“I don’t like you,” That’s what the kid said when Ravi came up to him, but it was obvious that there was more to it than just dislike. Ravi had tormented him ever since the year started. He was horrible, always picking on him as if he were a scab wound that needed to bleed. It was only until recently that they started fighting each other after school. The kid, fueled by months of repressed rage, made a harsh comment about Ravi’s dead mom. Honestly, Ravi thought it was more of a weak insult, but nobody could expect to talk about his mother like that and get away with it. It was sort of a shock to find himself socked in the face right after he threw the punch, though. He didn’t know the kid had it in him to talk, let alone fight, but he had to admit that it was a nice change of pace. Pummeling the kid untangled all the rage and frustration knotted up inside of Ravi and left a bright, cathartic feeling even when the fights left cuts and bruises. Somehow, Ravi knew it was the same for the other guy. Why else would he keep fighting?
But then the kid’s family had to plan for an unexpected funeral. His sister had an accident on the road and nobody could identify the killer that drove the car. That’s when the blows started to soften, diluting the fights down until Ravi wanted nothing to do with them. “There’s nothing fun about a one-sided fight,” That was what he told himself, but the truth was that their last skirmish shook him. The kid looked as vigilant as he always had, but when the first punch hit his jaw, he just fell apart, his sobs racking his entire body like a plastic sheet in a hail storm. It bothered Ravi to witness something so personal, so he decided to just leave him despite the nugget of guilt forming inside of Ravi for doing so.
After that, he decided to find someone else to mess with. Nobody wanted to fight him though because everybody that could was too afraid. The worst part about it was that Ravi was starting to get bored. This was the reason why Ravi decided to strike a deal with the kid despite the sourness of their latest encounter. He told him that he had connections, places to look for, ideas on where the killer might be. At first, the kid didn’t want to hear any of it, but Ravi made a convincing argument. “She meant a lot to you right? Do you really want her killer to get off scot-free? If you find them out, your mom and dad wouldn’t be so sad anymore. All I want in return are a few more fights. Then, I promise I’ll leave you alone for good,” The kid agreed reluctantly, but only because he knew Ravi wasn’t lying about the last part. He may have been a bully, but they both knew he was a bully that was ridiculously determined to keep his word. The bruises on their arms proved that. The kid, whose name was apparently Brussel, wanted to check out the lake first to see if the killer hid anything there, but when they got to the lake’s shore, Ravi accidently let it slip that his mother told him that swans would come if you wake up really early. Brussel freaked out when he heard that, babbling about how he always wanted to see swans, but never thought they lived around the area. Ravi thought the outburst was a bit much just for some swans, but that didn’t stop Brussel from dragging him out of his house at 6 AM to go see them.
Ravi’s dad was chaperoning the two, saying how he was so glad that Ravi was finally making some friends. Ravi retaliated, saying that this was just a dull distraction from their real goal, but he had to admit that the trip wasn’t as boring as he thought it would be. Brussel actually made it fun, coming up with games like bread javelin and pebble discus. Ravi’s dad brought an entire barbeque in the trunk of the van and they spent the day playing and eating Macaroni Dogs, a food of Brussel’s own invention. “I think we’re friends now,” said Brussel, feeding some bread to the swans as the sun hanged lazily over the lake. Ravi had no choice but to agree.