Page 129 - Half Girlfriend

18

I reached the Raj High School playground at 6 in the evening. I
saw a l few teenage students on court. We smiled as we acknowledged

each other. I asked for the ball. A student passed it to me. I was
touching the dusty and dotted-rubber texture of the ball after ages. I

took a shot.
Chhaak.The soft sound of the ball going through the net without i

ouching the ring told me I still had it in me.

A few students clapped.
'Where’s St. Stephen’s?’ one boy said. He had noticed my college

T-shirt.
I looked at the boy. He seemed clueless about my fancy college. I

had been like him not too long ago. I told him about my alma mater.
‘English college?’ he said.

‘Completely. That too high-class English,’ I said and laughed.
‘I will never make it.’

‘I entered through the sports quota. Maybe you can too.’
I dribbled the ball. The thumping sound matched my heartbeat.

‘I’m not that good,’ he said.
I threw the ball at him. He caught it reftexively.

‘Let’s see. I’m Madhav, by the way.’
‘Parth,’ he said and dribbled the ball.

I tackled him as he ran across the court. He was good, but not

experienced. It took me twenty seconds to take the ball back from him.
I took a shot even though the ring was quite far. I missed. Parth

collected the ball and took a shot. He scored. I high-fived him.
The last of the sunlight fell on the court. It cast long shadows of

the already tail players, I stared at the darting shadows, unable to focus
on the game.

'What?' Parth said, He had scored another basket.
‘Nothing,’ I said, blinking rapidly.

He passed me the ball. I caught it by habit, still lost in thought. I