"Okay, thank you for choosing this project." Nisha politely spoke over the phone, eyeing her siblings who were playing board games on her bed.
She mouthed to them, 'Shut up!'
'No!' Adisha mouthed back as Adil showed her his tongue. She'd see them later.
She hung up and said, "You both—want me to become jobless?"
"Yes." Adil's response made her scoff, "Shut up, you little-"
"Stop bickering, kids." Priti entered her room, making the three turn towards her.
"Why are you always thinking about work?"
"Money, sweetie. Money." Nisha replied to her elder sister who sat on the edge of the bed, staring at Adisha and Adil.
"You cheated!" Adisha spoke, making Adil frown, "You can't play! Is that my fault?"
"Yes!"
"What the—"
"Adil!" Priti scolded as he thinned his lips, "I wasn't going to curse, anyway."
"Oh, my god." Nisha sighed, sitting on her working chair.
"Sham's parents invited our family to theirs tomorrow."
"So early?" Nisha asked making Priti nod.
She traced the seams of the bedsheet with her fingertips, proceeding to tuck in her dark locks behind her ears.
Nisha watched her elder sister attentively, "What do you worry about so much?"
"Nothing... I feel strange. Maa and Baba don't seem to be the happiest."
"Of course. They wanted some engineer or doctor whatever. But it's fine, they've accepted it. After a year of convincing, if they've decided to let you marry him, they'll be happy soon enough. It's all about the baby steps." She assured her sister.
"Nisha-pi's right. I saw Maa and Baba staring at pictures of Shams on Facebook and smiling together, investigating his account."
"What?!" Priti shrieked at Adil's sudden statement. Nisha raised a brow, "What does that mean?"
"I don't know... they somehow got it."
"Must've been Kona Aunty."
"I think it's Jafrin Aunty."
"Shams should lock his profile, oh god." Priti ran a hand through her face while Nisha thinned her lips, sighing.
She didn't know how to react to certain situations. She was used to existing in them only.
—Next day—
Nisha stared at herself in the mirror, a soft smile adorning her lips.
Her pink outfit complimented her sweet golden skin tone — the warm pink lipstick she wore fit the occasion so well, she could cry.
"I look so good." She sprayed her favourite perfume on her wrists and swiped it on the sides of her neck.
"You look so good, Nisha," Priti spoke, entering her room. She smiled at her sister who fixed her hair for her, pulling one out of nowhere, making her wince.
"Priti!" She called as the elder one laughed, "Address me with respect, woman."
"Hah." Nisha scoffed, fixing her hair.
"Let's go, we'll be late!" Adisha entered the room hastily — her salwar kameez hugging her frame gorgeously.
"You look awesome, Adi." Nisha complimented.
"Salwar kameez? Can I just wear a T-shirt and jeans?" An irritated groan escaped the youngest one's lips.
"That's seriously not what you wear to a function," Priti spoke.
She rolled her eyes, "Whatever, ugly and uncomfortable Bengali things."
"Typical teenager behaviour," Nisha whispered to herself, fixing her jhumka once.
Exiting the room, she noticed Adil wearing a panjabi matching with their father.
"Maa, your teal saree is glowing!" With a high-pitched compliment, she approached her busy parents.
A few of their relatives also joined among whom Kona Aunty and Jafrin Aunty were the most prominent. The nosiest ones in the household.
Nisha sat inside the car, checking a few important emails from work and upon finishing her work, listened to her parents talk about Priti and Shams beside her.
A soft smile grew on her face hearing her mother's words, "It feels like yesterday Priti first joined the elementary school. Now she has someone she loves and is marrying him."
Their father smiled slightly, nodding, "Really... I could've found a thousand times better man for my daughter but..."
She hissed at her father who shook his head, discarding his thoughts.
Her mother looked at his father's smile and then at her, saying, "The similarity is undeniable... though. How come all my kids look like me while Nisha looks the carbon copy of you?"
She raised a brow as her eyes met her father's — both of them sharing a proud smile.
"She's her father's daughter, of course." Her father spoke.
"She has your temper and bad traits as well."
"Come on, Maa!" Nisha protested, her father interrupting, "What do you mean?"
"Nothing." Her mother sighed.
Adil and Adisha were giggling by themselves, amidst bickering about what video to watch on their iPad.
"They never stop." Kona Aunty commented from the back as Jafrin Aunty nodded, "Leave them! Do you know what happened to Rina's mother?"
"What?" Kona Aunty immediately asked, indulging in the gossip that they couldn't do without.
Nisha yawned, leaning her head on the car seat, "Seriously..."
—Time Skip—
"Ah, you're here!" Sham's parents invited them in, his relatives whom Nisha had seen at their house earlier welcoming them. They served them with refreshments and disappeared into the kitchen.
"Their house is nice." NIsha's mother said as she smiled, "Shams is rich, though not a doctor or engineer."
"Soha, dear! Come here!" Nisha's mom called Sham's younger sister who smiled at her, greeting them. Nisha waved at her to which she reciprocated.
"Adisha, go play with Soha. She's your age." Their father commented.
Sham's father entered the living room, "Mr. Anwar, so nice to see you."
He sat down and the elders started chatting. Nisha quietly listened to them, smiling when they cracked jokes which were a hundred percent lame. But for the sake of what they termed as 'manners' and basic human decency, she had to fake laugh.
A few more males were starting to enter and Nisha's mother got up, exiting the living room along with her.
"Oh my! Why would you take such burdens?" Her mom asked Sham's mother who was serving the food on the table.
"Come on, we're about to become families. When do I take the pressure if not now?"
Nisha smiled, looking around when she saw a woman trying to wipe her sweat while holding the jugs. She seemed to be having trouble so she approached her, "Excuse me, may I help you?"
"Huh?" She asked, looking at her.
She analyzed Nisha from head to toe and said, "You're Priti's sister?"
"Oh, yes..." She smiled slightly, "Nice to see you. Do you need any help?"
"Ah.. no, no! It's fine-"
"Let me." Nisha took the jugs from her and placed them on the table, "It's alright. You don't have to take such a workload."
"I'm not old, though. I'm pretty young and strong. I just... got tired today." She shrugged it off, making Nisha chuckle.
She was quite adorable and familiar. Her eyes were strangely amicable, reminding her of a particular person.
"Oh. Forgot to introduce myself, I'm Sham's aunty. Oh, do you perhaps know Kabir?" Her question made Nisha's ear perk up.
The fear she had all this while during her journey here was Kabir.
Ever since their last encounter, she couldn't help but continuously wonder about him. She even stalked his profile once in a while amidst working. Shrugging off her analysis, she nodded.
"Yeah, Sham's best friend."
"Well... I'm his mother."
Her heart flipped at the statement. No wonder her eyes seemed so familiar. She had gotten enough close views of those two dark eyes to guess.
She cleared her throat, "Oh... wow! I didn't expect it."
"Of course, not. Did my son get my looks? No, right? Neither did he get my personality. All on his dad." She sighed. Nisha gave her a small smile and said, "Ah... I see. His eyes resemble yours, though. But you're so young... I wouldn't have guessed!"
"Come on! Don't flatter me now!" The woman blushed, chuckling a little. Nisha didn't like flattering aunties, most of them didn't deserve to be. But this woman was adorable and funny, and she seemed friendly as well.
It had nothing to do with her being Kabir's mother. She was sure.
"Maa-" A familiar, manly voice interrupted them as they turned towards the direction of the call.
There stood Kabir, wearing a simple beige panjabi. His gaze went from his mother to the one beside her, his lips parting slightly.
Nisha looked away, feeling his intense stare on her.
His eyes scanned her from head to toe for a few moments until he forcefully diverted his gaze to his mother.
"What is it now?" His mother asked, frowning. She smiled at Nisha and patted her head, heading towards her son. The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Kabir, making his brows furrow slightly.
"What?" She asked again, waving a hand in front of her son who cleared his throat, looking down, "What are you doing?"
"Oh, nothing. I was just helping out Sham's mother, that girl is so adorable, she helped me take the jugs so I was just chatting. Do you need anything?"
He didn't reply for a few seconds making his mother huff, "Earth to Kabir?!"
"Oh, uh, okay. I just came to check up on you. Is dad here?" He asked, trying to restrain his gaze from moving to the figure behind his mother.
"Yeah, he's probably in the living room, chatting with the males. Now let me go finish the work. Go out now!"
His mother quickly rushed out, not forgetting to smile at the female figure behind her. Nisha smiled back, watching her leave.
Awareness spread through her veins, mixed with a tint of exhilaration and pleasure.
She looked at Kabir, smiling a little, "Hello, nice to see you again."
His eyes met hers for a brief moment but she looked away.
"Yeah, hello." He approached her, forwarding his hand. She stared at it for a few seconds, before looking at him. He gave her a lopsided smile, "Is it unbelievable that such a handsome guy like me is offering a handshake?"
Her blank stare demolished his ego but he tried to appear confident.
"I don't do handshakes, thanks." She raised her brows and thinned her lips, turning around. Her bangles jingled as she walked away.
Kabir stared at his hand, getting rejected once again.
He didn't even know if he was offended. He should've expected it, it was Nisha after all.
The same floral scent soothed something in him. He wasn't one to worry about these but he was curious. What was the thing she used that had such a sweet scent? One that reached the depth of his stomach, twisting his inner feelings — bringing him into a daze.
Almost an hour later, everyone was sitting at the dining table. Due to so many people, they had to eat in batches. Nisha sat with her siblings as Atif was serving them drinks.
"Hi." He said to Nisha who eyed him, "Hello."
"Here, have the kabab, kids. It tastes so good." Ajay spoke, serving them a kabab. Nisha helped Adisha take some chicken roast.
"I want the beef." Adil said as Ajay nodded, "Of course, master."
Nisha started eating but accidentally bit on a cardamon, making a twisted expression.
Biryani tasted like heaven until cardamons interrupted.
She looked around, searching for water when a hand sneaked beside her, placing a glass of water near her plate.
She looked up to see Kabir standing there, his gaze falling on her.
"Do you need anything?" He asked as she shook her head, cleared her throat and quickly gulped in some water. Every great food of the Indian subcontinent had cardamons in it. Yet, cardamons tasted like ass.
"Oh my! You, idiots, are so bad at serving! Their plates have nothing!" Sham's mother complained as Atif said, "Aunty! They said they don't want to-"
"Shut up, Atif," Ajay spoke, sighing.
"Where's the other two?" Nisha asked Atif who shrugged, "Shams is busy flattering the elders and Wahi is accompanying him."
Nisha smiled a little, nodding. She continued eating while watching Adisha continuously reject any more food yet Ajay and Atif filled her plate with some more of the Biryani and beef.
"I said I do not want more." Adil frowned but Ajay protested, "Eat some more! You can!"
"Gosh. They're so annoying." Adisha rolled her eyes as Atif spoke, "Oh? We are? Give her some more biryani."
Nisha glanced at Kabir to see him snatching the biryani plate from Ajay and approaching her, "Want some?"
Was this what they called targeting?
"Uh, no thanks-"
"Of course, you want some more. It's really good, right?" He asked, quickly serving a large spoonful of biryani. She was already full and he—
"Kabir- why did you snatch it?" Atif frowned but he said, "You both are only serving the ones who don't want it. What about the others on the table?"
"He's trolling her," Atif whispered to Ajay which everyone at the table heard. Adil started coughing and Adisha sighed. Kabir took another bowl of egg korma, ignoring his friends' loud whisperings.
"Do you want eggs?"
"I already had one today."
"Is there any rule you can only have one egg a day? Have some more. I even had five eggs a day. It won't kill you!" He served her as she tried to block him but failed.
She sighed as he said with the cheekiest grin she'd ever seen, "Eat well. Call me if you need anything."
"Kabir's such a nice guy. Helping everyone. Learn something from him!" Sham's mother spoke, walking closer to them. She stood beside Nisha and continued, "Why are you not eating? Is the food not good?"
"Oh, it is!" Nisha panicked, "I'm just a slow eater... I got some extra on my plate so..."
"Ah, okay! Glad to know it's good. I was scared my biryani would taste bad, haven't cooked it since last year."
"It's really good," Nisha spoke, and she wasn't lying. It was delicious.
But she was full.
And she'd die if she tried to stuff any more food.
She glanced at Kabir who seemed to be very happy, chatting with Atif and Ajay. He turned towards her, making her look away. That devious smirk playing on his lips that he had been trying to suppress for quite some time irked her. She felt it in her bones.
She mentally cursed him and tried to finish the food on her plate.
After eating, as she washed her hands and joined the others who were chatting, her eyes diverted towards Kabir — busy eating.
Only if she could, she'd spill a litre of water on his plate because of the food torture he put her through.
"Cheap." She murmured, rolling her eyes.
She'd get back at him too.
"Watch out, Kabir fucking Zaid."