Someone Like You (28 page)

‘Do you think we have a chance?’ Pia asks. We are sitting in our college stadium, where the final football match is about to commence. Since our college is hosting the match, both Pia and I have been forced to volunteer. We’re in the refreshment department. So obviously, we are ditching our duty and sitting on the stands instead, waiting eagerly for the teams to come out of the pavilion.

‘I think we do,’ I reply, almost involuntarily.

‘You do?’ she asks, looking a little surprised. She seems to have given up all hopes and I decide not to tell her about Karthik playing for our team. I’ll let her see for herself. A surprise like that might cheer her up.

‘Uh, I mean—the match hasn’t even started yet. Anything can happen. Our team is a strong one too. So, let’s not be pessimistic, right?’

‘All the strength of our team was mostly because of …
him
. Without him now …’

‘Relax. We can’t think like that,’ I say and look away. I contemplate telling her, but before I can decide, I see the opposing team making its way to the field. ‘See—they are coming out.’

‘AITR is a good team, I’ve heard. The champions for the last two years,’ Pia whispers.

‘I know. But our team is still … stronger,’ I say. Pia turns her gaze away from the field to look at me. The expression on her face tells me that she thinks that I have lost my mind. I just shrug and motion towards the field, where our team is coming out of the pavilion. Fifteen players, all dressed in a deep shade of red, teamed with yellow, make their way to the field. It is a very cloudy day, and rain seems just around the corner. Against this background of dark, evil-looking clouds, the team looks very tough. We watch them, slightly in awe. The entire atmosphere is thick with excitement and nervousness; everyone seems to be whispering prayers in their heads.

I spot Karthik immediately. Even with fifteen guys dressed alike, he stands out. Just his stance is enough for me to recognize him anywhere. He walks with the team, and they huddle in the corner. The captain, Mandar, motions to everyone to come close and from what I can see, it seems like he starts his pep talk. Every player listens to him intently. Karthik, on the other hand, scans through the crowd, his brows knit together in tension, his jaws tightly clamped together.

His condition worries me. His reaction to the news about Tanmay’s death, its reason and Akshat’s attempt to harm him is understandable. Anyone would be furious, especially if they have a friend’s death on their conscience, because of something they did not even do. But I had expected him to cool down a little by now. But by the look of things, he is still in the same condition as he was yesterday.

The only relief I can draw is from the fact that he agreed to play in the final match. Surprisingly, even Mandar did not oppose his sudden re-entry in the team. I assume the victory does mean a lot more to him than his hatred for Karthik. At least he is sane enough to realize that their stupid ego clashes and baseless rivalry is not worth losing the cup, after getting so close to claiming it.

‘Is it …? Is that Karthik?’ Pia whispers.

‘Yes, it is,’ I smile.

‘But … how?’

‘Long story. Let’s just concentrate on enjoying the match now.’

‘We’re
so
winning this,’ she says, excitement showing on her face. She suddenly seems alive. We’re finally a little close to getting Tanmay something he would have really wanted. No wonder she is so happy. ‘With Karthik on our side, the match is definitely ours. I don’t know how you did this. But … I just love you so much!’ she shrieks and hugs me.

‘Aww!’ I hug her back.

Ten minutes later, after the brief initiation ceremony and a few announcements, the match starts. We knew that AITR was a good team, and we had heard that they had remained unbeaten for the entire series, but it turns out that we had still underestimated their power. We have had a simple logic—
we have Karthik on our team, we will win
. But it does not really work like that. Each and every player on team AITR seems threatening. But our team isn’t too far behind either. The match is tough; it is between equals.

A nail-biting thirty minutes later, AITR’s team hits their first goal. The match is suddenly lopsided. One would think that being on the winning side, the team would loosen up, but that never happens. They play as furiously as before. Maybe even more, since ICE panics and attacks with greater fervour. The only good thing I can find in the situation is that our team has not gotten defensive yet. We are still attacking; we don’t have another option. But it does not seem to be working. Karthik, for the most part, seems ineffective. He runs in jogs with no real urgency. It makes me think he is not mentally ready for the match.

By the time it is half-time, AITR is leading by 1–0. At the whistle, the players make their way to the sidelines. We rush towards our team.

‘What’s happening—?’ I ask Karthik when I reach him, but another, louder voice overpowers my question.

‘YOU!’ Mandar shouts, pointing at Karthik, who turns to look at him. ‘What the hell do you think you are trying to do?’

‘You need to relax, Mandar. It’s all under control,’ Karthik says.

‘UNDER CONTROL? We are losing the match, can’t you see? All because of you!’

‘Just listen to—’

‘You said you will take care of the match. We had it all planned.
You
demanded we replace our centre forward with you. Samar would have at least scored
one
goal. What do you think you are doing?’ Mandar shouts furiously.

‘I told you I have it under control.’

‘But you can’t blame me for doubting your word, can you? Because the match sure does NOT seem under control. AITR is winning!’

‘Stop shouting! They just
think
that they have the lead. I can score any time I want to,’ Karthik says cockily. I have to agree, his cockiness has a certain charm to itself. At least I am charmed.

‘Then why don’t you? What are you waiting for?’

‘For them to tire themselves off.’

‘What kind of stupid logic is that?
We
are getting tired too, you know?’ Mandar looks very frustrated and probably a little scared too.

‘
I
am not.’

‘Of course not. You are not doing anything. Just standing there. How are you supposed to get tired?’

‘Exactly my point. If we score now, they’ll know that we are back in the match and they’ll tighten their control. Then, we’ll have to work harder for goals. We need them relaxed. I’ll hit the goals when the time is right and we will win this
match. Now, for the last time—you need to relax,’ Karthik says and walks towards where Pia and I are standing.

Mandar walks away, muttering something like, ‘I don’t even know why I’m trusting this bastard. He might even have the match fixed …’

‘So, how do you like the match?’ Karthik asks us.

‘Well, I was worried like five minutes ago!’ I say. Only Karthik can be insane enough to pull a trick like that.

‘You don’t need to. It’s all—’

‘—under control. Yes, we know. We heard,’ I say and smile at him. It’s a nice feeling. I am smiling, Karthik is smiling and even Pia is smiling. It has happened after a long, long time.

And it changes way too quickly.

‘What the hell,’ Karthik mutters and Pia and I follow his line of vision. There, standing at the opposite end of the field is Akshat. Karthik starts walking towards him without wasting a breath. I rush after him and Pia follows suit.

‘What’s going on?’ she asks. She is clearly baffled. I just keep running after Karthik.

‘What are you doing with him?’ Akshat asks me, when we reach him.

‘What are you doing here?’ I shout at him in response. He clearly does not realize that we know all about what he had done.

‘YOU SON OF A BITCH!’ Karthik thunders and charges towards Akshat.

‘Karthik! Stop!’ I shout out.

‘WHAT THE FUCK!’ Akshat shrieks and moves backwards in defence. He looks like a little girl, scared of the dark.

Before I can stop him, and before Akshat can make out what is happening, I find Karthik holding him up by his collar.

‘Let me … go, you bastard,’ a half-choked Akshat says.

‘Not in this life,’ Karthik says and lands a neat punch on Akshat’s nose, loosening his hold on his collar. Akshat loses balance and falls on the ground. Karthik waits for him to get up and then launches himself at him and lands another blow, on his jaw this time.

‘KARTHIK! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?’ Mandar shouts. Half of ICE’s football team seems to have appeared here out of nowhere. They break up the fight and try to keep Karthik away from Akshat.

We are twenty minutes into the second half of the match and the scoreboard has remained stagnant. AITR is still leading, and the worst part is that Karthik is not on the field. Mandar decided it would be a risk to play Karthik immediately. One fight on the field would get him a red card for sure. The referee was taking no nonsense on the field today.

For all the time I have known Akshat, I had never realized that he would turn out to be such a coward. He was cunning and soulless enough to plan someone’s murder and deceive me like this, but two punches by Karthik and he went running away out of the college campus. I knew his super-neat ways probably indicated that he was somewhat effeminate, but I had never imagined him to be such a coward. Even the thought of him fills me with loathing. And to think that once upon a time I thought I might be in love with him, and I let him kiss me … it makes my blood boil.

Karthik is not doing much better either. A shot at Akshat must have vented some of his anger, but he still looks very disturbed. He is sitting on one of the benches in the side lines, staring unblinkingly at nothing in particular. His face is morose and he seems to be in some other world. By now, it has started drizzling a little, and by the look of things, I feel that heavy rain is to follow.

We have just twenty minutes left in the match, when AITR scores another goal. The crowd explodes in cheers and boos in equal measure. Karthik finally looks away from whatever he was staring blankly at. The noise pulls him back to the world around him. He shoots a glance at the scoreboard and swears loudly. We are trailing by 2–0. Mandar looks at Karthik as if to ask him for help. He nods, get up and shouts something at Mandar. I feel a little relieved.

Next moment, we see a player from ICE leaving the field and Karthik replacing him.

‘GO KARTHIK!’ Pia stands up and shouts.

I cheer with her too, silently praying to God. Karthik stretches a bit and then stands still, as if to shake off the memory of his fight with Akshat from his head.

The team suddenly comes to life. Karthik shouts instructions to players and they seem suddenly rejuvenated. They communicate with each other through some kind of a secret sign language that only the senior players on our team seem to know. The rest of our team looks a little lost, but Karthik does not seem to care. Maybe the four senior players on our team are enough to handle what Karthik has in mind.

Even Mandar looks excited. They create a mesh-like formation on the field, baffling the opposing team. After five minutes of vigorous running around the field, they finally get to the goalpost. Mandar signals Karthik, who sends the ball flying towards the goalpost. The ball flies at top speed, until it reaches to goalkeeper, who defends it, sending the ball away.

We let out a disappointed sigh. I really thought that Karthik was going to score a goal, but it isn’t all that simple, I realize.

But I am mistaken. It isn’t that hard, either. A millisecond later, the ball, redirected by the goalkeeper, lands straight at the feet of our second striker. Without wasting any time, he
aims it at the goalpost with full force. AITR’s goalkeeper, who is still reeling from the first save, gets up hurriedly, but cannot do anything. It’s a goal!

The crowd cheers and the chants of
Ratul
, who I guess is the one who hit the goal, booms across the stadium. Even though it would have made me happier had Karthik been the one hitting the goal, it is a goal nonetheless. We are back in the match. Hopes rise exponentially.

Barely ten minutes later, ICE hits another goal. This time, it’s Karthik who has done it.

The cheering is ear-splitting—one of the plus points of playing in front of a home crowd. We get up from our seats and jump up and down, shouting at the top of our lungs. Even over the rain—it is pouring heavily now—we are able to make ourselves heard. While everyone else is happy just to see our team back in the game, I am happy for other reasons too. The happiness in Karthik’s expression is something I would give anything for. Smeared with mud, his hair dripping water and sweat in the rain, and a happy smile on his face, he looks almost enchanting. The sheer joy in his expression …

I suddenly pause. Where are all these thoughts coming from? Why am I so happy to see Karthik happy? Am I …? Is this …
love
?

Before I get a chance to ponder about it, everyone sits down and Pia pulls me down onto my seat too.

‘Where are you?’ she shakes me and asks.