C.O.A.T - Chubbiest Of All Time

Chapter 10

Saturday dawned glum and gloomy.

The rainy season had begun, and it was pouring heavily outside. For some strange reason, witnessing the raindrops fall did not make me happy in any way. All I wanted to do was to bury under the blankets and sleep the entire day. And this feeling wasn't anything to do with comforting or cozy vibes. It was simply because I was drained. In other words, mentally tired to function like a normal human being.

I had disturbed sleep throughout the night thinking of what might happen today evening. So, even as I woke up, I felt distressed. One part of my mind constantly predicted that Ibrahim might say 'yes'. I was scared.

In addition to this, what happened at work yesterday added to my bad mood too. I was so upset about that 'elephant' comment that I went straight to bed last night as soon as I got home. I haven't even told Zoya anything yet.

"Alisha, this is for you," mom's voice interrupted my thoughts. I raised my head to find her standing near the bed with a cup of coffee.

Mom was very worried about me not having dinner last night. Probably that's why she had got me coffee. Sweet. Now, that was the thing with mom. Though at times she herself fat shamed me, she was always more bothered than anyone else if I missed my meals. We truly did share a love-hate relationship built on unconditional affection and countless arguments.

"Thanks mom," I said and took the cup to my hand.

"Drink this and slowly start getting ready. We don't want to be late," replied mom.

Wow. For something that was about to happen at 4:00 pm, she expected me to start preparing at 9:00 am itself. Typical brown family advice for time management. We always took things a little too seriously when it came to sticking to schedules. Especially if it involved impressing visitors.

"Sure," I nodded.

"Okay then, I'm going to the kitchen. Wake Zoya up and ask her to start cleaning the house," she said and added, "Oh by the way, don't forget to check out the new dress I kept in your cupboard." Then she left the room.

Since I wasn't in a mood to try out the new dress, I resorted to cleaning the room instead. Once I was done with that, I pushed myself to clean the rest of the house too. By the time I finished all the chores, Zoya woke up.

Her first comment was, "Excited much?"

"What?" I asked.

"You seem to be very enthusiastic about Ibrahim's visit. Cleaning the house and all," she teased.

"Ha-ha! Very funny! I was only trying to be helpful by completing the tasks assigned to you," I hit back.

"Awww how kind! I hope God spares you from this proposal and rewards you with true love at least for this kindness you are showering on your little sister," she replied with a chuckle. I only rolled my eyes at her silly comment.

Then I said, "Hey Zo, guess what Ibrahim Lite did yesterday?"

Without probing into the matter at hand, she commented, "Oh my God! You are a real double-decker, aren't you?"

I flared my nostrils, furrowed my brows and frowned — all at the same time as soon as I heard that. Because I knew what she meant by that term. 'Double-decker' was what we sisters used to describe anyone who two-timed. But how did it apply to my situation? I didn't know.

"What now?" I asked.

"I mean, one moment you are cleaning the house for Ibrahim's visit and the next moment you are talking to me about your frenemy. So yeah, that's why you are double-decker Alisha," she uttered with a giggle.