Only Mine

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

The lecture couldn't have passed any slower. The last few minutes were absolute torture when the Professor went into overtime and I was finding it had to resist the urge to sneak out the back. I had already worked through this chapter the previous week and instead distracted myself playing Brick Breaker on my new Black Berry. Anna, on the other hand, was furiously taking down notes.

When the professor finally granted us reprieve, I rushed with Anna to her car, eager to escape this hell. I bade our other friends goodbye out of sheer excitement of skipping the day's lectures and headed straight to Anna's apartment. Anna lived in a 2 bedroom apartment in the most coveted and affluent part of Delhi. I had realised early on she came from a privileged family when she drove to college on her first day in a matte black Audi. It was a lot later that I learned that "matte black" was a custom made color which posited a premium. 

As Anna was from Paris, she lives alone. She had a spare bedroom for whenever her elder brother would come to visit her. I had never had the chance to meet him, but from the endless conversations I had with Anna, I had gleamed that his name was Jean, he was 26 years old and was happily settled in Paris. Anna and Jean were both orphans. Whenever I tried to pry more information about her parents, Anna would always clam up. As much as I was curious to learn more about their sudden demise, I wasn't insensitive enough to torture her any more for details. I came from a dysfunctional family myself and was happy to avoid the topic of familial conversation entirely.

After picking up delicious Chinese food on the way, we finally reached Anna's luxurious apartment building. I made myself comfortable on Anna's queen size bed, which was adorned with high thread count Egyptian bedsheets, and switched on Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Time seemed to fly, as it tends to when you're happy, and before I knew it darkness was starting to descend as 6pm rolled in. My father was an overbearing man who tended to go overboard with protecting me, which explained my rigid 7pm curfew. I had only broken it once when I was in high school, and the raging anger that possessed my father made him an unrecognisable human being. I was always timid in front of him and always followed his rules. I tended to always work towards all the dreams he visioned for me to the point where I didn't know whether I even wanted to attend business school. 

I let out an exasperated sigh realizing it was time for me to leave. 

Recognizing the reason behind my sigh, Anna asked, "Why don't you just crash over at my place?" 

"If only. My dad knows you don't have any adult supervision and he is very paranoid that I might end up doing something I'll regret for the rest of my life. I don't think he realizes just how dull my life is compared to every other 19 year old", I said. I always felt I was wasting away my best years either studying for a degree I didn't want or avoiding home.

"Why don't I talk to your father? I'm sure I can persuade him. I'll lay on the French charm thick," Anna asked.

"He'll just tell you to come over and stay at my place instead. That way he can keep an eye on us, " I replied. I had used that same line every time someone in high school invited me over. After a few rejections from my end, offers for sleepovers dried up pretty fast. I had consequently never had a sleepover at somebody else's house.

"Just give me your phone. You're 19 years old. Grow a spine. It's just a sleepover," Anna said.