Neel Dervin and the Dark Angel

by Neeraj Chand

  Finally she released Neel, and he walked rapidly back to his seat, restraining with difficulty the urge to use his full speed. Mrs. Awasthi began the class and students rummaged in their bags for pen and paper.

  Aryan turned to Neel with a worried expression on his face . “Dude, if you ever get the urgeto suddenly sprout wings and start flapping around the classroom, you"ll warn me first, right?” The students seated nearby giggled loudly.

  “Shut up.” Neel muttered, taking out his textbook. Two periods later they had a physical training class. Now had come the part of school that Neel had been anxious about the most. The boys assembled in the field with the soccer ball. They trooped over to the goalpost and prepared to choose sides.

  The field lay under them trimmed and marked neatly. A cool breeze was blowing around them, causing their hair to whip around their faces. Students were talking and laughing as they prepared to play. Even though he was nervous, Neel could not stop a grin from appearing on his face as he stepped onto the field. He was only now conscious of how much he had missed playing soccer. He had spent a week cooped up in his house, and even though his visits to Swan Labs provided him with plenty of excitement and exercise, the atmosphere there was usually very serious and earnest, and not nearly as much fun as playing with his friends.Neel"s spirits now rose as he strode through the familiar grounds.

  Aryan and Vipin were declared captains, and the teams were chosen quickly. Everyone paused when Neel"s turn came.

  Aryan looked at him. “You sure you"re well enough to play?”

  Neel nodded, his heart beating faster. It wasn"t being well enough that he was worried about. “Yeah, I can play.”

  “Okay, Neel ison our side.” Aryan said. The remaining players were chosen, and the teams moved to their places on the field. Neel walked over to assume the defense position. It was the one he always played in. Aryan had gone to the centre with Dev. The ball was passed between them, and the game began.

  Neel felt a rush as his mind automatically started tracing the path of the ball as fast as he could. It wasn"t long before his mind had started to speed up again. Neel closed his eyes, trying not to panic. Now was not the time to get accelerated brain speed. He couldn"t risk moving faster than everyone else on the field. He took deep breaths and concentrated on his heartbeat like he had been taught.He was in control… he was in control….he was in-

  “Neel!” The agonized yell of his teammates made him open his eyes abruptly. The ball had passed within inches of his feet and was on its way towards the goalpost, where it was barely caught in time by Haider.

  “Come on, man, focus!” Haider shouted to Neel as he threw the ball back into play. Neel"s other teammates were also staring at him.

  “Sorry.” he called out to them, flushing. Aryan was looking at him in concern.

  “Dude, are you absolutely sure you"re all right?” he shouted back.

  Neel nodded, and turned his attention again to the ball. Aryan stared at him for a moment, then shrugged and turned back to the game. Neel was keeping his eyes on the ball now. The match had gotten more intense after how close the other side had come toscoring. Vivek"s team surged forward in a body, passing the ball rapidly to each other, entering Aryan"s team"s side of the field.

  Aryan and his team ran to cut them off. Neel and Dev, the two defenders, tensed as the ball came rapidly nearer. The ball stopped ten feet away from Neel. Aryan had managed to cut off Nitin"s progress, and the two were sparring for possession of the ball. The other players rushed towards the spot as well, forgetting their positions in the excitement. Now the ball was passed frantically between several players in rapid succession. The ball was stopped halfway through a pass, and bounced off the player"s foot, heading straight for Neel.

  Neel stopped the ball, and moved forward with it. All the members of his team, including Dev, were covered by players from the other team, and there was no one left to pass the ball to. Neel moved slowly, trying to draw the opposing players out. It worked.

  Atul rushed forward to meet him, two other players following him. That left Aryan open, who was signaling to him. Neel tried to get the ball to him. But suddenly Atul was blocking him, trying to get the ball away. Neel gritted his teeth and focused all his attention on the ball, trying to keep a grasp on his brain, which was threatening to speed up at any moment.

  And then Neel suddenly moved his leg around the ball faster than anyone could see. He stared up at Atul and the other players in alarm. But in the heat of the moment, no one had noticed that split second increase in his speed.

  “Neel!” The agonized shouts from his team mates rose again. In the moment when he had gotten the ball away from all three members of the opposite team, he had been too busy staring at Atul and the others to pass the ball to Aryan, who had been wide open. Now the others surged around him again, cutting off any chances of scoring what would have been an easy goal.

  Neel gritted his teeth tighter. Panic was giving way to other emotions, and he was starting to get annoyed. He moved the ball slowly around the other three, while they lashed out with their legs, trying to get the ball away. He blocked their kicks with his own leg. And then he prepared to kick the ball hard enough to reach the other end of the field, away from him.

  But suddenly Parthak came barreling in from his left, blocking Neel"s kick with his leg. Neel saw him preparing to move in front of him, and knew what would happen to him if he were to accidently hit Parthak.

  Neel changed the direction of his kick in mid stride, fighting desperately against his own momentum to move away from Parthak. Parthak"s body met his own just as it was tipped over on one leg, and Neel was sent crashing to the floor.

  Parthak took the ball and passed it lightly to Atul, who sent it spinning into the goalpost with a shrewdlytimed kick. “Are you okay?” Atul asked as he lay on the ground. “Fine .” Neel muttered, picking himself up slowly. He saw Aryan staring at him as well, along with his other team mates. “I"m fine.” he called out as he rose to his feet. A few of the teammates were staring at him in disgust at letting the ball go after having it in his possession, and even Aryan looked uncomfortable.

  “You think hisbrain"s been affected by the accident?” He heard Dev mutter to Aryan as he dusted off his pants. “No, it hasn"t. He"s just not settled completely backyet.” Aryan snapped irritably. The scorching sun was not helping the tempers of the players.“Give him a break. He"s spent the last week stuck in the hospital andhis house. I"m sure he"ll be all right in a while.”

  Neel felt a sinking sensation, not so much at the words as at the fact they confirmed. He stared out towards the field again, where the ball was once more in play. Crowds of shouting and running boys flocked around the ball.

  Neel stood watching the scene. There was a great heaviness in his heart.

  “Aryan!” he called out. Aryan turned. “I don"t feel very well. I think I"ll sit this one out.” Aryan nodded, trying not to look too relieved. “I knew you couldn"t have healed so fast from your accident.” He called out. “Go and sit in the shade, man. You can play when you feel better.”

  Neel nodded listlessly. He took another look at the group of boys. Then he turned slowly to the basketball court, which was empty at the moment. There were a series of stone benches near the court and Neel made his way towards them.

  He found Arvind sitting on one of the benches, his head bent over a book.

  “Hey, Arvind.” Neel said as he drew nearer. Arvind looked up from his book and blinked at Neel through his huge spectacles. “Hi, Neel.” h e replied, looking at Neel mournfully. Arvind had a somewhat gloomy personality, and his demeanor usually suggested that he was an unwilling participant in a Greek tragedy.“I heard about your accident. I"m glad you"re feeling better.”

  “Thanks.” Neel said, sitting next to him.

  “You"re not feeling well enoughto play?” Arvind asked him, staring at him solemnly.

  “Something like that.” Neel said evasively. “You"re not playing either?” “I have a
sore throat.” Arvind mumbled, returning to his book. Getting out of exercise was something of a specialty of Arvind"s. His long, skinny frame was not of much use in most sports, and he spent most physical education periods wandering around the field. Their coaches had tried to make him play a few times and had then given up.

  Arvind glanced at Neel over his book. He knew how fond the other boy had been of football. “But you know, you look pretty healthy right now. I expect you"ll be able to play in a few days.”

  “Yeah, maybe. Is that somenew book?” Neel asked, more to draw attention away from his health then because he was really interested in the answer. “Nah, it"s an old one. I"m reading it again.” Arvind held up the book he was reading to show the title „TheValley of Fear". “I"ve read all the other ones of Holmes that they have in the library. Miss Jha said they were going to bring in some ofWodehouse"s stuff soon.”

  Neel nodded, trying to look as though the names meant something to him. Arvind was the class topper, and spent most of his time buried in books. Reading was his one big passion, if not text books then novels. Arvind by himself had probably read more books than the rest of the class combined.

  Some of their classmates had arrived nearby to play basketball, and Neel watched them from his seat. He saw Nitin stroll past the court looking dreamily into the distance, a pair of earphones in his ears. He came up to where Neel and Arvind were sitting and sat down next to them.

  “Hey, Neel.” he said, taking the earphones out. “Why aren"t you playing?”

  “I don"t feel very well.” Neel said. “And you?” Nitin was one of the best forwards in their class. “Didn"t feel like it.” Nitinsaid with a sigh, a familiar look on his face. “There have been more important things on my mind lately.” The far away expression was easy to read for someone who had known him since kindergarten.

  “A girl?” Neel asked.

  “It doesn"t take a genius to figure that out.” Arvind remarked, looking up from his book again. “Which one is it this time?” Vijay gazed at Arvind affectionately. At the moment he was in the frame of mind to be fond of everyone.“This time,it"s the real thing.” He said. “At least,” he amended, coming back to Earth, “It will be, once I find out something about her. I saw her coming out of Sarik tuitions last week…” He breathed emotionally for some time. “Her eyes…”

  “So what"s her name?” Neel asked hastily. There were certain topics on which Nitin could hold forth indefinitely unless cut short at the beginning. He had once talked for twenty minutes during recess about the perfume of a girl he had a crush on.

  “I don"t know.” Nitin said, his eyes losing their dreamy look. He kicked a stone moodily. “I tried to find someone I know there, but I couldn"t find anyone who knew her. Her chauffer just brings up the car, and she gets in and leaves. I"m still looking.”

  “ Well, good luck.” Neel said. Nitin began absent mindedly tearing through some leaves next to his seat. He had a habit of fiddling around whenever he was thinking deeply. “Sounds like you"re really serious. Again.”

  “I am.Ah, love!” Nitin sighed, leaning back. “Such a beautiful emotion.”

  “Can you call it love when the girl doesn"t even know you exist?” Neel asked mildly. “She will one day.” Nitin said, waving the small detail aside. “ If our love is written in the stars, if it is our destiny. Or if I can find someone who has her phone number. When I think I was once as idle as you, Neel. Love does great things for you. It gives a purpose. That"s why I don"t waste entire weeks sleeping at home.”

  “I was recovering from an accident that almost killed me.” “See? That just proves my point.You wouldn"t have been messing around having accidents if you"d had the steadying influence of a girlfriend. Just look at what a sorry state Arvind is in, wasting all his time buried in books. You think he knows what love means?” Nitin prodded Arvind sharply with a stick which had fallen from a nearby tree. Arvind jumped up with a violent start. He grabbed the stick, broke it in half, stuck it down Nitin"s back and then returned to his book.

  “Or those two guys.” Nitin continued unperturbed, taking out the stick and pointing across the field with it. Neel turned to look. Pawan Joshi and Ghazi Alam were strolling in the distance, most probably having skipped class. They were both in Neel"s year but in a different section. Ghazi had already been held back a few times, and his large bulky physique showed his true age. Yet it was the scrawny Pawan who usually took the lead between them. They had both earned unsavory reputations within the school, barely stopping short of getting expelled, and it was rumored that they had become part of some criminal gang in the city.

  “Oh come on, I"m sure they have purpose in life.” Neel said. “Nothing says purpose like being known to the police.” Nitin grinned. Arvind looked at his watch and rose from his seat. “Where are you going?” Nitin demanded. “How about putting that giant brain of yours to some actual use for once, and helpingme figure out how to talk to her?”

  “ Sorry, man. As interesting as your love life is, I have to go talk to Manav.” Arvind said, picking up his book. Manav was the head of student cultural affairs at the school. “They want help sorting some novels students donated in last week"s drive.”

  “I"ll come with you.” Neel said, getting up and dusting off his pants. “I think I"ll get some book to read, too.” Nitin lay back on the bench and stared up at the tree above them, giving himself up to some serious meditation.

  “Are you sure you want to come?” Arvind looked at Neel in surprise.“It might take a long time. Maybe the whole period.”

  Neel turned to stare at the soccer field. Their team had just scored a goal, and he saw Aryan give Vineet a high five.

  “That"s okay.” Neel said as he turned away. “I"ve got lots of free time now.”

  * * *

  Neel returned home that day to find his mother already there. Usually her job required her to stay till at least six, which was why Neel carried the front door key with him to school.

  “They let me off early today.” His mother smiled at him. “How was your day?”

  “Same as usual.” Neel shrugged. “I didn"t miss much while I was away from school.”

  “That"s good.” his mother said. “Go and get ready. Lunch will be ready in about ten minutes.” Neel nodded and went to change his clothes.

  “So you"ll go to the coaching?” his mother asked him later as he ate his food. Neel nodded again. “It"s really helping me cope with what"s going on right now.” he said truthfully, and then added a vague footnote, “You know, math and stuff.”

  “Well, mind you don"t overexert yourself.” his mother warned him. “We don"t want you back in the hospital with a relapse or anything.” Neel nodded thoughtfully. He wasn"t really worried about exerting himself, mainly since he had no idea what the limits of his new found stamina were yet. The exercises he had done so far had been extremely vigorous, but he had not reached a point where he would be unable to continue from exhaustion. He wondered if he was even capable of being completely tired now, and whether he would ever find the answer to that particular question.

  That day when Neel arrived with Arjun at Swan Labs, he was taken to DoctorFahim"s room, and found the doctor sitting there with Divya. “Good afternoon, Neel.” Doctor Fahim said, looking up as the two entered the room. “You will get back to your exercise soon. But first, I believe today was your first day back at school?”

  “Yes, sir.” Neel said. “ And I trust everything went well there?” Doctor Fahim asked. “No accidents of any kind? No unusual behavior your friends might have noticed?” He was gazing at the young boy shrewdly, and Neel did not even try to be evasive.

  “I had some trouble with the sound level, sir.” he said. “It was tough, b ut after a while I managed to stop paying attention to it. And I had some trouble keeping my mind under control some times. But no one saw anything weird.”

  “So your new abilities didn"t pose a problem at any point?” Divya pressed. “You were able to act normally around your classmates?
”

  “Yeah.” Neel said. He guessed thatthey wouldn"t really care whether he was able to play football again or not. “Good.” DoctorFahim said. “I might as well tell you that we had been planning to have you shifted to a more appropriate facility for your education, just in case it seemed that going back to your school might be causing problems.”

  “What!” Neel exclaimedin alarm. “No way. I was fine, sir, really!I don"t need to be moved to another school.”

  “Then you can continue atElvitar"s.” DoctorFahim said with a smile. “And now you can get back to your training.”

  Neel left the room with Arjun and the two headed towards the gym. “I didn"t know they were thinking about moving me.” Neel said, looking up at Arjun. “Only if it was absolutely necessary.” Arjun said. “Like I told you before, secrecy is crucial to this project, and it would have been a risk letting you go there if your friends had noticed anything different about you.”

  “Well, I can handle school fine.” Neel said.

  Something in his voice made Arjun glance at him. “Then is there something else bothering you?” Neel shrugged and was silent for a second. But finally, the urge to share his problems with someone who would understand was too much. “We played football today.” He said finally.

  The two made their way in silence to the gym. It was some time before Arjun finally spoke.“I take it the game wasn"t a success?” “I tried to play.” Neel"s voice had grown flat. “I almost crashed into two of my classmates.I would"ve broken their legs if I hadn"t stopped myself in time. And if I"d played much longer, I know I would"ve lost control and speeded up in front of everyone.”

  “I"m very sorry, Neel.” Arjun said in a lowvoice. “I tried to warn you about this from the start. You have incredible abilities now, but they come at a certain price. I told you that you would have to be careful around others. It"s very easy for you to physically hurt them if you"re not careful. Caution must becomea part of your life now.”