Fighting For Our Way

Chapter 17

( 6, 614K WC )

Y/n

NOT IN A MUCH FARTHER DISTANCE, Gopal has taken me to their ice cream stand, and it was my second time visiting it since last week as I have remembered in my mind. The steps of my walk had been unhurried; my mind trying to figure out the occurrences as I affixed my eyes watching him rush inside their stand.

Gopal looked back at me rather perturbedly whilst gesturing me to move closer. I could perceive the overwhelming stress he is feeling from his expressions alone and the panic rimming around his quivering eyes, alongside his unsettled hands that were rummaging inside the ice cream stand. Rolling my lips inwards, I wordlessly followed him again and moved beside him, looking at what his hands were scrabbling around in.

"Huhu - My Appa is going to be mad at me, Y/n," he started with despondency as his voice tensed with rigidity, and I glanced at him with confusion over my expression; an indecipherable question mark on my face.

My mind was contemplating whilst scrutinizing through his expressions, swallowing the lump down my throat as the words ebb freely.

"What.. What do you mean?"

My tone was gentle, as not to furthermore provoke his convulsing emotions. Yet again, he was crying out under his hands upon hiding his face rather innately, and I could presume this is merely the way he lets out his distress - let alone without actual tears.

Voice trailing off, I asked, "Is everything..-"

"He is going to punish me!"

"W-Why?" I asked out of increduling surprise and flinched on my stance from the abruptness of it, eyes widening in incredulence.

My mind couldn't thoroughly fathom what the matter is for him as he couldn't state it directly, and at the same time contemplating yet again on how I was genuinely involved in the occurrences.

"Eh.. So, like, I was supposed to be the one watching out here for today," Gopal elucidated and used his hand gestures upon extending his arms exasperatedly. I nodded, giving him the cue to resume. His hand abruptly pointed at the cold plate freezer, inducing my eyes to follow the direction impulsively. "But - ! You see, the freezer stopped working, and I literally dunno how and why it happened at all - Welp, only thing I know for sure is that Appa's gonna be really mad at me when he finds out and I'm dead! Huhu!"

His hands then press against his head, shaking out of uneasiness and anxiety.

I agape, blinking my eyes slowly, once, then twice. Since I am unsure what to say, I tried inspecting the said cold plate freezer with different flavors of ice cream in each of it. It was still semi-cool inside of it from the, presumably, evaporating coils that freezes the walls, however as Gopal has said, it stopped freezing unfortunately.

"It.. I mean, the ice cream might melt quite sooner if we let this be," I said, looking back at him who persistently nodded his head under his hands whilst his eyes were creased; as though he would concentrate to abide by any word of mine that I will be saying to him like some kind of mentor. Ironically being just a clown myself, I don't even know what else to say. "Apparently.. We need to fix it, then."

"Yeah! I could actually try to fix it on my own, but it's just that I can't help myself to panic!" Gopal replied, and eventually I am getting used to the loudness of his voice impaling on both ears of mine - even though I am standing nearly right beside him as we communicate regarding the latter.

I turned my body to face him properly, eliciting a sigh prior to bringing myself to respond.

"Hey.. There's still time to fix it and you need to calm yourself to come up with something, you know," Saying this, I returned a thin smile giving him the assurance. It's not like I could leave him like this with the problem, especially as though he was asking for my help a while ago in a way.