The Chocolate Boy (Book One)

Chapter 26 : Mango Truffles

Merry Christmas, peeps! Second Christmas with the TCB family!! Wish you all a very merry Christmas and a very happy new year in advance!

Oh, Nerdy Santa is gifting you a double update today! Enjoy!

Boys from our class at school had been trialling for the coming season since the seniors would soon go on study leaves for the finals. And soon they'd be passing out, leaving me from the old team. So everyone knew, I was the team's captain for next year.

Gym in the morning, trials in the afternoon and practices in the evening (with Krrish and Rakesh hell bent on hunting me down), tired me out quickly. But Krrish and Rakesh running after my life didn't affect me the way it did before. They were still mean but it pushed me to give it my best. It was like I needed to prove them wrong, like it was a major need.

The doorbell rang. I looked at the clock on my study table. Neither Ma nor Tuhina were supposed to return now. However, I got up from the bed only to welcome Manish inside. A shitty looking Manish to be specific.

He ran a hand through his hair before muttering incoherent words under his breath.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing, sorry. When will Tuhina return?"

"About an hour later," I switched on the ceiling fan in the living room and tried the hardest to be cordial. His presence always frustrated me. It was like he was a constant reminder of how I lost the memory of a certain phase in my life.

"I can't go back home now," his muttering was a little audible now. "I... I just... Tuhin," he was a little bit louder. "Can I... Can I please wait here till Tuhina comes?" He rubbed his sweaty face with his beafy hands. He was that beafy kind of muscular. "I need to talk to her," he said in a bare whisper.

"Yeah, sure," I tried hard not to sound unsure like I was. Something was definitely wrong with him.

He sat down on the sofa with a thud. "I should've stayed in that hostel in Dehradun. I knew this would happen if I come here."

I held a glass of water in front of him.

"Thanks," he accepted it and finished in one gulp.

"Need some more?"

Two more glasses later, he finally set the glass down.

"Feeling better now?"

"A little, yeah," he said, staring off into space which happened to be the ceiling.

"You want to lie down for some time?" I asked out of genuine concern. The poor guy could do with some sleep. It didn't look like he got some recently. "You can have my bed," I offered.

He just gave me a blank stare and I took it as a yes. "Come with me."

I removed my things from the bed and heaped them on my table for the time being. Taking my phone, I turned to leave the room, only to find Manish with the same blank stare, now sitting on my bed.

"Go on," I urged him. "I'll be in the hall. Call me if you need something." I switched off the light and went to the living room only to end up laying on the sofa, watching music videos on YouTube with the volume turned low.

Only a few minutes had passed before I heard Manish calling my name. I locked my phone and went to my room. Flipping the light switch on, I found Manish in the same position as I'd left him. "Yeah?"

"Do you remember that day?"

That sentence alone hit me like a thousand stones. Then as the realisation set in, a cold shiver ran down my spine. Somewhere in my brain there was this constant nagging.