your reason for the delay?”

I immediately replied, “Do we need that?”

He laughed saying, “Do you think we would let you join late without a valid written reason? You guys can leave. I am sorry but you won’t be doing your internship without the letterhead.”

I got frustrated as it wasn’t our mistake and the company did not mention anything beforehand. I crushed the application form in my hand, out of anger, while Neel, Alokya, and Meera pleaded.

I felt empty and thought it was all over.

II: Love At First Sight?

by Rajiv R Nair

Dejected after being rejected to work as an intern, all the four of us started walking towards the exit gate.

Just then an idea struck Neel.

“Hey girls, I have a plan which can help us to attend the internship,” He said.

“Alright tell us what you have in your mind and please be clear”, said Meera as she was both irritated and depressed.

“As we have many of our juniors attending classes since their end exams are not yet done, I’m sure we can obtain a letter attested by our principal through them”, assured Neel.

All the six mascara applied eyelashes all of sudden raised pointing at him, slowly the eyes of the girls lit up.

He continued saying, “We can ask juniors to send us a mail of the scanned copy and produce the letter to the authorities here. And then…”

Before he completed his sentence all the rosy lipstick smeared lips went berserk shouting, “Our internship isn’t cancelled!”

All of us accepted this idea from Neel and appreciated him for his presence of mind, as he did not wither away under the pressure of rejection. It took us a few hours to get the attested letter by our juniors.

All the smiles were back and everyone was feeling rejuvenated after the events took a turn so rapidly.

Neel submitted the attested letter from our college to Mr. Yugandhar, which read that the end exams have been postponed due to some unexpected reasons which led to the delay. Satisfied with the reason provided, Mr. Yugandhar gave us a green signal to start our internship in Ratan Industries. All of us were elated and he said “You would start your internship at the Welding Department. Enquire its location and report fast.”

We then started walking towards the Welding Department after asking the guards for directions. The path leading to the department was very relaxing and comforting as it had trees on both sides of the footpath providing enough shade.

Overall, the very feeling of finally getting into Ratan Industries was getting on to me. The excitement was creeping into all of us as we entered the Welding Department’s administrative office.

Right at the reception we were greeted with a smile by Mr. Ajay Singh.

He said, “So, you are the kids who’ve come for the internship?”

All of us nodded to which he smiled again.

“Okay, the person you need to meet for today is Mr. Vimal Deshpande. You can find him in Room No.13. Please be polite and patient. All the best and I hope you guys have a wonderful time here.” He said.

We thanked him for his politeness and moved to Room No.13.

The door to the room was wide open and was inviting people in and God knows what lay in store for us. We were standing just outside the room waiting for permission to enter the room. From the place where we were standing, we could spot a middle-aged man with a clean-shaven face and military hair style. He was too busy to even shoot a glance at us. Ten minutes passed by and we were still waiting for his attention.

I was vexed up with the way we were being treated by the officials here. Unable to take it any longer, I knocked on the door and said “Excuse me, sir. We are the students who are to attend the internship in your department from today. Can we please come in?” I completed my long sentence, even though there was hindrance from my friends about the impatient statement. I felt they were being too idiotic by not seeking permission to get in.

“Oh! Yes, please come in. By the way, what is the duration of your internship here?” he asked immediately without even looking at our faces.

“It’s 15 days sir. We would like to acquire knowledge about all the departments in the plant”, replied Neel.

“Okay. Don’t you think it is a very short period of time to be able to study such a large industry? Anyway, since you’ve come late to the session today. I got some work to do and would talk to you later. In the meanwhile have a look at the observations and the instruction manuals regarding the Welding Department and its operations and comprehend the uses.”

“Yes sir. Thank you”, replied Alokya and Meera.

I wasn’t that interested in reading the reports. But it wasn’t my place to raise a question.

We started reading the reports one after another and they were tiring. We did not expect novels but we did expect them to be a bit interesting. To the mix, all of us were hungry. Just then Mr. Ajay Singh came into our room with a smiling face, “Hey kids, still going through the observations! You’re doing a wonderful job!” I smirked looking at the report and Meera nudged me, referring that Mr. Singh staring at me.

“I know why you guys have grim faces, I understand that you’re hungry. Please take a break and get back to the office by 3PM….” All four of us got up and left the room even before he finished his sentence.

The path to the canteen was on the same road which brought us to the Welding Department but this time, the emotions were different. I was especially very upset with these authorities. It was 2:30pm and they asked us to be back by 3pm. They were being too hard on us.

We sat waiting as Neel brought four plates from the counter. Both Meera and Alokya ate a bit and left, vowing not to have lunch at the canteen again. I grabbed my plate and was in a hurry to satisfy my hunger. I was sitting in the place which was opposite to the counter where the food was being served. I happened to see a very thin and lean guy beside the counter checking out on me while I was adjusting my hair. I shrugged him off, completed my lunch and got out of the canteen. It was already 3:05pm and we hurried back to the department.

We were again greeted by a smiling Singh and just as we entered the cabin of Mr. Deshpande, he shouted “What were you doing in the canteen so long? You were late and haven’t even completed the work I gave you but you are all enjoying the place right on the first day! I would not appreciate this kind of business. Now, get back to your places and complete the set of files I gave you and give me a report on them in the next one hour!”

All the while, my friends and I trembled with fear due to his sudden outburst. I personally felt very disappointed to be scolded on the first day of our internship. I was aghast at the incident when we entered the room where we were supposed to study the reports. I was literally shouting at my friends. They tried consoling me but I couldn’t control my anger. I just did not want to face any more insults.

Stomping out of our room, I knocked on Mr. Deshpande’s door.

He looked at me and started “I’ve told you to complete the reports right?”

My friends came following me to the cabin.

“Sir, is there anything you would be teaching us here?” I asked furiously.

“I’ve asked you to complete the reports, first, do the work assigned to you. Then I will try teaching you something”, he said in his usual stern tone.

“What’s the use of going through hundreds of pages of observations, sir? I want you to teach us something about the operations and working of the machines that are used for welding. You aren’t teaching us any of these and you want us to go through those observations without knowing anything about them?”

“What are you going to learn about welding and techniques, you were already taught about those in your curriculum right?”

“What was taught is theory. What’s the use of coming here if you don’t teach us anything practical?” I replied and left the room in a flash, hating to continue the conversation any longer.

I got mad as things were going out of my control. Just when I was passing through Mr. Singh’s desk, I saw a person standing before the Welding Department in his mid-twenties probably, tall and bulky with a perfect jawline. He is beyond film stars and is in an entirely different league of beauty.

I was in a trance checking out this mighty and muscular roman figured guy, the smile on his face was like an ornament to a woman’s bare neck. The surroundings suddenly became magical and then… SNAP!

I was brought back to my senses by Mr. Ajay Singh’s words “Cool it down. It’s always like this with Mr. Vimal. Don’t you worry as I have arranged a meeting for you to meet Mr. Pratap in the Shells Department tomorrow early in the morning.”

I did not hear a word of what Mr. Ajay Singh said. I asked myself “Is this magic something called Love? Well, only God knows.”

Alokya looked at me closely and immediately asked, “Are you blushing?”

Understanding that I would get caught, I walked out at once. My friends came running after me after they thanked Mr. Singh again.

III: Intern’al Blush

by Viswanath Perala

All my way back home I was lost in thoughts. I kept asking myself “Is this because I haven’t had one guy who is as handsome as he is?”

Nothing seems to bother me, neither the barking Pomeranian nor the whistle of the pressure cooker. I took a shower and when I returned.

Meera asked, snapping her fingers twice “Sweetie, what is wrong with you?”

“Well! Nothing! Why do you ask?” I replied.

“Are you hypnotized?”

For some reason, I did not like her to intervene in my dreams, at least not yet.

“What’s the matter Meera?” I asked her absently.

“I never knew all these years that you would take a bath with your clothes on,” she retorted.

It might sound pretty strange but that is what I just did. I was day-dreaming and was so immersed that I didn’t even care to observe.

Another question that I kept asking myself since I saw him was what this feeling is. “Is it love? Or is it infatuation? To the least, is it an attraction?”

We went down after a few hours to have our supper and when we came back I took my diary and headed to the balcony and sat in the rocking chair enjoying the night lightened by moonlight.

I took a huge breath, awakening my senses. I opened my diary and read the first page

“For the two souls shall be one under the graces of the eternal moon while the waves cleanse our thoughts and the air thickens our affection. For two shall be one ever after and they shall always be united.”

I loved poetry and wrote diary whenever I felt intense feelings pouring out of my mind as I strongly believe thoughts are what define us. I opened a new page and wrote with my black ink pen as always

“Love has never been as dominant on me as it has been today and thoughts have never been so confusing. I know I am dumb and I know no one could be more foolish than I am as I really don’t know the difference between infatuation and attraction nor do I know if they are both the same. But I know one thing, from this moment, He is mine. No matter what, He is mine and nothing would please me more than me being His.”

I stopped for a moment and wondered if he would accept me. Fear overcame me as I thought if I would be heartbroken and days would turn so bad that I would embrace the darkness. I prayed that there should not be such a day.

I let the clock tick away for the next 6 hours as I dozed off in the rocking chair.

I woke up to the gentle red rays with mild heat in the early hours of the day. I immediately called Neel.

He attended the call asking drowsily “Hello… What’s the matter, Naina?”

“The Sun is radiant and looks like he is just waiting for your click. Wake up and capture him before he goes wild.” I exclaimed.

“Dolly (his girlfriend) just called me and told the same thing to Naina… So I took some snaps and just fell asleep… Please do not disturb” saying that he cut the call.

I thought “Dolly would not let him lay down even for a moment.”

After some time I woke Meera at 7:30am. I got dressed in a white kurta with a peacock blue edged border compensating it with a peacock blue dupatta. I added my own touch of beauty to my face with kajal to my blue eyes and wore bangles and a nice gold jhumkas.

We started a fresh day and all four of us went to the Shell Department as we had to meet Mr Pratap. As I walked in I was awestruck.

How could the day be any better? As I saw my Prince Charming speaking with Mr. Pratap and my eyes moved all around but came back to the same point again and again.

“Firstly welcome to Ratan Industries. I am Pratap Malhotra and let’s tour around the Shells Department which is one of the many vital departments” said Mr. Pratap after he was done speaking to him.

‘Sir, what are the tasks done in this department?” Neel asked as we walked.

It was a huge workshop area under one roof. Most of the people were in orange dresses with fluorescent strips while some of them were in formals with either white or blue caps. I think colour represents their ranking.

I felt every mechanical engineer must visit this place as nothing is more motivating than getting to know what we study in implementation.

“This is huge,” said Alokya in awe.

“Oh yes. Everyone in my village can be accommodated here. If I am right, there would be a lot of space left” said Neel, glancing at the infrastructure.

“This is the complete Production Department to be more precise and it is the heart of the industry and the end products are manufactured here” stated Mr. Pratap as we walked.

Alarms signalled the timings while most workers drained their energy continuously working. Mr. Pratap explained so fabulously that time passed off without notice.

Neel and I headed to the canteen to have meals in the lush green pathway while Alokya and Meera stayed back in the department to have their breakfast as they hated the canteen food the first day.

As he ate, Neel could see me immersed in thoughts “You look disturbed?” he asked.

“Disturbed? Hell no! Why would I be disturbed?” I defended myself.

“Well, your answer tells me that you are. Let me know if I can help you,” he assured.

I just nodded my head. I noticed this weird guy who was a thin and fair guy with a shaved head, staring at me just like yesterday. I continued my lunch without bothering him.

We spent next few hours talking to Mr. Pratap about the department and took a tour observing standing beside the employees.

We reached home by 5 o’clock in the evening. I loved Meera’s family pretty well as everything went on time, unlike mine. We had supper and Meera left with her mother for some groceries. I sat in the rocking chair again going through my WhatsApp chats and Facebook news feed. I thought of writing my diary but fell asleep.

Day 3: Dear Diary, Everywhere I go the first thing I do is search for him. But my Prince Charming is nowhere to be found. Still had fun!

Day 4: Dear Diary, Interacted with Mr. Pankaj in the Press Shop and his communication skills were terrible. There wasn’t a moment we did not enjoy when he spoke in order to explain the machines in the shop. Finally, still could not find him.

Day 6: Dear Diary, Our tour in the Production Department which Mr. Pratap wanted us to visit is almost coming to an end and I am still not able to see Mr. Handsome. I am starting to wonder if he is really an employee as the more departments we visit he is nowhere to be found.

Day 9: Dear Diary, I have never been stalked in my life. This weird guy (weirdo) is basically stalking me every day during lunch. Nothing ever bothered me except him. I wish this internship comes to an end as neither my heart nor my thoughts are peaceful. I will be meeting Mr. Pratap tomorrow asking him about our plan ahead.

“Sir, can I come in?” I asked knocking the door.

“Yes. Naina! Come in. You look excited today? I like it. So tell me how your tour in the Production House is going?” Mr. Pratap asked.

“We’ve almost finished visiting all the departments’ sir. So what do we do next sir?”

He curiously asked, “Did you guys go to the Heat Exchangers Department?”

I said, “We didn’t sir.”

“Well, visit it tomorrow and meet me later.”

He got back to his work as I walked out and told others what he told me. We went home early and I watched Frozen that afternoon.

Next day we all directly went to the Heat Exchangers Department and boom there he is, my prince. I was as ugly as possible and cursed myself for not getting ready properly as I almost gave up on meeting him again.

He was wearing a light blue shirt over with black pants. He enhanced this attire with nicely trimmed facial hair along his strong jaw line. He wore a fat metal wrist watch that was barely visible and his face held a charming smile.

He explained to us everything and not a word went into my head. I kept watching him and time faded like never before. His silky hair and sweet voice held my heart and I was now his captive bound by love. That afternoon Neel and I went to lunch as usual.

Weirdo again stared at me and this time after we started eating he walked to me and sat beside my chair. Without a word of introduction or anything else this thin pale guy softly said “Naina, I love you.”

Neel froze for a moment as that was the worst of all proposals he ever heard. I immediately shouted “No!”

He right away foolishly asked, “Why?”

I did not know why I had to answer him but I held Neel’s hand and said “He is my boyfriend. Brace yourself as he is about to punch you so hard that you are never ever again going to take a step forward to propose or at least follow girls for days, intimidating them like hell!”

As I finished, Neel played along by hitting him so hard in the face that he crashed on the table.

IV: Adios!

by Mounika Kodeboina

That afternoon we spent reading reports as sir was busy guiding workers. I told Meera how Neel hit the weirdo and as usual Alokya did not pay much attention. When we reached home, I sat in my rocking chair and started writing as my thoughts were overflowing. I took a fresh new page and wrote

Dear Diary, Why am I secretly biting my lower lip when I think about him? Why is that I am immersed in ecstasy when he is around? Why is it that I imagine him to be my prince? Why do I feel his blue eyes as my paradise? Well, the only thought I get when I close my eyes is both of us running on the shore while the sun’s races to rejuvenate us and I embrace him after I get tired. He is the one I never expected to have as my partner but life never seemed more simple and beautiful. Prince Charming, I love you!

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