Next morning I wake up hearing a knock at my door,
Siya: Yeah, its open come in.
In few seconds my brother enter inside my room, completely fresh and ready for his school (studying engineering and he is in the final year). He close the door, then come and stand in front of my bed, though his face showed zero emotions but eyes are showing some concern,
Brother: Hey sis how is your knee, mother told me you get injured?
Siya: (Sleepy voice) Yeah bro, I thing the pain is bit less. Though it still hurting.
Brother: Ohh okay. You will go to attend classes?
Siya: (With confidence, lied) Yeah but I will be leaving after breakfast, because my class are starting late.
Brother: Cool, see you at night bye and take care.
After saying this he leave the room, I remain laying at the bed and thinking about how I lied to my brother, though I am not regretting it because I don't know how will he react after listening to that I am going to meet a boy or simply how he will react when he would come to know that I have a friend who is a boy. Another thought that come to my mind is that, just because I got injured I see worry/concern in my family member's eyes which is rare as I have always seen them fighting, yelling or ignoring each other.
And may be if I get physically hurt more, this can bring them closer like a one big happy family, the one which I always desired or hoped for just like showed in movies, serials or the stories that I read. After five minutes or so, I took a deep breath and rub my face, I get up from the bed and stretch my injured leg a bit to check the intensity of the pain. I realized pain is still the same plus because of keeping it straight for the whole night, now its troubling in even trying to bend and seeing this now I am having second thoughts, whether I would be able to travel or not as after wearing jeans walking would become more difficult.
However, leaving these thought aside I move into the washroom, after ten minutes or say I come out all fresh up. I go check my phone, I notice its eight fifteen in the morning and except Jazz's message there is nothing on the phone so, first I plug phone to the charger. Then I open her text,
Message....
Jazz: Hey babes how are you doing? (According to time, it shows it was around mind night and that time I was sleeping like a baby)
Siya: (Automatic smile come on my face, just by seeing her simple message) Hey I am doing not so good, got injured. How are you doing?
In a minute or two, I got her reply back.
Jazz: I got injured too but small one, just got my ankle twisted.
Siya: Haha welcome to the injured club, don't you think we have some kind of soul connected sisters bond?
Jazz: Don't you think teasing your soul connected sister like this is, bad?
Siya: Hahaha okay okay I surrender my friend.
Jazz: Hahaha you are such a tease, sometimes annoying but I like you my friend. Now we will talk later as I have some work to do bye.
Siya: Bye.
Message Conversation End (....)
I leave my room and start limping toward the dinning hall. Once I reached there, I found no one there but I can hear some voices are coming from the kitchen so, I go and stand at the door of the kitchen. Here, I see my father is keeping his used plates and glass in the sink, saying something to my mother which is making her laugh and this whole scene put a smile on my face. Also this scene pop a thought in my mind which is "this should be the beauty of relationship where partners should become the reason of others smile/laugh or peace."
Soon father's voice break my trance,
Father: (For seconds he look at me then at my knee, which is still bandaged that done on yesterday) Hey Si how are you doing and how is the pain in your knee?
Hearing him, mother also turn and look at me with concern plus bit worried too, and Aunt & granny say she is selfish.
Siya: Its still paining but a bit less from yesterday.
Father & Mother: Okay but you need new bandage.
Father: Go, sit on the dining chair. I will be back there with first aid kit.
Mother: And I will bring your breakfast outside.
I smile genuinely at their and concern, then I do as I am told. While I am waiting for them, my mind say out loud in my head,
Mind: O bro, I just loved it how they are pampering, showing concern plus taking good care of me.
Me: O please, it just temporary but surprisingly I am liking it too but I am not going to told them and you know why?
Mind: Yeah bro, I remember. They will definitely going to think that we are weak, not actually in pain but saying this, just to gain their attention.
At this moment, this conversation got disturbed by father's arrival with first aid kit and mother also come out from the kitchen with my breakfast, put it on the table, then go back in the kitchen. Here, father kept my leg on his thigh and start undoing the bandage, this moment pain started I just flinch a little because I choose not to scream or even release a little bit voice as I am not weak plus I will show him that I can handle pain maturely. Once father complete changing the dressing, he keep my leg back to the floor carefully.
Next, he washed his hand then come back to the his chair and initiated the conversation,
Father: Hey, today I am dropping you to your school and I will be picking you too in the evening. And yeah just finish up your breakfast, in the mean while I will get ready.
Just like this he get up from his chair and leave the dining hall without giving me any chance to speak so, having no other choice I start eating my breakfast having while thinking how things going to work and if father is dropping me then obviously I do have to attend classes till evening plus I have meet Erik and give him the money. Once my breakfast get over, I limp towards the kitchen and kept my plate and glass in the sink, then I come back to the room to get ready.
Here, first I go to where my wardrobe is then I open the locker drawer, where I usually keep my saved money in cash form only plus I also keep my diary there. However, I found I have money but its only two thousand five hundred and if give him the whole then I probably won't be able to buy me a new book plus I won't be able to host birthday parties for my family member for next few months but helping someone in need is also good so, I take it out and keep it in my wallet.
In exactly forty minutes me and father sitting in the car, driving towards our destinations. His office and my school is nearby only, total distance between those two place is just one point five kilometer. Though his office comes first and then my school but as father has his personal driver to drive the car so, he is at ease to drop me at the school directly or else he when it comes to taking his car or driver for our personal use then the most famous line he use is,
"There is not need to have so many noble mourners, I am the son of a poor father and I want you to think and behave like this only."
However, I am just like this I guess because I never took the route of richness or those noble mourners, as I have always believed that simplicity looks more beautiful on the individual and when it comes to money, I think if the person earned it for themselves then, they can say that they are rich but using your family/parents money and calling you rich is not at all good. Soon my thoughts come to halt with father's voice,
Father: (Shaking me a bit) Hey Si, where you were lost, see you reached school.
Siya: (Sorry face) Ohh sorry I got zoomed out and thanks for dropping me.
Father: (Stern voice) Listen just be careful okay, do attend all of your classes and don't try to move around more frequently in the school.
Siya: Okay.
After saying this I get out from the car, limping I reach to my class which is on the first floor and honestly, it making me feel very tired. Once class get started I notice that none of my friend is there, that too especially Ketty and Zoe as I share this class with them only. In an hour this class get over, I limp over to my other class which is with Vicz but yet again class started and ended but she doesn't come. However, I choose not to call them because once Vicz only told me that, sometimes we should wait and be patient with people as, they sometimes got busy or get stuck up in their issues that may be the reason of their weird behaviors or absence.
Next I go to library as I have two hours free before my next class which is with Erik, I put my head down on the table to relax my self because all of the limping tired me a lot. I think I fall asleep after some minutes because my eyes flicked open when I feel someone is shaking me up lightly, I look up at the person and there I found Erik is the one who is shaking me up. I get myself straight, look at wall clock of the which say I still have twenty minutes for the next class to start and I took a deep breath in relief, I guess seeing this Erik initiated the conversation,
Erik: Hey, after this class we are going out for shopping,
Siya: But I can't because...
Erik: Please we are going out because, I need to buy some formal and no, please don't give me any kind of excuses and we will be back in school, dot four in the evening.
Siya: Okay (Though, I don't want to go because of pain in my knee but he beg me to come, how can I say no? Sometimes I really think why I can't say no but I guess I know the answer to this because, my no, may hurt their feelings or they will reject me as a friend)
But before we leave, here is your money (I took it out from my wallet).
Erik: I am feeling really sorry to take your money but I promise soon I will give you these back.
I just nod my head in affirmation, then I get up from the seat and start gathering my thing, I intentionally take some more time because I want him to walk first so, that when I limp he won't be able to see me. As I wanted we walk in that manner only, though I tried to not to limp and walk as normal as possible, its hurting but its okay. Soon we class started and get over, we leave the school premises and it takes us thirty minutes to reach the nearby mall, here he start looking for his formal dresses and I get bored because I hate shopping.
I think he takes around twenty minutes to complete his shopping, then he said he wants to eat something because he hasn't eaten something since morning. While we are sitting in the food court waiting for his food which he ordered, he initiated the conversation
Erik: Hey are you sure that you don't want to eat anything, you can still go and order something for you.
Siya: Yeah, I don't want to eat anything (Inside, damn I am so hungry but I don't have enough money to afford such expensive food because in five hundred cash I have to spend my whole month and I can only afford traveling cost in that. Plus I have my packed lunch too, I will eat alone once we reach back to school).
Soon his food come, he start eating it and I just observed the people near by me as well as try to relax my injured knee a little, under the table. After fifteen minutes his food get over, he asked me to follow him because he said he has to give me something as a gratitude, though I told him no need of it but he remain persistent. Soon we reached in front of a shop which is of wine and beer, there he asked me to wait outside while he goes inside to purchase don't know what drink.
He come outside with a miniature vodka and a beer can, then we leave for the school. Once we reach the school which is by the way one hour before from the decided time, there after getting relaxed he start drinking his beer and ask me to drink vodka but I said I am on medication so, I can't drink. And he drinks that too, as usual he doesn't get drink much, time passes by around four in the evening I received a call from my father,
Father: Hey Si, are your free? Shall I send the driver?
Siya: Yeah okay.
Father: Cool, driver will be there in twenty minutes just be ready okay?
I said okay and cut the call, I look at Erik who is looking at me seriously,
Siya: Hey, I am going to washroom because I have to leave early okay?
Erik: Okay
I leave my bag there, go to the washroom. While I am doing business in there, I observe that I got some little blood outside the bandage and I thought may be walking too much is the cause for this. However, ignoring this I reach back to my seat and sit down, as I settled down, then I look at him and to my confusion as well as surprise he has those mischievous look in his eyes, as if he has done some mischief. Before, I could say or ask to him anything, I received a call from my father informing me that driver is here.
I get up from my seat wave my hand at Erik, to which he said just three words "All the best" with a smirk on his face but I ignored it and I guess this is where I got wrong.
Have you ever felt like, may be the warning have been given to you either by situations or by people and that can be intentional or unintentional but you just ignore it because you think nothing can go wrong or bad. And in the next moment, you face something unexpectedly disastrous and after that we learn the importance of warnings.