At 10:50 that night, I receive a text from Dhruv.
When were you going to tell us?
My heart thuds as I try to remember something I haven't shared with them. If I hadn't told them, who would? What would I have done, anyway? I don't remember doing anything.
My phone pings with another text that concludes my thoughts,
My mom just told me about the deal. We were waiting for you to text.
I breathe out in relief. I had told my friends about the deal, but I hadn't given them any details. I got excited about my first big deal in India and told them about it, but I was waiting for them to ask me about it.
Dhruv's mother knows about the deal because she's Zēlos International's chief legal advisor. She doesn't sit in on the meetings, even if it's meetings as consequential as this one. She sits in on conferences of direct impact, where she sorts things on the spot.
Congrats, butthole!
I chuckle at Dhruv's text, typing one back to him.
So much love! Uff! Thanks, butthole.
Dhriti: Congrats, Vi!!!!!!!
Thank you, Dhri!!!!!
Siddharth: Party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
I roll my eyes at Sid's text. He's always partying. Every day, the first face on the tabloid is Siddharth Chetti's. Not for bad or wrong things, per se, but the guy is in attendance to every big shot party in the city.
Isn't that what you do every night with all of your actor friends?
Sid's family is deeply associated with the movie industry. His father is a producer, and his mother, a legendary actress. Aunty stopped acting as a romance lead after marrying Siddharth's father. She occasionally does roles on request, but otherwise, she only serves the part of co-producer now.
Siddharth: You are also one of my actor friends. Legendary actress, Arvi Ravichander. Tamil industry's prodigy.
I roll my eyes, chuckling at Sid's reply. Tit for tat. I went at his partying and sleeping habits, and he came to my surname which is professedly Tamil.
I reply to Sam's congratulatory text before throwing my phone away and going back to work.
~.~.~.~.~
On Saturday night, despite all of my protests and excuses, I'm dragged to the club. By my best friends. Please note the sarcasm.
I get dragged to a club opening. Sam's friend's brother's club, she says. But what does it matter when you don't want to go? It doesn't matter to my friends that I don't want to go.
To make matters worse, we had VIP access. Cool? Not. I was praying we don't bump into any familiar figures. I have no strength to put up an elaborate act of elegance and niceties when my body is in war with itself.
Yesterday, I realised my periods' cycle was late. After the initial, 'Am I pregnant?' followed by, 'You need to have sex to be pregnant', I realised it could be because of a lack of physical activity. The exercise kind. Gosh!
So, I joined my sister-in-law in her daily workout routine. It was sheer torture. Working-out, after nearly three months, did not sit well with my body. Which is why, kids, no matter how lazy you feel, go and fucking workout. It only gets harder when you return to it.
Unlike me, Pranathi Vadina was in form and shape. She breezed through it while I was panting like a dog.
Consequences of ditching workout, I tell you, are detrimental. Over the last three months, my only physical activity had been opening and closing my mouth to shove food in it.
My workout resulted in two things: periods, body pains. Ouch.
When Sam and Sid came to my house to drag me to the club, I used every excuse in the book, ranging from how stinky the place would be to how sick I feel, nothing worked.
My mom didn't care where I was going as long as I got out of the house. Which Indian mother forces her daughter to go to a club because she doesn't want her daughter to be moping around the house? Mine.
What can I say? I got the best of the lot.
"What do you want?" Sid nudges me rudely, as I sprawl on the red leather couch of the VIP area of the club.
"Coke," I answer, getting comfortable in the couch, my bed for the night.
I send a prayer upwards, praying I don't find any acquaintances that I would have to be polite and pleasant to. I feel too crappy for that. I could always try and succeed in giving crap to people, though.
"What crawled up your ass?" Dhruv asks, after failing to pique my interest and pulling me into a conversation.
I glare at him in response, feeling too lazy to open and close my mouth to respond to him. Dhriti slaps his arm from his other side.
She must've told him that I was on my periods, because he asks, crudely, "So it's about what's coming out the vagina?"
That gets him both a verbal and physical response. I smack his arm hard. "Butthole."
"This is physical abuse," Dhruv groans, rubbing his arm to soothe the nonexistent pain.
"Go argue that in court," is my reply to his baseless accusation.
Sam walks out to take a phone call while Dhriti and Dhruv get very affectionate in my presence, shamelessly. I look away from them, mentally begging for Sid to come.
There seems to be some psychic connection between the two of us, because, within no time, Sid comes back with a tray of drinks in his hands.
Out of the kindness of my heart, I refrain from commenting about his new waitressing job at the club.
However, Sid shows none of that as he teases me about my low tolerance to alcohol. He holds two drinks in both of his hands, a glass of whisky and a glass of coke.
He first extends the glass of whisky to me. "Oh, sorry. I forget you're a teetotaller," he says in mock apology.
I narrow my eyes at him, trying to take the drink in his other hand, but he doesn't give it to me. "I'm tired, Siddharth. Give me my drink," I whine, trying to get it from him.
"Don't you remember what Ms Rekha taught us in first grade? The three golden rules to a polite conversation: Sorry, please, and thank you," he teaches me oh-so-kindly.
"Now, kid, what do you say when your friend brings you your drink?" he asks, looking at me expectantly, as though I were a kid.
"Our first-grade teacher's name was Radha," I correct him, carefully snatching the drink from his grip. "Fuck off, Sid," I flash him a tight-lipped smile. "That's what I say when my friend brings me a drink."
Sid slumps on the couch next to me. "Bitch," he curses.
"Jackarse," I return the compliment.
Sameeksha comes back and sits on the other side of Dhriti. Silence descends upon us, and I try to avoid it by busying myself in my drink, but it doesn't last long.
"So?" Dhriti prompts, breaking the silence.
I look at her cheerful, excited face, and I know I'm up for some grilling. I look at her over the rim of my glass that I stick to my mouth to avoid conversation.
I try to think of something to distract them, but Sid pulls the glass away from my mouth, thankfully not dropping the contents on my clothes.
I purse my lips together, caught red-handed trying to avoid the conversation. I wipe away the wetness on my upper lip with a paper napkin and say, "So?"
"Arjun," Sam announces the topic of conversation today. It's all these gossip-mongers can talk about: Arjun. They start their day by teasing me about Arjun and end the day with fights about who's going to be the godmother. Sid and Dhruv sit the arguments out.
"What about him?" I ask, trying to sink deeper into the couch, as discretely as possible.
Sid's voice gathers my attention. "He's here," he says, enthusiastically. I resist the temptation to look that way, not wanting to fall for Sid's prank and then get teased about it.
I keep my eyes trained on Sam, whose face glows up with a full smile. She looks my way, mischief lining her eyes as she wiggles her eyebrows at me, teasingly.
A familiar thud against my chest makes me wonder if he is here. I look down at my clothes; a t-shirt and ripped jeans. What was Sam thinking, letting me come to a club wearing these?
"Is that..." Dhruv narrows his eyes. "Kaushik? Your cousin?" At this, I look towards my right, where everyone else seems to be interested.
I see the three men walking towards us. No, it's not just Kaushik, my cousin. It's also Pranav, my other cousin; the one that I refused to come to the club with, last week.
I get a glimpse of Arjun in his black t-shirt and grey blazer. He looks drool-worthy. I look away before he can catch me looking at him.
I hold my head, trying to clam up like a turtle. Pranav will give me so much shit for refusing to go with him but coming with my friends.
I feel like a piece of shit in a stinking pile of shit, awaiting more shit. Ew. No, Arvi. Stop.
"Arsehole," I direct my embarrassment-turned-exasperation at Sid who's sitting next to me. I nudge his foot with mine, harshly, making him wince. "Why did you drag me here?" I grit out.
"To hang out," he replies coolly, forgetting his paining leg. He's now focussed on my reaction to the people coming our way.
"You have a fucking death wish, Siddharth," I threaten through clenched teeth.
He grins unbothered. "Aw, you're doing the shy bride act for Arjun?" Not in a million years, I'm not. He knows that too.
The boys exchange greetings with my friends, as I try to explain to Sid, "It's not him--"
Pranav's deep voice drowns my hushed tone, "I thought you didn't go clubbing," he drawls sarcastically.
I look up with a sheepish grin, to meet his accusing gaze. "Hi!" I try to imitate Avni's signature jazz hands, hoping that'll distract him. He always falls for her jazz hands; everyone does.
An unwavering deep scowl sets upon Pranav's face. Even when my cheeks hurt because of the grinning, he doesn't look the least bit unconvinced.
I sigh, giving up on the act. As I massage my cheeks, trying to ease the pain, I feel Arjun's gaze on me, enhancing the frenzy in my heart.
"In case you haven't guessed," I explain, gesturing to my clothes, "I don't want to be here."
"Oh, no," Sid pipes from my side, "She has been begging to go clubbing for a while now, and we finally got around to it today."
I look at him with a slackened jaw. He knows how much of a sulk pot Pranav can be. "That's not true," I tell Pranav, hoping he'll believe me.
Pranav's very immature when it comes to getting rejected. Not the I'm-going-to-give-this-girl-hell-for-rejecting-me kind, but he gets super pissed when someone does something they've explicitly told him they wouldn't.
Pranav looks at me scrutinisingly, and I think he'll believe me, but Dhruv adds fuel to the fire. "It's true. She's been wanting to go clubbing for a while now. It was her idea."
I don't have any friends! "No, it wasn't. It was your dumbarse idea, and you dragged me here."
I give Pranav the most innocent look I can muster. I truly am innocent. "Pranav Anna I swear all I wanted to do was stay home, watch Netflix, and chill. You know I don't go clubbing."
My honest proclamation receives low whistles from my friends. Not cool. "Without me?" Arjun's voice makes me snap my attention to him. Once again, my jaw drops.
Sid high-fives Arjun at the very moment Pranav chooses to warn him. "Don't flirt with my sister," he growls.
Arjun grins cheekily at Pranav, making Pranav scowl even more. I look from Pranav to Kaushik who looks amused at Arjun's antics.
Did they exchange souls or something?
"Why are you all here?" I ask curiously, looking from Pranav to Kaushik, carefully avoiding looking at Arjun.
"Sameeksha invited me, Kaushik and Arjun were already here with their friends," Pranav answers. I look between Kaushik and Arjun, trying to form a connection. Kaushik and Arjun are friends? They certainly didn't look like they were. Neither of the boys explains that bit, so I let it go for now.
Arjun settles right in front of me. When I catch his eye, he winks at me. Thankfully, no one notices. My cheeks flare up with warmth. I'm sure I look like a tomato by now.
I look away from Arjun, but I know I can't escape his gaze when he sits right in front of me. I try my best not to look into his eyes, or even at his face, but it seems to be an impossible task.
Comfortable conversations flow freely among my friends, family and Arjun. I try not to look Arjun's way but fail miserably.
Arjun regards me with a smirk every time I meet his gaze. Soon, I run out of my glass of coke that helps me avoid embarrassment.
I look at Pranav who's whispering something in Sameeksha's here that makes her giggle shyly. When Sameeksha catches my eyes, I make a gagging action at her.
She narrows her eyes at me, but soon her expressions change into something devious. She eyes Arjun, and then me.
I shake my head at her, warning her against doing anything. I know whatever she wants to do will involve Arjun. She sticks her tongue out at me.
Arjun notices our exchange, much to Sameeksha's comfort. I narrow my eyes at her slightly, threatening her, but she pays no heed to me.
"Hey, Arjun," she addresses him in an enthusiastic, sweet tone that makes my stomach churn. She turns away from me to look at a curious-looking Arjun. "You went to Arching Heights, didn't you?"
Oh, my God. I brought this upon myself.
"I did," Arjun says dubiously, looking between Sameeksha and me as if trying to form a connection to what's happening.
Sameeksha looks at me from the corner of her evil eyes, teasingly. I throw pleading looks at her, but she doesn't acknowledge them. "You know," she drags, her eyes flitting between Arjun and me. My heart drops as she continues, "Arvi had a huge crush on you back then."
"No!" I yell at the same time, hoping to drown her voice out, but the person who doesn't need to know seems to have heard.
Arjun's features turn smug, a corner of his lips going up in a smirk as he tilts his head at me teasingly. "Really, Arvi?"
I scowl, vehemently denying it. "No. Sameeksha just says stuff to embarrass me," I try to convince him, "Don't trust her with information about me, Arjun." I realise it's the first time I'm addressing Arjun tonight.
"Oh, hey!" Sameeksha takes offence to my defensive stance. "Firstly, I don't have to make up stuff to embarrass you, and everyone knows it's true that you crushed on Arjun."
Arjun wiggles his eyebrows at me, making me want to hide. I look away from him, hoping it'll all go away.
"Arching Heights?" Dhruv asks confusedly. "Like Eleventh and Twelfth grades?"
"Yes," Sam supplied eagerly, "Eleventh and Twelfth grades. Cute guy, senior--"
"--Tall, amazing hair, basketball player?" Dhruv finishes, turning to look at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Your cute guy?" Dhruv asks, "The one you refused to name?"
"You seriously had a crush on Arjun?" Pranav ridicules.
Arjun takes offence to Pranav's tone, or so it seems. "What's with the tone? I was her cute guy," he quotes, "Tall, amazing hair, basketball player."
I cover my face with my hands. "You were not my anything!" I tell him. "There were a ton of other tall, cute seniors with amazing hair who played basketball." No, there weren't.
"There were only a handful of pro basketball players, and even fewer seniors," Sid bring to attention. "Even so, tell me one other senior guy's name, Arvi."
That's easy. I met three senior guys at my brother's wedding a few weeks ago. "Va--"
"Not guys you remember from a few weeks ago," Sid scoffs. "Others. One other name."
"I met Arjun a few weeks ago, too," I point out.
"But you did have a crush on him, right after Har-shit. I remember very clearly," Sid stresses, not backing down.
"You didn't remember the name of our class teacher. How do you expect to remember my high school crush's name?" I demand.
"But I do!" Sid insists, "Because senior dude here--"
Arjun doesn't let us continue our argument. "So you've been crushing on me since high school, Arvi?"
I look at him with a ridiculous look. I open my mouth to protest, but my voice dies in the chorus of ayes. Arjun's eyes glisten with victory and tease as he winks at me, once again, making my heart skip a beat.
He is not healthy for my heart.
~.~.~.~.~
On Sunday evening, at Karthik and Pranathi Vadina's Reception Party, I choose to save myself some embarrassment and stay away from Pranav, Kaushik, The Traitors, and Arjun.
However, it so turns out that Kaushik and Pranav won't leave me alone no matter what. I tried getting away, but one of them is always around me.
And if Pranav is around me, all he cares about is how I liked Arjun back in high school. I don't know! I was a stupid high schooler. What does it matter why or how I crushed on Arjun back then?
Having had enough of Pranav, I choose to stick to Kaushik out of my own volition.
Kaushik turns to me with a question as we walk away from Mr Rao. "What's the matter with Rao?" he asks.
I shrug with a chuckle. Rao's a sore loser when proven wrong is what's the matter with him. "I don't think he likes me," I tell Kaushik.
Kaushik gives me a look that says to cut the chase. "I understood as much, but why?"
I grin, and give him an abridged version of my meeting with Rao on Monday. "He doesn't like that I proved him wrong, and I think it cut a little deeper because I belong to the female species."
However, the things with Rao is, he accepts defeat. He hasn't tried to question my capability after that day.
Kaushik squeezes my shoulder, gently; in reassurance. "It doesn't matter what he thinks," he says.
It does, though, because Rao's a shareholder in Zēlos. But I choose to go along with Kaushik. "He is very amusing," I joke.
Kaushik lets out a small laugh. "Where's Loverboy?" he asks, his eyes skirting around the hall.
My ears warm-up, and I take a sip of the champagne in my flute. I hadn't finished two whole glasses in the entire evening, but I'd exchanged a whole lot of them.
I'd preferably not get drunk around so many business people. For appearance's sake, I had been nursing a flute of champagne through the night.
"Who?" I ask, feigning dumbness.
He gives me a knowing look and a smug smirk but doesn't press on it. "You didn't know we were friends, did you?" he asks, referring to the same man.
I shake my head slowly, "I didn't."
Kaushik raises both of his eyebrows at me. "Now you know who he is," he teases. "Anyway, we were friends from college."
"You were his senior?"
Kaushik nods. "Arjun helped me with something back then," he says vaguely, sounding distant. I choose not to press on a subject he's not willing to elaborate.
We walk to a corner of the hall and take a seat. I see a woman looking at Kaushik, but he doesn't return her gaze. I had been receiving a lot of dirty stares from people I didn't even know. Kaushik seems to have a fan base and no girlfriend.
"Why don't you have a girlfriend?" I ask him.
He shrugs evasively, avoiding my eyes. "I haven't found someone else that might share mutual feelings," he says.
"Someone else?" The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. Kaushik stiffens, realising his slip-up.
"Forget I said that," he says tersely. If I could, maybe I would. No, I wouldn't. Even so, when Kaushik suddenly draws his guards up, I know this is a touchy subject, and I know it's not one he'd like to share, but that doesn't stop me from wondering to myself.
"Arvi Ravichander," I hear a feminine voice address me witheringly.
I feel my heart dip, the slightest, at the contemptuous tone used by a familiar voice. I look up to see Kavya.
"Just Arvi works just as good, Kavya."
She presses her lips into a fake smile. "I saw the magazines and the pictures, but how can I trust something I haven't seen with my own eyes?" she asks icily.
I feel irritation coursing through me. "Just like you always have?" I suggest sarcastically. "You believe the gossip like you believe your own eyes, don't you?"
She disregards my jab as her eyes turn to Kaushik. She raises her eyebrows at me. "Does he know about Siddharth and you?"
I glance at Kaushik, who looks tremendously amused and entertained like he's having the time of his life.
"Sure." I shrug. "Kaushik knows Siddharth. Siddharth and I have been friends since forever, remember?"
Her façade falls, her lips twisting into a frown. "Friends," she scoffs.
"Kavya?" I say politely, but the look on her face ticks me off. I would've been nice to her if she wasn't looking down at me like she was. "I graduated from high school; it's about time you did too."
"You bitch," she seethes. I know her reaction has little to do with graduating high school and a lot to do with the mention of high school.
"Kavya, just leave, please. I have no energy to deal with Sid's psycho ex-girlfriend."
"It's always a pleasure to meet the ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend," she mocks, staying put where she is. Talk about clingy ex-girlfriends.
I sigh deeply, letting her know of my exasperation. "Kavya, you jump to conclusions faster than you spread your legs. That's not my problem. One last time, I'm asking you to leave."
Kaushik coughs to mask his laughter, attracting Kavya's attention. She looks between the two of us, her eyes narrowing to slits.
She whips her head away from us and starts to click away on her foot-high heels. When she's away from the hearing range, Kaushik lets go, falling into spurts of laughter. She turns around as if on cue, her eyes still narrowed. She points two fingers at me, in an 'I'm watching you' sign.
I face-palm dramatically at her act, causing her to stomp away.
"What the heck was that?" Kaushik asks, making me look away from the direction she left in, to him.
I smile a little, seeing him laugh. "Siddharth dated Kavya back in high school. She thought he was cheating on her with me."
It was Sid's first-ever heartbreak, and I had caused it. Yet, he never pushed me away.
The lights in the hall dim, and the spotlight falls upon the dance floor where no one is dancing anymore. In the spotlight, stand my parents and the Konas.
The concluding speech. Thank Heavens! God knows I can't handle human interaction.
My father and Pranathi Vadina's father thank everyone for attending the party and blessing the newly-wedded couple. And then RK Uncle steps up.
"... We are happy to announce that my son Arjun, and Naveen and Madhurima's only daughter, Arvi, will be wedded in the next six months..."
I can't hear anything after that. Six months? I can't understand anything. My brain stops functioning, and everything comes to a standstill. Nothing makes sense over the thudding of my heart.
I snap out when the cold summer breeze hits me in the face. Kaushik is holding my hand in a tight grip.
I stand there, unmoving, unable to process anything. My heart thuds faster and faster against my ribcage, and it doesn't make me feel pleasant.
"Arvi," Kaushik whispers encouragingly, "Deep breaths. Take deep breaths, calm down."
I follow Kaushik's instructions, breathing in and out with him. The thudding in my heart doesn't stop. My stomach churns, and I feel like I'm going to throw up, but I don't.
Kaushik holds me, rubbing my arm, trying to soothe me. Slowly, my heartbeat dims to its original pace, and I regain my composure.
I pull away from Kaushik. I sniffle, finally realising that I had been crying. I wipe my tears away, before turning to look at Kaushik.
Concern for me is evident on his face. But there is no surprise. Like he knew what was coming, all along. The entire night, I stuck to his side, and he knew what was coming.
"You knew."
Trepidation seeps onto his features. He tries to reach for me, trying to touch me, but I move away.
There was an elaborate plan. Kaushik or Pranav always stuck by my side we were seated close to the exit at the right time. As soon as I heard the announcement, he pulled me out.
Kaushik hangs his head guiltily. "I'm sorry."
It's not enough.
A/N
What do you think? Though I've already published this once, I still felt anxious as I wrote this again.
What did you think about Kavya? Not sure if you're going to see more of her, but tell me what you thought.
What do you think Arvi's reaction will be? (For those of you who already know. Shhh... don't give spoilers.)
Love,
A.