'What have I done?'
Arham's guilt-ridden conscience had struck in and he realised his grave mistake. He had assaulted his own friend. Even atonement of a thousand years could not compensate for his sin. Besides that, his religion forbade homosexuality. He would rot in lowermost levels of hell if he is one. With that in mind, he could not understand what to do.
All he knew was he was in deep trouble. His father would not accept him and there was no chance that he could return back to his normal life. He searched in the dust bin for a piece of fabric to cover himself if he could find any. After searching for half an hour, he found his old t-shirt which he had thrown a few days ago.
'Why did I even throw this?'
He put on the t-shirt and set off for an expedition whose destination was unknown. The sultry heat of the summer was less troublesome than the heat inside his body. There was an unknown feeling that kept on pestering him. All he could remember was the touch that bound them that night.
'Am I actually a homo?!'
He walked over to the corner street and sat down under a street light. He heard a loud grumble from his stomach. He fished out for some money inside the shirt and found a wrinkled 10 dirham note.*
'I will get nothing with this.'
He shoved the note back in his pocket and got up. He had gotten an idea, he could go to Mahmoud's house. There was not a single day when his kind mother did not invite him to their place. He walked to their place and rang the doorbell outside the gate of the bungalow. After which, he waited for someone to open the door.
The lady with a kind face opened the door but she had wrinkles of fury on her forehead. For some reason, Arham understood that she did not want to welcome him today. He turned and started walking back towards the corner of the street.
He was stopped by a warm hand on the shoulder. It was Mahmoud. He pulled him back and saw his eyes full of tears and snot dripping from his nose.
"What happened Arham?" He questioned as he wiped his face with his t-shirt.
"No... thing." He replied.
"Then why are you crying?"
"Should I tell you?" Arham said in an uncertain voice.
"Yes. I want to help you."
"Be prepared to listen to it. You are responsible if you can't take it. I came out in front of my father and he has thrown me out of the house in disgust."
"Done? All this does not affect me. You are Arham and you will always be. I will be your friend even if you leave me."
Those words were like a light inside a dark abyss. Before they both knew it, Arham had pounded against Mahmoud's chest and Mahmoud embraced him. Both the boys were aware of the new feelings rising in the depths of their heart. The feeling of a deep friendship. Till today, these boys had been inseparable. It was the first time they had planned to part ways.
************************************************************
The night had been a very unusual one for both of them.
Upon the first ray of sunlight, a bell rang inside their room causing them to wake up. They got dressed up and headed outside, only to find the corridors empty. The doors of the SEC were open, and Haruko was standing inside as if he had been waiting for them for a long time.
"We had been waiting for you both!" He exclaimed in his usual deep voice.
"What are we supposed to do?" Arham asked.
"Well, all you have to do is head to the room and wear those bodysuits that are kept inside. You can choose any colour you want. After that, head to the room and wait for our instructions."
Arham and Mahmoud headed to the room located on their right. It was a tiny room made of glass and metal frames. The boys entered the room and found a rack full of bodysuits. Arham picked up a white one and Mahmoud picked up a black one.
By that time, the second bell had rung and all students gathered in the SEC.
"The first candidate pair please head to the room located next to you."
Arham and Mahmoud headed to the room as instructed.
**********************************************************
Meanwhile, Sam and Spence were looking at the commotion, wondering what was going on. "Where are they heading to?" Sam questioned to Spence.
"I don't know."
"Are they going to die or something?" Sam looked at Spence.
"I don't know. I hope it is not so."
An announcement broke off their conversation.
"Welcome to the SEC. As always I am Haruko and I am responsible for your training!" He said as he flaunted his rose gold suit, whilst standing on the stage.
Right after he said, A big LED TV slid from above the stage. It was a 72-inch screen and it switched on, showing the room in which Arham and Mahmoud were currently standing.
The looks on their faces showed that nothing was right.