Neel Dervin and the Dark Angel (16 page)

 

“Sorry.” he called out to them, flushing. Aryan was looking at him in concern.

 

“Dude, are you absolutely sure you‟re all right?” he shouted back.

 

Neel nodded, and turned his attention again to the ball. Aryan stared at him for a
moment, then shrugged and turned back to the game.

Neel was keeping his eyes on the ball now. The match had gotten more intense after
how close the other side had come toscoring. Vivek‟s team surged forward in a body,
passing the ball rapidly to each other, entering Aryan‟s team‟s side of the field.

Aryan and his team ran to cut them off. Neel and Dev, the two defenders, tensed as the
ball came rapidly nearer.

The ball stopped ten feet away from Neel. Aryan had managed to cut off Nitin‟s
progress, and the two were sparring for possession of the ball. The other players rushed
towards the spot as well, forgetting their positions in the excitement. Now the ball was passed
frantically between several players in rapid succession. The ball was stopped halfway through
a pass, and bounced off the player‟s foot, heading straight for Neel.

Neel stopped the ball, and moved forward with it. All the members of his team,
including Dev, were covered by players from the other team, and there was no one left to
pass the ball to. Neel moved slowly, trying to draw the opposing players out. It worked.

Atul rushed forward to meet him, two other players following him. That left Aryan
open, who was signaling to him. Neel tried to get the ball to him.

But suddenly Atul was blocking him, trying to get the ball away. Neel gritted his teeth
and focused all his attention on the ball, trying to keep a grasp on his brain, which was
threatening to speed up at any moment.

And then Neel suddenly moved his leg around the ball faster than anyone could see. He
stared up at Atul and the other players in alarm. But in the heat of the moment, no one had
noticed that split second increase in his speed.

“Neel!” The agonized shouts from his team mates rose again. In the
moment when he
had gotten the ball away from all three members of the opposite team, he had been too busy
staring at Atul and the others to pass the ball to Aryan, who had been wide open. Now the
others surged around him again, cutting off any chances of scoring what would have been an
easy goal.

Neel gritted his teeth tighter. Panic was giving way to other emotions, and he was
starting to get annoyed. He moved the ball slowly around the other three, while they lashed
out with their legs, trying to get the ball away. He blocked their kicks with his own leg. And
then he prepared to kick the ball hard enough to reach the other end of the field, away from
him.

But suddenly Parthak came barreling in from his left, blocking
Neel‟s kick with his leg.
Neel saw him preparing to move in front of him, and knew what would happen to him if he
were to accidently hit Parthak.

Neel changed the direction of his kick in mid stride, fighting desperately against his own
momentum to move away from Parthak. Parthak‟s body met his own just as it was tipped
over on one leg, and Neel was sent crashing to the floor.

Parthak took the ball and passed it lightly to Atul, who sent it spinning into the goalpost
with a shrewdlytimed kick. “Are you okay?” Atul asked as he lay on the ground.

“Fine
.” Neel muttered, picking himself up slowly. He saw Aryan staring at him as well,
along with his other team mates. “I‟m fine.” he called out as he rose to his feet. A few of the
teammates were staring at him in disgust at letting the ball go after having it in his
possession, and even Aryan looked uncomfortable.

“You think hisbrain‟s been affected by the accident?” He heard Dev mutter to Aryan as
he dusted off his pants.

“No, it hasn‟t. He‟s just not settled
completely backyet.” Aryan snapped irritably. The
scorching sun was not helping the tempers of the players.“Give him a break. He‟s spent the
last week stuck in the hospital andhis house. I‟m sure he‟ll be all right in a while.”

Neel felt a sinking sensation, not so much at the words as at the fact they confirmed. He
stared out towards the field again, where the ball was once more in play. Crowds of shouting
and running boys flocked around the ball.
Neel stood watching the scene. There was a great heaviness in his heart.

“Aryan!” he called out. Aryan turned. “I don‟t feel very well. I think I‟ll sit this one
out.”

Aryan nodded, trying not to look too
relieved. “I knew you couldn‟t have healed so fast
from your accident.” He called out. “Go and sit in the shade, man. You can play when you
feel better.”

Neel nodded listlessly. He took another look at the group of boys. Then he turned slowly
to the basketball court, which was empty at the moment. There were a series of stone benches
near the court and Neel made his way towards them.

He found Arvind sitting on one of the benches, his head bent over a book.

 

“Hey, Arvind.” Neel said as he drew nearer. Arvind looked up from his book and
blinked at Neel through his huge spectacles.

“Hi, Neel.” h
e replied, looking at Neel mournfully. Arvind had a somewhat gloomy
personality, and his demeanor usually suggested that he was an unwilling participant in a
Greek tragedy.“I heard about your accident. I‟m glad you‟re feeling better.”

“Thanks.” Neel said, sitting next to him.

 

“You‟re not feeling well enoughto play?” Arvind asked him, staring at him solemnly.

 

“Something like that.” Neel said evasively. “You‟re not playing either?”

“I have a sore throat.” Arvind mumbled, returning to his book. Getting out of exercise
was something of a specialty of Arvind‟s. His long, skinny frame was not of much use in
most sports, and he spent most physical education periods wandering around the field. Their
coaches had tried to make him play a few times and had then given up.

Arvind glanced at Neel over his book. He knew how fond the other boy had been of
football. “But you know, you look pretty healthy right now. I expect you‟ll be able to play in
a few days.”

“Yeah, maybe. Is that somenew book?” Neel asked, more to draw attention away from
his health then because he was really interested in the answer.

“Nah, it‟s an old one. I‟m reading it again.”
Arvind held up the book he was reading to
show the title „TheValley of Fear‟. “I‟ve read all the other ones of Holmes that they have in
the library. Miss Jha said they were going to bring in some ofWodehouse‟s stuff soon.”

Neel nodded, trying to look as though the names meant something to him. Arvind was
the class topper, and spent most of his time buried in books. Reading was his one big passion,
if not text books then novels. Arvind by himself had probably read more books than the rest
of the class combined.

Some of their classmates had arrived nearby to play basketball, and Neel watched them
from his seat. He saw Nitin stroll past the court looking dreamily into the distance, a pair of
earphones in his ears. He came up to where Neel and Arvind were sitting and sat down next
to them.

“Hey, Neel.” he said, taking the earphones out. “Why aren‟t you playing?”

 

“I don‟t feel very well.” Neel said. “And you?” Nitin was one of the best forwards in
their class.

“Didn‟t feel like it.”
Nitinsaid with a sigh, a familiar look on his face. “There have been
more important things on my mind lately.” The far away expression was easy to read for
someone who had known him since kindergarten.

“A girl?” Neel asked.

 

“It doesn‟t take a genius to figure that out.” Arvind remarked, looking up from his book
again. “Which one is it this time?”

Vijay gazed at Arvind affectionately. At the moment he was in the frame of mind to be
fond of everyone.“
This time
,it‟s the real thing.” He said. “At least,” he amended, coming
back to Earth, “It will be, once I find out something about her. I saw her coming out of Sarik
tuitions last week…” He breathed emotionally for some time. “Her eyes…”

“So what‟s her name?” Neel asked hastily. There were certain topics on which
Nitin
could hold forth indefinitely unless cut short at the beginning. He had once talked for twenty
minutes during recess about the perfume of a girl he had a crush on.

“I don‟t know.”
Nitin said, his eyes losing their dreamy look. He kicked a stone
moodily. “I tried to find someone I know there, but I couldn‟t find anyone who knew her. Her
chauffer just brings up the car, and she gets in and leaves. I‟m still looking.”

“
Well, good luck.” Neel said. Nitin began absent mindedly tearing through some leaves
next to his seat. He had a habit of fiddling around whenever he was thinking deeply. “Sounds
like you‟re really serious. Again.”

“I am.Ah, love!” Nitin sighed, leaning back. “Such a beautiful emotion.”

 

“Can you call it love when the girl doesn‟t even know you exist?” Neel asked mildly.

“She will one day.” Nitin said, waving the small detail aside. “
If our love is written in
the stars, if it is our destiny. Or if I can find someone who has her phone number. When I
think I was once as idle as you, Neel. Love does great things for you. It gives a purpose.
That‟s why I don‟t waste entire weeks sleeping at home.”

“I was recovering from an accident that almost killed me.”

“See?
That just proves my point.You wouldn‟t have been messing around having
accidents if you‟d had the steadying influence of a girlfriend. Just look at what a sorry state
Arvind is in, wasting all his time buried in books. You think he knows what love means?”
Nitin prodded Arvind sharply with a stick which had fallen from a nearby tree. Arvind
jumped up with a violent start. He grabbed the stick, broke it in half, stuck it down Nitin‟s
back and then returned to his book.

“Or those two guys.” Nitin continued unperturbed, taking out the stick and pointing
across the field with it.

Neel turned to look. Pawan Joshi and Ghazi Alam were strolling in the distance, most
probably having skipped class. They were both in Neel‟s year but in a different section.
Ghazi had already been held back a few times, and his large bulky physique showed his true
age. Yet it was the scrawny Pawan who usually took the lead between them. They had both
earned unsavory reputations within the school, barely stopping short of getting expelled, and
it was rumored that they had become part of some criminal gang in the city.

“Oh come on, I‟m sure they have purpose in life.” Neel said. “Nothing says purpose like
being known to the police.” Nitin grinned.

Arvind looked at his watch and
rose from his seat. “Where are you going?” Nitin
demanded. “How about putting that giant brain of yours to some actual use for once, and
helpingme figure out how to talk to her?”

“
Sorry, man. As interesting as your love life is, I have to go talk to Manav.” Arvind said,
picking up his book. Manav was the head of student cultural affairs at the school. “They want
help sorting some novels students donated in last week‟s drive.”

“I‟ll
come with you.” Neel said, getting up and dusting off his pants. “I think I‟ll get
some book to read, too.” Nitin lay back on the bench and stared up at the tree above them,
giving himself up to some serious meditation.

“Are you sure you want to come?” Arvind looked at Neel in surprise.“It might take a
long time. Maybe the whole period.”

 

Neel turned to stare at the soccer field. Their team had just scored a goal, and he saw
Aryan give Vineet a high five.

 

“That‟s okay.” Neel said as he turned away. “I‟ve got lots of free time now.”

 

* * *

 

Neel returned home that day to find his mother already there. Usually her job required
her to stay till at least six, which was why Neel carried the front door key with him to school.

 

“They let me off early today.” His mother smiled at him. “How was your day?”

 

“Same as usual.” Neel shrugged. “I didn‟t miss much while I was away from school.”

 

“That‟s good.” his mother said. “Go and get ready. Lunch will be ready in about ten
minutes.” Neel nodded and went to change his clothes.

 

“So you‟ll go to the coaching?” his mother asked him later as he ate his food.
Neel nodded again. “It‟s really helping me cope with what‟s going on right now.” he
said truthfully, and then added a vague footnote, “You know, math and stuff.”

 

“Well, mind you don‟t overexert yourself.” his mother warned him. “We don‟t want you
back in the hospital with a relapse or anything.”

Neel nodded thoughtfully. He
wasn‟t really worried about exerting himself, mainly since
he had no idea what the limits of his new found stamina were yet. The exercises he had done
so far had been extremely vigorous, but he had not reached a point where he would be unable
to continue from exhaustion. He wondered if he was even capable of being completely tired
now, and whether he would ever find the answer to that particular question.

That day when Neel arrived with Arjun at Swan Labs, he was taken to DoctorFahim‟s
room, and found the doctor sitting there with Divya.

“Good afternoon, Neel.”
Doctor Fahim said, looking up as the two entered the room.
“You will get back to your exercise soon. But first, I believe today was your first day back at
school?”

“Yes, sir.” Neel said.

“
And I trust everything went well there?” Doctor Fahim asked. “No accidents of any
kind? No unusual behavior your friends might have noticed?” He was gazing at the young
boy shrewdly, and Neel did not even try to be evasive.

“I had some trouble with the sound level, sir.” he said. “It was tough, b
ut after a while I
managed to stop paying attention to it. And I had some trouble keeping my mind under
control some times. But no one saw anything weird.”

“So your new abilities didn‟t pose a problem at any point?” Divya pressed. “You were
able to act normally around your classmates?”

 

“Yeah.” Neel said. He guessed thatthey wouldn‟t really care whether he was able to
play football again or not.