How Not to Kidnap a Guy

6. 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙊𝙛 𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙨: 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘐

!!!TW: DESCRIPTION OF MURDER. I'LL ADD A ⚠️SIGN BEFORE AND AFTER THE PARA!!!

SHARAV

"For the kind attention of passengers, train number two-three-one-nine, Vadhampura express from the West Area railway station to the Center Area railway station, will arrive at platform number four in fifteen minutes."

"Payanigalin kanivana gavanathirku..."

The robotic announcement voice is loud enough to fill my ears, but this idiot's laughter is louder. Harsh has been laughing with Saritha all the way to the railway station and he's yet to stop giggling. And I am their laughingstock. But who cares? At this point, I'm not even gonna complain about his laughter. I've been so used to it... and it's also kinda nice to hear it. Just a little bit.

From the way they're laughing together, Saritha and Harsh look like siblings now. But they're so cruel to leave me alone. I'm also bored, right? However, I ain't abandoning my pride by asking them to include me in their conversation. So, I might as well make up stories about random people now.

In such made-up stories, shopkeepers are almost the best subjects. Even though there are only a handful of passengers, small shops, like the halwa shop, line the platform. And the halwa-selling granny is more than interesting!

The granny fans away the pesky flies away from her halwa stock, but they keep swarming back to her. Her ribcage reveals itself almost entirely between her blouse and the waistband of her saree, and age has lined her face. Thinking about it, selling halwa in a railway station is a weird job. If I were her, I'd not be glad as a halwa-seller on a shabby platform. But she looks joyous though, just bored. Of course, everybody except me is happy with their lives.

The halwa's smell steals my nose, but I restrain myself from indulging in it due to my real gangster diet. But the halwa is such a seducer! While I ogle at the halwa, Harsh shoots a playful glance at me as though he has caught me right in the act of drooling over platform food. He then averts his sight to the granny. Is he gonna buy halwa to stuff his face alone?

Just as I expected, he says something to Saritha while looking at the halwa-seller. He looks at me with narrowed eyes once again, and prances towards the granny while waving at her. Once he starts talking, the granny's boredom instantly vanishes and she laughs so contently, in the typical endearing way old people smile.

He then strikes up a conversation with her effortlessly. This is the reason I can never understand extroverts like Harsh. They can have conversations with anyone, and they never make anybody bored. See? The granny's speaking with him so sweetly as if she's gonna give him a buy-one-get-one offer! He's gonna buy the halwa, then eat it... Oh my God, I'm craving sweet things now! I don't need oxygen, I need halwa!

"Hey! Sharav!" Harsh shouts at me suddenly, "You want some halwa?" Damned mind reader. But... Why'd he wanna buy some for me?

"Huh? Halwa?" I yell back at him. "Ye– No, I... don't want it," I mumble, looking away from him while drawing invisible circles with my feet.

"You don't want it?" He raises an eyebrow. "But your face says yes!" he shouts, earning a chuckle from the granny and Saritha. Even the toy-seller sitting next to the granny is laughing!

"NO! I don't want it!"

"Ah, okay okay. Courtesy, huh? I get you, man! Don't worry, I'm gonna get a pack for you anyway."

My cheeks flushing, I shout, "Fine! If you're that desperate to get me halwa, go ahead!" Saritha laughs for no reason and Harsh giggles again, shaking his head.

As I look away from him, some uncles with white shirts are at the other end of the platform, seeming to threaten a young man. Something feels wrong. A sense of bad aura looms over them, but I let that thought pass over my head. My instincts are often not right, anyway. They're probably just having a normal conversation.