…“Stop!!! Let me have a word with you.” I turned around to see Aakrisht. He was my best buddy. I had to step back because the breadth of his shoulders always spilled beyond my picturesque field of view. His body had an unusual stiffness. This stiffness in his body language translated into his nick name-‘The Robot’. He invented a gait all for himself by swaying the body while holding those shoulders still (as if they were acupunctured by some Chinese medic). A gene inherited somewhere in his family had thickened his skull. Mine on the other hand was still responsive to pithy pleasures of life. This quite naturally made him the big boy in our group. The following episode is about the side effect of our friendship. We have a habit, which the reader might refer to as “Gambling”. Whenever we faced a difficult scenario, be it extraordinarily important as this penalty kick or a more common place insignificant decision. We just couldn’t resist the urge to bet on it. And here he was standing right in front of me seconds after I decided to take the penalty kick.
“Kalsh, you won’t make this penalty kick. I am sure”.
“What if I do?” I had to retort. “What if I score this most important penalty of my life? Then what? Aakrisht”
I was brash. He was cocky.There was no turning back now. The bet was accepted. My only regret is that I will never know if he actually prayed for me to miss.
7 Ways Through Sunday 
And your point is...