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Chapter 1
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He woke up teary eyed, stared at the far corner of the ceiling and waited until his eyes could calibrate themselves. The bright colors of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles poster plastered to the wall in front of him made his head ache. Nikhil fumbled to reach out for his spectacles kept beside his pillow. His ears slowly began to catch the frequency of a distant cry of what sounded like his Mother. “Only 15 minutes left!!” A realization struck that in fifteen minutes he needed to be present in school, chanting the National Anthem at the assembly. His stomach had another agenda, that forced him into the toilet and keep him there for eternity. This was the third time this week that he was trying to avoid being late. The third strike meant calling his parents to school asking for pardon. His mom was like an alarm clock that screamed every 5 minutes. He hobbled out of the loo, wet and naked. He put on his shirt and trousers, weaved his fingers through his hair, ran to the kitchen to gulp down that entire glass of Bournvita, almost too quickly. He pinned his school badge that bore the 'Symbiosis School' emblem clumsily onto his shirt, such that the needle tore into the fabric and almost jabbed into the left nipple.
Our man was out there, with just a few minutes to go before the assembly started. With no rickshaw in sight, only his bicycle could help him. He knew his fate would depend entirely on how fast he pedaled his bike to glory. Nikhil still felt heavy in the stomach, he knew now was not the time to worry about minuscule things for he had a mission to accomplish. He swooped past the cleaners, news paper stands, and the Vadilal corner he'd revisit after school for ice-cream. From a distance, he could see the school gate approach. Through the gates, the students just began lining up behind one another. He couldn't help but smirk at his accomplishment of getting there in time “I might as well do this every day”. Out of nowhere, a speeding rickshaw popped out of a lane to his right. Nikhil’s eyes became larger than golf balls and half of his face contorted into a Nike swoosh as he pushed for the brakes as hard as he could. The bike made a screeching stop and the rickshaw passed through. He felt dizzy after applying so much pressure all too suddenly. It wasn’t about him being late that bothered him anymore. It was the regret of applying too much pressure to those brakes. Also, there was this sudden regret that he should have stayed in the toilet for a while longer. He felt his pants wet, almost clinging to his thighs from behind. A film of sweat fogged up his thick spectacles. He felt the cold air hit in gusts, as he looked up at his school-mates helplessly, by now all of whom were all circling around Nikhil, some pointing fingers at him, some laughing and some hooting. One faceless student chucked a volleyball at the region where it was wet. The ground began to slip under his feet. It was school no more and he found himself lying on his bed, without any bed sheet over him. Much to his relief, this was a familiar face, small eyes and a triangular jawline with straight hair falling over the forehead. “Wake up…. Wakee up…?” Nikhil got to his feet, finding Nipun's height as close as his. The Ninja Turtles poster was now replaced by a picture of Sharon Stone who seemed like she was craving to meet Nikhil in person someday. He gave an assuring nod to his college mate, almost thankful for saving him from living through his worst memory in school. "Are we going to play pool, or not?" He demanded that Nikhil lived up to a promise that was made the previous evening. This was a Tuesday. Tuesday had all kinds of lab-practicals and important lectures on the college time-table. Nikhil didn't have the heart to ruin Nipun's hopeful, perfect morning. "Let's do this". Nikhil hurried to pack up his backpack with a few notebooks, pulled out a fifty rupee note from his underwear drawer and followed Nipun to the main door, hoping to not meet eyes with his Mom. His dad was glued to the television, as he lay on the sofa with his shoes on, supposedly ready to get to work. As they were just about to turn open the latch, Nikhil felt like he stepped on a mine when he heard his Mom calling out from behind. “Niku, don’t your lectures start at 8?” He turned around and retorted back “No lectures today, college strike.” She stared down at both of them almost disbelievingly and turned towards her man. “Raju, say something”. His eyes were still glued to the television, and he slowly took his feet off the sofa to tie his shoe laces. The big man didn't utter a word as he continued to watch in silence. The TV played some old highlight of India vs. Sri Lanka. “Raju SAY SOMETHING” and he finally did, without even turning around.. “Rita, get me my honey lime syrup na” Her attempt was futile; that was enough for her son to make an exit for the door. More than the prospect of beating Nipun in pool, he was eager to let him know that after years of convincing, Nikhil was finally ready to take up Nipun's advise about his one true love: Jyotsna. Next Chapter.. |