NOVEL WEB Chapter 6: Directions of Destiny
[Self-note: "///" means a change in the scene took place]
…Suddenly an unknown person appears behind Veer.
"Yo! Mind if I sit with you guys for lunch." ...
"Yes, we mind. Please fuck off." Said Veer with a playful sarcastic tone while not knowing who was standing behind him.
"Bruhhhh," Abhi replied with a discouraged tone.
Wait, it's him, we can get to know him right now. Veer better not ruin this opportunity. Dep and Kevin thought to themselves.
"He is just goofin' around. Come sit with us." Kevin reassures him while displaying a forced smile.
"What, why are we letting someone sit with us? Asked Veer without realizing who was behind him.
"Turn around you freaking moron" Dep whispered to Veer.
Ain't no way. It's him, it's Abhi.
"Damn, almost got me ha-ha." Said Abhi with an awkward smile while standing behind Veer.
" *cough* my bad *cough* I just can't help myself. Gotta do a little bit of trolling ya know..." Said Veer after realizing that the key to unlock the truth had walked towards them with its own two legs.
"It's all right… If y'all forgot about me, I'm-".
"Abhi! Your Abhi. We know you mate. Only one person had an intro we didn't immediately forget the next minute." Said Kevin.
"Yeah, everyone was shocked. Are you really from Rakvill?" Veer asked nonchalantly.
"Yes." Answered Abhi bluntly, in a second, he continued:
"Also, it's been a few hours so I could have forgotten some of y'all names by now. Can I double-check because the last thing we want is not knowing each other's names for years to come right?".
"Yeah, it's fine." Said Dep.
The three of them were going to reintroduce themselves but Abhi started speaking before they even got a chance to.
"Veer, the Orange-haired skinny dude who likes MMA." Said Abhi while pointing at Veer who was sitting next to him.
"Damn! That's a description." Said Veer.
"I'm sorry, that's just how I memorize things. It's a habit… actually more like an instinct."
"Okie dokie." Said Veer.
"Kevin, the big black buff dude. I mean, the dude with long black hair who likes going to the gym?"
"I'll take that as a compliment ha-ha." Said Kevin.
"And… Deep?"
"Nuhuh, it's Dep. Also, why don't I get a Memory Description as well, huh?" Said Dep.
"Oh sorry, I'll try next time." Replied Abhi.
"Heh, so you are gonna forget my name again? So bad, at least you could have mentioned my pretty brown hair." Said Dep in a silly grumpy tone while pouting her lips.
"Stop pulling his leg." Said Kevin.
"Ha-ha, it's fine." Said Abhi.
"By the way, Is Abhi like a shortened name? I go by Dep, shortened from Deepika, so is your real name Abhishek or Abhijit?" Asked Dep
"No, it's just Abhi; which literally just means 'Now' Quite funny, isn't it."
"Pretty cool yeah." Said Veer.
"Nice, so when did you come to town?" Asked Kevin in an attempt to pry into the mystery behind Abhi.
"Just a few months ago... I also have a part-time job after school." Said Abhi.
"Oh, so did you leave Rakvill around the end of last year?" Asked Kevin.
"Maybe…. I don't exactly remember." Answered Abhi.
"Really? Wasn't that around the time the war had ended?" Said Veer.
Kevin subtly looks at Veer, gazing at him with his piercing eyes. Expressing displeasure over Veer asking that question.
"I don't know, by the way, my job gives me a house to live in as a bonus," Said Abhi, perhaps in an attempt to divert from the trio's questions.
"Hey, that's pretty cool, I do hear about some hard jobs giving these types of facilities from my father." Said Dep with an energetic tone to Abhi.
"Well, it's work at a steel factory, so it's as hard as it gets around here, no pun intended." Said Abhi while softly chuckling.
The rest of the group also lets out a giggle which eases the atmosphere a bit.
"Great, by the way, I wanted to ask if you know anything about incident 99 of Rakv-" Kevin gets interrupted while finishing his sentence.
"Heyyy Abhi, wanna try some of Paneer Tikka?" Veer interrupted that question, giving Kevin the same piercing gaze he received from him just moments before.
"Oh thanks, Veer but I'll have to pass, you don't have much food left."
"Ay, don't worry 'bout it, I ate plenty. You can eat as much as you want. Well, I wouldn't mind sharing your food either, my parents don't want me to eat the Mid-day meal, and the food lady rats me out if I get some without my parent's permission, so I really would like to try some. Equivalent Exchange ya know."
"Ha-ha, Alright then I'll appreciate your Paneer Tikka, my friend," Said Abhi in a light-hearted comical tone.
"Ha-ha, go ahead, it's all yours." Veer slid his tiffin box towards Abhi, and then Abhi joined his hands and said a quick prayer.
He takes a bite of the food and, for a second sits there silently staring at nothing.
"Wow, it's amazing, Veer. Thank your mom for me please." Said Abhi while slowly chewing the bite in his mouth.
"Sure, though my chef made the dish, not my mom." Said Veer.
"Oh… Well, say thanks to your chef as well then." Said Abhi in a silly tone
"Sure ha-ha." Veer chuckled back at Abhi.
"I need to go to the bathroom real quick. I'll be right back" Said Abhi, then he slowly stood up and walked away.
The group gazed at Abhi while he slowly walked towards the building, they did not speak a single word until he finally entered the school building. As soon as he was out of sight:
"That was sudden." Said Dep while gazing at the entrance of the building where Abhi was last seen.
"Kevin, you dummy, what if he left because of you." Said Veer with a stern irritated voice.
"What did I do?" Said Kevin while creasing his eyebrows in confusion.
"Weren't you piercing me with those gloomy eyes of yours when I was asking Abhi about the exact time he left Rakvill?" Said Veer
"Yeah, asking that question was too personal, too quick. He could've become suspicious of why you were digging for information so hard." Replied Kevin.
"So why did you go straight to asking about incident 99? Wouldn't it be even worse?" Said Veer.
....