Firstborn

Chapter 3 : The Neighbours

                 

(sorry for the delay - my computer died a death over Christmas and it has taken this long to find another computer to transfer my hard drive to)

Meeru snubbed out her cheap tobacco rollup at the side of the bed on the marble floor, after almost choking on it.

"Seriously, don't fowl your mouth with those things when you can equip it with Benson and Hedges the top notch cigarettes! Confused, Meeru looked over to Avi who was lazily sprawled over the bed. Pointing her chin upwards, she lifted her eyebrows, making her eyes larger and gesticulated, "What Benson and Hedges cigarettes? What are you talking about man?"

"You know we're off to  Dev's house."

"Yeah"

"What gifts do you think his son will bring with him?"

"How should I know?" Meeru shuffled on the bed to make her more comfortable.

"Well," Avi propped himself up, "let me educate you. The  snobby London NRI, like all Newly Recreated  Idiots, will come loaded with glittering golden boxes of Benson Hedge jewels and laud it over us poor tobacco smokers ," The last few words were muttered as Avi distractedly bent over the bed's edge to  pick up something.

Before he could even put it in his mouth, Meeru curtly flicked it from between his fingers, "Right Kiddo, so the roll up is still good enough for you, huh? And while we are on the subject, what's this 'Us' business? Don't think YOU can smoke just because I sometimes deem your room fit for my bad habit."

Avi hated being called Kiddo Avi so decided to get his own back, "What Auntie dearest! You've been smoking since you were 15 and I'm nearly 18 – a little too late to lecture hmm!" Avi pretended to be upset but couldn't stop the tell-tale dimples from appearing. 

Meeru shrugged her shoulders and stretched out her arms to her sides, feathering her fingers lightly over the corner of his pillow and stole it from behind him. Deliberately fussing and puffing it up before lying back on the bed she dramatically sighed, "Ah...actually I was 11 when I began smoking AND whilst I now admit it's a stupid habit, one that started off as two fingers up to the establishment at home, it's pretty neat to think that at the lovely age of 21, I have not yet got caught." Meeru hammed up her statement by doing the typical sassy slow snake like nodding that the R&B singers seem to favour. 

Nonplussed, Avi reclined on his arms folded behind his head.

God, he's irksome! thought Meeru expecting him to retaliate.  She jerked up moving forward and spouted, "And another thing – STOP CALLING ME AUNTIE Dearest!"

"Knew you would react! " Avi chuckled and with gecko speed, quickly retrieved the pillow and placed it behind him before retorting innocently, "But you are"

He deserved a punch for that and he got one.

"You only get to call me Auntie because of my annoying oldest brother - your Papa, because he wanted to get laid without constantly being in trouble with his parents. To do this he joined the army and after all of... TWO MINUTES he dramatically announced that he was posted somewhere dangerous and might not come back from the war."

"Which one?" Avi liked hearing about his mostly absent father.

Meeru clicked her fingers in the air, "Which one? Oh you mean War? Well let's see... where was he posted? Where was he posted...? Somewhere... I forget where... somewhere in the mountains. Your grandparents who still can't resist a bit of drama confessed their desperation for needing an heir from their first borne before he put his life at risk- bloodline and all that! Forgetting, they had five spares in the wings."