A Little Ray of Sunshine

Ch. 2- His Best Friend

The bus stop was noisy with the chattering of students clad in different uniforms. Team leaned against one of the poles and looked around. He could spot his brother sitting on a corner of a bench, still reading the book.

Team and Mix were not really close like most siblings. Team wasn't really welcoming of his younger brother from the moment Mix was brought home. And then, Mix growing to be the perfect son to their parents drew Team further away from him.  "Hate" would be a strong word to describe Team's feelings towards his younger brother, but he barely felt any affection towards him. Team feels that it's the same for Mix, seeing the younger scorn every time he saw his elder brother.

SMACK!

Team felt a blow at the back of his head, waking him from his thoughts, followed by a "Wassup man!" scream in his ears. Here he is! another devil in Team's life, his best friend Prem. "What the hell, P'?" Team screamed at Prem, to which the latter smirked. Team feels like beating Prem to death every time he smirked like that. But, the thought that he will be lonely without Prem around stops Team from doing so.

Prem looked around and waved like a celebrity and blew kisses to the girls gushing over him, earning a glare from Team. It is still a mystery how Prem's parents managed to find a name for their son, that actually fits his personality. His heart always overflows with love for every girl he meets.

Besides being neighbours, fathers of Team and Prem are colleagues and close friends. Even their mothers are best friends and their younger brothers are in the same class. Prem is one year senior to Team in school. They had met for the first time on Team's first day of school, 12 years back.

To think of it, Team couldn't actually blame the girls for swooning over Prem. His P' is tall and athletic and is part of almost all sports teams in school. His chiselled facial features, well-built body, and tanned complexion makes Prem one of the hottest boys of their school.  Apart from the looks, Prem is also a good photographer and dancer, and one of the academically best students. To be short, Prem is perfect in every way except for that one flaw that has made Team wanting to abandon their friendship many times. He changed girlfriends like changing clothes. Team wouldn't have bothered if every time the girls did not approach him to get to know Prem, to the point of following him to the restroom that had freaked Team out many times. But, he had put that thought of breaking off their friendship behind knowing that Prem is the only one person who has always been there for him. Team is never expressive about his problems with anyone, not even with Prem. But every time he feels upset and calls Prem to join him for a game of basketball, it's as if his P' senses that the younger is upset. Though he doesn't ask Team about anything, it's always evident from Prem's efforts that he wants Team to feel better at the end of the day. For Team, Prem is his Doraemon, the one with a solution to every problem he shares with him.

"What?" Team asked, seeing Prem smirk again. "Thinking about him, aren't you?" the elder asked in a teasing tone. Shiaa! I knew this is what he'll do and still, I shared my secret with this idiot, Team thought, gritting his teeth and smacked Prem's arm with all his strength. "Ouch! It hurt," Prem pouted, rubbing his arm, and the next moment, Team was met with the piercing eyes of the girls at the bus stop. But then, he noticed something different about the girls from his school today, especially Lisa, one of the school's beauty queens. She is the female version of Prem and both of them had dated for a while last year.

"What's with them today?" Team mumbled. "You don't know?" Prem asked, to which Team nodded his head in denial. "Idiot! I told you yesterday, right? I told you to dress up better today," Prem said, flicking Team's forehead. "P', What? I don't know," the younger was clearly annoyed, as he rubbed his forehead. "Today is the special assembly, remember? And the auditions for the inter-house cultural competitions next month. Guess who is going to perform today in the instrumental music category?" Prem asked. But all Team could hear was the first part, "Special assembly!" Damn! Here comes the next disaster. "Shit, shit! I am dead," Team said, jumping on his toes. Prem looked at him confused and then he raised his head to look behind Team. "Come, the bus is here," he said, dragging the younger along to the school bus.