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Saturday-
Rohit woke up and sighed in relief. The week was finally over. All of his responsibilities could wash away and he could kick back and relax. Unfortunately, he couldn’t invite anyone over and, even if he could, he had no one to invite over. Rohit was homeschooled for most of his life by his overbearing parents, which meant that he couldn’t make friends like normal people. He had started public school a year ago, only to be dubbed the outcast and set aside.
Rohit silently gathered his clothes for the day: a casual look of plain jeans, a gray v-neck, and black off-white shoes. He held them in his hands and walked into the bathroom to take a shower. He looked in the mirror to find a short boy with pale skin. Rohit forced a smile to reveal dimples that make his blue eyes appear bigger and brighter. His eyes then flicked to his teeth, which were perfectly straight. As they should be after those damn braces, Rohit thought as he climbed into the shower. He let the water fall onto his hair, which was even longer when it was wet.
Rohit started to think about random things as he sat under the stream of water. For a moment, Rohit started to think about his excursion with his aunt. She had nearly forced him to go shopping with her. He laughed because going shopping with her was a death sentence. He could barely open his eyes after spending the day with her. He had to entertain his relatives the whole week and was thankful that he could take some time for himself. But where would he go?
Rohit smiled. He knew exactly where to head to. He quickly got out of the shower and pulled on his clothes. He then ran around his parents’ mansion, packing a backpack full of necessities: snacks, an extra pair of pants and socks, and some drinks.
He then ran out to the car that was parked in their circle driveway. “Hey, Mr. Aman”
“Hello, sir,” my driver greeted, opening the car door. “Where to today, Mr. Roy?”
“I need you to take me to the temple,” Rohit said, shoving his backpack into the seat next to him.
“Which one?”
“The old one on the way out of town.”
“As you wish, sir.”
Rohit enjoyed the rest of the drive by looking out of the window. In his brief moment of freedom, he felt burdened by everything that he had to do once he came back from his excursion. He bitterly remembered his father’s words: “You will one day be the CEO of Malhotra Enterprises! You should be acting like a CEO, not a child.”
Rohit slumped back in his chair in disappointment. Promises and responsibilities bounced around in his head until he saw the temple in the distance. He instantly perked up and grabbed his backpack in excitement.
“Come back in three hours please Aman, Oh, and do tell my father that I’m here.”
After he left, Rohit walked behind the temple. It wasn’t the rotting temple that was his favorite place, it was the sanctuary behind it. The forest went on for miles and it was the only place that Rohit felt like he could be himself, no one to judge him or boss him around. It was such a beautiful place, with only the sounds of rushing water or the tweeting of birds to accompany him.
Rohit carefully pushed the branches that covered the landscape and walked to a big rock at the edge of the waterfall. He took off his shoes and climbed onto the rock to drop his backpack off. He stood there for a quick minute, admiring the scenery that he was so familiar with. In a quick moment, he took off his shirt too. He then trekked over to the brilliant waterfall and stood directly under it. The water ran warm on his skin, instantly easing all of his worries.
Rohit smiled and stepped out from under the waterfall, his dark hair sticking to his face. He then tripped on a rock and fell hard into the little river. He started to hear someone laughing. In a last-minute effort to hide himself, he used his small hands to cover his chest.
The laughter only grew louder until he finally saw who was laughing. A handsome guy about his age emerged from the forest like a woodland creature would. He smiled at Rohit and joked, “Relax, I don’t bite. Hey, and you don’t need to cover yourself up like that. I’m a dude too, so it’s all good.”
“I mean, you were staring at me and laughing,” Rohit muttered.
“Well, the future owner of a powerful company usually isn’t seen slipping on rocks, now is he?”
“H-How do you know who I am?”
“Rohit, your face is everywhere on the news. Everyone knows about the heir of Malhotra Enterprises, a genius who can recite pi-“
“I can’t recite pi,” Rohit growled, “And anyway, if you know me so well, then it would only be fair for you to tell me something about yourself.”
The boy considered Rohit’s deal and said, “I’m Raj. And one thing about myself… this is turning into the first day of school isn’t it?”
“Keep going, Raj.”
“I hate my stepmother. She doesn’t compare to my real mother and I can’t spend a second with the gold digger. My dad left me alone with her for a weekend and all she does is invite her fake friends over,” Raj confessed, walking closer to Rohit, “All I wanted to do was come to this spot, which I thought no one else had discovered, and get away from their constant gossiping.”
“How-How did you find the spot?” Rohit asked, not moving an inch from his spot in the river.
“I came across it when I was eight and got lost in the forest while following a rabbit,” Raj said, walking even closer to Rohit. The two boys now stood six feet apart and looked at each other up and down in curiosity.
“I was pushing the branches aside when I saw that majestic fall of yours. Your hair went flying,” Raj joked, using his hands to imitate Rohit’s shoulder-length hair flailing around.
Rohit blushed and asked, “Will I ever get to know your last name, Raj?”
“Sharma,” Raj said, crossing his arms as he looked at Rohit’s ridiculously slender waist. He looked like a girl.
“Like, Mr. Sharma Khan? He owns one of everything, or that’s what my father says. Sharma is a household name, dear Raj,” Rohit said.
“Just like Malhotra is,” Raj bit back. He looked towards the rock on which Rohit’s backpack perched and started to walk towards it.
Rohit still didn’t move as Raj dug around in his backpack, pulling out a bottle of soda and a crushed bag of chips. He watched Rohit hesitate and held out a hand to beckon him over.
“Come on over, pretty boy. It is your food anyway,” Raj smiled.
“I-I don’t appreciate you digging through my backpack like that,” Rohit said.
“Hmm, how about you put some new pants on and join me for lunch then, Ro.”
“Ro?” Rohit gasped as Raj threw the jeans at him.
Raj turned and covered his eyes with a hand before saying, “Yeah, it suits you. You already look like a girl, so why not use a girls name?”
“You are so annoying, Raj.”
“Annoyingly lovely? My dear, are you intimidated by this?” Raj said gesturing at his face.
“You look like a bear,” Rohit sighed, sitting next to Raj on the rock.
“The news has got you all wrong. You aren’t the shy, loveable, responsible person they mistook you to be. You’re outright mean.”
“I’m only mean when it comes to you, dear bear”
“I’m never talking to you again, ” Raj complained, crossing his arms across his chest like a whining toddler.
“Has anyone told you that you look like a baby bear when you’re pouting like that,” Rohit said, slightly proud of his comeback.
“I do not,” Raj responded, rolling his eyes.
“Sure you don’t. Well just look at the time, it’s time for me to go home little baby bear,” Rohit said.
“Hey, Ro. Come on buddy, we just met. Stay a little longer?”
“No I-I can’t Raj. I’ll see you tomorrow though,” Rohit responded.
“Sure it’s a date,” Raj said nonchalantly as he leaned back on the rock, he could feel his face slowly heating up.
“Are you blushing bear?” Rohit asked, laughing.
“Absolutely not.”
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