Shyness

Kritvik Bhatt

“So, from today, I’m gonna be acting like some sort of a delivery person for the Black Reapers, huh?”

Ding dong. Ding dong.

The bell rang. As usual, the teacher from the teachers’ desk on the left corner of the room stood up with the books in her hands, turned to her left, and walked across the blackboard filled with mathematical formulas and stuff to the door on my right. I was scribbling something with my pen on the notebook, my head balanced on my left arm standing up on the table. I turned my head to my right as I looked at the back of the teacher in a dark green saree stepping in the corridor and turning to her left. The indistinct chatter erupted behind my back as I turned to my notebook again, completing the question I was on.

“Hey, still doing math?” Sana’s voice called me from behind.

I turned to my back and looked at Sana walking toward me. She stood on my left as I turned my head up at her, smiling. She was still in her black mask. “Yeah, man.” I turned to my notebook. “This chapter is tough.”

“Math itself is tough, K,” She commented.

“Any guy who can do math is a sure loser,” I heard an unknown feminine voice and turned to Sana again. I noticed another girl, a little dark-skinned, her height about the same as Sana and me, in the usual all-white uniform. For some reason, however, her hair was messy and untidy, and her skin a little darker than the most.

“She is Kavya,” Sana introduced her.

“I’m Kritvik,” I said with a smile, raising my right hand at her for a handshake.

“Yeah, the new guy, right?” She confirmed as she extended her hand and shook it with mine. “Remember we talked?”

“Uh, n-not really.”

“Really?” Sana asked. “She was the first, and—”

“Oh!”

“Remember, right?”

“Yeah.” I then turned to Kavya again and moved my hand back. I then turned to my notebook again.

“Stop it, K. Like, it’s lunch-break.”

“Yeah, bitch, leave math. Health is more important,” Kavya commented.

I then slapped my notebook close. “Yeah, man.” I appeared a little irritated as I turned to my left, opened the zip of my bag, and then stuffed the notebook in.

As I was taking out my lunch, Sana turned to Kavya. “So, did you see the new episode of that delinquent anime?”

“Bitch, that anime is shi—”

“Oh, I did!” I excitedly turned my head up at her as I stood up with the lunchbox in my right hand.

“The fight is just about to begin, right?!” Sana excitedly commented. “So cool! I can’t wait for the two to fight it off this time!”

“And the female lead is damn cute, ma—!” I stopped midway, my eyes widened.

I could notice it. Sana’s facial expressions beneath her mask changed from excitement to… disgust.

“I-I-I mea—”

“That bitch ain’t cool,” Kavya commented, her eyes narrowed. “She seems like a complete loser to me, always looking at the guy’s fight and never helping him out.”

I turned to my right at her, and Sana too had her head tilted to her left at her. There was our second round of silence. Sana then turned to me again. “Really? ‘She is cute’?”

“I-I-I mean…”

“Whatever,” She then smiled again. “The fight—I’m excited for that.”

“No doubt everyone is,” I commented back. “At last, it’s gonna be one of the biggest fights of the season!”

“And, what’s cooler than that is that the next season is announced too!”

“This anime is gonna be a damn classic when the next season hits!”

“Really!”

Kavya kept on glaring at the two of us, turning her eyeballs as we both spoke in some language foreign to her.

***

“Really, and that’s how I finally won that boss fight. Like, I always play such games where you gotta use your mind, K,” Sana’s voice came over from the other side of the phone. The phone was on my right ear. “You won’t understand it. At last, poverty get the better of—”

“Shut up!” I replied back with a smile.

She playfully laughed. “Ahahahaa…”

I was sitting on the study-desk at the corner of my room. On my right was a closed door some steps away, and on my left a window, with a door behind me beside that window. My mathematics book and a notebook with soft white pages were open in front of me on my desk, and there was a pen on top of that notebook. For some reason, I had started talking to Sana in between my studies. “How well you connect anything with this poverty, man!”

“That’s sad,” She replied.

“Maybe it is.”

“Anyway, I gotta go now. My mom is shouting at me to study. Bye bye!”

“Byeee!” I moved the phone down and cut the call. Suddenly, the door opened with a bang and my mother entered the room. I turned to my right at her.

She walked from behind my back through the room, opened the door just parallel to the one from where she came in, and walked out onto the balcony. I turned my head to my left, looking at her back as she was picking up the clothes which were hanging on the railings outside. “Who were you talking with for so long, dear?” She softly asked.

“Just a friend, mom,” I replied with a smile, turned to my notebook, and started to study.

“Don’t start talking to your friends for so long in between your studies.”

“Yeah, mom,” My smile faded away and I turned serious for some reason. My eyes were filled with a little guilt and seriousness as I took up my pen and started to solve mathematics’ questions.

She walked in with a bundle of clothes, shut the door behind her back, and walked to the other door, and closed it too as she walked away.

Pat.

I then turned to my left, looking at the window beside my study-desk.

Outside, the sun was setting and it was evening. The streets were silent and peaceful, with only cars and electric poles standing there. The sky was half-black already.

“Oh yeah, I gotta go to Rohit’s house too!”

***

“Damn, man…!” I said in awe as I had my head tilted up. I looked at the wide modern bungalow covered with white tiles or something like that. The dark brownish orange lights came out from the upper story. The lower story had white dazzling lights. It gave out some damn modern vibes.

The sun had set, and obviously, it was nighttime. It was around seven in the evening, maybe. I stood beside Aaryan at the wide street filled with bungalows on both sides.

“Yeah, he’s got a shit amount of money, pal,” Aaryan said, his hands crossed in front of his chest. He then turned his head to his left and I turned to my right at him. “So go inside, act like ya are teaching him some shit for about half an hour, get the package, and come out. Don’t try to do any shit other than that.”

“Yeah,” I nodded.

Aaryan then turned to the front again. “If anyone asks about the Black Reapers, the delinquent gangs, or anything about the packages, just ignore all that shit, or act like ya dunno.”

“Yeah.” I turned to the front too, looking at the dark brown gate which led to a little lawn in between the entrance and the gate.

“We’ve told Rohit about the rest. He’ll take care of ya.”

I nodded again. Aaryan turned to his right and started to walk away. “Don’t fuck up,” He said as I looked at his back walking away.

I then turned to the gate again, noticed the bell on the right, and walked to the front. I pressed it with my forefinger.

I stood silent for a second or so, looking at the gray box on top of the button. A second passed as I stared at it, then another, then another. Suddenly, a woman said, “Sharma residence. Who is this?”

“I-I’m Kritvik Bhatt, Rohit’s friend,” I hesitantly replied. “H-He called me to his house today to-to help him with his studies and help w-with some of his doubts in history and math.”

“Okay, please wait for a second.”

No sound came after that. A second passed, then another, then another, then another. I stood silently staring at the button. Then, I turned my head up and looked at the white bungalow, which didn’t look white due to the darkness of the night.

“Kritvik, the gate must be open now. You can come in.”

“O-Okay,” I hesitantly replied. I suddenly added, “T-Thank y—”

Beep. She was gone from the call.

I turned to my left and walked to the gate, pushed it open, and stepped in hesitantly, shyly moving my eyes left and right, scanning the whole place. I turned back as I entered, pushed the door close, and while correcting the black bag behind my back, I turned to the front, and shyly and slowly walked in.

I walked on the straight path in the middle of the lawn, connecting the gate and the door, and after a few silent steps, looked at the short figure of Rohit in a blue sweatshirt and black pair of pants opening the door and looking at me. I walked toward him and stood at the door about a step away from him, looking into his eyes.

“Kritvik Bhatt?” He asked me, his eyes narrowed.

“Yeah,” I replied, looking at him hesitantly.

“Come in, then.” He turned to his back and started to walk in. I too walked inside with him.

***

Both of us entered an average-size bedroom, with him at the front. There was a study-desk on the far right corner and the bed on the left. There was a wardrobe on the far left corner, just beside the bed. We both walked to the bed simply, me following him, and then he turned back at me. He sat down on the bed, and so did I. “So, firstly, let’s play the act. Teach me about history whatever you know,” He calmly said, his narrowed eyes inside my scared and shy eyes. Even though he appeared calm, he seemed irritated.

I took out the bag from my right shoulder, dragged it to my left, and then kept it in between both of us. I opened its zip, quickly took out the history book, moved the bag a little aside hurriedly with my left hand, kept the book between the two of us, and then flipped through its pages filled with graphics, paintings, and stuff. “So, what do you want me to teach you?” I asked as I flipped through the pages.

“Anything. I don’t care about it, anyway.”

“Uhm, okay,” I said. I then opened one of the pages and turned my head to the front at him. “F-For some reason, y-you don’t look interested in the act.”

“Whaddya want me to do then?” He asked irritably.

“I-I…” I stuttered. I then turned my head downward to the book again. “So let’s start with this chapter about Napole—”

“Like I said, I don’t care.”

“O-Okay, sorry.” I didn’t really need to say sorry, but I reflexively added that in.