Riya

I knew Angie's food must be getting cold. But I didn't want to go in. I glanced at him again. He was wearing his black shirt with navy jeans.

Why was it so hard to ignore this pile of rotten tomatoes? Why was he everywhere? Weren't colleges supposed to be too big to even see the same person twice?

On the call, I knew what he was doing. Taunting me with his words.? But I had promised myself not to say anything. Everything was settled with Dhruv. I had to forgive him when he gave me that heart-shaped canvas. But I still needed to mind my business. It was a mantra I repeated quite a lot these days.

Where was Dhruv? Was he distancing himself from this...this... giant-headed beetle?

"For someone who doesn't like me, you're staring a little too much," he said, looking into his phone.

This pea brain-

"Where's Dhruv?" He looked up from his phone at my question and smirked.

"What happened to minding your own business?"

Okay, I walked right into that.

"Forget that I asked."

"He's with some girl." Why was his expression becoming weird? Was he trying not to laugh? Was he even capable of laughing?

He raised his eyebrows as if waiting for something. Waiting for what?

The horror spread through me slowly as the realization dawned on me.

Eww. No. I did not need to know that. No.

"Your brother is a bad influence on me, Miss Riya. Such atrocities."

He stood up laughing, ready to leave. This was the first time I saw him laughing. I tried not to dwell on the fact. I also tried not to dwell on the fact that he used the word atrocity. Posh.

This arrogant pea-brained scum.

"I'm going to fall down." My feet ached.

We three had been walking since morning to find Siya a dress for her to wear at her boyfriend's birthday. She had taken us to at least three different malls, and I felt like screaming into the void.

"Don't be so dramatic. You'll live." Siya replied, and Ruhi rolled her eyes.

"How 'bout we stop before she actually falls." Ruhi looked at my tired face.

I wanted to look at my face in the mirror behind us, but sweat didn't do my face justice. It would've crushed me.

Siya looked at my face and sighed. "Okay, let me try these two. Then we'll eat something from the food court." The state of my face must be so damaging that even Siya agreed to stop her shopping.

She went to the changing room while Ruhi and I sat on the sofa. The shop had rows of glamorous dresses that I would've probably never been able to conjure the confidence to wear.

I wiggled my toes inside my sneakers. "I can not feel my toes."

A bemused smile appeared over Ruhi's face as she took a bottle from her trusty bag. She never went anywhere without it.

"Drink it." She handed it to me, and I gulped it down.

"You wanna buy something?" she asked, looking at me. She was wearing her beige shirt and trousers. Her hair was straight and long, as usual. The woman who meant business.

"Nope." I took another sip. They were trying to make me buy a dress for years. As of yet, they had not succeeded.

"How's your college going?" I tried changing the subject.

She waited a few seconds before answering, "Normal as usual." She was a woman of few words. It took us a bit of time to get used to it. Neither Siya nor I was good with silence in conversation. But Ruhi taught us that.

"Ah...did I tell you guys Dhruv and I are back to talking?" I asked, giving back her bottle as she raised her eyebrow at my statement.

"I thought you swore not to talk to him again."

"Yeah...but he gave me some canvas and apologized."

"You're too forgiving sometimes."

"I'm still not fully talking. Nor I'm going to follow him around the campus." She looked at me for a beat.

"And what about his friend?"

"What about him?"

"Is he being problematic?"

"Nope. He's a regular at the cafe. He usually sits around the corner by the window." The cafe was a usual hangout place for the players.

"Does he talk to you?"

"We only had one conversation. What's up with these questions?"

"I just worry about you," she said.

I was pathetic, wasn't I? Making my friends worry.

"I'll be fine. I'll pretend they don't exist now."

Before she could reply, Siya came out wearing a gorgeous red gown. It was a halter neck with a slit going up to her thigh.

"Yup. This is the one." I jumped, all excited.

"Agreed." Ruhi nodded.

They both were the epitome of beauty. The one poets wrote about. The ones who taught me how to love myself. It was a long way, and it often shook like a leaf in a storm. But I tried.

"Finally, we can rest," Ruhi said as we walked towards the counter.

"Hmm." I nodded, my mind all muddled up from exhaustion.

She looked at me before holding my hand. Sometimes, I felt she knew what went into my head. It was scary.

But she possibly couldn't. I hadn't talked about it in years. I had crafted this appearance of a girl who rocked the desi style with her kurtas and chandbalis. Full of confidence.

I didn't want them to know. I didn't want to add to their long list of things to worry about, Riya. They couldn't be aware of the crippling defeat of my brain against the voices that told me that I was not enough.

They had much more severe problems in their lives. They had overcome it. They were living their lives to the fullest. I could do that too. Maybe.

Siya paid for her dress and held my other hand, and we three walked to the food court. We had to drop our hands when we went to the escalator. The serenity of it all took me back to high school when the three of us used to sit at the shed at the back of our school building, under the eucalyptus tree. The peace I felt with these girls.

"I have arranged some dates for you." Siya turned to us as the escalator went down. Her pink dress and curls made her look like a Barbie.

"You still haven't given up on that?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"No. I need you guys to have dates before I get married," she said as the escalator went down.

"We have plenty of time," Ruhi said, walking through the hustle and bustle of the food court. I looked around for an empty table.

"We can sit there." I pointed, hoping no one would sit there before we ordered.

"What are we eating?" Siya asked, momentarily forgetting the date.

We ordered sizzlers and sat down.

"I met Rudra's cousin yesterday. They are good-looking and well-mannered. Imagine if we three could get married in the same household." Siya's eyes held excitement that Ruhi and I definitely did not reciprocate.

Siya was a little bit delusional sometimes. I waited for Ruhi to say it out loud.

"Okay. A date won't hurt." Ruhi replied, looking into her phone. Even Siya was surprised, and her mouth fell open.

Ruhi was ready to date. It was a big moment, but Siya and I knew that making it a big deal would not be a good idea. So we sat in silence for a bit to digest it.

"I was banking on you to say no," I told Ruhi, begging her with my eyes to save me. She didn't. She looked at me as if to say you're on your own. I narrowed my eyes.

Siya turned to me with a healthy dose of excitement. "I'll share the numbers in the group," she furiously typed on her phone, and my phone vibrated in my pocket. God.

"Siya....I don't think I can go on a date."

"Are you dating someone?" she asked me with an innocent smile.

"No."

"Then do as I say," she scolded.

"Yes, ma'am," I said, defeated.

"Loser," Ruhi said, looking at me. Great.

I guess I was going on a date.----

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