CHAPTER 13

COLD AND LIMP

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"What?" Everyone asked in unison, and the sky decided that was the right time to send thunder.

"I don't know... what if it left a mark on me or something?"

"That's ridiculous." I took a step toward Aiden and punched him in the gut. Yeah, he deserved that. "I wish I could punch you in the face but you are too tall for me."

"Ouch..." He dramatized the pain with an exuberant chuckle. I handed him his phone.

And it started to drizzle. I wasn't dressed exactly for the weather. What was wrong with the sky and clouds? Why did it have to conspire against me so much? When I carried the raincoat, it never rained. When I didn't, it rained. I was determined to defeat the rain. I'd carry my raincoat everywhere.

"Margo, we've got you. You know that. No need to be fretful." Irsia's placating voice didn't do the trick.

I couldn't come up with a retorting answer. I was still angry and my running nose did add insult to injury. "Do you have Kleenex at your home?" Yeah, I couldn't hold in whatever was trying to run out of my nose.

Aiden's smile grew. His jesting attitude did not fit in the scene well. I stared straight at him, sucking air into my nose, contracting my nostrils. He laughed even more.

"Shut up," I warned him. "Do you know how hard it was to put pause on my running nose to find Miles?"

He laughed harder. "It was the walk in the frigid air from school. Did you eat an ice cream or something? Did I fail to hit or am I getting warmer?"

He stirred me up. He wouldn't dare mention our interesting walk home when Elec was in the vicinity, but he had a nice time ribbing me.

Elec was still limping. She probably needed to go see a doctor. I asked Irsia to throw out her Kleenex pack out the window. I looked ridiculous. Miles walked up to Elec's car and drove her car to Irsia's home. Either he was stupid, or brave, or he would just about do anything for Elec.

I waited near Irsia's fence for a good 5 minutes. I warned her to be quick. I was drenched completely. I was getting anxious by the minute, thinking about what I would tell my mother about my drenched clothes. I thought I would tell her that I got drenched when I walked to my home from Elec's home after finishing the assignment. It was just literally 10-foot steps to her house from mine. But maybe she'd believe that. Well, I couldn't think of any other reason to tell her.

I saw Elec getting into her car. I'd drive her home, but I hate driving in the rain. I was literally holding my breath, keeping my head elevated. Yeah, like that was going to help. The Kleenex pack hit me in my temple and fell down near my feet on the ground. The outer pack was doused. When had something gone my way?

I took out a Kleenex and blew my nose. I blew in another 2 tissues to my heart's content and I walked toward Elec's car. I saw Miles leaving on his bike and Aiden was still looking at me, like he was suppressing a laughter, and completely drenched with his clothes clinching over his lithe muscles. I gave him a stare while he ran his hand through his deluged hair and waved to me as he jogged to his home. I got in and drove. It wasn't a heavy pour of rain, but it kept pouring like a soft shower. The wind kept whooshing too much. I turned on the wiper.

"What are you going to tell your mom about your leg?"

She gave me a funny stare. "Is that what you are worried about? I can lie unlike someone else in the car."

"As what?"

"As I slipped outside Irsia's home."

"I can't tell that as a reason to my mom if she asks how you hurt your leg," I yelped.

"You tell your mom that I fell from a chair while cleaning a window. If needed, add more substance. Tell her I saw a roach and the chair toppled over."

I felt relieved hearing her teach me how to lie. My mom could believe that. I let out a sigh of relief, but still something didn't feel right. Maybe it was because of the ghost touching me.

"What would you tell your mom about the drenched clothes?" she quizzed, wrinkling her eyebrows in a slight worriment.

My face lit up as I already had an answer to that. "That I got drenched as I walked from your home to my home."

"You are getting good at this." She laughed, appraisingly. "I actually pictured you standing frozen; not knowing what to lie." She laughed again at my inability.

Still, there was some part of me, telling me that something was going to go wrong. As we reached her home, I helped her walk till her front door and she assured me she could walk inside by herself. I walked to my home, holding the Kleenex pack. Oh! No! I had forgotten about this. Thank goodness, I noticed it before I walked in. I threw it in the garbage outside my home and I walked to the front door. It was locked. I knocked and knocked. The TV noise slightly overruled my brusque knock. She opened the door with a stare. Meaning of that stare - 'do you think you could come and go as you please?' I walked in without explaining anything. But there was no escaping my mother's interrogation.

"You know it is raining, right?" she asked.

I continued climbing the stairs, curbed.

"Why didn't you carry your raincoat or get an umbrella from Elec and walk home?" she had found something to accuse me. Great.

I still didn't answer.

"Yeah, go ahead and remove your drenched clothes and put it in the laundry basket. Easy. Because you have a mother who can wash your clothes."

I didn't see that coming. Everything went sideways from what I had planned.

"Am I your mother or am I servant here?" she shouted again.

Yeah, that was it. "You know what mom, I happened to have the same doubt, too," I squealed, shutting the door behind me.

I went to the window to shut it and I saw Elec standing near her window. It was the time when we both closed our windows. It was almost 9 PM. I knew she heard it all. "I am fine." I nodded assuring her.

"I am sorry," she muttered.

"You don't have to be."

I shut the window and went into the shower. I couldn't hold it any longer. My eyes ran with my nose. I felt terrible. I threw the clothes in the laundry basket and I hit the sack.

Bedtime was my over-thinking time. I had so many things to overthink. The horror that I just experienced in Auroville Villa was nothing compared to the one that I faced every day at home. Maybe that was why I wasn't scared of the ghost incident anymore. Fighting with my mom overruled the ghost's horror. My mind started with my mom interrogating me always. That was the only form of conversation I had with my mother. Was yelling at her wrong? But I couldn't help it. Words just flew out of my mouth. I was that angry. 

My thoughts floated to Auroville Villa. So, there had been a ghost lurking in Auroville Villa. Though it creeped me out, there was a corner of my heart that felt sorry for the ghost. She didn't deserve to be murdered. I couldn't imagine how vengeful she could be. I imagined it wouldn't be easy for people who became ghosts by murder to forgive the murderer and cross over to the other side.

I mean, I couldn't even forgive my ex-boyfriend who cheated on me yet. Yeah, time to overthink about that. I knew, I was way over him. I didn't have feelings for him, but the thing that bothered me the most was that he made a fool out of me. I couldn't bear the thought that he made a fool out of me and got away so easily. I felt my temperature rising with rage. I wish I had my phone. Watching some funny videos could have helped. It was still raining. I didn't know when I fell asleep. All I could remember was waking up to Elec calling me from her window.

"Hey, Walker... it's 7 AM."

Shit. I over-thought a lot of things, but it didn't occur to me that I hadn't set an alarm. I didn't know how I missed important details like this when I overthought.

"Yeah, I am getting ready." I jumped out of my bed to open the window and turned on the water heater.

"Walker, I need a favor," she asked.

"Sure..." I answered louder from my mirror.

"Can you drive us to school? My ankle isn't good yet."

"Why don't you go to the hospital?" I went to the window.

"It's better but I am not fully out of pain."

"If I tell my mom that I am driving, she would have a heart attack." I whisper-yelled.

"Walker, please..." She never used that word. Like never.

"Okay. But promise me that you will go see a doctor this evening."

"If it's still painful by evening, sure" she promised.

I got ready sharp at 8 AM. The rain had stopped, but the sky didn't give up the grey. Not a peep of sun. As I was about to walk down the stairs, for a moment, I pondered if I should really tell my mom that I was going to drive Elec to school? She would definitely berate. Did I really need that early in the morning? There was no escaping her anyway. I took my raincoat. If only I had something like that to defeat my mom's interrogation. I saw that my dad had already left for work. There was no sign of him, or he must have pulled an all-nighter at work. I didn't even know if the man came home anymore. After I finished my breakfast and left the plate at the sink, I saw that my mom had packed me lunch. I took it and shoved it into my bag while she was slurping her coffee.

"I am driving Elec's car today," I declared, loud and crystal.

"What? You are driving? Why can't you walk?"

"She sprained her ankle. She can't walk."

"She sprained her ankle?"

What was it with her? Why did she have to repeat whatever I said? I knew either I was going to yell at her or she would yell at me. I knew I couldn't control her, but I could control myself. So, I promised myself not to yell at her.

"She fell from the chair yesterday."

"She fell from the chair?" Her stare brimmed with incredulity.

"Yes mom... she fell from the chair."

"How did she fall from the chair?"

"She saw a roach and she fell from the chair." I formed the words really calm and totally unflappable.

She kept staring at me. Maybe she thought that I'd give her a big explanation and a description of how she fell, but that's not usually how things went between me and my parents. I felt so annoyed to talk to her and I lashed out. But hey... at least, I didn't yell at her. I drove Elec to school. Her limping had gotten better. She wore flats. Elec in flats? That's riotous.

As we reached the parking lot, I saw the mayflower tree. Nooo... Margo, stop thinking about that, I said to myself as I got out the car. I realized a state-of-the-art heat in my cheeks.

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