'I don't care about your stupid marble tournament. No marble player ever
became great,' Ish shouted.
'Well, you also never became great,' Ali said. Ouch, kids and their bitter truth.
Ish froze. His arm trembled. With perfect timing like Ali's bat, Ish's right hand
swung and slapped Ali's face hard. The impact and shock made Ali fall on the
ground.
Everyone stood erect as they heard the slap.
Ali sat up on the ground and sucked his breath to fight tears.
'Go play your fucking marbles,' Ish said and deposited a slap again. I ran
behind to pull Ish's elbow. Ali broke into tears. I bent down to pick up Ali. I tried
to hug him, as his less-strict maths tutor. He pushed me away.
'Go away,' Ali said, crying as he kicked me with his tiny legs, I don't want you.'
'Ali, quiet buddy. Come, let's go up, we will do some fun sums,' I said. Oops,
wrong thing to say to a kid who had just been whacked.
'I don't want to do sums,' Ali glared back at me.
'Yeah, don't want to field. Don't want to do sums. Lazy freak show wants to
play marbles all day,' Ish spat out.
I felt it was stupid of Ish to argue with a twelve-year-old.
'Everyone go home, we practice tomorrow,' I said.
'No, we have to...,' Ish to said.
'Ish, go inside the bank,' I said.
'I don't like him,' Ali said, still in tears.
'Ali behave. This is no way to speak to your coach. Now go home,' I said.
I exhaled a deep breath as everyone left. Maybe God sent me here to be
everyone's parent.
★
'What the fuck is wrong with you? He is a kid,' I said to Ish after everyone left. I
made lemonade in the kitchen to calm Ish down Ish stood next to me.
'Brat, thinks he has a gift,' Ish said.
'He does,' I said and passed him his drink, 'hey, can you order another LPG
cylinder. This one is almost over,' I said. We did have a kerosene stove, but it was
a pain to cook on that.
We came to the cashier's waiting area to sit on the sofas.
Ish kept quiet. He held back something. I wasn't sure if it was tears, as I had
never seen Ish cry.
'I shouldn't have hit him,' he said after drinking half a glass.
I nodded.
'But did you see his attitude? "You never became great." Can
you imagine if I had said it to my coach?'
'He is just a twelve-year-old. Don't take him seriously,'
'He doesn't care man. He has it in him to make to the national
team. But all he wants to do is play his fucking marbles.'
'He enjoys marbles. He doesn't enjoy cricket, yet.'
Ish finished his drink and tossed the plastic glass in the kitchen sink. We
locked the bank's main door and the gate and walked towards our shop.
'It is so fucking unfair,' Ish said, 'I slaved for years. I gave up my future for this
game. Nothing came of it. And you have this kid who is born with this talent he
doesn't even care about.'
avery
(avery)
#1