We shared one table, but we were isolated. Vaish sat next to Nash, and read through the paper-menu card, as though it stated the world's most interesting facts; while Chanch sat beside me, and scraped off the nail-paint on her nails. Nash and I simply exchanged glances every now and then. In a room filled with jarring noise, loud silence was what we could hear on our table, and it was getting on my nerves.
"Are we punished? Why the silence?", I broke the hard ice that existed between the four of us. "Had I known that the 'hang-out' is going to be this amazing, I would have took the train back home straight from work", I straightforwardly said. "I'm completely drained, and I cannot believe I came this far to sit in silence", I huffed, and no one uttered a word back. "Stop scraping the nail-paint. I have a nail-polish remover at home, Chanch!", I scolded and slapped the back of Chanch's hand. "And Vaish, enough!", Nash attempted to snatch the menu from Vaish's hand, but Vaish held it firmly between her hands. "Vaish, I said...ENOUGH!", Nash's voice rose in annoyance, and she forcefully tugged the menu from Vaish's hand, ripping it apart. The sudden rise in Nash's voice forced the restaurant to fall silent and everyone turned their heads in our direction, shooting weird stares at Nash and Vaish, who held halves of one menu and had blank looks on their faces. Stupidly, I smiled at them and Chanch snickered; they looked hilarious.
"Uhm...", Nash cleared her throat and dropped one half of the menu on the table. "...we're sorry for the inconvenience", Vaish apologized, keeping her menu back on the table in slow motion, and everyone diverted their attention from them. Once noise began filling the room, again, Chanch and I hysterically laughed at them, right on their face. "I don't know what's funny about this, you bitches!", Nash scolded and stomped my foot from underneath the table. "You should have looked at your faces, your expressions would have cracked you up", words left Chanch's mouth between her laughs. "That's enough, Dityaa", Vaish rolled her eyes. "And what about Chanchal?", I raised my brow with a teasing smile, and Vaish exhaled, looking away from us. "She doesn't exist", Vaish muttered under her breath, but it was audible to the human ear, and at once, all of us fixed our gaze on Vaish. The deadly silence was back, and I could sense the drama that would break-out within seconds. "Vaish, yaar", Nash said softly, and shot a look of extreme disappointment at her, but she looked unbothered. Slowly, I turned to look at Chanch, who sat on the edge of the wooden chair, and bit her lower lip as tears turned her eyes watery; my heart went out to her, and I wanted to squish the little human being into a bone-crushing hug.
"Can we order something?", Vaish smoothly changed the topic, monotonously, and we simply looked on. "I understand I was wrong last night...", Chanch's outburst was louder than I expected it to be; her voice literally filled the room and grasped attention. "...but I didn't mean it, Vaish; it was unintentional. I lost hold of my tongue, and I didn't know what I was saying, and...and I'm sorry!", Chanch spat an apology in a cry, and I reached out for her hand, squeezing it tight. "Excuse me, ma'am—", a waiter attempted to silence our table, but Chanch was unstoppable. "You slapped me, right? Wasn't that enough? If you're still mad at me, then slap me again! I'll take it and I won't complain because I deserve it. But—but—", Chanch hiccupped. "But don't tell me that I don't exist for you! You're all I really have, and you...you cannot simply give up on me. I don't care if I sound desperate, but...you can't leave, Vaish", Chanch's said. "I never thought you would do this to me, and I just...hate you for this!", Chanch's sudden outburst ceased, and she sobbed in silence. I didn't know why, but Nash was crying when it should have been Vaish. Vaish simply went blank, and it was obvious, but I could see traces of tears in her round eyes. "Ma'am...um, the customers are complaining. I'm afraid you'll have to leave", the waiter fearfully informed us. "I'm sorry about it but I promise, we'll stay silent", I said. "No, we'll leave. What's the point of an outing in this mood?", Nash murmured under her breath, and wiped the tears off her cheeks. I could sense the subtle anger in her voice, I could feel her holding onto her nerves and I prayed for her calmness to remain intact, because her anger outburst was the last thing the situation needed! Chanch dragged her hand out of my grip, and stormed out of Pasta-Mania. Without uttering a word, Nash stood up from her chair, almost expressionlessly, and looked at me, through her small, teary eyes. "I'm not coming home until late night; I'm going somewhere because I deserve to celebrate my happiness", Nash whispered, and I could only listen to her. My heart ached for her; I felt bad because she couldn't celebrate the way she wanted to, and the fact that I couldn't do anything to control the situation made things worse. "And, thank you", Nash shakily snapped at Vaish, who sat as still as a statue, and just that moment tears poured out of Vaish's eyes in streams. Taking a sharp and loud breath in, Nash walked away, leaving me with Vaish.
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Teen Fiction[COMPLETED]. When Dityaa moves to Mumbai with big dreams and a vision, things don't quite go her way. The struggle to survive in an unknown city is real. Living up to her expectations becomes a battle, coping with her worried mother becomes difficul...
