Forgetting The Ex

I'm Your Mother.

Mom.

I blink back tears,annoyed, clearing my throat, trying to sound as cheerful as possible when I answer the call.

"Hi Ma."

"Are you so busy that you cannot talk to your mother for five minutes in a day?"

I pinch my nose,sitting on the footpath. I'm done with lying,with running away from everything,so I stick to honesty as I stay mum.

"Sandy?",my mother's voice is sharp.

"I'm Sorry mom."

"Is everything alright?", mom's alarmed voice reaches me.

Do I burden her with my problems or let her be?

As I contemplate on the issue,I decide to ask for advice from my mother in a subtle manner.

"Yeah. I'm here",I say when mom repeatedly calls my name.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"When did I say something happened?",my lips twitch,as I gaze at the sky.

"You actually apologized for your mistake",Mom comments drily.

I laugh for the first time in weeks,my heart at peace,"Good joke",I roll my eyes.

"Sandy."

Will I get belted if I tell mom I like a guy?

Most probably.

"It's just that..."

"Yeah?"

"There's this guy—"

"You haven't spoken well in weeks because of a guy? Sandeepthi Guptha, you're going to get it from me."

I wince, holding the mother away,panic consuming my senses,"No Ma. Not me. Just another... friend. Yeah. Avika. Remember? My batchmate?"

"What about her?",I slap myself when I hear the suspiciousness in her tone.

"She...Um. A patient was at risk because of her. So I'd been asked to do extra duties,and so I'm just busy with that",I bluff, talking about the baby incident that happened months ago.

There's a pause,"Why are you lying?"

I could feel my palms getting sweaty,"I'm not."

"You were talking about a guy. Continue speaking. Don't bullshit me with old stories."

"Imagine. In a hypothetical scenario",I pause,"Like, hypothetically... it's not like it happened or anything. It's just hypothetical—"

"Sandy,I got the point. What happened in your hypothetical situation?"

"It's not exactly hypothetical. Remember Sanvi? One of my friends'? It's her story",I blurt out the first name that comes to my mind.

"You don't have a friend named Sanvi."

"I met her recently",I bluff.

"You're giving me a headache."

I huff,"Maaa."

"Finish Sanvi's story, will you?",I knew mom knew I was bullshitting her,but I continue to play safe,"So,yeah. There's this guy Ni...um... Niyodh, yeah",I clear my throat.

"You know you can tell me anything,right?",mom says softly.

I could feel myself unable to speak,my voice wavering as I try to speak,"I know Ma."