ICT ONE-SHOTS (FRIENDSHIP)

Tell him he's not allowed (Rohit-Jassi-Hardik)

"Rohit, Jassi is not talking to me!" Hardik wailed. "Tell him he's not allowed to do that!"

Rohit looked up from the piece of paper on which he'd been scribbling a strategy, and sighed.

"What did you fight about again?"

"Nothing! I just defeated him ten times in thumb wrestling, so he stopped talking to me."

"Hardik," said Rohit sternly, in a I-know-perfectly-well-you're-lying way.

"And I, er, taunted him a little," admitted Hardik. "Um, a lot. But--"

"Taunted him about what?"

"About fast bowlers," said Hardik.

"You're a fast bowler," pointed out Rohit. 

"Just fast bowlers, not all-rounders."

Rohit sighed again. "You know he's touchy about how hard a fast bowler's life is."

"But he's not allowed to stop talking to me because of that!"

"He probably did it to steal ten minutes of peace," muttered Rohit.

"What?"

"Nothing." Rohit put away the pen and paper and stood up. "All right, come, I'll talk to him."

***

"Rohit bhaiya, Hardik isn't talking to me!" complained Jassi. "Tell him he's not allowed to do that!"

"Hm?" Rohit said, half-asleep on the couch at noon.

"Rohit bhaiya!"

"Wh-what?" Rohit shook himself awake. "Why isn't he talking to you?"

"Because I said his hairstyle is worse than Shakti Kapoor's."

"Why would you tell him that?"

"Well, I wasn't lying."

"That's not the point," said Rohit impatiently. "You never tease Hardik about his--" He coughed. "--glamorous hairstyles."

"I tried saying sorry," said Jassi, aggrieved. "He slammed the door shut in my face. He's not allowed to do that."

"All right, all right," said Rohit. "Don't worry, I'll go and talk to him--after a quick nap," he added in an undertone.

"No, come now," protested Jassi. "Come right now."

Rohit sighed and got up. "All right."

***

"Rohit bhaiya, Hardik says he has plans to go out for a midnight party and tomorrow is my birthday. Tell him he's not allowed to do that!"

***

"Rohit, Jassi isn't playing Anagram Magic even when we're meeting after three weeks. Tell him he's not allowed to do that!"

***

"Rohit bhaiya, Hardik said he loves his pet dog more than me. Tell him he's not allowed to do that!"

***

"Rohit, Jassi always makes fun of me in interviews. He always does. Tell him he's not allowed to do that!"

***

26th January, 2016

"Rohit bhaiya, Hardik isn't opening the door," Jassi said, barging into the dining hall when the team was sitting for a late dinner after winning the first T20 against Australia, where Jassi and Hardik had made their debuts.