King of my Heart-Unroyals #1

18 | Poles apart

[unedited]

Kedar walked into his room with a heart that felt like someone was burning an incense stick inside it. The little interaction with Himani was too much for him to handle. Just like he feared, it might have been just a kiss for her, nothing more. But deep inside, he wanted her to know how much it meant for him, that it wasn't a spur of the moment. He wanted her to reciprocate what he felt for her. It was the first time he was experiencing something like this. The burning fire pit, crackling and sputtering inside his heart. The desire to be liked back by the one person he wanted.

He threw his bag on the chair and took off the blazer, unbuttoned his collar to feel less suffocated, and fell into the comfort of the mattress. He kept staring at the ceiling for quite a few minutes, replaying all the moments with her when his ringtone went off. A picture of Agastya with a beaming smile popped up on the screen.'Are you still at school?' Agastya asked as soon as he picked up the call.

'No. Just got back. Why?'

'How... How was school? How are you doing there?' Agastya asked; his tone was rather unfamiliar to him.

'Oh, come on! Why are you acting like we haven't talked for decades? We texted this morning.'

'Uh, nothing. I was just checking on you. You should take some rest since you just got back from school. Maybe take a nap, meditate, or read something... Aw' -he stammered, which was very unlikely for someone who gave the most spectacular man-of-the-match speeches. 'Away from your phone and internet. You're too much on your phone these days.'

'Are you on crack?' Kedar asked, knitting his eyebrows together in confusion.

'What? I-I am fine. I'm just giving advice like the elder brothers are supposed to.' He chuckled nervously.

'Agastya, just get it over with. What are you trying to say? What's the bad news you're trying to break it to me?' Kedar sighed.

'I called because I thought you already got the news.'

'What news?'

'Um, listen.' Agastya fell silent for a few seconds, probably thinking about the nicest possible way to break the news. 'It's about Mama. He's getting married to Radhika.'

A pause.

Kedar felt like Earth had stopped spinning all of a sudden. Everything felt eerily silent for the next few seconds. As if he was standing in the middle of nowhere.

'He announced it through his Twitter account.' He could hear the muffled voice of Agastya as if he were speaking from underwater. Something swirled in his stomach. He felt he'd throw up soon.

'Kedar, you there?' Agastya asked, worry creeping into his voice.

'How could he?' It was all Kedar could think of at that moment. He could feel the phone slowly slipping away from his hands, making Agastya's voice a feeble whisper from afar. He sprang out of the bed, and his two feet guided him out of the dorm room. Slowly they began to speed up, and he found himself running, as far as he could, away from the world, away from humans. His eyes were blurred with tears, with only the picture of his mother in his mind. His feet gave way as soon as he reached near the lake. He placed his hands on his knees while trying to breathe. The cold air softened his heavy heart a little.