TeenGang - Part 1

An outdoor park that was filled with an incredible view of the city and children roaming the place roared its cries of happiness all around the vicinity.

"Hahahaha!!!"

"Hey, you got dirt on your shirt!!"

"You were the one who threw it, right?!"

"I'm sorry, Ram. It was by mistake!!"

"Where are you running off to? Stop right there, you squeak!!!!"

"Hahaha!!!"

"Keep running if you don't want to get caught by her!!!"

"This isn't fair!!!!"

"Yeah, faster!!!!"

"Hahaha, kids these days have become a lot more energetic!!"

"What are you talking about, dear? I was way more energetic than them during my childhood!"

...

Amid such a cheerful environment, there was a kid who was all by himself sitting on a park chair while chewing a lollipop with no one to talk to. He then looked at other kids who were running around. Two kids started gossiping from behind.

"Why does he never come near any of us?!"

"That's because you don't know what happened. Last time, he whacked all the members of our class for no reason!"

"Huh? Are you saying he hit all the 30 people in our class?!"

"Since you and I were absent on that day, we must consider ourselves lucky and make it 28!!"

"But, why would he hit our classmates for no reason?!"

"Who knows? Our neighbourhood college students were having their graduation party and started playing music. That's when he started going crazy!!"

"Like how?!"

"When the music started, he began shaking. At first, the teacher thought he was ill. But when she got near him, he jumped from his seat and started dancing back and forth. I heard that she collapsed due to his sudden reaction!!"

"What happened next?!"

"He was so good at dancing that the entire class started dancing alongside him. But all of a sudden, the song that was being played started giving off hard beats and he ended up dancing around the class. Henceforth, pushing everyone and stepping onto others and a lot more. At the end of the class, everyone was already knocked out!!"

"Hahahahaha, no wonder he's all alone. But, what about his parents?!"

"They'd hardly have the time to take care of such a weirdo!!"

"Hahahaha!!!"

"Hahahahahaa!!"

The two kids then walked away from the scene. The boy who was sitting all alone started to cry. He covered his tears by downing his head and chewing the lollipop. Soon, the whole park was emptied. A woman in ragged clothes came to take him. The kid faced above. The woman said, "Let's go, Anshu!!"

He responded, "... Mom?!"

...

The kid and mother were out of the park. They were walking down the streets. The woman took a glance at her kid. The poor boy continued walking with a pale expression. He seemed lifeless. As they walked forward, they reached a huge building that seemed to be abandoned for many years. Anshu asked his mother, "Mom, we took the wrong direction. This isn't our home!"

The mother tried to hold her tears. He asked, "Are you crying?!"

She replied, "No, honey. I've overworked myself. These tears are just drooling from overstressing myself!!"

They then walked inside. The ground floor was a parking lot where there were many bikes placed one after another. They walked further inside. Anshu found his father sitting at a wooden table. On the opposite side of the table was a group of people who were wearing torn clothes. They had scarves tied either around their elbows or thighs. Some among them were women who exposed their hips. All of them were in jeans.

A half-bald person sat at the front. He had a cigar in his fingers. He also had a silver chain rolling around his neck. After Anshu entered the scene alongside his mother, everyone looked at him. His father remained like a statue, not turning around. The gangster who held a cigar spoke, "You people agreed to our suggestion without any hesitation. I must commend you for that!!"

A woman behind him interrupted, "Safar, stop commenting. It's not funny, you know?!"

The man responded, "Ahem, sorry for that. But, you must keep in mind that after you give us the child and take the promised amount of money, he'd no longer be related to you guys. That would be the end of your family chapter!!"

The mother replied, "... He wasn't destined to be with us in anyway. So what's the use of keeping such an abnormal child with us?!"

All of a sudden, the gangster became angry. Without realising, he squeezed the cigar in his fingers into pieces. The woman behind him placed her palm on his shoulder to cool him down. He sighed for a moment and later signalled his members with the snap of his fingers. Within the next instant, they placed a suitcase on the table and opened it.

"Gasp!!!", both mother and father were awe-struck by what was inside the case. There was a pile of currency notes in it. The person exclaimed, "This is the €100,000 we promised. We even converted it into Indian money. After taking this money-filled suitcase, your son will no longer be your son!!"

The two nodded vaguely. The mother got up and reached the kid. Placing her palm on his little face, she said, "We're no longer your parents, Anshu!"

The kid was puzzled, "What are you saying, mom?!"

She emphasized, "Starting this day forth, your parents will be them!", whilst pointing her fingers towards the gangsters. Anshu looked at them with an expressionless face. Many of the gangsters looked back at him with pitiful expressions. The kid was puzzled.

[What's wrong with these people? Why are they giving me a weird look? Shouldn't they be looking at me with utter disgust?]

The mother walked away from the kid. Later, the father took the suitcase and left the room after his wife. Anshu was confused. Soon, his eyes and mouth widened in a puzzled state of mind. He cried out, "Mom, dad, where are you guys going?!!"

The parents didn't respond to his call. He then started running towards them with loud cries, "Mom, dad, wait for me. I'm also coming with you guys!!!!"

<<<Grab>>>

All of a sudden, his shirt was grabbed from behind by the gangster. He was dragged backwards, henceforth distancing away from his father and mother. He whined, "Sniff, mom, dad, don't leave me. Please, take me with you!!!!"

The man grabbed him from the back and held him in mid-air. He exclaimed, "Listen, kid. Your parents sold you like a worthless toy to douche-bags like us. Henceforth, you too are a douche-bag starting now!!"

Anshu said, "But, I don't wanna be a douche-bag. Sniff, sniff, I'm already treated like a douche-bag in my school. Sniff, so please, I don't wanna be a douche-bag again. Ahahaha, sniff, sniff!!"

The gang members looked at him with saddened expressions. Some of the girls walked away from the scene failing to hold their tears. The person made him sit at the table. He then placed his palm on the kid's shoulder. Anshu looked at him. The man said, "We are no different from you?!"

He didn't get what the person before him said. The man walked away. The woman who stood behind him earlier stepped forward and held Anshu on her hip. All the girls and women walked towards him. The woman who held him said, "Hey, kid. My name is Waheeda. You can call me Aunt Waheeda. The person whom you met earlier was my hubby and your uncle, Safar!!"

Slowly, the scene changed back to the bus where Ashiya, Sam and Viraj were. What's more, was that even the doctors ended up sitting around Anshu. Some of them dripped tears. Ashiya attempted, "So, what happened after you were sold out to those gangsters?!"

Anshu replied, "At first, I thought they would bully me just like my classmates. However, the outcome wasn't as I expected it to be. Those people treated me like a family member. The kids among them invited me to play with them every afternoon. We also went to school together. The women took care of our laundry and shelter. That was the first time I'd felt so lively!!"

Everyone gazed upon him with a smile. Viraj asked, "So, what happened later?!"

Anshu answered, "Well, I was raised by them for 15 years. But during those 15 years, they never invited me to a single party. I wondered why. One day, a conflict occurred between me and my buddies!"

...

The scene changed back to a few years ago. During one fine night, the building lost its silence due to the loud noise of youngsters yelling at one another. On one side, was a young man in an all-black costume that was composed of a leather jacket on pants alongside boots. The jacket's zipper remained open, henceforth exposing his shredded muscles.

On the other side, three boys and two girls were wearing the same clothes as him except that the girls had half t-shirts inside their jackets. The boys shouted,

"You cannot come with us to the party, Anshu!!"

"Aunty warned us to never take you to parties!!!"

"We're dead if news of you going to a party was spread around!"

The girls interrupted,

"Guys, quiet down!"

"Yeah, you're way too loud!!"

Anshu shouted, "Why only me? What about you people? Aren't you in the same age group as me?!!!"

One of the girls said, "Anshu, you can only find the answer for that from aunty. Why don't you go and ask her?!"

He said, "You have no idea, Ria. Aunt Waheeda is way too scary for me to ask!", whilst shivering. One of the boys shouted, "Damn it, enough with the talking. Anshu, give us the bike keys. It's almost time for the start of the party!!!!"

Ria interrupted, "Quite down, Amar!!"

Anshu exclaimed, "If you take even one step forward, then I will throw the bike keys far away from here!"

Amar cussed at him, "Damn you!!!"

"What's going on?!", said an anonymous woman. Everyone flinched at her voice. The one who flinched the most was none other than Anshu 'cause the woman who raised her voice with a sudden entrance was none other than the one he feared the most, Aunt Waheeda. She didn't change a bit even though 15 years passed by. Anshu trembled, "Aun... Aunty?!"