Project Heart(h) ✓

Chapter Fourteen

It started around the end of the first week. Junak's phone had died and he was bored out of his mind when Jatin asked if he wanted to play carrom. And since then, every evening, he and Jatin would settle on the porch with a big, old carrom-board in front of them. Sometimes Niribili and Banhi would join them, other times it would be Priti or her husband Bittu who was a cheerful yet shy fellow working in the fields. And other times, much to Junak's bewilderment, some random passers-by would see them playing and they would come and join.

It was the most fun Junak had had in a long time.

On some early evenings, he would go over to the middle-school playground where Lohor and his friends would be playing cricket or football or kho-kho and Junak, who was certainly not much of a sportsperson, would join them. Or he, Niribili and Banhi would sit under some tree eating berries and oranges. Or he and Grandma would go over to a neighbour's place for a cup of tea.

Junak had never known peace of this kind before.

And then, there was Jatin, Junak's new best friend.

It mostly spawned from their daily carrom-games but Jatin began to feel like a brother Junak never had. Well, he did have a brother but their relationship was limited to them following each other on Instagram. Jatin, on the other hand, was just buckets of fun! He taught Junak how to use the catapult to shoo away monkeys, how to herd cows, and how to make a leaf flute. The two would sit near bonfires and exchange stories – Jatin talking about his family and schoolmates; he even told Junak about this girl he'd been crushing on for a few years now.

"Wait, Hiya as in Kalita khura's daughter? Kalita khura, the principal of the middle school?"

"Don't remind me that," Jatin drawled. The two were sitting in the dining room, chopping vegetables for Priti.

"She's cute," Junak chuckled, eyes on the potato he was peeling. Priti was making khichiri that night.

"I know." Jatin was blushing profusely. "And way out of my league."

"Hey, that can't be true!"

"Junak-da, you don't know her! She's in my class. Forget that her father is a principal, she herself is like so smart. She always scores the highest marks."

"Come on, you're smart too." Jatin rolled his eyes so Junak added, "Plus you're a sweetheart! That definitely counts for stuff. Trust me, contrary to popular belief, girls like nice guys."

Jatin sighed dramatically, chopping beans into tiny pieces.

"You should tell her how you feel."

"No!"

"Yes!" Junak grinned at the boy, but after a second thought, he frowned and said, "Okay, maybe just gauge the situation first. What kind of vibes does she give off around you?"

"I don't know," Jatin said miserably. "Girls are weird."

"That's true." Junak laughed, then reached out to pat Jatin's shoulder. "Tell you what, next time she's around, beckon me over and I'll do the gauging for you. And if that doesn't work, we'll ask Banhi. She knows all about girls." He snorted at his own inside joke.

"I don't know, Junak-da, it sounds like a lot of work."

"Well, of course!" Junak exclaimed, dramatically. "Love is hard, haven't you seen any films? If it were easy, everyone would do it. Half of the world's stock of art wouldn't exist."

Jatin laughed, his voice echoing through the deserted room. "Wow."

Junak smiled, then leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "Say, Jatin, can I ask you something?"