rematch | ishman

CH: 3

“How can you still love lying on the grass with all the bugs around?” Abhishek asked, scrunching his face at Ishan. He lay beside him nonetheless.

Ishan just hummed idly, making space for Abhishek. They both gazed at the summer sky.

“What’re you thinking about?”

“The tournament.”

“You think too much about it.”

“I have to,” Ishan said. “I’ll go crazy if I don’t.”

Abhishek chuckled. “You’re crazy enough as it gets. Well, do you have a plan?”

Ishan turned to him, nodding.

“Will you tell me?”

Ishan looked away.

The silence was peaceful but Ishan’s silence was foreign to Abhishek. He used to be unapologetically loud. Maybe he still was, just not around Abhishek.

“Ah, this is great,” he exclaimed, startling Ishan a little. “Doesn’t it take you back? So nostalgic.”

“You’d always fall asleep even though you refused to lie down at first,” Ishan said with a soft laugh.

“Because you and Shub would talk about the most boring things ever!”

“Star Wars is not boring!”

“Don’t tell me you still watch the re-runs.”

It was their thing, Ishan and Shubman’s. They would watch the movies over and over, even though they knew every line of Anakin by heart. Abhishek had no choice but to suffer, but then he never made any attempt to leave when he saw Shubman pull out the DVDs from his stash.

Ishan shook his head slowly, and though it was surprising, Abhishek didn’t need to ask why. He always thought that for Ishan, watching Star Wars was more about watching it with Shubman.

“It’s peaceful,” Abhishek spoke again, tracing the arcs of the birds flying.

“It is.”

“Maybe it wouldn’t have been if Shubman were here,” Abhishek joked. “He talks too much.”

“Wouldn’t be,” Ishan mumbled.

“What?”

“He wouldn’t be here with me.”

Abhishek had had many girlfriends through the years and not one of them hurt him as much as the two of his best friends did. “I’m here with you, aren’t I?” He wanted to yell at Ishan. It probably didn’t matter. He couldn’t be Shubman for Ishan now, just like he couldn’t be Ishan for Shubman in the three years.

He hated them. He hated them terribly. He closed his eyes, letting the summer sky darken out.

“The cicadas will still sing,” he smiled.

“Why is he here?”

Mayank groaned, unwrapping his sandwich. “That’s enough, Ishan! Get over it already.”

“No, idiot. Why is he here again?”

Mayank looked up, spotting Shubman Gill’s blinding smile almost blowing up their cafeteria. The freshmen girls surrounded him like a pack of wolves eyeing their prey.

“How does he have the energy to be so... energetic,” Mayank grumbled.

Ishan huffed. “Does he not have classes? It’s literally eleven.”

“Good morning!” Abhishek set his tray down, taking a seat across Ishan.

“Ain’t nothing good about this morning,” Mayank muttered.