One Cuppa Chai

°4°

"Eat all the spinach curry and do your homework. Siya, supervise her," My mother shouldered her handbag, bidding goodbye with a complimentary instruction.

Poor choice of supervisors, really.

I sneakily peered out of the balcony while my mother's scooter pushed out a disgruntled puff of smoke.

My sister was pushing all the curtains down and I narrowed my eyes at her.

"That is so unnecessary, she left."

"Just in case," She stage whispered in semi-darkness and creaked open our wardrobe.

"How is this?" She asked, modelling a floral print kurta over her torso.

My toothbrush paused in my foamy mouth, "Wait, are you also coming or something?"

She puffed put a scornful guffaw, "You thought I'll let you gaily skip off alone with him? Dream on."

On the way to a pizza place in the adjacent street, my sister forced me into a window-shopping spree in a few local garment stores, much to my distaste.

But it was worth a pinch of seeing Kabir flounced at the edge of the pizza parlour later, his long neck craned towards the glass window.He was observing the streets. 

Isn't he adorable?

Once I decide I like a person, there's no going back.I would even detect adorableness in the pattern of their breathing.

His head flipped at me and then at my sister in amusement. A wisp of a chortle left him, witnessing his buy one, get one date. I gave him my most apologetic smile.

Siya was visibly unaffected, pulling out a chair for herself.

"As promised I have arranged a date for you," she said and nodded to herself in self-satisfaction.

"This is a date?"Kabir raised his eyebrows."Then why are you here?"

"I'm here for adult supervision."

Kabir scoffed to that while I rolled my eyes, inconspicuously giving Kabir's flannel shirt and skinny pants a once over.

Siya ignored us and helped herself with humongous proportions of food.

Kabir's eyes flickered to me.

And I was already a mushy pool on the floor, my gaze was addled by a silent challenge of a more confident pair of orbs looking right at me like a pair of laser rays.

I never understood how couples in movies gazed at each other for a while three-minute song.

But here we were, allowing our gazes to melt into each other, taking in every moment and every indent of each other's face.

God, this was so embarrassing and somehow weird because Siya was chewing french fries in the backdrop.

His lips twitched into a small smile.

I could see the laughter in his eyes.

I wonder how I looked then.

All red and flustered with an unimpressive simper of a Cheshire cat.

"Well, if you both speak something it will be worth the risk I took."
Siya intervened, popping another French fry into her mouth.

I refocused on Kabir who was peering somewhere behind me.
Before I could catch the object of his attention, I felt a hand on my head.
"Duck!" Duck, as in the bir--oh.

We were under the table and I caught sight of feet coming towards our table.
'Nivita,' Kabir mouthed to me.
Well, that lady was the biggest gossip queen in our colony.
I heard my sister's weak laugh as she told her she came alone for a snack.