Pine Trees

chapter twenty two

Once she got down at the bus stop, she trudged to the residential layout. After a five minute walk, Inaya found herself standing in front of a large bungalow which was decorated generously with greenery and accompanied by a fairly large lawn. 

They were rich, Inaya concluded. No wonder they were willing to pay her a lot. 

Stepping towards the gate, she pressed the bell after a moment's hesitation. She was only going to talk to a girl much younger than herself and yet, she was nervous. Her heart beat quicker and her fingers felt jittery. 

The door opened. Inaya blinked at the familiar face in front of her. She knew his countenance all too well, having memorized his features. 

She couldn't mistake those eyes for another's.

"Arjun?" Inaya whispered before checking the address on her phone. Arjun leaned against the railing of the gate and let out a low whistle, "Then, you must be the tutor my sister hired?"

"This is Vani's...house, right?" Inaya checked for the name of Vani's mom. 

"That's right." Arjun opened the lock of the gate and gestured for her to come in. "Vani's my cousin sister's daughter. My niece, in technicality."

"I see." Inaya's surprise grew. 

"I'm an only child so I call my only other cousin as my sister."

"I...see." She wasn't sure why he was explaining. But, she accepted them with a sense of curiosity. 

"Follow me."

Inaya stepped into the house and was greeted immediately with a lot lights blinking right into her face. Yellow lamps and lights were all over the place, bathing the living room in a yellow shine. Inaya wasn't used to so many lights. Inaya's eyes slowly adjusted to the torrent of brightness. 

A woman came rushing out of the kitchen with a warm smile, "You must be Inaya? My, you're much younger than I thought. It's nice to meet you. I'm Anusha."

They shook hands. 

"That's Arjun. He's my brother."

Inaya nodded, assuming she had to pretend not to know him. But, the pretense was broken in a second. 

"I know her." Arjun leaned against the wall, rolling his eyes. "She was my friend back in school."

"Really? You studied at the same school?" Arjun's sister exclaimed, grinning. "What a co-incidence, then!"

Inaya glanced at Arjun, wondering if it was truly a coincidence. In his defense, he, too, looked somewhat surprised. 

"Arjun, take her to Vani's room." Anusha glanced at the kitchen before turning back to Inaya, "I'll talk to you after the demo class."

"Sure."

Anusha hastened back into the kitchen. The sound of vessels began circulating through the house. 

"Come on." Arjun leaned away from the wall and padded to the room behind the staircase. "That's her room."

He knocked for a short moment before opening the door, "Vani?"

Inaya peeked in, finding the girl play video games on her computer. Arjun narrowed his eyes at her, "Weren't you supposed to be studying Math?"

Vani groaned, "I was taking a break."

"But every time I come in, I catch you with one of those games."

"It's not my problem if you keep coming in during my breaks."

Arjun's settled on Inaya, "If the little brat doesn't cooperate with you, let me know. She's a little too fond of her video games so ensure she doesn't have them around when she's studying."