The Girl In Black [On Hold Till Further Notice]

To Snoop or NOT to Snoop! - Part I

"Zahra, if you ruin my holiday grumbling like this and snoring through your sadness at home, I promise you that I'm never gonna come here ever again, even if you send a private jet at my doorstep, do you hear me?" Avantika bellowed, irritated to see her friend not budging an inch out of her cubby hole of a room, since that day when her mother had suddenly announced her betrothal to that creepy guy. "It's the last day of the year, for God sake!" she continued saying, her anger flashing in her eyes, and growing in intensity each minute towards Zahra, making her sit up in her bed, with the blankets still reaching up to her chin. She rubbed her eyes, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from, and if it was real or just a dream, all the while looking as innocent as a new-born baby.

"So what? It's a holiday for all I know, and frankly, that's all I care about. Don't you go around rousing people as if they are dead, Okay. Go wherever the heck you want to. I haven't stopped anyone or hackled them in chains, so that they can't leave. Now don't talk nonsense in my ears and let me sleep, will you?" Zahra replied with an edge in her voice that went on to become a hoarse shout as she lied down once again, pulling the covers over her eyes.

The bickering between the two didn't stop, even when they had reached the breakfast table. In fact, it was becoming more heated as the time passed. After watching the whole drama at close range, Laura concluded in her mind, that there was clearly no reasoning in their argument. They had even strayed off-topic. She finally decided to butt in, thinking of a brilliant idea that she was sure, would work out excellently. Besides, her ears had become so hot that they were, literally, puffing out smoke like a steam engine, due to all the shouting that was going on around her. Suddenly, when she couldn't take it anymore, she said in a stern voice, "If you two say anything to each other for even a minute more, I'm seriously gonna believe that you Indians are nothing but a bunch of uncivilized, savage beasts."

That did it. The two of them instantly stopped squabbling and began to eat the rest of their breakfast in silence. You could say anything to them about themselves, but, when it came to their country, they couldn't take in even a single bad word uttered in relation with it. Laura was quite pleased with the effect her words had caused, and couldn't help a small smile from coming to her lips, in spite of the frustration she was feeling inside. After a considerable minutes had passed without any of them saying anything, she seized the opportunity to propose a plan to them, to celebrate the end of the year, and see how they reacted to it.

After deliberating for a few more minutes, she said, "Someone told me about this multi-cultural fair, which is organized at the end of every year, at the Trapeze Cultural Centre. It is located on the southern fringes of the city, near the Tulip Boulevard, in case you haven't heard about the place. It goes on till the New Year is well and truly underway, and has a lot of fun things to do over there. Most of the people just go there to celebrate their holidays, to relax a bit and eat the good food that's provided almost free. It's basically for charity purposes, you know, one of those events in which the money collected goes to charity. I thought that we should go check it out for once, and what's the best time than tonight, don't you think?! So...will you two be coming with me or not?"

"I'm totally in on this. You just have to make this 'grumbling old bag' to agree with it. I'm quite sure she will say no, by the way, the kind of a spoiler she is" Avi said, raising her hands in the air, and directing her gaze, as she finished talking, towards Zahra, who sat staring at her plate filled with food, rotating the spoon around it, with her fingers. "You two can go. I'm pretty comfortable here, so I'm planning to stay. Thank you very much for asking" she said, still eyeing her plate, with a glum expression. "Oh! Please, like we're gonna leave you here alone, all by yourself. Show this kind of an attitude to somebody else, okay. Either we'll all go or everyone will stay at home. So, we all are going, and that's it" Laura stated in a matter-of-fact tone, indicating that the topic was closed for any further discussion.