Segment #4
TW: swear words, homophobic slur, violence
And suddenly, Aryan couldn’t breathe. As if those cruel sniping words had jumped out of the wall and gripped his throat. He knew he was gay. But never had another insult made him so ashamed of himself.
Last time Aryan felt this way was because of his own dad.
"Dad, please, just listen to me! I can’t marry Chahat. I can’t ruin her life knowing the truth.”
“No, we had promised the Joharis. Besides,” Sudhakar had continued in a cold quite voice, “this is exactly what you need. You are 17. I know what boys your age want.”
Aryan was disgusted. Did his dad take him for some pervert?
“Dad! She is my best friend. She would never be anything more. I have always had crushes on boys.”
“SILENCE!” Sudhakar roared. “Do you hear what you are saying, Aryan? Do you understand what this means? You will be treated like a vermin for the rest of your life. A homo is nothing but a man who would never man up. Either the wedding happens today, or I’ll forget that I have a son.”
The gravity of the words had hit Aryan making him feel the pain of losing a parent all over again. The wedding didn’t happen, and Aryan never saw his father for the last four years. Of course, Sudhakar continued to pay for his only son’s education, but the father-son bond was severed.
“You know, Saheel,” Vikram said loudly while Saheel looked visibly uncomfortable at being addressed, “When Aryan interrupted my date with Chahat, I thought he was jealous of me. But now I know, that he was jealous of Chahat. I mean, who knew, the popular Aryan Sareen was on Grindr!”
Saheel looked more uncomfortable while Vikram snickered. Aryan could bet that Vikram had something to do with the neon green words on the wall, but he couldn't fathom why he was dragging an innocent Saheel into this mess.
Meanwhile, Chahat had reached the cafeteria with her friends after her class. The scene that was unfolding before her clearly shocked her and she jumped to the defence of her best friend.
“Chuck off, Vikram! This is Aryan’s personal matter.”
Aryan became abashed with embarrassment. He had lied to his best friend and she was defending him. Maybe he should have come clean to her. But after how his dad had treated him, how could he trust anyone for that matter?
She continued, “But Vikram, why does it matter to you? Are you interested in him? By the way, how did you know that he has a Grindr profile? Unless you also…”
Saheel looked at Chahat and gulped.
“You switch!” Vikram raised his hand and turned towards Chahat to attack her. His ego had blinded him to the fact that he was about to inflict violence on a girl in public.
The crowd of students in the cafeteria was already recording a video in their phone.
“Not on my watch, you jerk!” said Aryan.
A blow landed on Vikram’s nose. He stumbled and fell to the ground. Vikram had no right to question Aryan or hurt his friend.
Chahat had tears in her eyes. They were best friends, he was almost going to get married to her and yet he didn’t trust her enough to tell her his truth. She began to slowly walked away but she stopped.
Professor Bansal was there. She had seen Aryan deliver a blow on Vikram's nose. Aryan was totally screwed.
“What is happening here?” Professor Bansal asked. Pin drop silence.
“Who damaged the college property in this way?" she asked again as she showed the cafeteria wall.
No one spoke a word.
“Fine. Don't say anything. Vikram, Aryan and Chahat meet in the dean's office now. I also want to talk to your parents.”
Aryan's dad hadn't seen him for the last four years. What would he tell?
Edited by DreamOfEndless - 2 years ago