The next morning, Shweta wakes up with a smile on her face. She had been in a good mood since the date; even after Vaibhav had left. The fairy-lights that she'd thrown haphazardly into the cupboard peek out, the little yellow bulbs seemed to be smiling with the memory of the day before.
The bedroom was large; initially, it had been two rooms. But when Shweta and Shruti had refused to sleep alone in their rooms and had snuck into Seema's bed every night and overcrowding it; she'd had the walls between their bedrooms broken down. Now, there was only a small bit of the wall on either side; forming a dramatic edge something that looked rather architecturally pleasing. It was of course, accidentally architecturally pleasing. Shweta had made their little theatre on her side of the bedroom but had flung all the white bedsheet in haste when her mother was returning on Shruti's bed. The popcorn bowls sat unwashed under Shruti's bed and from her bed when she sat up, Shweta could see it.
This only brings a bigger smile on her face and a warm blush rises on her cheeks as she remembers what had happened when they'd sat down to watch the movie. Shweta's instinct had been right; the movie was half unwatched as his hands kept finding their way underneath her t-shirt; gently caressing the skin causing goosebumps to break out all over her body. She'd remove it, he'd laugh; his body shaking and shaking her as well; his voice resonating in her ear. She'd shake her head; they'd watch the movie for a bit and he'd start it all over again. The movie sat unwatched for most of it; their own conversations interested them far more. So entirely caught up in each other; watching something else on the screen just felt mind-numbingly boring.
"Shweta do you plan on waking up tomorrow?" Her mother's snarky remark cuts into her daydream but not even that is enough to ruin her mood.
"No, maa." She calls out, "I'm up already." She yells, quickly getting off the bed and setting about to clearing the room before her mother knocked.
The house always felt a little odd without Shruti; their already nuclear family shrinking even further. "Did Shruti reach safely?" Shweta asks about her sister, having gone to bed early.
"Yes, she did," Seema says absent-mindedly, one hand holding the newspaper while a piece of paratha waits in the other. Then after a while, she adds as an afterthought, "Do you have any plans today?"
Shweta swallows and she nods grimly, "I'm going over to Riddhi's."
"Well, don't be too long. You have to study as well." Seema says, not bothering to look at Shweta's face. Had she done so; she would've noticed her daughter paling in fear.
Shweta had decided to apologize to Riddhi and knew that she needed to do it now. The longer she stretched it, the more of a debacle it would become. Theirs had been over ten years of friendship and Shweta didn't want it sour right when they were about to leave school. It had always had its share of ups and downs but it had never had this silence that had already gone on for too long. She would have to apologize to Riddhi even if she didn't want to forgive her. That would be alright, Shweta thought, but I have to apologize.
The memory of the afternoon of the fight erupts in her memory, causing her to wince at some of the things that she'd said to Riddhi. Her words had been spiteful; spitting all of the venom on Riddhi with a rage that hadn't been entirely directed towards her. Shweta had been feeling too frustrated with every other aspect of her life and Riddhi had just been at the receiving end of all of it.
After breakfast, she heads up to her room dawdling about purposely in an attempt to delay the inevitable. But by late morning, she manages to garner enough strength and courage and convince her to walk the Galli between her house and Riddhi's.
Riddhi had been frazzled all morning. There was a Physics test to be held on Monday morning and so far, her brain simply refused to solve any of the sums. They were supposed to be tested on Resistance and no matter what she did her brain seemed to be resisting her attempts at making it work. She was distracted and she knew; there was no way she would get any studying done that day. Sometimes, her moods just catapulted around in unpredictable directions and she sighed in annoyance. She would just have to try her best to wing the test the following day.
"Riddhi?" She hears her mother say, as she walks into Riddhi's room.
Glad for a distraction, she looks up and her mother adds, "Shweta's here to meet you. She's coming up in a minute. I just wanted to make sure you were here."
"Shweta?" Riddhi asks with a little too much surprise and her mother eyes her warily, "Yes, Shweta. What is so surprising about that?"
"Nothing," Riddhi says, smiling through gritted teeth. Trust Shweta to hide behind Riddhi's mother's benevolence and put Riddhi in an uncomfortable position.
"I'll send in some food for you." Riddhi can hear her mother say as Shweta's footsteps sound closer and closer to the room. "No, aunty." She can hear Shweta say, in customary refusal, "I just had breakfast."
"Hey," Shweta says awkwardly as she enters Riddhi's room. "May I come in?" She asks the words she had never uttered before.
This surprises Riddhi as well who had actually been preparing a scathing statement. She hadn't expected Shweta to act so meekly. "You may." She says, folding her arms as though she had no choice but to bear Shweta's presence.
"I'm sorry." She says, uttering the words she had been meaning to all this while. The words that she had said so a hundred times inside her head and had run this scenario inside her head many times.
"Don't be," Riddhi says, unflinching and cold; her defense drawn up high and strong.
"I mean it Riddhi," Shweta says, looking Riddhi in the eye. "I really am sorry. I shouldn't have said any of those things. And I didn't mean it."
"You called me weak," Riddhi says and Shweta looks at her, shame-faced.
"I know." She groans. "I had no right to. You are the strongest, most incredible person I know. And I look up to you, I really do. I just was in so much of a mess that I couldn't help comparing my life with yours; you always seem to have things figured out and you always know the right thing to do. I have so much to learn from you." Shweta says, shaking her head.
"And you called me a liar for not telling you about Vaibhav," Riddhi says, her eyes softening but her frown still in place.
"I'm sorry about that as well. I was the liar, I lied when I said I didn't want to tell you about Vaibhav. You just ran to my rescue even when you didn't know about it and I will forever be grateful to you for it. I wanted to tell you, Riddhi and I was just scared about you judging me. I know, that was wrong. You've been nothing but supportive." Shweta says, her eyes filling with tears.
"You were really mean, you know," Riddhi says.
"I know," Shweta says. "And I can understand if you don't want to be friends anymore. Those were not the kind of things a friend says. But I still want you to know that I'm really, really sorry."
"But I do want to be friends with you." Riddhi sighs as she lets her arms flop to her side.
"You do?" Shweta asks, looking amazed that Riddhi had softened her stance so quick. She had expected to grovel and beg and had been ready to do that.
"Yeah," Riddhi says and Shweta looks at her quizzically waiting for an explanation.
"Well, I missed you," Riddhi says simply; as if missing someone was enough reason to forgive them.
"But I was an a-hole," Shweta says, not mincing her words.
"That you were," Riddhi says, a resemblance of her smile gracing her features. "I knew that. And now, you know that too. What is the point of stretching it further?"
"But still," Shweta says, surprised enough to forget that she ought to be glad that Riddhi had forgiven her. "I'm sorry."
"I know. And I'm sorry, too." Riddhi says, causing Shweta's eyes to widen with mild panic.
"What are you apologizing for?" She asks.
"Well, there was some truth to some of the things you said. And I'm sorry I made you feel like you couldn't trust me. Or like a shadow for that matter. You mean a lot to me, Shweta." She says, her anger now slipping away and replaced by an understanding that had been slowly solidifying over the weeks of silence between the duo.
"That was just me acting neurotic," Shweta says, looking abashed. "You don't have to apologize for being yourself. Otherwise, what is even the point of friendship?"
"Thanks," Riddhi says and there is an awkward pause. It feels awkward to Shweta but Riddhi seems to be thinking; chewing her lip thoughtfully.
"I just want you to know." Riddhi says, "That you can also be whoever you want to be around me. I'm sorry I made you think that I would be judgemental about your and Vaibhav's relationship. And maybe I was as well, forcing you to tell me things that you weren't ready to. You had a lot going on then and it can't have been easy. I should've been there for you but I wasn't." She says.
"That's not going to be a problem anymore. Because telling you things makes things much better anyway." Shweta says with a wry smile.
"I'm glad," Riddhi says and there is another pause. Shweta interrupts it just to clear up the air, "Just to be clear, I am forgiven right?"
"You are, silly." Riddhi laughs and Shweta scratches her head awkwardly.
"I just wasn't expecting it to be resolved with this much ease." She says.
"What were you expecting? For me to scratch and scream?" Riddhi asks and Shweta smiles, "Something of that kind. But you were so polite."
"Do you even know me at all?" Riddhi asks, grinning and Shweta's own mouth widens into a large smile. "Turns out not as well as I thought I did."
"Well, you have been caught up with that little boyfriend of yours." Riddhi snickers in a tone so identical to Shruti's that Shweta hides her face and groans.
"Oh my god, don't start acting like Shruti. It was a relief when she went back to college."
"I can't stop it." Riddhi says mischievously, "Shruti told me to start teasing you about it once you'd apologized."
"Once I'd apologized?" Shweta echoes incredulously. "So, you knew I would apologize!"
"Of course, I did. I had enough people apologizing on your behalf and calling me to tell me that you would be apologizing soon. I knew you weren't feeling good about it." Riddhi says, enjoying Shweta's outrage.
"Then why didn't you say something?" Shweta wails, tears springing up to her eyes. "You knew it! You knew how miserable I felt about it all. Do you have any idea how much I've missed you at all? You didn't miss me, did you? No, you didn't!" She says, her voice breaking in agitation
"Of course, I did silly," Riddhi says, getting up to wrap her arms around Shweta who is still very agitated.
"You tortured me, didn't you?" She says, allowing Riddhi to hug her; speaking mostly to her best-friend's hair.
"Can you blame me? I've always enjoyed a bit of sadism." Riddhi grins.
"Do I even know you at all?" Shweta grumbles as Riddhi breaks into a laugh.
"Do you, Shweta? But that doesn't matter. You and your little boyfriend have made it official and that's the story I want to hear today." She teases her friend.
"Oh god." Shweta groans, "Why did I even bother apologizing?"
"Because you love me!" Riddhi says in a sing-song voice.
"You're lucky I do," Shweta admits grudgingly.
A/n: So things are looking up for Shweta, finally. There's going to be a final chapter. An epilogue of sorts, if you will.
So long, I'll publish the epilogue soon.
Much love,
shortgirlbigbook ❤️