Why one should protect one's childhood buddy
++++++
Noon break
Physics lab
Keiro was sitting in a chair talking to a silver haired guy who was busy doing experiments. He had a delicate face and his large eyes squinted as he arranged the circuit connections for his experiment.
Keiro: "Roju! You spend half a day in the physics lab and the other half in the chemistry lab… Take a break, will ya? Human beings eat at least thrice a day."
Roju: "I'm not hungry yet."
Keiro understood. According to her there were only two species in this world. Keiro's species (the majority) who lived from breakfast to lunch, lunch to dinner. And then there was Roju's species that would realize that they had not eaten till they lost consciousness or something akin to that.
Because of his eccentric nature, Julis Roju had been subject to bullying from childhood. Since they were neighbours, Keiro had taken it upon herself to protect his species.
"It is not survival of the fittest, Roju. It is the survival of those with the fittest friends.", Keiro had declared.
In the beginning, she could save Roju by fighting those who bullied him. But she was too lazy to learn self defense and eventually grew up to be a weakling.
So Roju started making weapons. Dangerous weapons. He could easily make guns, cannons, and a special type of bomb which worked by a chain reaction...
########## -Flashback-#########
6 years back
Once a bunch of kids came to bully Roju…
Keiro tried to reason with them, but they did not oblige. Soon, it turned into a fight. Somebody pulled Keiro's hair. Keiro kicked somebody's butt. Someone was pushed to the ground. Another one lost a tooth.
Roju stood there, watching their fight.
None of them seemed to be giving in and someone accidently bumped into Roju. That's when Roju lost it…
He went inside and dragged out his new invention. The kids paused for a second to watch him fire at them what looked like a cannon ball. The bullies ran for their lives. If it hadn't missed them by an inch, they would all have been dead.
That's when Keiro realised it... Roju had something missing in his huge brain. Something that God forgot to add while stuffing him with enough intellect to understand Quantum mechanics by the age of five...
This incident happened when they were ten years old and Keiro remembered lecturing Roju that day.
Keiro: "Roju, if you shoot a cannon ball at people, they die..."
Roju: "I know..."
Keiro: "If you kill people you go to prison..." (Though that alone must not be the reason why you shouldn't kill people.)
Roju had then innocently looked up and told Keiro:
Roju: "That's why I have you..."
Keiro: "What..?"
Roju: "You are my best friend... The friend I can call for help to bury a body."
Keiro felt a little proud.
Wait…
Something was wrong here...
Keiro: "Roju, I know the world is unfair, but we cannot go to the dark side..."
Roju: "What's the dark side?"
From that day on, Keiro took care that no one made Roju a murderer.
+++++++++++++++
Present day
Physics lab
Roju continued his experiments and Keiro sighed.
Keiro: "There is a world outside this lab, Roju… Look outside, there are trees and birds on top of them. You should sometimes come out to the outside world. "
'Or you won't know the ways of the world and some evil organisation will use you to gain their end', thought Keiro.
A bird chirped outside…
Roju kept doing his experiments.
Keiro kept the fruit juice she had brought for him on the lab desk and made her way back.
+++++++++++++
7 pm
Basketball court
Keiro: "Shimlee will look around while I (cough)... question the new basketball players."
Captain X nodded and called the three guys towards them.
She first questioned the red head.
Keiro: "You are Don Heeden? From Year 1 Class B?"
Don: "Yes."
Keiro: "Did you see anything strange since you joined last week?"
Don: "No."
Keiro: "Has anyone close to you passed away recently?"
Don: "No."
Keiro: "What type of girl do you like?"
Don: "Sorry?"
Keiro: "Are you a Pisces or an Aquarius?"
Shimlee quickly arrived and dragged Keiro away. Then they began the questioning of May Rusa.
Shimlee: "Tell me, what exactly did you see last night?"
Rusa: "It was like a large shadow. It passed right in front of my eyes."
Keiro whispered to Shimlee. "I thought only you could see them. I mean ghosts."
Shimlee: "Some people see them at peculiar times in peculiar kinds of atmospheres. Like if it's too humid or too dark. Sometimes ghosts appear to normal people in the mist. There are particular atmospheres and states of mind when ghosts become visible. My ability is to see them under ordinary circumstances."
May Rusa looked at Shimlee with admiration.
May Rusa: "Do ghosts attack humans?"
Shimlee: "Humans are vain creatures that think every passing ghost is interested in them. Most ghosts have their own business."
Keiro: "By business, you mean..."
Shimlee: "They are just detached parts from their soul that could not go to the after life because of a lingering or obsessive thought."
May Rusa: "So, if we do not solve its problem, then will I be able see this ghost again?"
Keiro and Shimlee saw that May Rusa was very excited about the prospect.
Shimlee: "You have a thing for ghosts?"
May Rusa blushed and that's when it occurred to Keiro.
Keiro: "Did you become the new manager because you heard the previous manager saw a ghost?"
May Rusa nodded her head.
Keiro: "Did you work late into last night because you wanted to see it for yourself?"
May Rusa nodded her head again.
Keiro took May Rusa's hand in hers.
Keiro: "I'm sorry for mistaking you to have ulterior motives."
May Rusa: "You don't think that I'm weird?"
Keiro: "What's so weird about having a ghost fetish?"
Shimlee: "Why didn't you join our ghost club?"
May Rusa: "I thought I was not qualified enough..."
Shimlee and Keiro looked at each other. They extended their hands to May Rusa and said, "Welcome to the ghost club!"
Keiro: "So how do we find the ghost?"
Shimlee: "It's here already."
"What!" Keiro and May Rusa exclaimed together.
May Rusa: "Since when?"
Shimlee : "Since half an hour ago."
Keiro hid behind Shimlee.
Keiro: "Where is it?"