Think About Him

Kritvik Bhatt

The clouds were still covering the sky that day, man, and everything was covered in the shades of gray and black, for some reason. The grayish-white clouds had some openings in between where the dark blue sky was visible. But, the sun, obviously, was nowhere near.

“Well, what do you think about Daksh?”

“Huh?” I frowned as I turned my head leftward toward her.

Both of us were walking in the middle of the wide smooth street with short apartments on both our sides, obviously. It was peaceful as usual, man, with some cars silently standing along with some streetlights and electric poles on the edges.

“Like, what type of a guy do you think he is?” She asked again with a little smile on her face as she continued to look frontward for some reason.

“Uhm…” I turned frontward and started to think. “Maybe… Maybe he’s a nice guy…?”

She turned to me and said, “K, you just met him during the lunch-break today. What type of a guy do you think he is?”

“Uh, maybe he’s the nerd type, for some reason,” I said as I turned to her again. “I also feel that he’s nice, obviously. I don’t think I can comment more.”

“You see, he’s kinda cool.”

I smiled. “Damn, man. Why cool?” I asked her as I moved both my hands inside the pockets of my white uniform pants.

“Well, dunno,” She then turned her head frontward. “You see, we used to be good friends in sixth grade. But then, we were shuffled into different sections, and then we didn’t really talk until now.”

I nodded as I turned her head frontward.

Clomp. Clomp. Clomp. Clomp. Clomp. Both of our footsteps echoed in that empty street.

“And, he’s kinda dumb, you see. He’s always saying stupid things about different anime that I like, and then he gets roasted.”

“Ahahaha.”

“Ahahhaa. And, once we were chatting, you see, when, suddenly, he sent a voice message where his mom was shouting at him for something, K. He later apologized when I was laughing at him.”

“Damn, man. You need some serious work on your jokes,” I commented with a smile.

“And, it’s because I’ve been roaming around with you for so long.”

“Nah, for some reason, I think it’s that Daksh guy’s influence on you that you lost your joking capabilities.”

She turned to me and commented, “K, if I was being influenced by Daksh, I’d be topping every exam.”

“Ahaha. That was a good one.”

She then turned to the front and said, “Whatever. Anyway, he’s kinda funny too, since he’s just dumb.”

“Great, I guess.”

“Well, I think he can be friends with us and join us. What do you say?”

I stayed silent. My lips didn’t open, for some reason, as both of us continued to walk alone under that grayish cloud.

Clomp. Clomp. Clomp. Clomp.

“Well, what do you say?”

“Why does it matter, man? It’s just the last week. There are pre-boards after this week, and then a month’s break before the board exams.”

She turned to me and replied, “K, we’re all gonna go to the same school together.”

“Really?” I smiled as I turned to her. “Seems like a good idea, man. But I don’t really know about schools and stuff here, so you all would need to guide me, obviously.”

Sana smiled as she looked at me. “Yeah yeah. I know. Anyway, what about my question?”

“Um, I guess I got to agree, obviously. After all, I can’t say no to you.”

“Yeah yeah. I forgot that I didn’t really need to ask all this from you,” She turned frontward.

“But Kavya?”

“Well, she’s the problem. But I can handle her.” She then turned to me again and looked into my eyes—smiling. “And, you gotta help me like the last time, you see.”

I shook my head. “No.”

She chuckled as she turned frontward. “But I don’t really think that he’ll join us.”

I turned frontward. “He must have got his own friends, after all.”

“Right.”

“Badminton today?”

“Not really, K. Exams are near, and I gotta study, you see.”

“Damn, alright.”

“There was suddenly something which was between us, for some reason. We didn’t know what to talk about, what to say to each other, and there was this… awkwardness… that day. Maybe I was the only one who felt that, but maybe… she felt that too.”

“Anyway, can you send me the answers to the new math assignment that sir gave us today?” She turned to me again.

I turned to her and replied, “Obviously, man. But I’d end it by eight, maybe. Or nine. I don’t really know.”

“Well, fine by me. I can stay up and complete it.”

“Damn, man. Don’t. After all, it’d take you two-three hours to complete it—even if you’re just copying it. It’s not a good idea.”

She smiled. “Don’t worry. I can make up for my sleep by sleeping during the afternoon. I’d just go home and sleep anyway.”

“A-Alright, but I’d still try to send it as quickly as I can.”

She turned frontward. “Like, you don’t need to. Just make sure all the answers are correct.”

“I always double-check from the internet,” I proudly replied.

“Well, that’s why all your answers are correct, right?”

“Yeah. I always make a mistake or two, and then I gotta correct those questions.”

“And I thought you were a nerd, you see. Seems like you’re just double-checking from the internet.”

I chuckled as I turned frontward.

“Anyway, Daksh had told me to come online at Jenshin at five.”

THUMP!

“Wanna come?” She asked me as she turned to me questioningly.

I turned to her, and with a smile, replied, “You know I can’t, man. After all, poverty gets the better of me every time.”

“Ahahahahha! Emo, that seems so cringe when you speak it!” She turned frontward, and so did I. “Ahahahhaa! I can’t believe you really said that.”

“Ahaha.”

“Like, that’s my line!” She turned to me and looked into my eyes as I turned to her again.

“Damn, alright. Alright.”

“Say sorry!”

“S-Sorry,” I said with a smile.

She turned frontward. “Yeah yeah. I forgive you.”

I turned frontward and continued to glare at the street in the front. Both of us were slowly approaching the intersection as our footsteps echoed in the air. My smile, for some reason, started to fade a little, until the only thing left was a little curve.

Clomp. Clomp. Clomp. Clomp. Clomp.

There was a little silence of a couple of seconds between us, for some reason. Then, I asked her, “I wanna ask a question to you too, man.”

“Hmm?”

“What do you think about Daksh, huh?”

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

She turned to me again. “Well, you see, I don’t really know him that much.”

I nodded. “Damn.”

“Yeah, so I can’t really say anything.”

“Still, you can comment something.”

She turned frontward. “Uh…”

With that pained smile on my face, I turned my head skyward. “And then you expected me to say something about him, huh?”

She then confusedly turned to me again. “What… are you trying to prove, K?”

“Man, I don’t really know, for some reason. We can have him in our group, but I guess that we don’t really vibe much, maybe. We don’t have anything in common.”

“No, you both are really similar, you see.”

“No doubt—we might have a lot in common, but I don’t feel I see him being close to me, for some reason.”

“K, you’re just, like, being a little anxious about him joining the group.”

I smiled. “Yeah.” I then turned my head frontward again. “Meeting new people and making new friends is not my stuff, man.”

She smiled at me as she turned frontward too. “Don’t worry, emo. We’ll all be good friends. We’ll all go to the same school the next year and have a lot of fun, you see. Our lives may change, but not our friendships.”

“Yeah. No doubt, I’d give it a try before giving up, after all.”

“Emo, you’ve been worrying a lot lately, you see,” She said with a warm comforting smile. “Like, you worry about Aaryan, and now Daksh.”

“Yeah, man. A lot has been happening lately, for some reason.”

“No. It’s just you who’s been worrying a lot about little things, you see. You should just start relaxing. Like, go on a vacation.”

“Nah, I hate traveling, for some reason.”

“Why?” She frowned.

“I’m kinda prone to motion-sickness, after all.”

“What? Really?” She turned to me.

I nodded as I turned to her. “Yeah. One hour is alright, but after that, for some reason, I always vomit. I vomit one time each hour.”

“Ahahaha. Sounds funny.”

“Obviously it is, man.”

“Whatever.”

We both stepped into the four-lane intersection and continued to walk straight across it as we chatted.

“You see, I too get a little motion-sickness, but it’s not that prevalent.”

“Ahahahaa. We all go through the same stuff, huh?”

“Like, I guess.”

I turned rightward and looked at an apartment that was just a couple of steps away from me. It was my apartment, obviously.

“Well, here it is,” She said as she turned to my house some steps away.

“Yeah.”

“Don’t forget to send me the answers, K.”

“Yeah, man. Obviously,” I replied with a smile as I turned to her for a second. I then, obviously, started to walk to the black-painted gate of the apartment. “Bye bye!”

“Bye byeee!”

I pushed it open, entered inside the shadows, and then closed it behind me as I walked toward the elevator some steps away at the narrow corridor. I raised my right hand up and pressed the button, when suddenly, for some reason, I remembered her words again.

“Well, what do you think about Daksh?”

The metallic door of the elevator crackled as it slid open leftward, for some reason. Tzzzzzck.

My smile faded as I turned my head backward toward the gate.

On the other side of the shadowy corridor and the black gate, there was just another apartment’s entrance, and a car stood by its side, on the left. Sana had left, obviously.

“I… feel like he’s one damned…”

My right fist clenched tightly.

“Man, what if… she likes him more than me?”

I gulped in.

“Damn, man. What am I even thinking, huh? Obviously, he’s just a friend of hers.” I then turned my head frontward. “And even if he isn’t… I have no right to feel anything, obviously. I’m not her boyfriend or stuff, after all.”

I stepped inside the elevator, turned back toward the gate, and pressed the button which said ‘two’. The door started to close again. Tzzrrr. Click.

Then, it went silent.

“Why am I even jealous of him, man? He… just talked to her for a few minutes, after all. Why am I feeling so…”

I remembered glaring at her warm worried smile with that blurry vision of mine as she had both her hands on my cheeks. “Well, I’ll make sure no one knows about it.”

“I… can’t live without her, man. I don’t wanna act like a simp or some stuff, but… I can’t live a day without seeing her. I need her in my life. After all, I too want someone with whom I can cry like that, with whom I can tell anything I want to without being judged, and… someone who can always be behind my back, supporting me.”

Tzzzzzrr. The door of the elevator slid open.

“I… don’t have to be jealous of him, man. I’d be fine.”