Stag Tales Moon Talk

Broken Glass: part five

Let's tell a story

by the campfire.

Him

"She's great," Surya repeated over and over, as he had on the day of the campfire. Sitting there by the bench, their feet to the ground, his head to the sky, I wondered if he would get to the point. "Really great. Smart, pretty, an antique kind of brilliant."

My silence, apparently, urged him on. "We met in UKG. She was tall, even then, and thin, and had glasses, even then. We talked, and she wasn't mean to me. She liked me, and I liked her."

Sighing, I moved over to the side, my leg cramping with every passing word. "We've been friends forever. We even used to sit together till her dad realized she may like me."

"Did she like you?"

Surya shrugged. "I don't know. She never said the words, but I got the feeling she did. I got the feeling she wanted more. I mean, when I was with her, the whole world stood still."

"We know you're a poet, Surya. Get to it."

I didn't want to rush him, but he just wasn't getting to the point. "Her dad's... got connections. It's weird. He's not a politician, and as far as I know, he's no mafia lord, either."

Uh. "What?"

"You can't mess with Shubhi, Krish. He'll kill you."

"So... he's a goon of some sort. That's the whole story?" Snorting, I turn to the sky, a heavy background of lisps and greens overwhelming me. "She's off limits because her dad's got gundas in the back ready to pound any guy who looks at her?"

When a second passed and he didn't respond, I looked over at him. "You say it like it's nothing."

I smile. To myself. To the world. "She's no mystery. She's just an overprotected brat." Finally, with the puzzle solved, I stood. "You just like her because she's unreachable."

"You bet me about getting her in three months because she's unreachable." He reminded me. 

"About that."

"I was drunk. I called her. I fessed up." He looked away, not in the least bit sorry. "It's no secret that I love her."

"Why aren't you with her, then?"

"How can you be with her? She's got a whole army protecting her fucking tower. I can't climb that."

Whislting low, I started to walk off. "Well, good luck to you, then."

"So, you don't care?"

"Not enough."

Her

Sometimes while I listened to old Kannada music, I missed Surya's house. His mother liked to talk, and a lot.

Having a mother might have helped, I realized, looking out into the dimly lit corridor. Walking to the balcony, I thought of Krish, of where he lived, of what he did, giving too much emphasis on a boy who didn't even know my name, but it was unbearable, this, me, mine. I was alone.

Krish, I wondered, couldn't possibly know what that felt like.

I suppose that's why I liked them, the popular ones. I mean, they're pretty, and smart, and you have to wonder what it'd be like to be with them. If they'd make you theirs, if he'd make you his. 

UKG: Upper Kindergarten

Gundas: basically henchmen