Five Point Someone Read online

  “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” Alok said, trying to arrange his pillows.

  “And I think you should keep the curses down,” I said.

  Alok’s mom knocked about a minute later. It is amazing how much can get done in a minute. Ryan threw out the ashtrays, pornos and vodka bottles. He also arranged the course books and assignments on the study table. All dirty clothes stayed hidden in an overstuffed cupboard.

  “Hello Mom. What a pleasant surprise,” Alok said.

  “Alok. I am not talking to you. You have completely forgotten us,” Alok’s mom said as she put boxes of sweets on the study table. I wondered if it was okay for us to strike at them now.

  “I was busy,” Alok said.

  “Shut up. Two months have passed. You haven’t called since that day you called about Dad and Didi’s proposal. What happened? You don’t want to talk about our problems?”

  “No Mom. It is just this assignment for Prof Veera. It keeps us so busy,” Alok said.

  “My son works too hard,” Alok’s mom said looking at me and Ryan, “You guys should take a break now and then. After all, your jobs are just a semester away,” she said.

  Ryan and I smiled, continuing to stare at the boxes of food. Please Aunty, offer them once.

  “Alok, you must come home next weekend. Look, even Dad had to come all the way in an auto,” she said.

  “You took an auto! It is seventy rupees,” Alok said.

  “So what to do with Dad? And after all, my son will be working soon,” Alok’s mom said, “and Hari, why don’t you have some laddoos I made.”

  Ryan and I jumped on the boxes before she finished her sentence.

  “Mom but still,” Alok said.

  “Keep quiet. Look Didi also sent this new pair of jeans for you. She saved her pocket money you know,” she said, passing a brown bag.

  “Thanks Mom. I’ll keep it for a special occasion,” Alok said.

  “But at least try it now. Come get up,” Alok’s mom said.

  “No Mom. I’ll do it later,” Alok said.

  “What later? We can change size now if it doesn’t fit. Don’t be lazy get up,” Alok’s mom said, shaking Alok’s leg. I am sure that hurt.

  “No Mom,” Alok said, clenching his teeth.

  “Get up,” Alok’s mom insisted, pulling the bed sheet off him. She shouldn’t have. For Alok still had the signs – plaster casts covered both thighs and legs. The feet still showed marks where doctors had done the stitches. It was something even we didn’t fancy seeing.

  “Oh my god,” Alok’s mom said as her face dropped along with her hands. “Mom please,” Alok said, pushing her away and wishing she had never come.

  Alok’s mom felt nauseous and Ryan had to help support her back to a chair. I gave her a glass of water.

  “What is going on? Will someone please tell me?” she said.

  Ryan looked at me. It was time for us to leave the room.

  “We’ll go downstairs. We’ll say hello to Uncle and say Alok is in the lab. Okay Aunty?”

  She nodded, her eyes filling with tears. Could any male in her family stand up on his own legs?

  “Easy Mom. It was a scooter accident that night…” Alok said as we shut the door behind them. I was sure she’d know he was lying. A scooter accident with Ryan and me perfectly fine was somewhat unbelievable. We saw her leave after half an hour, wiping her tears. We stood by the auto, trying to make conversation with Alok’s dad. He was in a happy mood, probably enjoying his rare day out.

  “Alok busy eh?” he said, pursing his lips.

  “Yes. They have an important project,” Alok’s mom said, sitting in the auto.

  “Bye Aunty,” Ryan and I waved.

  “Back to Rohini madam?” the auto driver said, starting the scooter.

  “No. Take me to the Mechanical Engineering department.”

  “Aunty?” we chorused.

  “There are things which a mother can sense, even though her son may not talk about it. I want to meet your Prof Veera before I go home,” she said as the auto buzzed off.

  “She’ll find out. She’ll find out about the Disco,” I said, shaking Ryan’s shoulder.

  “Let her. She deserves it,” Ryan said as he put his arm around me.

  We went to Sasi’s for breakfast after Alok’s mom left.

  “I have to make my call today,” I said.

  “Is she real mad at you?” Ryan said.

  “She was a month ago. She’s got to miss me right?” I said.

  “I don’t know. What is the whole deal about missing people and not doing anything about it anyway?” Ryan said, and took out a brown envelope from his jeans pocket.

  Sasi served a plate of paranthas. Ryan left the letter on the table and started tearing up the hot paranthas.

  “It is so different when you come and eat here without Alok. There is no frantic urgency about eating,” Ryan said.

  “Is that a letter from home?” I said.

  “If you say so. Where are they now – LA or something,” Ryan said.

  “How often do your parents write?” I said.

  “Used to be every week, then once in two weeks. Now they write once a month,” Ryan said, smothering each chunk of parantha with yellow butter.

  “Do you write back?” I said.

  “No. Not unless it is a couriered letter. In that case the delivery guy asks me to write a few lines right there.”

  “So what is the deal here Ryan? I mean, they are just abroad trying to make a buck. What have you got against them?”

  “I have nothing against them. I am just indifferent. I need another parantha.”

  “Shut up. How can that be? I mean, how come you save all their letters? I saw them, hundreds next to your vodka stash.”

  Ryan stopped chewing. “It is too complicated. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “You won’t talk to me?”

  “They are too strange. I kept telling them let us stay together after my boarding school. But the international business was really taking off then and they had to leave. I guess what I wanted was never in the picture. So, okay I get the dollar cheque, thank you. But spare me the we-miss-you shit. If you do, what the hell are you going to do about it?”

  “Did you tell them about the Disco?” I said.

  “Are you crazy?” Ryan said.

  “You know, you could join their business after IIT. I mean, you know what our job scene will be. But you won’t have to worry.”

  “No way in hell,” Ryan said, and clenched his hands. “Never. I will open a parantha shop, become a coolie, wash cars but I am not going to go to them.”

  “They are your parents…”

  He gave me a dirty look. “So thank you very much. I am going back to Alok. You have a good time with your girl.”

  “Ryan, could you give up your lube project right when it was about to become successful?” I said.

  “What?”

  “Answer me,” I said.

  “That is the only good thing I ever did in IIT. It is my passion, my sweat, and my belief. No, how could I give it up?”

  “Maybe this pottery business is your parents’ lube project,” I said as I stood up too.

  He picked up his letter again and walked away.

  “Reply to it Ryan,” I shouted across the road.

  He put the letter back in his pocket.

  “Neha, is that you?” I said, even though I was a hundred percent sure it was.

  “Hari?” she said, her voice unable to hide the fact that she was expecting this call.

  “Before you hang up, can I just say something?” I was suitably humble.

  “I am not hanging up. What do you want to say?” she said.

  “I miss you. And I love you. God, I was so close to you and then I blew it up. I wanted an A in your dad’s course. I thought I could impress him. Somehow, in our twisted minds we planned this Operation Pendulum. And they did a Disco on us, ruined our lives. And now you also don’t want to talk to me…” My