WARNING:
EMOTIONAL CONTENT.
Includes mentions of bullying, deceased parent, emotional distress, infertility struggles.

The day after the disastrous debate competition, Rowan nervously waited by the school gates. Every bone in his body wanted to leave, but his perfect attendance record was at stake.

"Alright, Stink Breath?", called out a student, slapping a hand on Rowan's back as he walked past.

A few students laughed, and one of them even started stuttering to mock Rowan after what happened at the debate. Rowan hung his head down, cringing inside when he looked at his snickering peers.

"Rowan!", exclaimed Irene.

She jogged over to him, her ponytail swaying from side to side. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Ok so I've been brainstorming some ideas for entertainment", said Irene. "For the football rally", she clarified.

"You have?"

Irene nodded. "The rest of us have already sorted out the decorations, so I thought I'd help you with the entertainment search!"

"Wow, that's... great, thank you."

"You're welcome", smiled Irene. "We could share our ideas at lunch?"

Rowan's face brightened. "I'd love to!"

James and his friends were stood on the courtyard, by one of the entrances to the building. Rowan and Irene attempted to hide behind other students as they made their way into the building.

"Woah, woah, where do you think you're going?", called out James.

Irene grabbed Rowan's hand and tried to steer him away, but James was too quick. James and his friends formed a circle around Rowan and Irene, eyeing them like they were prey.

"Right bunch of weirdos you two are, aren't you?", questioned James.

"Look, we don't want any trouble", said Irene.

James laughed cruelly. "Aw, are the little babies going to cry? I don't know why you'd even show your face here after that sh*t show yesterday."

"Seriously you were a train wreck bro", said one of James' friends.

"Oi! Leave him alone!", yelled Eloise, with Spencer and Atlas following behind her.

James scoffed. "Oh look who's here to save the day!"

"I suggest you shut your mouth before I pull more of your hair out", said Eloise.

"Oh yeah, cos Patel's really going to like that isn't he? Starting another fight? God knows what other things he'd have us do."

"Look, just stop picking on them", said Atlas.

"Why are you always trying to be Mr. Nice Guy, Atlas?", asked another one of James' friends.

"That's just who he is", answered Spencer. "Not that you'd know anything about being nice."

"Oh, look who finally found their tongue! You better shove it back in before you end up like your dead dad", said James.

"Oh, f*ck that!", exclaimed Eloise.

She lunged at him, waving her arms around so that she could scratch him. Spencer would've loved to see James pay for what he said, but he cared more about keeping Eloise out of trouble. Spencer, Atlas and Irene grabbed Eloise, in an attempt to restrain her. Rowan would've helped too, but his path was blocked by one of James' friends.

Amongst the fray, Zee slipped through the group and grabbed one of James' friends. She pinned him against the wall.

"What the h*ll?", he yelled.

"Listen here, Richie. You're going to get James to back off Rowan and Irene, ok?"

Richie scoffed. "The f*ck would I do that for?"

"Because I know it was you who pulled the fire alarm last week. And you've got so many detentions they should name the detention room after you. How do you think your parents will feel when they find out their only son is this close to being expelled from school?"

Richie tried to play it cool. There was no way Zee could've known he pulled the alarm. But Zee was the resident secret keeper around here. Could he really take that risk?

"Fine. I'll get him to back off. Just delete that footage!"

"What on Earth is going on here?", questioned Aahan.

The group were holding Eloise's legs, while Eloise was almost about to take a bite out of James' arm. In her defence, it was just so he would release his grip on her.

"Sir!", exclaimed Rowan. "We were just-"

"I don't want to hear it!", he interjected. "Why do you always have to let me down?"

"But Sir, if you'd just ask us why-", said Spencer.

"I don't care why!", shouted Aahan. "I care about you lot upholding your end of our... agreement."

Aahan sighed, throwing his hands up. "Why do I even bother? Why did I even expect you to be anything but let-downs? I could never get as lucky as to meet people who actually listen to me."

At a loss for words, the group just headed inside. Being labelled let-downs was quite ironic, actually. They were the ones who had been let down.

Elliott spotted Zee walking into the building. He had shown her his fancy room. He had stood up for Rowan. There was no way she could turn him down now. So, he did the same thing he did every other day. He pulled out a small packet of cookies, and offered it to Zee. She hadn't accepted it yet, but he felt like his luck was finally about to change.

"Zee! Hey, Zee!", he called out, jogging towards her. "Uh, I just went to the shop and, stupidly, the cashier... she gave me an extra bag of cookies."

Zee crossed her arms. "Oh really? Your cashier does that an awful lot, doesn't she?"

Elliott nodded. "Yep. Um... she should totally get fired."

"Have you corrected her?"

"Well, no-"

"Then why would you want her to get fired over a mistake she didn't know she was making?"

"Uh..."

"Is there a point to this because I've got to get to tutor group."

"Yes! Of course there is. Well... would you, maybe, want the bag of cookies?"

"No. Maybe save them for your snack tomorrow, Ethan."

¤¤¤

At the Patel household, Mr. and Mrs Patel were getting ready for the arrival of their daughters and son in laws. Today would be the first time in years where they'd all be under one roof. Aahan had spent the better part of his afternoon trying to get all of the mattresses down from the loft.

Aahan's brothers would be sleeping in Aahan's room, with Ganesh's eight year old triplet sons sleeping on a mattress next to them. Aahan's sisters Davkha and Yuvati would get the spare room, but they'd be sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Their sister in laws would get to sleep on the bed, which was fortunately big enough for the three of them to share. Aadit's ten year old daughter and Ganesh's nine year old daughter would be sharing a mattress in that same room, with Aadi's three year old daughter sleeping in the living room with her grandparents.

The siblings protested against letting Yuvati and her husband take their parents room, but they were surprisingly adamant that they should get a room all to themselves. Aahan's usual spot on the sofa was safe though.

The delicious smell of spices and herbs wafted through the house. Aahan's mother was making her famous vada pavs-deep fried potato dumplings sandwiched between two buns. The grandchildren loved them. Aahan's father was in charge of making the butter chicken-the only dish he cooked that Aahan and his siblings actually liked.

"Aahan, hurry up with the chai!", exclaimed his mother. "They'll be here any minute."

Aahan carefully poured the steaming hot chai into teacups-the fine china ones that were only reserved for special occasions. He wiped away the droplets of chai that had landed on the kitchen counter, before placing them on a dark green tray that had gold paint swirls on it.

A knock at the door startled everyone, despite the fact that Ganesh had already told everyone that the spouses and children were on their way.

"They're here!", called out Davkha.

¤¤¤

After letting the children play in the garden, the in-laws and Aahan's siblings sat in the living room, with his grandparents. Ganesh and his wife Meera sat by the dining room table. Meera was wearing a deep blue Anarkali salwar kameez. She always looked very modest and put-together, like Ganesh actually. Her dark brown and blonde balayage hair was loosely curled.

Aadi and his wife Ananji were sitting across from Ganesh and Meera. She was wearing a bright pink salwar kameez, with her perfect makeup complimenting it perfectly. She had pink winged eyeliner on to match her salwar kameez. Her jet black hair was crimped.

Aadit and his wife Francesca were sitting on one of the sofas in the room. Francesca was wearing a black midi dress that had little sunflowers on it. Her light brown hair was straightened, her curtain bangs shaping her face in a way that made her electric blue eyes pop.

Davkha's fiance couldn't make it today, and Yuvati's husband Naveen was running late, so they sat with Aahan on his 'bed.' Davkha was wearing a mint green salwar kameez and her hair was loosely curled, the silky smooth curls cascading down her back. Yuvati was wearing a dark green pantsuit and her black hair was straightened perfectly.

"How have things been at work, Aahan?", questioned Francesca. "Aadit mentioned that you got a placement at a school."

"Uh, it's only a temporary one", corrected Aadit.

Aahan liked Francesca. When Aadit first introduced Francesca to his family, he had just started university. His parents were not pleased, as they were hoping he'd find a nice Indian girl, preferably one who was a Hindu. She told cheesy jokes and tried to insert facts about Hinduism into every conversation, which Aahan deduced was something she assumed would 'prove her worth.' Her genuine kindness and protectiveness of Aadit won their parents over though.

Franesca was an outsider in this family for a long time, and Aahan felt like he could relate to her in that way.

Aadit and Francesca were a very close couple. Their chemistry was electric. They wouldn't even need to say anything. You could feel it in the way they wouldn't let go of each other's hands. In the way she'd rest her head against his shoulder. In the way his eyes never left her face whenever she spoke.

"It's going well", replied Aahan. "It's a lot of marking though. I'm starting to understand why most of my teachers were miserable", he joked.

"Oh don't get me started, I'm dreading when Kajal starts at school", said Ananji, placing a hand on Aadi's arm. "With our DNA she's going to be a right handful!"

"Going to be? She was a sassy madam the second she was born", said Aadi.

Ananji and Aadi's marriage came as a shock to quite literally everyone. Aadi was a very funny and goofy child. He loved to make people happy too. A friend once dared him to lick a public handrail and he did. He was twenty three. His behaviour started to improve, and although he was still a fun-loving guy, he became more responsible too. When he came home one day and told his parents about Ananji, they were speechless. Someone had actually managed to tame him? They invited her over for dinner, and even Aahan had to admit that seeing them together just felt right. They made each other laugh, and they matched each other's crazy energy, but Ananji helped Aadi realise that there was a time and a place.

Aahan watched how they interacted. They had pushed their chairs closer together, and Aahan could see them sneak a few fistbumps and chuckles under the table. They were just as fun and lovable as ever.

"Disciplining the triplets was a nightmare at first, but you quickly pick up on tricks to help make it more manageable", said Meera.

"Yes, Leela is much more well-behaved", said Ganesh.

"Well, that reminds me of Aadi and Aadit then!", laughed their father.

Meera, like Ganesh, was quite reserved. Even from a young age, Ganesh acted like the man of the house. He never undermined their father, but when it was time for someone to step up, whether that was picking up forgotten lunches or picking a sibling up from an after school club, Ganesh would. Meera and Ganesh's marriage was an arranged marriage. Both of them wanted to get married, but their busy schedules left very little time for dating. They asked their parents to help them find spouses, and eventually it was decided that Meera and Ganesh would be a good match. They were apprehensive after the first date, but they soon realised how much they had in common. Aahan never saw them being affectionate with each other. They didn't kiss, and in fact Aahan had only ever seen them hold hands twice. But when they looked at each other, it was clear as day how much they loved each other. Ganesh looked at Meera with so much pride, and even now Meera blushes when Ganesh catches her glancing over at him at events.

There was a knock at the door, and Aahan's father left to answer it. Looking around at all of the couples, Aahan felt more alone than ever.

"Look who is here!", exclaimed their father.

A tall man with gelled back black hair and a dark blue suit on, entered the living room. He had a warm smile on his face, which brightened when everyone smiled at him.

"Sat sri akal", he greeted.

"Naveen! So glad you could make it, man", said Aadit, getting up to shake his hand.

"Ah, my favourite son in-law!", beamed their mother.

"He's your only son in-law", said Aadi.

"Not for much longer!", remarked Davkha, making everyone laugh.

"Well I welcome the company!", grinned Naveen.

Aahan was surprised to see that Yuvati's face didn't light up when she saw him. In fact, she looked more uncomfortable than anything else. When Naveen approached her, he didn't lean in for a hug or a kiss. He didn't even touch her arm. Instead, he nodded his head at her and sat down, keeping a small gap between them.

"Oh, Davkha, move somewhere else so Naveen and Yuvi can sit closer, beti", said their mother.

Yuvati shook her head. "No, Mum. It's fine. There's plenty of time for that later."

Davkha leaned closer to the couple.

"Especially now that Mum and Dad have given you a whole bed to yourselves", she grinned.

Aahan watched as Yuvati's smile fell.

¤¤¤

Aahan was in the kitchen, getting his niece Kajal to eat. She was a particularly picky eater, and her parents were trying to sneak things into her meals in a way that would mask their taste.

"I don't like aloo, Chacha", said Leela.

"I know, but aloo gobi is really nice. You can't even taste the potato in it", he lied.

Leela shook her head. "Yes you can!"

Aahan sighed. "Leela, Daadi made it especially for you. She worked really hard on it."

Leela frowned. "But I don't like it!"

"Ok, ok... do you still like ketchup?"

Leela nodded.

Aahan chuckled. "Yeah, I remember how you loved to put ketchup on everything! I tell you what, why don't I find some ketchup to put on the aloo gobi?"

Aloo gobi wasn't traditionally eaten with ketchup, and he'd probably get shouted at by Ganesh for letting her douse it in ketchup, but the most important thing to Aahan right now was getting her to eat. She'd develop a taste for it later.

Ganesh's triplets Akash, Ajay and Arjun ran into the living room, screaming at the top of their lungs. They were having a pillow fight with Aadit's ten year old daughter Avni. Their screams pierced through Aahan's ears. Going from near-silence to screaming in the space of a few hours was difficult to adjust to.

Aahan spotted his mother leaving the toilet.

"Oh, Mum!", he called out. He lowered his voice, to a whisper, when he reached her. "Um, I don't know if it's serious, but earlier Yuvati and Naveen... they just seemed a little off."

"Off? What nonsense is this, Aahan?"

"No, no it's not nonsense. I think, maybe they're having tr-"

"Listen, beta. Don't worry yourself with silly theories. They're fine."

"But Mum-"

"They're fine, Aahan", she said sternly.

Aahan frowned. "Ok. Yeah. Sorry, yeah you're right."

Despite his mother's insistence, Aahan couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with Yuvati and Naveen. Drained from the socialising and being pushed aside, Aahan decided to retreat to the attic.

To his surprise, Yuvati was sat in the corner of the attic, a photo album in her hands. She had a fond smile on her face.

"Yuvati?", he called out. "What are you doing up here?"

Startled, the older sibling slammed the book shut, dust particles jumping out and getting in her mouth. She coughed heartily, waving her hand in the air to get rid of the dust.

"Uh... Aahan! I'm just... getting something for Mum."

"Oh what are you getting?"

"Um, the new utensils! The fancy ones."

"They're downstairs, in the cupboard in the living room", he said.

"Oh..."

"What's really going on? Why are up here?"

Realising that her brother wasn't going to back down, she let out a strained sigh.

"I just needed some space."

"Space from who?"

"Everyone. I don't... just everyone."

Aahan could see that his sister was holding back on the truth. Her lips were pressed together, and her eyebrows were furrowed, as if she were contemplating revealing the truth.

"Is it... is it Naveen?"

Yuvati's eyes widened, and she quickly looked up at her younger brother. The earnest expression on his face told Yuvati he didn't just hazard a guess.

"Yes."

"I knew it! Did he... did he do something to you?"

Yuvati gasped. "What? Oh God, no! How could you even think that?"

"Well, he... he didn't, look you two barely smiled at each other today! And you didn't hug or... Yuvati, I saw your face. You looked uncomfortable when he came into the room."

Aahan expected some retaliation from Yuvati, but all she did was stare at him. After a few seconds, she turned back to the photo album and opened it up. She chuckled at one of the pictures. It was from about twenty five years ago. Yuvati and her siblings were building sandcastles at the beach. Naturally, hers was the best architecturally.

"Do you remember this day, Aahan? You desperately wanted to be like us big kids, but you ended up sobbing profusely when your castle crumbled instantly."

Aahan chuckled bitterly. "Nothing's changed there then."

Yuvati furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Aahan sighed. "Just... I finally get a good job and any semblance of control I get over the students just seems to... crumble away."

"Well, Aahan, you're the adult. You're the only one with the control. Don't let the students think they have any."

"I've tried that! They just... they don't seem to respect me."

"But you're the teacher."

"I know!"

"Well, I can't say that I've ever struggled with something like this. I've always been authoritative. But... I suppose teenagers are different."

"How do you mean?"

"Oh please, you must remember what it was like to be a teenager! All the mischief Alison would rope you and Kofi into. All the worrying about trivial things that seem like they'd bring about the end of the world."

Aahan laughed. "I guess you have a point there."

"Of course I do. Just try to remember that they have a life outside of school, and that you have no real way of knowing what they entail."

Yuvati's words played around in Aahan's head. Admittedly, he hadn't really been treating the students like people. Just pawns in his games.

The rustling of a page pulled Aahan out of his thoughts. He looked over to see Yuvati looking at another picture. In this one, Yuvati was in some sort of inflatable suit, and her siblings were surrounding her, bowls of ice cream in their hands.

"Ah, I remember this one!", exclaimed
Aahan. "You always used to complain about how lumpy your mattress was, and how frail your bones were. So Mum put you in that costume so you wouldn't complain!"

Aahan laughed at the memory. He looked over at Yuvati, expecting her to laugh too. She had a smile on her face, but her eyes were brimming with tears.

"Yuvi...", whispered Aahan, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I wish I could go back to those days. Back to when I felt... loved."

As soon as the last word escaped her lips, Yuvati broke down, bringing her hands up to her face to muffle the crying.

"Yuvati... what are you talking about? You are loved."

Yuvati shook her head. "Naveen and I haven't slept in the same bed for the last few years."

"What? But Mum and Dad have give you their bed-"

"To try and... fix us."

"Fix you?"

"I told them about the problems Naveen and I have been having. They said we just need to make some time for ourselves but... that won't solve anything."

"Why?"

"You know, when Naveen and I first got married, we were at a stage in our lives where we just wanted to have a partner. I never really wanted children and Naveen did, but I think he was convinced that I'd change my mind one day."

Yuvati wiped the tears from her face.

"Well, things have been going well, and I won't lie... starting a family sounded really nice. Naveen and I built such great financial empires, and the idea of being able to pass that on to someone felt good."

Her breath hitched as she held back more tears. Unable to look at her brother, she looked down at the photo album.

"We tried for a baby. We tried really hard. But we found out that I was... infertile."

Aahan's face softened. He pulled his sister into a hug.

"Naveen was understanding, and never once blamed me, but I could tell that he was disappointed. And, to tell you the truth... I don't know if our marriage can survive with just the two of us."

Aahan held his sister closer. "That's A plus
bullsh*t, Yuvati. Children shouldn't be the only thing holding a marriage together."

Yuvati sobbed again, so Aahan gently rubbed her back.

"I just don't know if I can bear sleeping in the same bed as him. And I know it'll be awkward for him too. We'll have to spend all day in each other's pockets, and now all night too."

Aahan pictured his sister's miserable expression. He had seen it a lot in his lifetime, but it actually hurt to think of it in this context. It was no secret that Aahan was intimidated by Yuvati when he was younger. She seemed to be wise beyond her years, and she always knew how to make Aahan feel small. Not that it was ever intentional. Well, rarely. But Yuvati was also the person who had his back when he was being bullied in school. Who would stay up late to help him with university coursework.

"I tell you what, why don't you sleep on the sofa?", suggested Aahan. "You can try sleeping in the bed but if things get too awkward and you need a place to relax you can go to the sofa."

"I can't. What if Mum and Dad ask why I'm there?"

A soft laugh escaped Aahan's lips. "You can say you couldn't sleep on the lumpy mattress."

Despite her trying to fight against it, Yuvati couldn't help but laugh.

"Wait! But where will you sleep?"

"Oh, don't worry about me. I think Jo would let me stay at hers for a while."

"Jo? The neighbour across the road? You can't stay at some strange lady's house! What are Mum and Dad going to say?"

"She's not a strange lady, Yuvati. Plus, they know her well. I'll be fine, I promise."

Yuvati wrestled with her responses, unsure if this would be a good idea.

"Ok... I'll take you up on that offer."

Aahan grinned. Together, the two siblings looked through the photo album, laughing as they reminisced about simpler times.

An unsettled feeling bubbled away in his stomach. He had just given up his 'bed.' He hadn't actually checked with Jo first. He had a class full of students who didn't like him.

But for the first time all day, his big sister finally seemed relaxed.

Yeah.

It was worth it.

_________

Hi.

I know that reading big paragraphs can be a bit boring and time consuming, but please do not skip over the big paragraphs in this chapter. I mean, ideally don't do that in any chapter, but the ones in this chapter explain the relationships of Aahan's siblings with their spouses, which is very important to explain the larger family dynamic, and reinforce Aahan's own loneliness.

The group standing up for Rowan and Irene just cements how much I want a friendship group like them! And Zee doing her own little part to help behind the scenes-did you expect that?

Poor Elliott. It seems like his attempts at wooing Zee haven't been going too well. Do you have any advice for him?

Out of curiosity, which sibling marriage do you like the most? I know it was only a brief description, but is there one you thought would be quite cute if it was expanded upon?

Yuvati gave Aahan great advice! Do you think he'll take it? Infertility struggles is something that is quite common, and even though Yuvati isn't one of the main characters, I still wanted to touch on this struggle.

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

starryeyedturtle

DoodleYeet

LeMystical-Puffle

ejsandfarkleslovebot

Tornado-Jockey

Translation:

Daadi: Paternal grandmother.

SONG: All For You by Dean Lewis

• PLAYED WHEN YUVATI & AAHAN ARE LOOKING THROUGH PHOTOS TOGETHER •

• This is a love song, but some of the lyrics work with this particular storyline. Aahan loves his big sister, regardless of how unlovable she thinks she is. He loves how bossy she is. How protective she is. He loves her as she is, and that is so important because she isn't getting that from someone she's supposed to. It's also sad because Aahan doesn't feel very loved either.