Once in a Lifetime [ONC 2024]

5: (In)visible Bruises

"Now show me where it hurts..."

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Urging the tenth grader to admit that he was in pain at all had been a veritable challenge, in and of itself.

Obviously, Aditya was one proud young man, even unsteady on his only fully functioning foot and drenched in cold sweat. He must have been in a considerable amount of pain, too, to get that pasty looking—which said a lot, considering that the boy's natural complexion was already quite pale to begin with.

At least Chandra didn't have to see the tenth grader's soulful eyes brimming with tears this time. That made it somewhat easier for him to maintain his composure while dealing with the stubborn boy. Witnessing first hand the impact of Aditya's tears, all while looking absolutely stoic, was simply devastating.

It was not until Chandra threatened to call his parents that Aditya finally admitted that, yes, something was wrong, and yes, it was his right foot.

"It feels... funny," Aditya said, voice firmly even saved the quiver in his deep voice.

"Yeah?" Chandra raised an eyebrow. "Uh, how funny?"

Aditya looked so close from rolling his eyes. Chandra took it as his cue to start examining.

Before he started, Chandra glanced at the box he had previously left on the floor in a haste. The content must have lost its warmth, but that wouldn't make it any less appetizing. He would have loved to taste them at least once.

Chandra placed his prized klepon in Aditya's open palms. For distraction, he added but left it unsaid. Sweet stuff was a great distraction from pain. Chandra could testify from his experience going to the doctors as a child.

"What's this?" Aditya asked while eyeing the box with a hint of not quite a suspicion. Perhaps more of a curiosity and... awe?

Chandra gestured at the box with a head tilt. "Why don't you open it and see for yourself?"

Slowly and methodically, the kid opened the box. The moment his eyes landed on what was inside, something unraveled in Aditya's expression. It was so subtle Chandra almost missed what was happening. Almost being the keyword.

"You can have one or two of those, if you want," Chandra pointed at the bowl of klepon, half testing and half sincerely offering.

For a few moments, Aditya stared at the chewy delicacy, his face unreadable. Eventually, with that frustrating even tone of his, the boy answered, "I don't eat sweets."

Chandra blinked at the junior. The pain must be unbearable for the kid to reject such a mouthwatering treat. Yeah. That must be it. He had been so sure the kid looked like someone who'd enjoy sweets...

Chandra shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Shaking himself out of the reverie, Chandra wasted no time getting down on his knee next to the junior's right foot, one palm rested gently on the kid's shin. Chandra barely reached the hem of Aditya's trousers when the kid let out a small sound, somewhere between a gasp and a sigh.

Chandra glanced up from the corner of his eye. Prompting, but saying nothing.

"My ankle," Aditya muttered, his doleful eyes downcast.

Chandra held his gaze for another second or so before nodding. Ankle. Right. Of course.

Ever so gently, Chandra moved his hand from Aditya's shin to the back of the kid's ankle. His other hand hovered near the sole of Aditya's shoe. "I'm going to take your shoe off. Just to check, okay?"

Aditya's unsteady exhale was audible in the quiet enclosure.

"If it helps, you're welcome to hold onto my shoulder or something," Chandra offered.

Another shaky exhale. "No need."

"Okay, then." With that, Chandra began to remove the shoe from Aditya's right foot.

Despite his best effort to be very careful, Chandra couldn't quite manage to keep the movements from jarring the sprain. Aditya gasped. Chandra winced at the pained sound.

"Sorry."

"It's okay," Aditya responded, curt and strained and utterly devoid of blame.

"Let me know if the pain gets too much for you to handle."

"It won't."

"Anytime you want me to stop—"

"Just... get it over with."

So Chandra did.

As soon as the shoe was removed, Chandra proceeded to peel off the sock in one smooth yet swift motion, soon revealing a bare skinned ankle mottled with darkening bruises.

Chandra believed he was looking at a sprain. It looked like a sprain.

For a fleeting moment, Chandra low-key regretted his choice to be in a Social Science academic track. He would've known better on what to do if he were in the Natural Science track, would he? Or perhaps not. But Chandra could at least observe and make an educated guess.

The area surrounding the blackening bruises had begun to redden and feel overly warm to the touch. Even without an exact comparison with the other foot, Chandra could tell that the injured limb had swollen considerably.

Chandra had seen something similar happened to his own foot in the past. It must have been sometime in those early days he played volleyball, when he had been too young and too cocky to know better. As embarrassing as it was, Chandra used to believe that his excellent physique alone would exempt him from having to do mundane warm ups before a spike training.

It had gone as well as anyone could expect. Chandra had never repeated the same rookie mistake ever since.

"Yeah, I think you've got a sprain," Chandra sent Aditya an apologetic look.

Now, Aditya didn't strike him as an athletic type. If anything, his willowy figure told Chandra that the kid might have just hit his growth spurt only recently. His facial features had only begun to mature. None of them appeared sharp to begin with. Traces of baby fat were still visible on both cheeks, giving Aditya a soft and rather boyish look.

Was it why those bullies had targeted Aditya earlier? For being a baby faced pretty boy?

"They chased you often?" Chandra asked, eyes focusing on a strike of deep purple just above the boy's sole. "Or is it a one time thing? Are they regulars?"

For a split second, Chandra glanced upwards. "Maybe you are a regular?"

Aditya returned the look with a glare. One of his eyes twitched. "Excuse me?"

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[word count 1043]

To be continued to 6: To Choose or Not to Choose