Posted: December 30th, 2019

✤ Rihaan: 1.41 - my inspiration ✤

"Kriana, please. Please, please, please!" I hound even as she tries to royally ignore me, putting her beats headphones on. For the last three days, I have been trying to convince her to sing the female verses of a song for me to use in the Diwali show.

It has been a month since my parent's anniversary, and we only have two more months left. 8 weeks. 19 more rehearsing days. So, if in the starting it seemed that 2 months is still a long time, let me tell you: it's not.

She finally snaps at me, "Find someone else, Rihaan. Now leave me the fuck alone."

I whine, "I did try na, Ana! And don't take Girish's anger out on me."

She rolls her eyes moving from the window seat in her room to her bed and falling back, dangling her feet off the edge. After a moment when I follow her there, she sighs and speaks in a much calmer voice. "I'm sorry, okay?" She apologizes for her later rude comment. "But I really don't have the time between studying, practice, and game days. Aru has already dragged me into a group dance performance. Even if I want to help you, I can't."

I don't want to make her feel bad for having to say no, but I am also out of options. It's true that half of the females in the school auditioned to be picked just like I had held auditions to put together the band who could play the instruments, but none of them had the voice I am looking for. Well... I only auditioned half of those because there were just too many girls and it irked me that more than half of those didn't even have a decent control over their voice. They were wasting my time just for a chance to sing with me.

Then, one evening when I had been frustrated at my wits end, Kriana asked me to sing the song so she could hear what it was like and she had hummed along a line. My search had ended there. She so rarely sings, I had forgotten she has an amazing voice too. In that matter, she got her parents' genes too.

I offer getting an idea, "What if I can solve one of your problem?"

She scoffs, "I highly doubt."

I admit, "Sure, I can't do anything about the dance or football, but I can help with studying."

She turns her head sideways to look at me with amusement, "Like you are doing any better."

"Maybe not, but I know who is." I grin and she narrows her brows at me as if knowing she is going to hate what I am going to say next. Still, I say it. "Ishaan."

She sits up in denial at once, "No. Hell no."

I sit up as well, persuading her. "Oh, come on. He tutored you last year. You did pretty well on your exams, didn't you?" When she does not retort instantly, I jump at the chance. "Please, Tiny. You know it too. Even if you don't particularly like him, he's good at teaching you the concepts."

She tries to make an excuse, "He's in college now. I doubt he has the time."

I don't let her win, however. "Cool, what if I ask him and if he says he's busy, then I won't bother you about this again."

Giving it a moment's thought, she reluctantly nods her head. I jump up on my feet in relief taking that as my problem solved because there is no way Ishaan will say no. "Thank you!" I give her a quick peck on her cheek, "Alright, gotta go. Lots to do." Just as I reach the door to her room, a thought passes my brain and turning to her, I warn, "And you can't call him up and threaten him to say no when I ask."

"Damn it." She mutters under her breath.

With a grin, I leave the Khanna house. Yup, I know this best friend of mines too well.

*✧✤--------------------------✤✧*

Once I get home, mom scolds already waiting in the driveway by the car, "You're late! Armaan already called thrice."

"I know, I know," I say getting in the car. "Blame Kriana."

"Did she finally say yes?" She asks after getting in the car as well and the driver backs out of the driveway. For the reality show dad is judging, they were having a family theme this week and as such, he'd asked us to be there for part of the shooting.

"It's a 99.9% yes."

"And what the point 1% dependent on?"

"Getting Ishaan to tutor her so she has the time to do this," I inform taking out my phone to follow through on that and texting the said person.

Mom expresses her disapproval, "You all exploit him too much, you know?"

I gape at her accusation, "When have I ever asked him for anything unfair?"

She shrugs her shoulder vaguely putting it, "Does it make a difference if it's you, Arshiya, or Kriana?"

"Okay, you can get on their cases for that. Not mine. Besides, he owes me and I've decided it's time to collect," I say pulling up his contact and typing the message even as I get notification of Sanya's message.

Rihaan: Hey, random but can I ask you for a favor?

Then, I open Sanya's thread and reply to her.

Sanya: Did you trick Ana into something because she just left me a long audio message ranting about how she hates everyone. I barely understood half of it.

Rihaan: Nooo. I didn't trick her. She said yes willingly.

Sanya: Then why the rant?

Rihaan: Because I involved Ishaan.

She too is aware of the equation between the two.

Sanya: Uff! Why?!

Sanya: Explain.

I continue texting her the whole ride to the studios which takes roughly an hour with occasional words passed to mom.

Don't judge or assume I don't spend enough time with my parents. Her fingers are rapidly typing away on her screen as well, and I'll give you one guess as to who she is texting. Yes, the name starts with A and ends with N.

*✧✤--------------------------✤✧*

The day passes with typical backstage stuff. A bunch of staff members going back and forth with radio transceivers on their hips and a microphone to their ear managing the line up of performances, contestants and their last-minute rehearsals, the coming and going of their family members, the leg-pulling in front of the camera, and the occasional breaks in between performance shoots when dad found us a couple of times to steal a moment with mom.

Then, it's time for mom and I to go on stage and I put my phone away. I have done this a few times being on stage with dad or being around when he's interviewing for something giving the reporters the opportunity to pull me in for a segment. Suffice yo say, I know how it goes.

The host, Nidhaan, asks after we are introduced and dad comes up on stage as well to greet us for the cameras - as if he wasn't just with us backstage five minutes ago. But shh. The world does not need to know that. They dig the act.

"So, Riddhima ma'am, how do you feel when you see how far Armaan as come in his musical journey so far?"

Mom jokes, "Well, firstly, I feel very offended that you're calling him Armaan and me 'ma'am'."

He laughs, "Alright, Riddhima. Is that better?"

"Much," She says, "Okay, let's see. How do I feel? Proud, ofcourse. Happy, too. He's finally out of the house and doing something productive rather than annoying me all day getting bored."

"Hey!" Dad takes offense while everyone laughs.

Mom adds, "No, jokes aside, I'm actually blessed that I've been able to be a part of his journey since the start and I can never stop feeling proud of him for the man he continues to grow into. You know, for the months before he developed the concept for this platform, he would tell me he wanted to do something that's never been done before. Something that would help him contribute not just to this world, but also make him a better father. You see, Rihaan always followed in his footsteps - with music, especially. And he'd seen that more than playing the pieces performed by others, Rihaan liked to experiment and create his own music. He was just not confident that it was good enough. So, Armaan thought, Rihaan can't be the only one out there who wants to compose music but aren't given the right opportunities to display their talent. See, we have so many reality platforms that bring us singers and dancers from around the country and even around the world, but none for composers. So yeah, you can say that I'm pretty proud of him for starting something new in the industry and hope that it will be accepted as mainstream in the future."

Nidhaan comments, "Wow, I should say, that is inspiring, Armaan. When you mentioned in previous episodes that the idea for this reality show came from your personal life, I think we all must have assumed that it's because you yourself enjoy composing bits and pieces of your own songs."

Dad replies, "You know, its true. I do like to do that, but I have a lot of help from experienced composers and music directors. Another thing, I used to say 20 so years ago that Riddhima used to be..."

Mom speaks over him, "used to be?!"

Dad covers her mouth with his free hand that isn't holding the mike to continue, "...my inspiration for pursuing music..."

Mom elbows him playfully to get him to let her go and dad comes to stand beside me, putting that hand around my shoulder in a side hug, "...but I think, now it is safe that say that I draw that inspiration from Rihaan."

Nidhaan gushes, "Aww, isn't that sweet? Rihaan, what do you have to say about this?"

"Well, I think he'll finally know what I've felt like my whole life with him as my role model." I speak nonchalantly into the mike.

Dad rolls his eyes at my playfulness and takes me in a head lock.

With a laugh, I give a sincere reply, "Okay, okay. I'll admit. I was surprised when he'd come to me with the idea and asked my opinion. I don't think I have ever inspired someone to do something so to think that I inspired the one who is an inspiration to millions of people is really something else. I guess it just goes to show that inspiration has nothing to do with age or experience. One can get inspired by any one at any given time, anywhere. Honestly, I am constantly inspired when I hear some of the compositions here, so I'm humbled I was able to play some role in the culmination of this platform."

"Well-said!" He compliments before looking at the camera. "So, India, we know Armaan is a magnificent singer and today, we get yet another glimpse of him as a wonderful husband and a father." He looks at my parents, "Speaking of personal life, we hear your anniversary just passed. Did you guys do anything special that you'd like to share?"

Mom says, "Actually, it was our 20th, so had an intimate gathering with family and close friends, and we renewed our vows."

"Wow, that is so beautiful!"

I second that, "Really, it was pretty romantic too. He couldn't keep his eyes off her."

Dad swats the back of my head for my harmless teasing, "Your turn will come too. Just you wait."

I laugh along with others.

Nidhaan directs towards me, "Rihaan, you know, we were keeping an eye on you backstage and you were glued to your phone. Now, one might think you were on social media like everyone your generation, but you had this goofy smile on your face, so I'd like to assume you were chatting up someone special. And, it's also a known fact that you post vlogs on your YouTube channel. See, your fans have seen a glimpse of a girl in the background of your videos, but you've kept silent when they ask. So, anything you would like to say?"

I look at dad with a glare while he snickers covering his face with mom's shoulder, "Dad put you up to this, didn't he?"

Nidhaan continues at my expense, "Come on, I think you shouldn't disappoint your fans."

I send a message to dad with my eyes to convey I would get him back for this and then I clear my throat. "Okay, fine. Yes. I have a girlfriend." I see him opening his mouth and I beat him to it, "And no, I won't say her name. She likes her privacy; hence why her face isn't seen in any of the videos."

He still tries, "No! Come on, that's not fair. You have to tell us who she is."

I don't give in though, "How isn't it fair? I gave a confirmation, isn't it? How many people admit it in front of the cameras?"

Dad pipes in, "I did."

I turn to glare at him again for he is not helping the situation. I swear, he is enjoying pulling my leg a bit too much. If Sanya doesn't get on his case after watching the episode once it is aired, I most definitely will.

I use it to smartly turn it in my favor, "Well, mom just said I love following in your footsteps so I suppose the world will know about her when they need to."

Nidhaan says with a laugh, "And the boy is smart just like his father. Alright then, you are off the hook." He speaks to the camera, "There you have it, Rihaanians. Sorry to break your hearts, but the guy is off the market." He waves us to the couches in front of the contestant area, "Please, have a seat and we'll call our next contestant for the night."

And so it continues.

*✧✤--------------------------✤✧*

That night after dinner, we meet up for ice-cream. The first thing I do on seeing Kriana is inform, "You've got tutoring tomorrow at 3."

She scowls at me, "I hate you."

I cheekily respond pinching her right cheek, "But I love you."

"Ugh," she pushes me back and in the process, stumbles over a rock bumping back into Girish's chest as he's walking up to us. Turning her head back to see him, her scowl depends, "Who invited you?"

He sighs as she steps out of his arm, "How long are you going to stay mad at me for?"

"Till I am not mad," she replies before stomping off to Sanya and Shreya who are talking with Sahil. She greets them all with a hug and I watch the expression on Girish's face morph.

This stupidity has gone on long enough. Shaking my head, I tap the back of his head. "Are you done being an idiot already?"

He continues to pretend to be clueless, "I don't know what you mean."

I roll my head and scoff. "Dude. Both of us here know that the only reason she hugged Sahil right now is to get to you. And you know the best part? It is getting to you."

He denies with a tight lip, "I'm not... jealous. She can do whatever she wants. I don't care."

Again, I scoff. Lies. "Keep telling yourself that. I just hope you get your act together before it's too late."

He turns to me with his forehead scrunched, "What do you mean?"

I give him a knowing look, "This is Kriana we're talking about, Girish. She won't wait around for forever. It's obvious you both have feelings for each other and you're both miserable. So, do us all a favor and stop being a stubborn ass. Tell her already."

He mutters, "Let's just order something."

Ugh. What more can I do? I can't put a gun to his head and force him to confess his feelings. I hope he'll atleast give it a thought on his own time rather than dismissing my advice entirely.

We walk up to where they are and I greet Sanya with a side hug. "Hi, babe."

She leans into me keeping her hand on top of mine which is resting around her front, "Hi, you."

I greet Shreya and Sahil as well with a quick nod. Then we walk into the parlor and give our orders, before finding an empty table. Not enough chairs, however. It's a popular hang out spot for the youth and given it is Saturday, it's very much crowded. There are only four chairs and six of us.

Sanya takes a chair, "I've been standing the whole day when painting so my feet hurt."

I shrug my shoulder giving my excuse, "I'm just lazy."

My response is met with eyes being rolled, a scoff, and a couple of shaking heads. Oh well.

Kriana takes Sanya's arm, pulling her up and speaking to me, "If you want to be lazy, least you can do is carry your girlfriend's weight." With that, she nudges Sanya in my direction who mutters under her breath about how Kriana is being bossy as she sits on my lap. Shreya gets back at her for Sanya by pushing Kriana to scoot so they can share a chair while Sahil and Girish take the other two chairs.

Kriana is purposefully talking to Sahil while Shreya, Girish and I are in conversation with Sanya sitting back and just listening to us. She may have gotten comfortable with joining us at places, but she still prefers one-on-one conversations rather than group situations. Since we are all aware of it, we leave her be in her comfort space.

When our order comes in, Girish goes to get the tray. Each of us recognize our orders and we grab them. After a bite or two, Sanya forwards her spoon to my mouth. I ask, "What flavor?"

"You'll like it," is all she says as she feeds it to me.

Kriana slips and just before she'll fall on her butt, she grabs the edge of the table. She throws Shreya a stink glare before speaking to Sanya, "San, switch."

Sanya refuses, "I'm not playing musical chairs with you."

Kriana dramatically says, "You are no longer my sister," and tries to walk around the chair Shreya is sitting on but her foot hits the leg of the chair causing her to wince back. She normally does not have a clumsiness issue. That is usually Arshiya's department. I'll say she is just cranky today leading her to these bumps and accidents.

I hide my face in Sanya's shoulder to keep from laughing. "I'm leaving," she announces in a huff abandoning her half-eaten cup on the table and walks around us. As she passes us, she punches the back of my shoulder for laughing at her.

Ouch. And, I am not being a wuss. She's got a mean hook. It actually divers an impact. I suppose I only have myself to blame for teaching her.

Sahil asks when she reaches the entrance to step outside, "Is no one going to stop her?"

I reply, "Nah, I'm her ride home. She's not going anywhere. She'll cool off and come back."

"Oh," he says.

I look intently at Girish and a second later, he catches my gaze. I squint at him, passing a silent answer. We don't need to go after her, but he most definitely does. He exhales dropping his spoon in the cup and slouches back in the chair. Then, a moment later, he straightens up and I assume he'll go talk to her. But Kriana chooses that moment to walk back - out of cue.

Reaching us, she snatches her cup, leaning over the table to avoid having to walk around the back of our chairs and risking any further mishaps. Saying nothing to us, she walks out again.

She is irritated, but not enough to ditch her ice-cream.

Girish says a few colorful words under his breath before mumbling, "I'll be right back," and pushes the chair back to stand up.

Sanya quietly says to me, "They better solve it this time."

"One can hope," I reach for my spoon with one hand and put the other around Sanya, leaving it loosely just above her knee. She stiffens at first when my fingers graze her bare skin since she is wearing shorts. I guess my hands were cold again since the next moment, she relaxes and continues eating her ice cream.

*✧✤--------------------------✤✧*

Roughly 5 minutes later, Kriana walks back angrily putting her melted ice cream on the table with a thud. "We're going home."

Without waiting for a response from us, she walks back outside. All of us confused, we stand up to leave. On the way out, we pass Girish and I hang back letting the others continue ahead so I can demand, "What the fuck did you say to her?"

"Nothing!" He exclaims and when I raise a brow of disbelief, he mutters, "I did what I always do."

"Which is?" I prod.

"I kissed her."

The next second, I slap the back of his head. When he complains with an 'ow', I scold him. "You dumbass. I told you to talk to her. Which mean with words - not your mouth."

He has the nerve to say, "Words come out of mouth too."

I hit him again, "Don't be a smartass right now!" I am usually not a violent person but right now, the idiot is just asking for it. Don't you agree?

He frowns to himself and we catch up with the rest. Sanya says to Shreya, "Do you want to come with us?"

Shreya asks in return, "Isn't everyone away for Fashion week?"

I reply, "Yup, which is why we're going to Kriana's and I figured I'd give my parents the weekend to themselves. Besides, Ishaan is coming over tomorrow to help Kriana study so you can go back with him if you want."

"Good idea," she counts herself in and so, all of us pile up in the car to spend the rest of the weekend at Kriana's place... and just hope that Kriana's mood will sort itself out after the mind games Girish keeps throwing her way.

*✧✤--------------------------✤✧*

| Author Note |

Does someone want to volunteer to knock some sense into Girish?

QOTC: I'm plotting something (imagine evil hands behind a computer screen) that affects everyone. Not just Rihaan and Sanya but entire family. Any guesses?

Next update will be next year! (Gah, where did 2019 go?)