TV is chewing gum for the eyes.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Chapter 6:

   Madhan looked at Riya. Their so called date was proceeding quite disastrously. He decided to stay quiet till they reached the mechanical shop. He couldn't blame her for being so snappy. But only because he was three hours late.

   Still.

   He was terrified of her.

   After what felt like an eternity, Riya finally spoke up.

   "So, right now we aren't doing a good job of getting to know each other. Let's play 'Would you rather'," she said, her mood surprisingly brightening up.

   Hmmm, so maybe this really excites her. If only he knew what he was in for when she started asking questions.  

   "You'll be given a situation and you have to choose one option. I'll ask you first," she continued, quite gleefully.

   "Okay, go on," Madhan said.

   "Would you rather go out with a girl who is extremely beautiful, but a witch, or an ugly girl who is as sweet as an angel?"

   "You."

   "Okay, that's insulting. Really. Either you're calling me a witch or ugly."

   Madhan chuckled. "I would choose an ugly girl who is an angel. But you're beautiful and sweet."

   Riya rolled her eyes. "Oh please, don't kid me. I've been snapping at you for the past one hour."

   "Well, I did make you wait for three hours." 

   "Touché. We are even. Now your turn," Riya chirped.

   "Hmm, would you rather curl up and read a book in your room, or dance at a club in the night?"

   "Read a book. Not that I don't love dancing. I really do. But take me to dance classical, and I will."

   "You've learned Bharathanatyam?" Madhan asked, impressed. 

   "God, every South Indian knows some art form. "

   "Oh right," Madhan said, scratching the back of his neck. There was something about Riya that he felt he could trust. She was so open, and bold, and most importantly, spoke from her heart. He knew right then that he wanted to marry her.

   "Alright, next question. Hmmm, hot or cold?"

   "Cold. Day or Night?"

   "Night. Fat and pretty, thin and ugly?"

   "Thin and ugly. You?" Madhan watched her apprehensively.

   "Oh definitely a fat and pretty girl," Riya chuckled. "So much for being smart," Madhan muttered. 

   "Relax, are you always this boring?"

   Ouch. That hurt a lot.

   "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. Just asked if you preferred safe and quiet than loud and adventure."

   "None taken. I've always been the quiet type. My sister was the perky one. Mom is going ballistic over the new tattoo that she desperately wants."

   Riya smiled. "I used to be like that too. But then, after I experimented with everything, I just got bored you know?"

   "What did you experiment?" Madhan asked, curiously.

   "I don't know. Tattoos, triple ear pierces. I got a tongue pierce too. Oh yeah, and I colored my hair blue."

   Madhan's eyes bulged. Standing right in front of him was a petite innocent looking girl. It was absolutely unbelievable that she tried all those things. Mom had mentioned they were conservative. Wasn't this included too?

   Riya suddenly shrieked. "You should have seen your face. You were totally blue. I was just messing with you, dude. My mom would KILL me if I ever got my hair colored blue.

   Madhan weaved a sigh of relief. "Thank god. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

   Riya stopped laughing. "My mom said I could do whatever I want after I get married. You WILL let me do whatever I want, right?" she asked seriously.

   Madhan's relief instantly vanished. "Like what," he asked, warily. He preferred good, homely girls. Now he wasn't so sure if  Riya was whom she appeared to be. Judgmental, he thought, but that was how he was brought up.  

   "Anything," Riya said, simply.

   "Depends, I guess?" Madhan said.

   Riya stopped abruptly, stepped in front of him, and faced him. "You look here. No one, I repeat, NO ONE tells me what to do or not to do when it comes to doing something I want, to myself." 

   Holy cow. What's with this girl, he thought. She terrified him.

   "Fine, on one condition, though, " he said.

   "What?" Riya snapped.

   "You have to tell me what you're doing before you do it. You can't just do it, and drop the bomb on me like that."

   Riya laughed. She actually laughed.

   "Alright. You've got yourself a deal, " she said, smiling.

   Phew. Dang, this woman. 

   "Sooooo..." Madhan trailed.

   "Let's finish the game," Riya said and asked her next question. "Do you sing while you bathe? Why do girls have to shave their armpits, and boys don't? If you were to go back to high school, what would you change? Why is the dead sea called dead?" 

   "Yes. Because it's too much work, and we have no patience. I would work out and stop pigging on junk food, and it's called dead cause there is too much salt and a dead body can float in it."

   "Whoa dude. Are you a genius or what?" Riya asked him, in awe.

   Madhan prided on his intelligence. He was always the school topper and the college and university gold medalist. He worked in a Data Science company, "WinterBlue". He got his job when he was twenty-four. It was a start-up, which is doing very well now. And now he was a software engineer there. In two years, he'll be promoted to Product Manager. It was the reason why he didn't take days off.

   "Something like that," Madhan said, humbly.

   Riya kept quiet after that.

   After about five minutes of silence, Madhan was getting worried about Riya's silence. She suddenly kept quiet. "Cat ate your tongue?" he asked.

   "Ew, no. I hate cats."

   "Why?"

   "Cause it ate my pet bird."

   "Oh."

   "Yeah."

   Suddenly, there was lightning, and loud thunder following it. 

   "Eeeeek," Riya shouted. Madhan looked at her funnily. "Sorry," she apologized. "It took me by surprise," she said, defensively.

   The first droplets hit the ground, and in two minutes it was pouring heavily. There was a shop with a roof over it, a couple of hundred meters away. Everywhere else there was no shelter.

   "Run Riya! I'll bring the scooty in a few," he said.

   "No, I'll come with you. I can't leave you alone in the rain."

   "Riya, enough. Just run, please," he pleaded.

   "Nope," Riya said, stubbornly.

   Madhan didn't want to say it explicitly, but Riya was wearing a white shirt, and it was completely drenched. He could see the outline of her bra, and knew that other men wouldn't hesitate to stare at her.

   "Riya, for god's sake, you're wearing a white shirt. Just go, will you?"

   "AHHH," Riya freaked, as she looked down. "Oh shoot." And she didn't bother to look back as she ran to the shop in front.

   Madhan looked around warily. Luckily, there weren't many men around, and in two minutes, he got the scooter to the shop.

   He saw Riya hugging herself, protecting her from the people around. "I'll be back in a minute," he told her and ran across the street. He walked into Mega Mart, and approached a salesperson.

   "Hello. Where might I find a raincoat for women?" he asked, politely.

   The salesperson, who's name was Bhrahma, motioned to follow him, and took him to a room where there were racks filled with coats for girls.

   "What's the size," Bhrahma asked.

   "Erm, I'm not sure. But I guess size thirty-eight maybe?" 

   He nodded and showed him the jackets in that size. 

   Madhan chose one that went all the way till her feet. "I'll take that purple one, " he said, pointing to it.

   Bhrahma took it and sent it for wrapping at the counter. 

   Madhan goes to the ground floor, to pay for the coat, but sees a long line. Sighing, he stands in line. He looked out the window, to see Riya standing there. She seemed to be doing okay. There were quite a few people there, so he was glad she was safe.

   After ten minutes, his turn finally came. No sooner than he gave the money to clerk, then he heard Riya shout his name. Muttering to the clerk to keep the change, he grabbed the raincoat and rushed out the shop. He was a second too close to hitting a bus when he crossed the road.

   Riya walked to him and asked if they could leave now. Madhan unfolded the raincoat and put it over her. Riya thanked him gratefully, walking ahead, and telling him to bring the scooter along. It was still pouring, but Riya didn't want to wait there.

   They walked for another five minutes, when Madhan asked Riya quietly, "Are you okay?" 

   Riya nodded her head. Pulling the coat more closely to herself, she didn't offer to say anything more.

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