Chapter 22: Same-same, Eh?

“Pretty cool, right?” Aakash beamed with pride.

“Well, it’s cooler than my accident. I slipped while walking down the stairs at home and broke my arm.” Harshil nodded solemnly.

“Well, I don’t know about cool. If you bled that much then like you did this time...” Cabir gave an involuntary shudder.

“Oh ho! Fatso’s scared!” Aakash chuckled, “Scared of a little blood!”

“Shut up! Don’t forget I carried you to the Medical Room too!”

Aakash stopped laughing for a minute. Then he mused, “Yeah! You did! But...man, am I surprised! You helped me! Wow, you can be a nice guy too!”

Cabir narrowed his eyes at him and stood up. “Bah! I’m leaving!”

But before he could make a move, the doctor called from her adjacent office, “Cabir, could you please bring Aakash’s bag from the class. His mother should be arriving soon.”

Sighing in resignation, Cabir said, “Yes, Ma’am.”

Casting an irritated glance at the boy lying on the bed, he walked out of the medical room just as their teacher, Miss Sutapa entered.

Spotting Cabir, she said, “Go straight to class.”

“Ma’am, the doctor Ma’am said to bring Aakash’s bag. He has to go to the hospital for stitches.”

The teacher’s eyes widened fractionally in concern and she nodded at the boy to go about his work.

*****

By the time Cabir returned, the other boys had left. Miss Sutapa was leaving too and ordered him to return straight to class after dropping off Aakash’s school bag.

“Ma’am chased out the others the moment she came in.” Aakash informed the chubby lad.

“Yeah, I met her at the entrance when I was leaving. Met her just now too. She told me to leave after dropping off your bag.” Cabir shrugged as he placed the bag next to the bed.

“Sad. You can’t bunk more of the period now.” Aakash chuckled.

“All because of you. If I hadn’t met Ma’am because I had to give you your bag, I could have easily gone to the field to play something.”

“Hey, if I hadn’t been hurt, you wouldn’t have been able to miss half the period!”

“I would have bunked anyhow!” Cabir smirked.

“I would have told Ma’am!” Aakash smirked right back.

“Hey, you-” Cabir began but was interrupted by a woman’s voice from behind.

“Aakash, how do you feel?”

Cabir jumped in shock.

“Oh, Mom. Not too bad. A little dizzy and now the wound’s aching a bit.” Aakash addressed the lady.

“Oh, and this is Cabir. He and the other guys carried me here. He also brought my bag.” The boy introduced the chubby youth to his mother as he saw her turn to gaze at the boy enquiringly.

“Oh, thank you for being such a good friend to my son, Cabir!” The lady smiled warmly and ruffled his hair affectionately.

“Uh, actually-” Both boys raised their voices in protest. Being called friends didn’t make them happy.

But before they got more than a couple of words in, Aakash’s mother leaned in and lifted up his bag. She asked the boy to get up.

“Your doctor said that you needed to get stitches. C’mon.”

“Uh...Aunty, I’ll support him.” Cabir chimed in seeing that she had difficulty in carrying both the bag and the slightly dizzy boy.

“No, no! It’s okay!”

Cabir didn’t respond but instead just took Aakash’s weight on his shoulder.

The lady finally gave in with a small smile and a “Thank You”.

“You just wanna bunk.” Aakash whispered to him.

“Definitely! Who wants to help you?” Cabir whispered back fiercely.

“...No way! Can it be that it’s not bunking but that you actually want to be friends with me?!” Aakash teased the other boy.

“Not a chance! Stop dreaming!” Cabir clenched Aakash’s arm that he had swung across his shoulder just a little tighter, eliciting a small yelp from the wounded boy.

*****

“Same-same, eh?” Aakash grinned as he stepped into the classroom and lifted the fringe of hair covering his right temple.

Cabir, whom he had addressed, looked at the scars on both the temples and stated matter-of-factly, “I don’t see how they’re same. One is almost horizontal and the other is almost vertical.”

It had been a week since the incident. Aakash had taken the following day off from school. After that, he had resumed coming to school while sporting stitches on his right temple.

Yesterday, the stitches had finally been cut and he had come today sporting scars on both the temples.

“Let me just say what you always so back at you.” Aakash smirked. “Don’t mind the petty details!”

“Copy-cat.” Cabir replied off-handedly.

Many in the class looked at the banter in disbelief. Within the span of a few days, a massive change had taken place in the class. The eternally arguing duo of Aakash and Cabir were not at each other’s throats but rather seemed to be almost friendly!

Not that they were friends...but they didn’t glare at each other whenever their gazes met.

Suddenly, another figure clasped both the boys around their shoulders.

“Let’s go have lunch in the canteen today! In celebration!” Harshil grinned.

“Celebrating that my stitches are now off? That’s nice, Harshil!” Aakash complimented the spiky-haired boy.

“Who’s paying?” Cabir asked suspiciously. It was never a good thing when Harshil was too happy.

“Huh, who said it’s for your stitches?” Harshil made a face. “You guys are paying...in celebration of your newly-formed friendship!”

“Get off!” Both the youths shoved the spiky-haired boy away from them in utter disgust.

*****

Aakash burst out laughing very loudly almost startling Cabir out of his skin.

“What the actual fuck?!” He yelled.

“Oh, I was just remembering that situation. I just couldn’t help laughing remembering it all!” Aakash chuckled.

“You really are a weirdo!” Cabir exclaimed in annoyance.

As Aakash burst out laughing even louder at the obviously still shaken and utterly annoyed Cabir, the man himself just snorted and asked in irritation, “Can we please go now?”