Strangers?Or Not? ONGOING

Chapter 4

2014

I hadn't seen Anquit since last Friday. And it was Thursday today. Almost a week. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. Don't get me wrong. I still despised him more than ever. But him vanishing off the face of the planet was not part of the plan. No one else knew where he was either. His phone was switched off, according to Kriansh, who had his number. Well, technically everyone had his number because of the school WhatsApp group but none of the others had tried calling him, me included. What would I even say if he picked up? No idea. Besides I didn't want to intrude. It's not like we were on texting terms. And a part of me was scared. What if his disappearance was a result of what I'd said to him? I would never be able to forgive myself in that case. At this point, I didn't care if I was the first one to apologise if it meant he'll come back. In retrospect, It was more my fault than his. I realised he was just fooling around and there was no need for me to take it to heart. And definitely none to react the way I did.

***

Imagine my surprise when I see him in the corridor on Monday morning. He's finally back from wherever he'd vanished for more than a week. I was going to walk up to him but thought the better of it. I didn't know what I'd say. And I'd do anything to avoid the awkward silence that'd ensue as a result.

At lunch, I'd known something was wrong the moment Anquit walked in. I hadn't gotten a good look at his face in the morning but now I could see the black circles under his eyes. He looked so sad and lost. As if he were in a different place altogether. Physically present but mentally absent as most of our teachers would say. He sat down in one of the seats and was silent the entire time. Everyone else was trying to initiate a conversation but it was just very awkward. They were speaking in such a cautious tone as if they didn't want to crack a joke. It felt as if they all were in on a secret I didn't know. Like they knew the reason why Anquit had been MIA. Just then, Anquit mumbled something about going to the washroom. I watched him as he walked out of the classroom and turned left. He lied. The boys' washrooms were to the right of our class. I turned back to my classmates and raised an eyebrow at them.

"Is anyone gonna tell me what just happened or am I going to have to force it out of you guys?" I asked in the most serious voice I could.

They pretended to be clueless as Kriansh asked "What are you talking about?" with a very convincible incredulous face.

"You guys obviously know what happened to him. How about you tell me too?"

"We're sorry! He asked us to not tell you. And I'm obviously not supposed to but his grandmother passed away due to a heart attack last Sunday which is why he's been missing the past entire week. I really hope you're not going to do anything to worsen the situation, " Pragya finally replied, referring to what had happened the last time I spoke to him, while Kanak was asking her to shut up.

I felt as if I'd been punched in the gut. Holy mother of god! What the fuck? I immediately got up, the only thing on my mind at the moment was to find Anquit. I walked out of the classroom and turned left, just like he had. He wasn't in his class. I took an entire round of my floor and didn't find him anywhere in sight. That means only one thing, He either went to the school grounds three floors below or the cafeteria two floors above. He couldn't have been on any of the other floors as the teachers would have shooed him away for being on the wrong floor. As the latter option seemed more probable, considering that the break was about to end, I headed up the stairs.

After a few minutes of wandering aimlessly between the students scattering about to get their food, I saw him sitting in a secluded kind of place in one of the corners, hidden from most onlookers. Anyone would miss it unless they were really looking for the place in particular, or in my case, person. I walked up to him and sat down on the ledge kind of thing he was seated on. He must have noticed me but didn't say anything.

"I'm so sorry, I whispered, after a few moments. "I overstepped a line by insulting your parents last week when it was totally uncalled for. You were just messing around and I shouldn't have taken it all so seriously. It won't happen again I promise. I guess I got carried away. That is more of a habit of mine, crossing limits just to get back at people, even if it's unfair and wrong. Come to think of it, that wasn't the first time that happened. Dammit! What was I thinking?"

"It's okay," he whispered back, interrupting my rambling.

It felt as if a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders as soon as he said that. "That's it? You're just gonna forgive me? Like that? Aren't you even the slightest bit angry?" I was surprised.

"Uh yeah,...unless you want me to get mad at you?"

"Huh? No, of course not."

He didn't say anything for some time and neither did I. We just sat there in silence.

"I don't mean to pry but where were you the past week?" I finally mustered the courage to ask.

"My grandmother, she uh died. The others knew. I told them this morning before you reached school. I also asked them to not tell you. I'm sorry for that. I was scared of how you'd react and could not have dealt with another crude remark at the time. "

I didn't know how to reply or react so I just held his hand, intertwining our fingers. He instantly looked at our joined hands, and then at my face, a thoughtful frown etched on his face.

"What?" I asked him.

"Nothing," He smiled weakly. And though it didn't reach his eyes, it was definitely an improvement.

"I was so worried when you didn't show up to school for a week straight. Don't ever do that again please,"

"I find that very hard to believe, given your treatment of me," He said. I thought he was serious and was about to pull my hand away, apologising for my actions once again. He must have noticed as he tightened his grip on my hand and said, "Relax! I'm joking,"

"Doesn't look like it," I said dejectedly.

"Hey! I forgave you the moment you walked up here just to look for me. I'm just messing. Again" he said, with a slight smirk that looked forced. As if he were trying too hard to act normal, okay, happy.

I pretended to be annoyed, rolling my eyes at that. "Okay. If you say so," And as he lightly chuckled at my expense, I couldn't help but smile. As long as he keeps trying to be happy, we'll be fine because as much as I despised him, I absolutely did not want to see that sadness in his eyes ever again.

We finally got up to get back to the class. I immediately let go of his hand, looking away. He cleared his throat, placing his hands in his pocket, as we started walking down the steps, keeping our distance.

Way to go, Ishvika! Do you know anything other than how to make a situation awkward? I mentally chided myself. As we entered the classroom, I looked up only to see the others laughing and joking around. They looked up at us as we reached and each took a seat, me sitting as far away as possible from him. They must have sensed the change in both his mood and things between us as Kriansh exclaimed, "Looks like our favourite couple got back together!"

I rolled my eyes at that as Anquit smacked him upside his head. That didn't however, stop him from laughing even harder.

"Stop! I don't want to get wet again," Anquit fake grumbled, hinting at the stunt I'd pulled weeks ago. And just like that, things started feeling normal again.

"That's what she said!" Kanak said in a sing-song voice at which all of us burst into laughter. Leave it to us to turn every single sentence into a sexual innuendo. I thought to myself, smiling, shaking my head at their antics.