A Sew Through Time [Banbudh And Budbak]

27: Predictions

Sitting under the grandfather statue with the dull sky above, Khushi gazed at the yellow rings in her fingers. A blue mask floated on the water, white ribbons tendril-like. The ground was marked with occasional white rings. To her, it was similar to hopscotch grids.

The delicious residue stuck to her fingertips. She wore back the treats from the packet. Someone bit her finger and snatched away the chip.

"Hey! You'll give me covid!" scolded Khushi, brushing her fingers on her blue skirt.

"Arre" Ananya munched on restlessly, "We got our vaccine yesterday, don't you remember?"

Souvik took out a toy from the packet and showed it to his friends. He opened it with his hands, but the fragile plastic toy cracked. He sighed,

"Crax toys don't even last a day!"

The girls chuckled.

"Remember that scary looking aunty in the line?" He asked, crumbling the packet with his hand, "The one at the vaccine centre?"

Khushi felt out of place.

"Ohhhh man" Ananya remembered, "If you opened your mask for a second she would pinch your nose"

The laughter came to a close when a faint commotion wafted in the air. Students from other classes hurried to the corridors; the rhythmic shouting of 'fight fight fight' reverberating.

Noticing an older running student, Khushi grabbed him and inquired,

"What's the tea?"

"Delinquents-" He panted, swiping his face, "A huge fight broke out!"

"Which class?"

"Twelve"

Once they followed him towards the spot, they discovered a bunch of senior students lashing out on their classmate, holding his collar and verbally threatening him. From a distant whisper, Khushi learnt that the victim had spilled their gang secrets to another one.

The triplets let the student go. Their supposed leader walked near him, staring with vile eyes and intimidating presence. He was rather tall, with thick sideburns and a long nose. Though corpulent, his body was toned, and he had big, muscular arms.

The victim pleaded near his feet. The identical triplets laughed at his demise. The victim sat on the floor still weeping.

Souvik watched the scene, when he spotted two girls at the other end recording the fight with their phones.

"There are no other kids here" Ananya whispered to Khushi, "If Dubey sir finds out we won't be spared!"

"Ananya, Khushi" Souvik left off, "Enjoy"

"Where are you going?" Khushi caught his sleeve.

"Important chat!" he shrugged while fixing his hair.

A loud crash came. Returning to the fight, Khushi gasped at the victim, who was being pushed back on the wall.

"M-maaf kar do... Jeeva bhai!!!" he cried, "I'll never... never tell anyone again!"

"Maapi?" He replied with a lisp, leaning over his shivering frame, "You'll stay alive, then talk again, gaddal"

Ganesh held Jeeva's shoulder and whispered something into his ear. He looked at him pointing at his left.

"K-Khushi?" Ananya perspired, "Why're they looking at us?"

"Looks like they saw me making maggi with canteen water-" she gulped.