"Dad, we're eating here at Riya's. Yes, yes we are studying. What is that? Of course, we finished learning for tomorrow's test...we'll start revising after lunch".
Riya and I sat and watched Mishti bluffing to her father on the phone.
Out of the three of us, lying at home came most naturally to Mishti.
Mainly because Riya didn't have to. Her mom and dad were all for the new age parenting and would probably be cool even if she had a one night stand. And I didn't want to. Lie at home, I mean.
In the kitchen, Riya's mom, Saba Aunty was instructing their cook about lunch.
Me, Mishti and Riya's brother Krish were all curled on Riya's bed with her, watching TV.
"Riya, aren't you three supposed to be studying?", Saba Aunty asked peeping into the room.
"After lunch mom", Riya said dismissively.
"That'll do!", Saba Aunty said losing her temper "How long will you sit infront of the TV? Have you fed Versace yet, Riya? No, you haven't! Go and do that first".
Versace was the Dixit's new siamese. They had only bought it a few months ago on Riya's insistence after she had got inspired by seeing some stupid influencer on Instagram. But who on earth names their cat Versace? Riya. That's who.
"Can't", Riya said stubbornly "That cat is the most ungrateful animal I've ever seen. He sleeps with Krish all the time even though I'm the one who feeds it everyday".
"Then you should've thought about it before asking for a cat", Saba Aunty said unsympathetically.
"Maybe Versace will sleep with you if you don't keep yelling at him all the time", Krish suggested.
"I can't help it", Riya shrugged "He's so stubborn. He won't sit in a place, he won't obey anybody.."
Hmm. Reminds you of someone?
As Saba Aunty walked out, I decided it was high time I confided in Riya and Mishti about Rahul.
"He's going to ask you out soon, Zo. I just know it", Riya said confidently when I had finished telling everything to the two of them.
"If he doesn't ask you out within this week, I'll jump off our school terrace".
"You do that first", Krish who had come into the room snapped at Riya, "Then at least I can live in peace".
"Shut up and go away Krish", Riya said as Krish came infront of us blocking the TV screen, "You're not made of glass. Will you move your ass?"
When Krish didn't budge, Riya said, "God! I don't know how a whimp like you ended up as my brother".
"Ask that to mom and dad", Krish said "They made me together".
Mishti and I rolled on the bed with laughter.
"Smart boy", I said fighting down the mad desire to keep laughing "When I was eleven, I thought God puts a baby in your stomach when he feels like it".
Mishti laughed even more. Riya scowled.
"Enough with your bullshit Krish. Make yourself useful and go and see if dad is home yet..."
I naturally expected Krish to disobey but surprisingly he got up from his couch and wobbled out of the room. Riya was still lazily flipping the channels on TV and finally landed on Romedy Now where Fifty Shades Of Grey was going on.
Krish poked back his head into the room, "Dad just came home and mom asked you three to hurry up and come for lunch and..", he stopped as his eyes narrowed at the TV.
"Krish, now don't go and tell mom..", Riya began in her familiar bargaining tone and hurriedly flipped the channel.
But Krish had already run out yelling, "MOOOOM! RIYA IS WATCHING YOU-KNOW-WHAT!"
Mishti and I burst into laughter again.
"What?", Riya snapped.
"Well, your brother is fast on the uptake", I said "I'm not surprised given that he's the smarter Dixit kid".
Riya glared at me before throwing the remote on my face which I managed to dodge.
"Not you as well", she said in exasperation.
"Come on let's go for lunch.."
Sunday evening turned out to be a torture. I sat with my phone on my lap, like a total chump, waiting for dad's call.
After half an hour of waiting, I knew I was wasting my time. But anyway, I tried to call him once but it went straight to voicemail.
I walked out and shook my head at mom who was sitting at the dining table shelling peas, when she raised her eyebrows at me.
Mom said nothing. But after dinner, she grabbed her phone, went into her room and shut the door.
I heard her leaving voice messages for dad, each one getting louder than the previous one.
Feeling defeated, I crept out of the house wanting to go take a stroll, but somewhere, subconsciously I knew I was going down looking for something else.
I sat down on one of the benches in the park. Even at this time, there were a couple of children playing on the see-saw.
I shifted my gaze from them after a few minutes and saw what I had wanted to see. A tall figure in a black jacket walking in through the hedges.
He finally saw me, "Hey Zoya".
"Hey", I said casually as if this wasn't exactly what I had been expecting. An art I had mastered from Riya.
But when he came closer, I forgot all about the art and flung my arms around him.
"Woah, I wasn't expecting this sort of a welcome", he said finally, hugging me back "What are you doing here?"
When I didn't answer that question, he asked another one. And it turned out to be way more difficult to answer.
"Your dad didn't call?"
"I haven't spoken to him almost for a week now", I said "This long of a sabbatical is hard".
"You want to walk?"
"Yeah", I said gratefully and we turned and followed the two kids who had finished their play, out of the park.
Rahul carried most of the talk as we made our way down the driveway. He and his band were practising in the event hall at the far end of the society and he had just come to have a break.
"So that's why you came to the park?"
"Yeah. But you still haven't told me, why you came there?"
That's when I actually remembered.
"Oh no.. I'm not supposed to be here. I better hurry back upstairs...I don't want to run into another bad boy like Varun either".
"Varun is not the bad boy Zoya. I am", Rahul said and laughed looking at my face.
"But there are others around too", he added "So go back home before any of them come after you. They won't be so kind as me".
"Oh yeah", I said rolling my eyes "But if that happens, you can come and pretend to be my boyfriend again".
"Yeah I could...but why should I pretend anymore Zoya?", Rahul asked "Can't it be real?"