Chapter 10
The roll of the dice
JIMMY
“What's bugging you?”I walk to where Aditya stretches his hamstring muscles under Sahil’s watchful eyes.The usual sly smiles and subtle glances are missing today.We have not spoken during his visits to the gym for the past few days, and he has not replied to my texts since yesterday.
“Nothing.”
The sharp tone of his response surprises me.Aditya squeezes his eyes and sighs.
“Some management meetings are coming up, so I have too many things on my plate.Long nights getting the numbers together are piling on.”He turns to face Sahil.“Should I take a few days off?”The worry lines crowd his forehead.
“Umm, yes.You should if you are not well,” Sahil agrees.“Let's finish this set and do the cool down.”
“Yeah, sounds like a good plan.Take things easy for a few days.”I leave them to their workout.However, my eyes keep returning to Aditya.Is this fatigue, or is something bothering him?
We have not interacted much since our day at the school last week, so I am sure the worry on his face is not my fault.Is the ex-wife troubling him?Aditya’s sombre mood wipes out any chance to discuss the exciting news I received yesterday.Sahil’s squeals on the phone made his words incoherent.For a moment, I considered whether he needed a doctor.I cut short my grocery run and rushed to the gym.My eyes bugged out on reading the email on our gym's official email address.
A lady from Delhi had reached out to me.The words are etched in my memory.I read them three times and pinched myself twice while chanting, ‘Not a dream.Not a dream.’
'We would like to discuss an acting assignment with you.Please let us know if you are available next week.We will send the tickets.' She promised an all-expense-paid trip to go over the assignment.
Sahil and I spent an hour browsing the internet to check the agency's background.Scamsters infest the internet.I did not intend to lose my meagre bank balance or end up in some ditch in Delhi.The email came from her official account, but we were still suspicious.Why would anyone reach out to me for an acting role, and that too out of the blue?I had read about simple folks like me drawn into devious rackets in the name of modelling.
I had never done any theatre, not even a local Ramlila.Except for a small Instagram account, handled most of the time by Sahil, I had no social media presence.Why would they want me, a boy living in a nondescript town in the foothills of the Himalayas, to act for them?
My concern increased when I found the agency published books, but Sahil suggested they might be looking to adapt a book into a movie.When I dismissed the idea, he asked me to speak to Aditya, who comes from Delhi.But watching his sullen mood, I am not sure if today is the right day.There is no point in adding my worries to Aditya’s burdens.
I do want to wipe the gloom from his face, though.So when he steps outside, I catch up with him.
“Hey, Aditya.How are you feeling now?”
“I am sorry for snapping at you.”The glum eyes hit me hard.
I want to pull him into a hug, but the gym entrance is beside the resort's reception.“Let me know if I can help in any way.”
A small smile flits across his face, “Yeah, sure.Take care.”
Aditya turns and leaves.Slow steps, shoulders rounded, head bowed.An idea strikes me, and I rush after him.“Hey, wait.What are you doing this evening?”
“Nothing.Why?”He stops in his tracks.
“Remember, I told you about the small rainbow group?We are meeting tonight at seven.Would you like to accompany me?”My heart skitters at the prospect of introducing Aditya to my friends.
He goes quiet, staring at the pebbles on the ground.
