WHEN FATE BRINGS YOU HOME

CHAPTER 15

"I heard something about yesterday's bus ride."

Dammit.

Dodging is the best option here. I slowly turned away from him, took the spray bottle and sprinkled some water on Draca.

"What brings you here, Shaurya?"

"Didn't you ask professor Benjamin for Carl's reports?" After a moment's pause he added.

I turned to face him again.

"Yeah, I did."

"I've organized them at table C17 in our department library."

I let out a tired sigh. I shouldn't have asked for them. Now I'll have to prepare a report for that as well. But I get to see my senior's view points of professor Gerard's experiments, most of which he had redone like me, as I had heard. But there must be a lot to cover and I can't spend all my time on that. I wish I had someone to help me with it. A dangerous idea occurred in me.

"What is it, Tara?"

"Are you free now?"

"Mostly."

He is currently having a battle in his head, that much is clear to me. His thick brows are furrowed to the center, busy in deep thoughts. He glanced at his watch once, then at me, and back again at the digits displayed on his watch.

"Mostly?"

"I mean, yes. I'm free. What is it?"

"It's okay if you have anything else to-"

"No. There isn't anything."

This time around, his decision of being free sounded final. Then, I might as well take advantage of his free time.

"Great. I was hoping if you could.."

He waited eagerly for me to complete. Asking for help from someone you were sure you hated is not easy as I thought it would be. 

"I could?"

He arched his eyebrows in a knowing way.

"Like, you know..."

"I don't."

He knows what I am trying to say but he wants to play with me till the end, make me ask it myself.

"Just help me summarize it, alright?"

It didn't come out as a request, did it?

"Is it an order, Ms. Tara Menon?"

His monstrous smile was threatening. I felt panicked and embarrassed.

"Ey, alla- I mean no, I didn't mean it like that-"

Well played, myself. Here comes my L1 interference.

After landing in California, English was chosen as my default language for communication, even with Ridha, Hera and Ryan. I was fed up of talking in Malayalam, which is my mother tongue, at my house. And that's totally a lie I made up to cover my English speaking. I am depressingly homesick and I hate to show it out. My south Indian accent is really strong and I do have a very good control over it. I exactly knew when and where to let it out, my mother tongue and the other languages I know. But when times like these showed up, Malayalam comes out from me, like it is a very natural thing to happen. I didn't think he would be the first one to witness it. I did show Czes and Laura how I spoke in four different Indian languages, which was totally intentional and I was fully aware of myself. But this...

Shaurya started walking out of my lab. Did I upset him somehow?

He stopped at the door and turned. Am I supposed to say sorry or something? It looks like he is waiting for something from me.