"How was your date yesterday?" asked Devika aunty with a frown.
"Good," I answered, trying to act nonchalantly. I hate inquisitorial Indian mothers. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Devika aunty, it's just her inquisitiveness.
"You went on a date! And kept that quiet?" exclaimed Aarav.
I tried hard not to roll my eyes as I replied, "It wasn't a real date, he invited me to watch his Lacrosse match and we grabbed some lunch."
"It is a date right, what else could you possibly do!"
I glared at him. Aarav's acting skills are legendary, especially in front of his mother. Aarav is my best friend and knows that I have been dating for more than a year now. I cannot believe Devika aunty still buys all his innocent acts.
"Which is his team?" asked Aadhya, Aarav's sister.
"Badgers."
"Hey, they are quite famous, really... hot guys," drolled Aadhya.
"You are 12!"
"Yes, but not blind."
At this Devika aunty frowned at her daughter. Poor thing, I allowed myself to feel for Aadhya. But the feeling was not long-lived.
"Who are you dating?"
"Creed."
"One of the Creed brothers! Which one?"
"Alec"
"No way! Alec Creed!!" she said dreamily.
"Yes."
"Shut up!"
"You know him?"
"Who doesn't?"
"Lucky you! Have you guys.."
I groaned internally. This is the problem in dating a hot guy, everyone wants to know whether you slept with him. Firstly, I don't act like a naive girl who freaks out about sex. Secondly, why would I date a hot guy and not bang him?
My mom gave me a sympathetic look. I frowned back, it was her fault that Devika aunty knew about my date. But I have to give my mom some credit, she managed to keep it silent for an entire year.
"Aadhya! That's enough!" scolded Devika aunty. Turning to my mom she continued, "You give her too much license, Sita, allowing her to date at this age!"
She gave a look that conveyed i-don't-think-its-good-you-are-spoiling-her-and-you-should-learn-parenting-from-me. And yes she managed to convey all this with one look. She was very good at giving looks.
"I hope this won't affect our study plans. I would hate it if it affects our chances of getting into universities," added Aarav with a straight face.
I wanted to punch him. Devika aunty looked horrified at the very prospect.
"Oliviya is dating -" started my mother, but the rest of her sentence was cut short as Aarav coughed and spluttered.
My mom gave him a sly smile. Oliviya is my other best friend and Aarav's long-standing girlfriend. She has been on her pills for more months than me. Study plans! We have not even once studied on so-called study nights. They should be rephrased as makeout-nights.
Aarav was permanently grounded, not as a punishment. This was how things worked in most Indian households. Even though they were living in Canada, Devika aunty was an Indian at heart. The only way his mother would allow him out of her sight, i.e to my house, was when he used studying as an excuse.
Aarav tactfully changed the subject to the upcoming presidential election. Aarav's parents and my mother entered into a lengthy conversation. But I still couldn't escape Aadhya.
"Wasn't Alec Creed dating for a long time?" she asked.
I didn't say anything, but the pink flush in my face was enough to answer.
She gave Aarav, a you-will-tell-me-everything-when-we-get-home look. Aarav gave a noncommittal grunt.
After a minute she gasped theatrically and whispered, "Don't tell me you are the one he asked out after winning the Most dependable player of the season last year!"
There was no way of escaping her, she would badger Aarav and get all the information anyway. So I mumbled "Yes."
"Wow! Your story is legendary in our school." Aadhya studied in an all-girls private school.
"Have you guys -" she started.
I forestalled and said, "Yes, we have. And I don't wish to discuss it."
"Sita aunty knows everything?"
"Yes."
"You have the coolest mother," said Aadhya enviously.
She kept on asking about Alec, his parents, their occupation, address, his GPA, and only stopped when I asked whether she would like to know his Social Security Number. God! She was Devika aunty's miniature.
Anyways, we are getting ahead of ourselves, I haven't introduced myself. I am Ananya Srivatsav. I am going to start my senior year, aspiring to become a doctor. I am doing a junior internship at the Ontario School of Medicine. My mother is a psychiatrist. My father died when I was 7, I have very little memory of him.
You might be wondering why all our names start with an 'A'. If you are not, well at least you should now.
In India, you will be ranked based on the average of your GPA and NEET (similar to MCAT). Based on your rank you will be allowed to choose any open position in any medical university in India. That is it, you need not apply to each university separately and wait for their response.
The problem here is, more than five lakh people appear for this exam and the probability of having more than 100 people in the same rank is always 1. For those who skipped probability lessons, getting a probability result as 1 means there is a 100% chance that it will happen.
Students in the same ranking will further be ranked by their names. Don't ask me what happens if they have the same name, they go for the date of birth, and if that too matches, well they move on to the next criteria, but for our story, we can stop at names.
My mom couldn't get into her preferred university despite her good marks because her name starts with an 'S', so to give her children better preference she resolved to name her kids starting with an 'A'.
Devika aunty couldn't get into any medical university, though it had little to do with her name but more with her marks. She chose to think it was because her name started with a 'D'. But she was a step ahead of my mother and named her children with double-A. You mustn't take chances at these things you know!
I am telling you Indian mothers are not like the rest of the women in the world, they plan for their great grand son's retirement plan even before they turn ten.
We bid goodbye to Aarav's family and got into our car.
"I am sorry, I didn't rat you out, Devika was with me when Alec's parents called me to ask permission to take you out next weekend," said my mom.
I was too thrilled to feel annoyed with my mom. Alec's family invited me to join their Alaska trip.
"What did you say? Can I go?"
"Yes, you can."
"Thanks, Amma" I squealed and hugged my mom. (My native language is Tamil, and we call mother Amma. You might find occasional Tamil words, I have asked the author to add a note, so don't worry).
"Amma, why have you never gone on a date?" I asked.
"I don't know Anu, I can't love any other man." My parents' marriage was legendary, theirs was a love marriage. Love marriage in India was scandalous during their period, she eloped with my dad.
"You don't have to love to go on a date."
"You don't love Alec?"
"I like Alec, we enjoy each other's company. But I am not sure whether I love him. I am sure he feels the same way."
My mom chuckled.
"What?"
"Anu, that boy loves you. I can tell. Why else do you think I am so cool about you dating him?"
"So you are now a psychiatrist turned love guru," I said sarcastically.
"Hardly, I don't need to be a love guru to know it."
"You are unbelievable."
I am not sure whether Alec loves me, but we like hanging out and not to mention the passion. I blush, thinking about the time spent in the changing room after his match yesterday. We are crazy for each other.
I felt a sudden jerk, severe pain in my head and leg, and everything went black.