Chapter 57: Borrriiinnnggggg!

“…yeah, there was that time, wasn’t it?” Harshil scratched his stubble.

Cabir however went white in the face, “Don’t you dare do what you did last time, you jackass!”

“Wha-” Aakash didn’t even have time to utter more than one syllable when Harshil’s voice erupted.

“Oh, yeah! Shit! I totally forgot!” Running a hand through his spiked, he sucked in a breath. “When I say search Google, I mean search Google! Don’t you dare do something as stupid as before!”

“I just asked-”

“What did he do?” Aanya rapped on the desk, naked curiosity in her eyes.

“This idiot…this fucking idiot…” Cabir face alternated between white and red as if unsure whether to be afraid or angry.

“He asked his mom what ‘porn’ was!” Harshil completed the sentence as he threw his hands in the air.

“What’s so bad about that?” Aanya pursed her lips, disappointed that some huge reveal she was expecting had fallen short. “Parents should actually have a talk with their kids about stuff like these. We do get exposed to such content, even unintentionally.”

“I have no idea what kind of families you are talking about. My family certainly didn’t talk to me about ‘porn’.”

“Mine did.” Aanya rolled her eyes.

“Oh.” Harshil shrugged. “Well, anyways, parents would explain things about it but wouldn’t encourage you to watch porn, right?”

“Obviously.” Aanya looked at the spiky-haired teen as if he had a screw loose. “But Aakash just asked his parents about the meaning. I mean it’s funny not knowing by that age…” Here she smirked at the teen in question who simply pushed up his spectacles self-consciously.

“Even so, it’s not something to create such a hullabaloo over. He asked and his parents probably sat down and explained it to him, right?”

“That’s right.” Aakash nodded but facing Cabir’s expression, a faint blush crept up his cheeks. “Um…”

“Oh, you don’t have to say it, bud. Let me do it for you.” Harshil commented scathingly. “Don’t force yourself.”

“You’re being really high and mighty, aren’t you, Harshil?” Aanya’s brows rose, the disappointment and annoyance replaced once again by curiosity. “It really makes me wonder…what’s got you riled up so much?”

“This idiot…this fucking idiot…” Cabir trailed off.

“Told aunty the names of all of us when she asked who told him about the word and who all watch it.”

“What is this? Déjà vu?” Aakash snorted at the repeated sequence of Cabir spluttering and Harshil finishing for him.

Aanya, who had the exact same thought when Harshil picked up, only subconsciously nodded. Her mind was too busy shifting between feelings of shock, laughter and helplessness.

“You actually told aunty which of your friends watched porn after she explained what it was to you? When did you become such an idiot?” Aanya finally gathered herself enough to question Aakash.

“Being friends with these probably rubbed off on me and dulled my wits.” Aakash mumbled. “Anyway, it’s not like anything happened.”

“Yeah, that’s what you call luck, Aakash.” Aanya shook her head. “If you rat them out and aunty decides to tell the school who will then contact their parents or even directly tell their parents, they are dead.”

“Fucked. Say fucked.” Cabir muttered.

“Really? That’s what you are focusing on right now?” Aanya scowled.

“Well, it’s technically their fault. They can just stop watching if it’s that bad a thing to do!”

“This from the guy who hid story books between notebook or textbook pages and read them when teachers took classes rather than studying?” Cabir glowered.

“I highly doubt they are comparable.”

“It’s not about comparison.” Aanya interrupted the duo who looked like they were on the verge of arguing again. “Look, this is something many children our age do. I’m not saying it’s right…”

Then after a slight pause, she added as an afterthought, “…or if it’s wrong but if some strict action is taken on your friends because of this, wouldn’t you feel bad?”

“Well, yeah…” Aakash spoked after contemplating but suddenly shook his head vehemently, “But you’re wrong about one thing. Watching porn is bad. There are no ifs and buts about it.”

Fixing his gaze on Harshil and Cabir after casting a sidelong glance at Aanya, Aakash continued, “I researched about it when these two went all hysterical about mom learning they watched porn and I even told them that…”

“It can lead to unrealistic sexual expectations, harm relationships, create wrong impressions, lead to addiction and blah blah blah blah blah!” Harshil interrupted. “We’ve heard you go on about it too many times last year. And you know what we think?”

As if on cue, Cabir and Harshil echoed each other right in Aakash’s face while simultaneously smacking the desktop with their palms, “Borrriiinnnggggg!”