1983-Facts and Fiction

Backstage-The unknown city: Part 3

friend | noun

a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard

best friend | noun

a person who you value over all other friends in your life, someone you have fun with, someone you trust and someone in whom you confide, the first person you call when you get good news or want to go out for a bite to eat

***

For the team's success, the lead bowlers had to have a good understanding, and the first step was to get them talk to each other, so Bishan did the smart thing—he swiftly changed the room arrangements to swap Surinder and Madan.

"Why are you sending me away from your room?" Madan complained to him furiously.

"I'm not sending you away—I am not the one who decides the rooms—" said Bishan.

"You expect me to believe that! Why do you want Surinder Amarnath in your room anyway?"

"See, he's probably going to be vice-captain, just give me one week, Maddi..."

"I don't want to talk to you, Bishan paaji." A fuming Maddi slammed the door after him and stormed to his new room.

Preferring an Amarnath brother over Maddi had, of course, as Bishan did not know, only intensified his grudge and he promptly took it out on the other brother.

"For lord's sake, stop that cawing!"

Jimmy, who had been humming a song harmlessly, looked up at Madan's flushed face and hastily stopped.

"Sorry..." he began automatically.

"...and the pleasantries too," said Madan heavily, flinging himself down on the bed and attempting to go to sleep, still shaking with rage at Bishan paaji.

Jimmy tiptoed to the wall to switch off the light.

It could be safely said that neither of the two were happy with the new room arrangements.

Of course, Maddi was the unhappier one, because he had already made up an image about his new roommate resembling a snoopy monster who sucked up to their captain and pretty much everyone in the world, and who had something dark hiding underneath his unfailingly nice smile.

Jimmy had made up nothing of that sort inside his head about Maddi, though, in spite of the less than warm, rude, uncivilized behaviour from Maddi he'd been subjected to from the day he joined the Delhi camp. If he had thought about it at length, which he hadn't, he might have reached dark conclusions. Instead, he had a vague idea that Madan was an extreme introvert, or probably just not a great conversationist.

*****************

It was Jimmy and Madan's duty to lug back the equipment to the dugout that day, and after a strenuous practice session, that was what they were doing as the rest of the team left for the hotel.

At some point, Jimmy had started lifting the bowling machine without realizing how heavy it was, and almost staggered under the weight.

"Need any help, Mohinder?" asked Madan condescendingly (he was the only one in the team who'd steadfastly refused to address the Amarnath brothers by their nicknames).

"Er—thanks," said Jimmy.

That meant Maddi had to really go and help him lug the enormous machine, which was annoying, because he'd made the offer only to patronize Jimmy and try to piss him off. Anyone with a bit of self-respect would've said, 'no thanks.'