Previously on “You’re my Buddy”
Episode 1: Take the First Step
Episode 2: You’re the One on Trial
Episode 3: Can I carry that for you?
Episode 4: You know everything, na?
Episode 5: Question everything — even the story itself
Episode 6: Ice cream toast to nuts and nutmegs
Episode 7: The Saiyan Royal Palace
Author’s note: This episode references Dragon Ball Z a lot. It is an anime series that has a special alien race called Saiyans. They look exactly like humans, but they are superstrong, they fly, and they shoot energy waves from their hands. Vegeta and Trunks are father and son. They belong to the royal bloodline. Young boys and vagabond writers love the series.
“So nice to see you here, sir.”
Trunks Singh had opened the door two seconds after I had rung the bell. He had, apparently, seen me walk down their driveway and had rushed to open the door.
He had a huge smile spread across his face.
“Hi Tarun,” I said mirroring his smile.
“Hi, sir. How come you are here?”
“I had come to your school again.”
“Oh. They hadn’t announced that you were coming, sir. I didn’t know. I loved your session last time. It was really good.”
“That’s okay. I came as a surprise only. My session is tomorrow. Today I was just meeting Ms. Sarita. How are you? Ms. Sarita was saying you were not well. So I came to check on you.”
“Wow, really? Why did you bother?”
“Why not? We are friends on Facebook, right?”
I had noticed this only an hour back, when I was going through the kid’s social media profiles. That’s when I had come up with the lie. I wasn’t very inventive, agreed, but I didn’t want to invent too elaborate a lie, either.
“Yeah, but aren’t you busy?”
“What is this, Tarun? I come to meet you and you want me to go away?”
“No no, sir. Please come in.”
“Actually I was talking to Ms. Sarita about what I am going to speak tomorrow. It’s about a girls’ football team in Jharkhand. Ms. Sarita told me that you are the middle-school team captain and would really like the session. I had some time today, so I just came along to see if I could persuade you to come to school tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s really nice of you.”
He made me sit on their sofa and ran in to fetch some water. I was a little surprised that this kid was so full of life and was being so courteous. I had a totally different image of him as I was walking to his place. Which, in hindsight, I realise was very judgmental and presumptuous of me.
“Your parents aren’t home?”
“No, sir. They will come back in an hour or so.”
“Oh, that’s good. I can meet them too.”
Trunks hesitated for a bit. He still had his smile on, but it was not as wide or as radiant as it had been before.
“So, sir, you wanted to talk to me?”
“Yaar, please call me Minu. I am not really used to this sir sir business.”
“Arey, you are my sir only. Like a teacher. I can’t call you Minu like that.”
“Ahh…okay. Tell me how have you been. You seem perfectly alright to me.”
He looked down a bit, sat down on the sofa and said, “I wasn’t well, sir. I got better today.”
“I see.”
“So, sir, what did you want to see me about? You mentioned some football team.”
“Yeah yeah. But can you do something for me first? I heard from one of your classmates that you are a big Dragon Ball Z fan and that you have Trunks posters. Can I see them? I haven’t met a DBZ fan in a loooooong time.”
“Sir? You serious? You want to see my posters?”
“Yeah. I love DBZ.”
“Oh…okay. They are in my room. This way.”
Their house was unnaturally clean. Nothing was out of place and I hardly saw any dust anywhere. Even the kid’s room was spotless.
“You have your posters in frames? Wow.”
“Yes, sir. My dad didn’t want me sticking them just like that.”
“You know what? Your room is cleaner than my room was when it was totally empty. It definitely looks like the Saiyan Royal Palace.”
“Hehe. Thank you, sir.”
I moved around his room from one poster to the other.
“That was the first time Future Trunks became a Super Saiyan, isn’t it? And that one is when Vegeta and he were training together, right?”
“Yeah. You remember, sir?”
“These are iconic moments, yaar. Of course I remember.”
I settled down on the bed and started looking at the books on his bedside. He was reading Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. And another book, which I was sure his parents didn’t know about.
“Ahem, ahem, little Trunks is reading grown-up books now, is it?”
“Sir, what, sir?” said Trunks as he ran towards me. He quite forcefully snatched it from my hands and packed it up inside his school bag. “It’s not mine, sir. I didn’t know what it was when I got it from the library.”
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you or anything. I am really sorry.”
“It’s alright, sir.”
The boy had become very stiff in his politeness now. His tone was now more formal. And his smile was forced.
“You know, kiddo, you remind me of Vegeta more than Trunks. Vegeta was the one who got so easily psyched about things.”
“You haven’t seen my Dad, then. I am definitely Trunks compared to him.”
“Wow, is it?”
“Yes.”
“I guess I will know when I meet him.”
Trunks nodded. He clearly didn’t want me to meet his parents, but he didn’t want to say that either.
“You know, Tarun, for someone who plays football so much, I don’t see any footballs or jerseys or posters in your room. How come?”
“I…I had to remove them, sir.”
Another uncomfortable topic, then.
“Remove them, why?”
“It’s nothing, sir. My dad didn’t like it.”
“Oh.”
“Did this happen recently?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is that why you aren’t going to your football sessions?”
The kid looked at me with a frown now.
“How do you know that, sir?”
“Arey, that’s how I found out where your house was, no? I had gone to the ground thinking you will come. But you didn’t show up. So I asked one of them to tell me where you lived.”
“Oh. Who told you my address?”
“I don’t remember his name, yaar. I am so bad with names. I remembered yours because you call yourself Trunks on Facebook. I thought it is damn cool.”
“Oh…thank you, sir,” he said nodding his head. “Don’t worry, sir. I will figure out who it was in school. Don’t worry.”
“Wait, bud. Why is it so important who told me the address?”
He looked up at me with his forced smile and said, “So that I can thank him.”
“Oh.”
I think in that moment we both saw each other. Beyond the veils of politeness and courtesy. We were both smiling and we were both calm, but I could sense that he was looking at me differently now. The sincere reverence I had noticed earlier was not there anymore.
He was on his guard.
I looked at my watch and told him I needed to rush out for something.
“Okay, sir. Thanks for coming by.”
On my way out of the house, I picked up my bag and fished out a roll of A3-sized paper.
“Here, I have something for you.”
I handed Trunks the poster I had printed earlier in the day. Trunks opened it up and kept looking at it for a long time.
“How did you know, sir?”
“Know what?”
“That I liked this line.”
“Because I like Trunks too.”
“Really, sir?”
“Well…I like Vegeta and Gohan more, but I like Trunks too.”
“Vegeta is okay, but Gohan? Really?”
“Haha. I will see you tomorrow, kiddo. Keep well, okay?”
“Okay.”
“If you don’t show up, I am going Galick Gun on you.”
“Oh yeah? Then I will fire a Super Buster Cannon.”
“Is that right?”
“Remember the time with Android 17 and 18, sir? The Super Buster Cannon leveled Vegeta.”
“Oh, I remember that. Come to school tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay, sir.”
“Bye, Trunks.”
“Bye, sir.”
Walking out of his house, I couldn’t help feeling that helping this kid out was not going to be as easy as I first thought. I wasn’t sure how deep his issues with his father went and I wasn’t sure if I should even be interfering at all.
But I had started the dance. And I couldn’t pull out of it now.
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