His phone has been switched off for the last three days and the only time he shows up in college is when he is practises with Tanmay. Tanmay told me that he works on his bike in his workshop—a workshop that Tanmay and I couldn’t find—and when he does that, he really doesn’t like phone calls or texts. He told me that Karthik—even on other days—doesn’t like people who call or text much and has no love for social networking sites. Karthik has always struck me as an oddball. The day we had gone out, I had seen him carry a broken old phone with a black and white screen. I clearly remember seeing twenty unread messages on his phone. I had thought about asking him about it, but thought it was too personal and I shouldn’t meddle in his life. Actually, his whole demeanour seems to have a board saying ‘STAY OUT’ stuck on it. Since he was so out of reach, Tanmay asked me to catch him after the practice if I wanted to talk. I had nodded. I have been waiting on the sidelines for two hours now while Tanmay and Karthik have toiled in the late afternoon sun, running, passing and shooting the ball.
