Two Tickets, Please

08: weakness

Farah wasn't entirely happy with him behaving the way he was. She kept telling Vijay that it was going too fast and become obsessive but Vijay didn't care. So what that he had a gigantic crush on a girl? And so what that he was addicted to talking to her? Whatever they shared wasn't lethal. All it did was give him a rush, a rush that made his heart flap its wings and soar high, giddy and drunk. He fucking loved it.

When Nila and Vijay texted each other, they didn't exactly flirt. It was 90% of them pulling each other's legs and trying to win the upper hand. On the first day, they didn't know enough about each other to throw insults but as days flew by, they remembered every single detail about each other to use it against them.

The one thing Vijay loved about Nila was that she was a damn good texter. She sent these elaborate paragraphs; you'd expect them to be heartfelt messages but it most often would be cleverly orchestrated attacks on his ego balanced with a pinch of humour. He adored it.

Vijay would have sneaked in a flirty comment or two but these past few days, it had been all about knowing each other. Nila lived with her two friends in an apartment when she was originally from Coimbatore. She had an elder sister who just had a baby, and her parents were both government employees. His father worked in the Weather department, now retired, and her mother had been a clerk in the Collector's office.

Nila had to wear braces until the first year of undergrad and she had hated that she couldn't begin a completely new chapter when she joined college. She studied in an all women's college for her undergrad and she tried alcohol for the first time in her college dorm. Nila had breathing difficulties from childhood so smoking was a hard no for her.

As they texted each other back and forth (sometimes till 1:00 am), Vijay couldn't help but feel closer to her. They shared a lot about each other and the best thing was that the conversation flowed like a wave. It felt so natural to talk about ourselves to each other.

But the one thing that shocked Vijay was Nila's sticker collection. It was way better than his and hers were so damn funny that he was saving each one of them. He told her that and she gave all the credits to her best friend, Sanjay.

Sanjay. The one name that was bothering him. She told him that he was a friend but Nila mentioned him a lot, which Vijay didn't like. Even after talking for hours together, he hadn't gotten the courage to ask her if she was single or committed. Vijay had argued with Farah that if Nila spent so much time talking to him, she definitely wouldn't have a boyfriend but Farah argued back saying that he could never know.

Vijay toyed with the thought in his mind and took a seat on the couch in his living room. He had to find the right moment to ask her the question without being too suggestive and scare her away.

He grabbed the remote and switched on the sports channel just as his mother came into the living room. "Vijay, let's go to the tailor's and come no? I have a function tomorrow. There's an alteration to be done on this blouse."

"Ma! I just came from college," Vijay protested. "I am so tired. I had practice this morning too. Coach made me work extra today."

She carried an orange silk blouse in one hand and cupped his chin in the other. "Please da, please da. It's an emergency. Otherwise I won't ask."

If there's one thing he couldn't stand, it was his mother's face when she was upset. That look... it was his weakness. "Fine," he said, taking the blouse from her. "Tell me the alterations. I'll convey it to him."