Birds of a Feather

Chapter 29: Price

Shankar gave him a look of disapproval, before looking at his wife. "It is a fracture, unfortunately–"

"What?!" Arnav fumed. Had the gods taken some kind of oath to ruin his day? He had just won this season's football tournament, for crying out loud! He should be out celebrating with his team, not stuck in a hospital.

His father ignored him. "It's minor, just a crack near his ankle. The nurse is coming to put him in a cast–"

"No! I am not getting a cast, because my leg is not broken–"

"Enough."

The room went dead quiet as Shankar turned the full glare of his eyes on his son. He hadn't raised his voice even an inch –he didn't need to– and yet, the fury in his tone could not be mistaken. Arnav had no choice but to shut up, and look at his lap, waiting for the scolding that was surely about to follow.

"Patience is a virtue that will serve you well Chote. Learn to listen before speaking."

Arnav simply gritted his teeth, his feelings quite evident on his downcast face.

It was Anjali who spoke. "Is it serious Papa? The fracture?"

"He won't need surgery," Shankar said, softening at little at his daughter's voice. "But he will need the cast and lots of bed rest, which all things considered, is probably best. He clearly needs to set his priorities right."

"Will you talk to his school?" Satya asked.

Shankar sighed. "I suppose, yes. I will ask them to send home all of the assignments and class notes for this week. If the pain subsides, he can resume going to school the week after."

Arnav snorted. Whether the pain subsided or not, he planned to go anyway.

Satya turned to face her son. "Did you hear that Chote? You need rest. Can you please just listen to the doctors this time around? You can't afford to miss any more classes with exams so close."

"I always listen to the doctors," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "Besides, like Di said, I am all caught up with classes. I will be fine."

"Well that's a relief," Shankar said drily. "Because it will help you do well in boarding school next year."

Arnav felt the ground slip beneath him. "W-what?" he croaked, sure he misheard.

"It's time that you took your education seriously Chote," Shankar said. "Clearly mine and your mother's concern falls on deaf ears. We told you multiple times that as you get older, you need to clearly think what you want to do with your life."

"I am thinking! You can't send me away just because I got hurt playing football!" Arnav seethed.

"I have no problem with your leisure activities," Shankar continued coolly. "So long as you prioritized what's important. Afterall, your mother and I can only do so much. You are not a toddler anymore, it's ridiculous that we have to babysit you while studying."

"You don't have time to babysit me-"

"It's for you own good Chote," Shankar interrupted. "It's actually quite shocking that you don't even see a problem with the situation right now... You have your boards coming up in less than a year, not to mention this year's final exams, and instead of working towards that, you rather spend your time with tournaments and wrestling matches?!"

Anjali, probably catching sight of her brother's panic, hesitantly stepped forward. "Maybe this is not the place or time to discuss this Papa... why don't we let him finish this year first and then talk about boarding school?"