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“Being Spiderman is so easy”.
Pavitr isn’t lying. He doesn’t lie to anyone, unless he really needs to. If his girlfriend Gayatri wanted him to take her to the park, is there really anything so awful about telling her dad they were just there to study? A guy’s gotta be quick on his feet sometimes, especially when the rest of the world moves so fast already.
But other than these instances, Pavitr stays honest. His classmates call him an “open-book type of chhaila ” with a smile. His teachers are less charitable. “That boy could stand to learn some discipline. A hand over that mouth of his wouldn’t hurt either, no?”
He’d heard his English instructor say that last month, when he was walking by the teacher’s lounge and she’d forgotten to close the door. Was she still pissed for the joke he’d made in class? Everyone else had been bored with that dead dude’s poems, why should he get crap for saying that out loud? Eh, no matter. He’s Spiderman, which makes him the best in all of India. Well, other than Gayatri, but that goes without saying.
When he meets Gwen, it doesn’t take long for him to notice that she has a different view. When he asks about where she came from, some of his questions lead to dead ends or half-answers.
“So like, what’s your place’s deal? Some kind of girly modern-dance universe?”
Gwen chuckles at that, but it takes a while for her to respond.
“No, and I think this outfit is more ballet.”
“Okay…what’s your family like?”
No chuckle there. About ten seconds of quiet pass, which is more silence than Pavitr is comfortable with in a conversation between friends.
“See, I’d really rather not talk about that, if you don’t mind.”
Pavitr nods and gives her a thumbs up. A simple gesture, but what else can he do? Even an open-book like him can understand the difference between a lie and an avoidance. Sometimes his teachers will ask why he can’t sit still to save his life, and of course he would never dream of telling them that he’s just wired differently, that he’s not doing it on purpose. Sometimes he can’t be “on” with his friends, and he would never tell them that it’s because Auntie has heart problems and money is getting tighter and those doctor’s bills aren’t gonna pay themselves…
Yeah. There’s a lot of stuff you should keep to yourself. For Gwen, that’s her home life. He can respect that. He respects pretty much everything about Gwen, even if that won’t stop him from making fun of her haircut. Seriously, are Americans just born with low style?
One day she tells him that “No way dude, I wish nature was that creative. My haircut is a result of an incident I ran into while in somebody else's dimension”. Pavitr grins. “Okay, that’s a story I gotta hear”.
Gwen rolls her eyes and laughs. “Fine, but I don’t wanna hear any Gwen-has-a-crush jokes, alright?” Pavitr nods, even if knows the promise is never going to stick. As he lays back and listens, he smiles to himself.
Being Pavitr isn’t always easy. But being Spiderman is. All he has to do is keep his cool, and trust that the universe will do the same.