"So Ma..." I jumped on to the kitchen counter
"Yeah"she said,sautéing the onions.
"How long is he going to be here?"I started,testing the waters.
"A year"she replied,casually
"A YEAR???" What???A year??
"Yeah!He is joining your school." She is pretending like it's no big deal.
"MY SCHOOL ??" No way!!She has got to be kidding me !!
"It'll be nice-a relative as classmate" she half-whispers, trying to reduce the blow.
"CLASSMATE??" This has to be a nightmare!!
"Stop repeating whatever I say"
"But ma..."I am shocked beyond words. He is going to be my classmate for a frigging year!!Seriously??
"Uhmm.."she went on with her cooking.
"So...when is he coming?"I asked her,biting a piece of carrot.
"Tomorrow"
"TOMORROW??" The carrot nearly stuck in my throat.
"I told you to stop screaming"
"Sorry" I sighed
"Uhmm.."she went on with her cooking.
"Noor told that he will be arriving by the 3'O clock flight"she informed me
"Noor Aunty called?" I adore Noor aunty .She is super pretty and sweet.Even Abdullah uncle is hilarious. It's just 'him' that I hate.
"Yeah" she nodded
I got off the counter and was going to walk away when mom said "Layla,book a taxi for tomorrow"
"For what ?" I asked her
"We have to go pick him up"
"PICK HIM UP??Ma,he is eighteen.He can very well come on his own."
"He is new here"she reasons out
"That's what GPS exists for-to help new people find their relative's house"
"Very funny,but we have to pick him up.Noor and Abdullah has done a lot for us.This is the least we can do"
"I know,they are the sole reason why I am even going to put up with their son for twelve months,like 364.25 days ...24*7 ,in school and at home... "I go on rambling.
"You dad would have picked him up,if he had been here"she said,softly.
Dad passed away a year back and now it is just me,Ma and my little brother. My older brother is in Raipur for his medical training.Ma always brings up dad when she can't have her way.Its kind of an emotional blackmail .But I understand,even she has a tough time being a single mother to the three of us.
"Okay..okay!!Let me get my phone"
~*~*~*
This story is set in Chennai,a metropolitan city in India.Layla is from Kerala and has settled in Chennai(a heads up cause I may use a few Malayalam words )
Let me know if you enjoyed it.
Love,
Luthfa❤️