He looked up as the door opened. "Hi," he said casually. "Nice walk?"
It was as though they had left him reading while they went for a stroll. Chahda's casualness was too much for Rick and Scotty. They dove for him, hauled him out of the bed, and pummeled him with sheer delight. Finally Chahda yelled for mercy.
"I give in! Plenty okay! I glad to see you, too. Please do not break leg, may need it."
"You no-good swami," Scotty said. "What's the idea of playing Sikh?"
The boys sat down on the bed opposite Chahda.
"Talk," Rick commanded. "What kind of gag is this?"
"Best way to learn about people is to be one of them," Chahda said with dignity. "I have been Filipino and Sikh. Now I become Igorot. First I learned about this new country from Alm-in-ack. Says this largest group in Malay Archipelago. What is archipelago, please?"
Rick saw the twinkle in Chahda's eye and knew that their friend was following his usual custom of teasing them. "Archy Pelago is the black sheep of the Pelago family," he said. "Archy first fell from grace when he got into a fight with neighbors. It was a real melee. Hence his nickname. Melee Archy Pelago...."
A pillow caught him in the face, smothering his words. Scotty pushed him over on the bed and sat on him.
"Come on, Chahda. I'm so curious I could spring a seam. What's going on?"