《Short Recap》
"Now go wash your face and forget about what happened. And congratulations on getting your first real job," Dad smiled, " Go celebrate your success instead of wallowing now."
"I'll try." I offered him a weak smile.
"That's my girl! I should get going now. Bye."
"Bye."
I shut the laptop screen, and let the tears flow without any apprehension for some time before wiping them away.
I had to go shopping with Roshni for an outfit to wear to the TYCHE anniversary party and right now shopping sounded like great constructive therapy.
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"Are you sure this the latest style?" I asked Roshni, as I reluctantly held up the dress she'd zealously thrust into my hands, "I'm not trying to pull off the karela couture look!"
"I don't know, but it looks pretty good on their mannequin, so I'm assuming you can pull it off too." shrugged Roshni, browsing through another rack.
We were currently inside a the mall, in one of the those chic boutiques that sold cheap but cute clothes. With the right amount of searching, you could put together a wonderful outfit all within your budget.
I held up the metallic silver skirt that Roshni had shoved into my hands and eyed it skeptically.
"You know it's an office cocktail party...not a college kid's rave party. I'll look like a freaking stripper if I where this!" I whisper yelled.
"Might as well be," she replied simply, "Is anyone in your office even older than twenty five?"
Is there?!
"Kumar uncle is thirty five, I think. He's the security guard outside the building." I said, my lips curving downwards into a slight frown.
She paused mid step to throw me a bemused look, before shaking her head turning into the next aisle.
"Ok, you're right. It might escalate and become wild but I'd like to look as professional as possible. I'm aiming for a job remember, not seducing Mr. Deb with my curves." I said in a matter of fact tone, holding my hands up to heighten the effect.
With an annoyed groan I pulled myself along.
"What do you think about this one?" I held up a black and yellow maxi with a lace bordered neck.
"Eww, Akira..." Roshni gagged, and narrowed her eyes in disgust, "You want to look classy, not like bumblebee royale, for God's sake!"
I tossed it aside, raising my eyebrows as I did. It was a random dress I picked up anyway, and even with my novice fashion sense, I knew that yellow made me look like a banana.
Don't get me wrong, bananas are my raison d'être but looking like one was very....unattractive, I guess?
"So, did you find out who Neel's been texting secretly?" I asked, as I scanned the racks for something I liked.
This piqued Roshni's interest immediately.
Flashing me a cheeky grin she replied, "As a matter of fact I did."
"Do I know the girl?" I asked excitedly.
Roshni nodded briefly, biting g back a snort before hiding behind a bunch of clothes.
"Tell me then!" I prodded, "Is Neel dating this girl now?!"
"Just wait a little longer, babe. You'll meet her when we meet Neel for dinner," Roshni chuckled at my sudden ardor.
Pulling my mouth in a childish pout I followed her.
"This is hardly fair! I tell you guys everything. Why am I being kept in the dark here?"
"Excuse me?" a middle aged woman, maybe about fifty years old approached us.
"Yes, Aunty?" Roshni asked politely.
"You girls look sweet and I really needed a youngster's opinion on these new trends. You see my son is coming to visit me for his vacation. He studies in Massachusetts. And he gets frustrated when I show up in salwar kurta when he's with his friends. So I wanted to buy something Western to make him happy." she said, the bright sparkle in her eyes indicating how much this meant for her.
"We'd love to help you Aunty!" Roshni replied sweetly, effortlessly morphing into her sweet girl next door avatar.
I watched with a sad smile as the lady told Roshni about her son, somewhat animatedly. It reminded me of my own mother. It was funny how children sometimes took their parents for granted, especially mothers.
Not the time to sulk Akira!
I hoped this woman's son would see the effort she was putting in to make him happy. She just seemed so kind and generous, that it would be heartbreaking if he ignored her again.
As Roshni helped her I walked around the store and picked out some dresses for myself. One was a striped jumpsuit which looked chic and formal at the same time. Another was a relatively short dress, a shade of baby blue. And lastly I had picked a flowy dress with floral patterns decorative the neck and waistline.
Satisfied with my selection I made my way to the crowded trial rooms.
"Excuse me, can you please make sure no one hijacks my stall while I go show this outfit to my friend?" a girl asked peeking out from a stall on the far right.
"Sure, just let me go after you." I nodded.
"Yeah, no problem." She replied immediately.
And despite being total strangers, we shared a devious smile like we'd just made the most important drug deal of the century.
After she was done, I hastily entered the small stall and shut the door before one of the ten other shoppers captured it, which garnered a series of groans from the ladies outside.
Grinning devilishly to myself, I started stripping. I first tried the baby blue dress. It had collars and was kind of a semi formal shirt dress with a thin silver belt round d the middle.
Not bad. I thought as I regarded my reflection in the wall sized mirror of the changing room. But I need expert advice.
Flipping my phone open, I dialed Roshni's phone number. She answered within two rings.
"Where did you freaking disappear, Akira?!" she whisper yelled through the phone line, "One moment your loitering in the background as I helped that sweet Aunty and the next you've vanished into thin air!"
"Calm down, Rosh," I whispered back, "I'm in the trial room. Come here right now. I'm in dire need of your opinion!"
"Yeah, on my way," she answered, "Why're we whispering?"
"I don't know. Just come."
I played with my hair as I waited, puffing it up and then straightening it down again, until I heard Roshni's frantic screaming outside.
"AKIRA?!"
"I'm in the last stall on the right!" I yelled back, mindless of the other people outside.
Privacy in changing rooms was almost unthinkable when you had a population of 1.38 billion.
"What do you think?" I asked, biting my lower lip skeptically.
"Cute but not a cocktail party kind of attire. You should totally buy it, though." Roshni replied, studying me like a museum exhibit.
"What do you..." I started, a tad bit confused.
"Next!" she cut me off, shoving me back inside and closing the door.
I tried on the floral one. It looked cool in a vintage or of way. It was pretty comfortable too. I opened the door.
"Eww...That dress is so ancient! Eighty year old grandmas wear such stuff to their grandchildren's weddings," Roshni gave me an incredulous glare.
"Okay..." I surrendered, going back inside, "No need to get creative with your analogies!"
I changed into the striped jumpsuit, tossing the floral dress aside a little ruefully.
The jumpsuit was a little low cut behind, just so you could get a glimpse of my jutting scapula. It made me feel a little edgy but I had to admit the dress looked good on me.
"Damn, Akira!" Roshni breathed, as I strode out for the third time, "You have to buy this outfit. And trust me you'll have Mr. Deb and Mihir eating out of your hand by the end of the night."
"Eww, stop Roshni!" I whacked her arm, "Is this too much?"
"Absolutely not. You look amazing Akira! What do you think Aunty?" she turned to the lady waiting outside my trial room impatiently.
"It's beautiful. Now are you done? I need to go pick up my child from school in half an hour." she grunted.
"Yeah just give me a moment to change back." I said politely, offering her a tight smile.
I changed into my own clothes hastily, and walked out with the three dresses slung on my forearm.
We bought the baby blue shirt dress and the jumpsuit, paying with cash, because that saved you the card transaction charges. Yeah, I'm kind of stingy that way.
It was almost seven thirty by the time we stepped out of the store. My stomach was growling quietly.
"Are you ready to meet Neel and his mystery girl?" Roshni raised her brow, a glint in her eyes.
"I'm looking forward to it." I nodded excitedly, "Let's go fast!"
Neel had asked us to meet him at McDonald's in the food court on the top floor of the mall. I scanned the crowd for him and when I did spot him I almost had mild myocardial infarction.
Sitting next to him, dressed like a pretty little doll was...
I gulped.
It was Lara?!
●○●
Eeks, how did Lara drop into the picture?!
Karela- Hindi name of bitter gourd
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QOTD: What's your idea of comfort dressing?
I normally opt for pajamas!