Chapter 4 - Bubblegum Pink
1115 Words
"I'm loving it!"
"Got lunch from McDonald's, eh?"
Ishan rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you're the same Tuhin I had met first day at school. It almost feels like a dream!"
"Go on dreaming then."
It had been two weeks since the school started. And in these fifteen days, I had no reason to go back to my rude self. I was still grumpy but that's who I am.
"Achha, tell me something, Ishan. You are quite a friendly guy, so why was this seat empty when we walked in first time?"
I couldn't keep my curiosity under check. He always seemed to get along well with everybody.
If I wasn't sitting right next to him, I couldn't have noticed the flash of hurt in his eyes.
Did I hit a sensitive spot?
But how could just an empty seat be a sensitive thing?
"We are telling you, Tuhin," the sly voices sounded familiar but I couldn't quite place them.
I looked up to find two burly guys standing beside our desk with annoying smirks on their faces. They were oh-not-so-likeable.
"Do I know you?" I said, carefully eyeing a flustered Ishan who looked on the verge of tears.
"How can you forget us, Tuhin? We are old friends of Ishan, remember? Shivam and Riyaaz?" one of them said.
Okay, that sounded familiar.
"Maybe."
"Excuse us please. Ishan, come with us, we'll take only a few minutes and then you can continue chatting with your new best friend."
Ishan stayed rooted in the seat beside me.
What on earth was going on?
"Come on, spare your old friends some time," Shivam said and leant down to whisper in Ishan's ears at which his eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets.
"Come on now," Riyaaz tugged at Ishan's shoulder.
I watched the three of them as they left the classroom. Something about Shivam and Riyaaz kept poking me at the back of my mind. But I pushed the thought further back and tried to concentrate on the Nutrition notes in front of me.
I ended up staring at the paragraph on Proteins without really reading anything. Just as I was about to start on Fats and Lipids with a fresh mind, my sister started shouting and calling my name.
"Stop shouting, Tuhina," I said as she came near my seat followed by a bunch of boys of our class.
"What is it? " I asked in utter confusion.
"Tell him what happened," Tuhina frowned and gestured at the boys.
"He is in the boys' bathroom."
"Still crying his eyes out."
"Looks like he was beaten up."
"Yeah, I could spot some marks on face and arms."
"WHO THE HELL IS HE?" my temper always got the better of me.
"Ishan," Tuhina hissed.
I stood up from my seat at once.
"Why didn't you get him here?" I asked nobody in particular, rushing towards the door.
"Obviously I can't get inside a boys' bathroom!"
"Not you, these boys. You saw him na? So you must have been in there."
They just stared at each other as I left the class.
The bathroom seemed empty except for the muffled sobs and a baffled Afzal gently knocking on it in a soothing voice.
He shot me a knowing look as I joined him outside the door. I nodded at the handle and he nodded back.
"Ishan?" I called out and pushed the door open and immediately regretted it.
Ishan was sitting on the floor near the sinks outside the toilet stalls and hugged his legs close with his head buried in them.
I wish I hadn't seen him this way. Broken and shattered.
"Ishan?" I crouched down and touched his shoulder as if I was handling a fragile piece of beautiful artwork.
Beautiful artwork? Where did that come from?
Now is not the time for your insensitive sarcasm.
As soon as my fingers brushed his frame, he visibly flinched, making a wave of guilt and regret wash over my body.
"Don't touch me."
"Ishan, look at me. I'm Tuhin. What is it? Tell me."
"Go away," his body began to shake. I couldn't understand what to do as he broke into hysterical sobs.
"The next period will start soon, Ishan, you need to come back with us," Afzal spoke for the first time.
"Everyone," he gasped for air. "Everyone will see me like this."
I couldn't help rolling my eyes.
That was all he cared about right now?
"Everyone already knows about it. Splash some water on your face and come." I was somewhat annoyed.
He suddenly flung himself on me and cried on my shoulders. And I being myself, the most awkward person alive, couldn't decide what to do with my arms as they felt quite out of place right now.
Afzal cleared his throat loud enough for me to look at him but not for the crying boy in my arms.
He nodded and pointed towards the direction of our classroom and I nodded back, signalling him to go.
I felt myself getting wet through the school shirt with the constant water supply from Ishan's eyes.
"You know, you are ruining both of our school dresses. Though I won't complain cause I hate these anyway, my mother isn't likely to leave you unscathed."
And immediately I grimaced on my choice of words.
I attempted to stroke through his hair to calm him down in a quite miserable manner.
He laughed a little amidst his tears and pulled away. Wet patches were there on my shirt near the left shoulder.
He rubbed his eyes and with a tear-stained face, forced a smile.
"Sorry." His voice was hoarse.
I made a face and said, "Ew, you look so dirty. Your fangirls won't be much impressed. Wash your face."
He laughed and got on his feet. As he washed his face, I could see how red and puffy his eyes had become. There was a bruise forming on his swollen right cheek, just under his eye. A small cut was also there at the corner of his lower lip.
He was really hurt.
"Here, take this," I handed him my handkerchief from my trouser's pocket.
He looked at it closely with water dripping from his face and scrunched up his nose in a cute way.
Cute? What has got into me lately?
"I really don't want to be covered in your snot." He made a face.
"I haven't used it since Ma washed it with detergent powder and softener. And I don't use -"
"Alright, alright," he chuckled lightly and rubbed his face with it. "I don't want to know it's washing history."
I fell silent awkwardly. Ishan also kept quiet. It was odd. He was always chattering away if given the chance.
"Let's go back to class."
"Not now. I can't face them right now. Let the bell ring. Then I'll go."
I nodded understanding.
Suddenly a surge of anger filled my mind.
Why him?
"It was Shivam and Riyaaz, na?"
He suddenly seemed to have taken an interest in watching the floor.
"Ishan?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Not now," he added after a few moments. "Maybe later."
- Writer
