I was sitting between Andy and Aadharsh. We were in the canteen with the seniors. It has been a week since I met them and we sat together in lunch for about 3-4 times. But they doubled in number. Afran, Akshith, Sharanya and three more guys. But they sure do talk a lot, the whole canteen is noisy as hell. Even this guy, Akshith who I thought would be a quiet one turned out to be as talkative as a parrot. Maybe he was just a little shy at the beginning, who cares. These noodles taste like shit after all the time I stood in line waiting for my order. I sighed propping my head in the palm. Andy seemed to be immersed in whatever Suchi was talking about. Each of them having conversations and eating their lunch.
“Bored?”, I heard Aadharsh’s dull voice. I hummed in reply. “ Wanna play a game?”, he asked, still in the same tone. I waited for him to continue. “Whoever finishes our lunch first, gets to eat the others lunch also”, he replied. I groaned, “No one’s gonna win”. He just wants to dump his lunch on me. I hate this bastard. “Canteen food doesn’t taste good when they do it in a hurry. Exactly at lunch time when it’s the rush hour”, Akshith said from the other side. He slid his plate of manchurian across the table, “Try it. It tastes better than that”. Out of all their gang, he makes me a bit uncomfortable. I know I said that he talks a lot but it’s mostly with his people, if not them it’s Nandhini, Maya or Bharghav. Suchi might talk less but she has guts and Andy is also quite confident. Michael had a lot of friends and he rarely hangs out with us. The most quite people right now is just me and Aadharsh. It takes quite a long time for me to mingle with others. This moment right now is few of the fewest times he spoke with me. So, how does he expect me to eat.
Aadharsh stuck the fork in a piece and force fed me leaving the fork in my mouth. He was back to eating his lunch. I put down the fork. I must have been taking too long to eat. Akshith looked a little surprised but glanced at me for a reaction. A right amount of sauce, just how I like it. “It’s good”, I took another bite of it. I hummed at the delightful taste in my mouth. It’s mildly spicy, tangy without too much gravy. Hmm. Just right. A chuckle grabbed my attention, a soft smile played on Akshith’s lips as he stared at me. I pushed the plate back towards him. “You can eat more if you want”, he smirked. Andy stabbed the dish with my fork, “Thanks”, She plastered a smile on her face as she ate the piece in one single bite. “For me”, Maya cheered and Andy passed the fork. In less than a minute, the plate was empty. “How many did you eat?”, I whispered to Aadharsh. He raised four of his fingers, “You?”. A mix of disappointment and irritation was visible in my face, “Three, but….” I peeked at Akshith. He was staring at the empty plate in shock. I held in a laugh. I cannot even give him my soggy noodles. So he has a side like this too. A huge amount of noodles blocked my view of him. “Say Ahhh!”, Andy held the fork in front of me.
The rest of the day went uneventful. I sat in one of the empty seats in the front of the bus. I didn’t feel like chatting with my friends while waiting for the bus to start. So I just stayed in my seat looking out the window towards the parking lot. Most of the seniors came by their own transport. I wonder which one of them he drives. Probably not the sports bike kind, maybe a Royal Enfield. No, I can’t think of anything. He’s making me curious.
I laid on my bed staring at my phone’s blank screen. Abhay stormed in causing me to flinch at the sound and drop my phone. He is my second brother, an asshole, a 3rd year BArch student, he feeds on my brain and his hobbies are testing my patience and pissing me off. “The heck, you shit”. He cleared his voice and closed the door behind him. “Mom and Dad are visiting grandma and grandpa next week” he gave a pause, “Ask Arjun to take us out . Anywhere. Please.” He pleaded as he dragged that scratchy voice.
I smirked, “Why should I? I prefer staying at home and ordering KFC.”
He raised an eyebrow, “You don’t like KFC.”
“Mc D.”
He sat in the wheeling chair, legs crossed and hands on the arm rests in a business posture.
“What are your demands?”
“Write two of my assignments.”
“One.”
“Two.”
“One assignment and One Shawarma.”
“And a Thick shake.”
“Deal.”
“Deal. Get out.”
He bowed, “Yes, sire.”
Ugly Ogre.
I picked up my phone to text Arjun. He is my first brother, definitely the better one, a working adult. The only one who isn’t single between us three.
When will you be home?-
-Just finished my work. Will be there shortly. Why?
Ice Cream-
-Consider it done.👍
Butterscotch-
-👍
One chocolate cone-
-FINE!👍👍👍
I put my phone aside. What should I do when my parents go out? Maybe call some friends over. But Abhay, I can just throw him out of the house. Or maybe I should go to the movies. Or maybe…
I flinched again at the door sound. Abhay gave me a confused look, “What’s got you so lost in the clouds, flinching at everything.” I looked away in embarrassment, “Nothing.” He stared at me like he didn’t believe it. “What is it again?” He took a moment to recall the reason, “Wanna watch Blue lock?” I got up from my bed and sprawled on the sofa in the living room. I heard my mom’s voice from the kitchen, “Are you guys hungry? Will you eat now?” “Nope, we’ll eat with Arjun”, Abhay answered. Just as the intro ended, the front door opened. Arjun entered, laying the helmet on the table, “Hey.” I eyed the shopping bag in Arjun’s hand. He noticed my gaze on the bag, “After dinner.”
Arjun tapped my shoulder. “You seem so lost in thoughts. You didn't even hear me call you”, his voice showing concern betraying his stoic face. “Uh, nothing.” He was holding my chocolate cone, “Here.” He must have brought them after he ate his supper. I didn't notice. I looked ahead to the TV. The second episode almost came to an end. “Atleast I think it's nothing”, I mumbled under my breath. Abhay glanced at me from beside me.
***
Sorry for the looooong delay. I was busy with sem exams and then took a week?- 2 weeks? I don't know, but it's a break.
The only thing left in my existence is a void.
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Feeble Heart
General FictionAghhhh, this is all too much for me. It's the first day. What do I do! I don't have any friends. Making friends is too hard and classes won't start for a week, which makes it harder to make friends. Fuck this introduction program..... He looks kind...
