blamedfor thinking that they would probably have the cutest kids ever born.
‘Sure! But we can still go out to eat, right? We can ask him to come along?’
Pia’s mom has called ten times since the evening to remind her that she shouldn’t eat the hostel food for at least the first few weeks. Apparently, she has a weak stomach, which takes time to adapt to new surroundings. It’s obvious; she is a little princess after all. But Pia isn’t that insistent on it.
‘Let’s ask him,’ I say and drag her inside the canteen.
A lot of people start looking in our direction. I would give Pia’s bright pink attire, with USA 64 written in bold silver letters, the credit for it. Her spaghetti top, too, is a little too skimpy for a hostel mess and I realize it now.
‘Why is everyone looking at us?’ she whispers under her breath, her perfectly shaped eyebrows in knots.
‘Just stick close to me,’ I say.
We look for Tanmay and I am furious that he is not here. I shouldn’t have mentioned in the text I had sent him that Pia is this amazing. He makes us wait for fifteen minutes in the crowded mess, and I don’t see what took him so much time. In his checked pyjamas, a cartoon-embellished T-shirt and his Harry Potter glasses, he looks just the same.
He smiles on seeing me, but his smile automatically disappears as his eyes move from me to the girl at my side. My eyes follow his and I see how cute Pia is. She has left her wavy hair open and it hides half of her snowy white face. By the time Tanmay is standing in front of us, all the blood from his body has rushed to his face and he is bright red.
‘Hi, Tanmay. I am Pia,’ she introduces herself, smiling brightly at him. Tanmay responds with a silent
Hi.
He stretches out a hand to shake hers, but by that time Pia has already moved forward for a hug. There is an awkward moment of something between a hug and a handshake andI’m glad it lasts just for a few seconds. I make a mental note to tell Pia later that around here not everyone is used to getting hugged.
‘Where are you from, Tanmay?’ the bubbly, cheerful girl asks.
‘Barwaha. You must not have heard of it … a small town in Madhya Pradesh …’ Tanmay mumbles, looking everywhere but at her.
‘No, I have heard of it. One of my Dad’s partners has a farmhouse there. I have been there once. It’s a beautiful place,’ she says and Tanmay turns to look at me with love-struck eyes. I think he has fallen in love just because a girl as pretty as her even knows where Barwaha is, let alone having visited the place.
‘So Tanmay, don’t you think we should go out and eat? My mom just messaged me,’ she shows us her spanking new iPhone with a pink cover, ‘that there is a McDonald’s just outside the college campus. I think we should go. But I don’t know, it’s really your choice,’ she says and makes a face kids make when you don’t take them out for an ice cream. Tanmay looks at me like I am their mom and they are waiting for me to decide.
‘Fine,’
I say. ‘Let’s go.’
Pia shrieks and hugs both of us, grabbing some more attention from the hostellers in the mess. I think I have to be quick with that talk I have decided to have with Pia about who to hug and where.
We ordered burgers, fries and Coke for ourselves. Our table is now filled with transfats, mayonnaise and cholesterol! But Pia gave me another thing to like about her. She wasn’t finicky about eating only low-calorie food. In fact, she ridiculed me when I asked for a burger without cheese. I notice that she has the perfect body—neither too thin, nor too fat.
‘How’s the burger without cheese?’ she mocks me.
‘I don’t want to get fat!’ I say to defend myself.
‘You can’t get fat. You’re already too thin,’ Tanmay says.
‘Are you on my side or hers? You just met her, Tanmay.’
‘You could have had the extra cheese,’ Pia says. ‘We will go to the gym together, what say?’
‘Gym?’
‘Yes, there is a
‘Sure! But we can still go out to eat, right? We can ask him to come along?’
Pia’s mom has called ten times since the evening to remind her that she shouldn’t eat the hostel food for at least the first few weeks. Apparently, she has a weak stomach, which takes time to adapt to new surroundings. It’s obvious; she is a little princess after all. But Pia isn’t that insistent on it.
‘Let’s ask him,’ I say and drag her inside the canteen.
A lot of people start looking in our direction. I would give Pia’s bright pink attire, with USA 64 written in bold silver letters, the credit for it. Her spaghetti top, too, is a little too skimpy for a hostel mess and I realize it now.
‘Why is everyone looking at us?’ she whispers under her breath, her perfectly shaped eyebrows in knots.
‘Just stick close to me,’ I say.
We look for Tanmay and I am furious that he is not here. I shouldn’t have mentioned in the text I had sent him that Pia is this amazing. He makes us wait for fifteen minutes in the crowded mess, and I don’t see what took him so much time. In his checked pyjamas, a cartoon-embellished T-shirt and his Harry Potter glasses, he looks just the same.
He smiles on seeing me, but his smile automatically disappears as his eyes move from me to the girl at my side. My eyes follow his and I see how cute Pia is. She has left her wavy hair open and it hides half of her snowy white face. By the time Tanmay is standing in front of us, all the blood from his body has rushed to his face and he is bright red.
‘Hi, Tanmay. I am Pia,’ she introduces herself, smiling brightly at him. Tanmay responds with a silent
Hi.
He stretches out a hand to shake hers, but by that time Pia has already moved forward for a hug. There is an awkward moment of something between a hug and a handshake andI’m glad it lasts just for a few seconds. I make a mental note to tell Pia later that around here not everyone is used to getting hugged.
‘Where are you from, Tanmay?’ the bubbly, cheerful girl asks.
‘Barwaha. You must not have heard of it … a small town in Madhya Pradesh …’ Tanmay mumbles, looking everywhere but at her.
‘No, I have heard of it. One of my Dad’s partners has a farmhouse there. I have been there once. It’s a beautiful place,’ she says and Tanmay turns to look at me with love-struck eyes. I think he has fallen in love just because a girl as pretty as her even knows where Barwaha is, let alone having visited the place.
‘So Tanmay, don’t you think we should go out and eat? My mom just messaged me,’ she shows us her spanking new iPhone with a pink cover, ‘that there is a McDonald’s just outside the college campus. I think we should go. But I don’t know, it’s really your choice,’ she says and makes a face kids make when you don’t take them out for an ice cream. Tanmay looks at me like I am their mom and they are waiting for me to decide.
‘Fine,’
I say. ‘Let’s go.’
Pia shrieks and hugs both of us, grabbing some more attention from the hostellers in the mess. I think I have to be quick with that talk I have decided to have with Pia about who to hug and where.
We ordered burgers, fries and Coke for ourselves. Our table is now filled with transfats, mayonnaise and cholesterol! But Pia gave me another thing to like about her. She wasn’t finicky about eating only low-calorie food. In fact, she ridiculed me when I asked for a burger without cheese. I notice that she has the perfect body—neither too thin, nor too fat.
‘How’s the burger without cheese?’ she mocks me.
‘I don’t want to get fat!’ I say to defend myself.
‘You can’t get fat. You’re already too thin,’ Tanmay says.
‘Are you on my side or hers? You just met her, Tanmay.’
‘You could have had the extra cheese,’ Pia says. ‘We will go to the gym together, what say?’
‘Gym?’
‘Yes, there is a
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