tales of Suchita

It had been a fortnight since Radha had lost his best friends. He couldn’t really blame Mayur for not wanting to be his friend – he would probably have done the same thing had he been in his position – but that did not stop him from regretting how things had turned out.

He hadn’t realized just how much he had depended on his sidekicks for a pleasant school day. It was only now, when they weren’t available to talk to did he understand just how self-absorbed he had been. Mayur and Sagar had been happy being accepted by someone. He had taken that adoration and turned it into something…

…Radha shook his head violently to stop himself from going down the self-pity spiral. He tried to focus on what Gayatri miss was saying about the story of Romeo and Juliet. In his opinion they were stupid for dying. Had it been him, he would have devised a clever strategy to assuage the parents and be with his love as well.

That mental image made him think of Priyanka who had gone radio silent since he had spoken to her about baiting the prankster into making a mistake. Though he wanted to talk to her, every time he thought of approaching her, a big question loomed on his head that asked him what he could possibly say to her. It always made him back down. Seeing as no one would now speak to him, he should have been able to talk to the one person who didn’t think he was a virus that caused a mental disease.

Well it was an upgrade for him – from thinking he was a fool and a loser for failing, to now thinking he shouldn’t be touched – at least they left him alone.

The universe finally conspired and brought Radha and Priyanka face to face after the long break, before anyone had returned from the playground. When Radha walked into the classroom, he almost went back out seeing her but then squared his shoulders and walked to her. He tapped her on the shoulder and all but screamed, “Do you think I’m a disease too?”

Priyanka blinked rapidly, confused. Then laughed and said, “No. I just…I didn’t know if you’d want company after what happened.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

“Well Mayur won’t talk to me and you stopped talking to me and I drove Sagar away…I’m not the most popular person right now.”

Priyanka shrugged, not sure if he was complaining or stating facts. “So you made a mistake. You have a happy home Radha. It’s difficult for you to understand how the other half feels. So stop feeling bad about yourself.”

Radha stared at her and then understanding dawned on him. The pencils. Ameen miss had told him about her situation. Before his face could fall into its well formed arrangement of pity, he stopped himself. He didn’t think she’d appreciate the gesture.

“You have to give Mayur some time. You have already told him you would like to be his friend…now you just have to wait.”

Radha stared at her again.

“What did I say this time?”

“I didn’t tell him that.”

“Tell him what?”

“That I want to be his friend.”

Priyanka laughed but then sobered up when she realized he was being serious. “You are such a loser Radha! How did you even make friends? How did you find Mayur and Sagar?”

“I…” began Radha but then had to stop. They…they had been the one to approach him. They had taken him under their wing. They had made sure he knew every day that he had friends he could count on. When had the tables turned? When had he taken over their role? Why had they…

“Radha,” said Priyanka, putting her hands on his shoulders, “you need to stop thinking. You need to find your friend, apologize and then tell him clearly using these words: I want to be your friend. Do you understand? Should I repeat it?”

Radha smiled and shook his head. “Thanks,” he said and ran away.

He met Mayur panting his way up the staircase. Radha stood in front of him so he had no choice but to wait, raised his finger and breathed through his mouth. Once he had got his breath back in control, he blurted out everything Priyanka had told him to say and more. At some point he may have turned teary-eyed but since there were no witnesses, nobody could confirm or deny it.

Once he had said everything he needed to say, he felt like he had finally reached homeostasis – ground zero. He breathed again, feeling better and lighter than he had since the whole mess had begun.

“I’ll be your friend only on one condition,” said Mayur seriously.

“Anything.”

“Are you sure?”

Radha nodded.

“From now on I am not Watson and you are not Sherlock. I am Mayur and you are Radha. Deal?”

Radha nodded again and raised his right hand. Mayur shook it once. Then he grinned. It felt like the sun had come out after a rather long winter.

---

This is the last post in the series. To know more about Radha, click here.