It started on a quiet Sunday afternoon.
I was lazing on my sofa when my vaccination API provider told me that Covaxin slots opened up somewhere. I did not want Covaxin. But, right before I junked that message, I had a brilliant thought about checking the portal anyway. So, I logged in as quickly as I could. And when I scrolled down the portal, there they were. One hundred slots for Covishield at a nearby hospital.
There could not have been a better opportunity to get vaccinated. In a jiffy I weighed the pros and cons of missing the first half of my working Monday for this. I could afford to.
So, I booked my slot. The story begins now.
Like a truly dramatic person, coupled with the thrill and excitement of getting vaccinated, I dreamt of running into someone at the vaccination centre. So, I spent my Sunday evening grooming my face and picking the right clothes to impress. That I would look like an exhausted zombie in clothes that I would pick in a hurry after yoga in the morning was something I did not foresee.
On the day of the vaccination, I was ready to leave home at 8 AM. My vaccine slot was going to begin at 9 AM. I knew that every second counted. Every second I let pass would delay my vaccination by those many minutes. You see, I wanted to go back home and log into work as soon as I could. So, I left.
There was rain and there was wind. The perfect companions for my voyage. A peppy "Tan tanatan tantantana" joined me on the car radio. Pumped, I drove at acceptable speeds towards the centre. It was a very smooth and pleasant drive.
I reached the hospital soon enough. But, I was conscious of time. I kept my calm even as the parking ushers made me park in the second level basement. The vaccination centre was on the fifteenth floor. What kept my nerves calm was to see that they hadn't opened the lifts to the fifteenth floor. I was the first to take the lift when it opened. But, that satisfaction did not last for long. As soon as I reached the fifteenth floor, I saw a couple already sitting there.
Thankfully, the ushers had not started distributing tokens. So, I could still be first. I picked the most strategically located seat from where I could see the usher announcing tokens before anyone else. Yet, my tension increased when an Uncle came to sit right next to me. My direct competition. Something about him made me dislike him - his arrogance and ignorance to sit beside me without leaving a seat in between. So, in NO way was I going to give up my pole position to him. Or, anyone else.
When I noticed the usher change his body language, I knew he was going to ask us to form a line. So, I shifted in my seat to get up the moment he announced it. When he did, I sailed to the desk. First. I know I charged towards the desk, but I did it so smoothly that I doubt anyone noticed the race track I was picturing in my head.
I got the first token for the day - 101. I entered the vaccination hall. Still first.
I picked a seat in the second row of the auditorium to sit in. That was an annoying decision. Soon enough people asked me to move my legs so that they could brush past my legs to the other seats. So, I changed my seat. I took the seat right in front of the processing desk in the front row. That was a good call, because I was right there when the nurse called my number. I chose the nurse sitting on the left, rightly. The other nurse, sitting on the right, was stalled in her work.
So, I kept my lead. I finished my payment, too. But, the vaccine administrators were not ready. They asked me to wait. It was me and another person. The Uncle slipped to third position by then. This was the home stretch. No slots, no numbers, no preference. It was the law of the jungle. The free market. I snooze I lose. So, I kept my senses up like an assassin - scanning every movement that might preempt the call.
So, when they did, I made sure I was first.
Excitement soon became nervousness. You see, it was all games until now. I thought of this event as an adventure where I enter through one door and leave through another. It was only when I saw the nurse load the syringe that I realised what was about to happen - it would sting. But, I had to be first.
So I stayed strong and got jabbed.
I won.
It didn't matter that I had to spend 15 minutes after the jab. That was a cool-off lap. It didn't matter who left before me. They were risking things. I played it safe and I played it right and I won.
On my way home, I bought breakfast and a lot of things from the bakery.
The heat of the race only got to me in the evening. I fell ill and lost all of Tuesday.
I lost Tuesday, but I won my 33% immunity.
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That was the story. Thanks for your time. Hope you enjoyed it and hope you will recommend to others. This has been an attempt to articulate the adventure that getting vaccinated in the city can be. But, perhaps, it also shows that anything can look like an adventure if you can bend your mind for it.
