♡ The Boy That Changed Me ♡

~ Chapter 3 - Dinner ~

"So, Rani," Nirmala starts with a beaming smile," I was thinking... maybe we could go to Canary Warf together to get you some extra equipment before you start school on Monday? Y'know, just the two of us?"

I look up from my hardly touched, now cold dinner and shrug my shoulders. "Dunno." I say, slightly saddening Nirmala's sweet smile.

I feel someone nudge my leg, so I look up to see Surak, who has a stern look on his face, clearly meaning that I've said something wrong. "Rani, behave." He tells me.

"Sorry."

I didn't mean to be disrespectful, I'm just not a big fan of shopping. That's all. And, Nirmala always spends ages in the accessory shops, wondering around, looking at hairclips and jewellery, but then never ends up buying anything 'cause she says it's 'out of her price range'.

"Don't you have work tomorrow?" I ask her (slightly hoping that she does), knowing that she'd never skip a day. Nirmala shakes her head, making my smile disappear, once again.

"I asked if I could have a few days off to help you settle in, and they said yes! Isn't that thoughtful of the hospital?" She says joyfully. It's only now that I realise that she's still in her blue doctor's uniform.

Nirmala's a paediatrician (a doctor that works with children), and she loves her job. Sometimes it seems as if she's more interested with her work than us. Her and mum used to fight all the time when we'd come to visit and their arguments always had something to do with how Nirmala was always wrapped up in her work and never had any time for us. I don't remember a single time that mum and Nirmala got on...

"Yeah. How thoughtful..." I sigh disappointed, knowing that I now have no way to get out of this situation.

"Auntie, can u pass the gravy, please?" Baliyo asks Nirmala. She smiles and hands the gravy over before continuing her conversation. "Excited for school?" She asks me and my brother.

"Yes! I'm gonna make new friends! I can't wait until Monday!" Baliyo shouts out.

"I can..." I mutter to myself, but still loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Don't worry, you're gonna be fine." Surak reassures me while rubbing my shoulder. Then, he smirks. "You might even get yourself a boyfriend."

I frown, cringing.

"Ooooo, a boyfriend!" Baliyo teases, making me blush madly.

"Um, Surak, no!" Nirmala exclaims in her motherly voice. "Don't encourage her!" She lectures while waving a finger at her husband, making him laugh.

She then turns to me with a stern look on her face. "There will be no dating allowed until you're eighteen! Understand, Rani?"

I shrug my shoulders, unbothered. "I mean, I wasn't planning to, but... okay."

Reassured, Nirmala nods. "Good."

"What about me? Can I  have a girlfriend?" Baliyo asks with an innocent smile.
Nirmala gives him a warning look, which immediately wipes the smile off of his face.

A few minutes go by in total silence until Nirmala breaks it.

"You're going to a good school, Rani. It's specialised for music arts. I'm surprised how they even gave you a place in the middle of the school year, but I'm grateful!"

A music school? I thought you had to do some kind of application for those. Also, only really talented people get into those schools to, how did I get in?

I give her a confused look. "Wait, don't you have to audition for those types of schools?"

"Of course you do. You can't just 'get in'." She tells me with a 'Well, Duh!' look.

"But then how...?" I ask, now even more confused than I was before.

She swallows a mouthful of food before answering me. "I sent them that video of you playing the electric guitar at your school concert last Christmas back in Scotland." She tells me casually.

I stare at her, furious. She promised me that she wouldn't show that video to anyone else except family, and now she's gone behind my back and sent it to one of the most prestigious Music schools in the whole of London.

I bang my fist on the table with full force, and the whole room falls silent. Surak immediately grabs my arm but before he can talk, I look Nirmala directly in her shocked eyes and snarl.

"You told me that you wouldn't share that video with anyone outside this family. You promised." I say, overflowing with anger.

"Attitude, young lady-" Nirmala starts, but i cut her off.

"I DON'T CARE!" I scream, now on the verge of tears.

"RANI!" Surak shouts back, shaking me a little. He then turns his gaze to Nirmala and gives her the same look that he just gave me. "Mana, Rani isn't wrong. You did promise that you wouldn't share that video. You know she hates being on camera."

Nirmala scoffs, clearly in disbelief that Surak is taking my side. "Well, she should be grateful. Because that video just got her into the same school as Simba and Nala's children."

My eyes widen in pure shock, and so do Surak's and Baliyo's. It feels like the whole world's frozen.

Simba and Nala's...children? So, The Innovative Academy..? When Nirmala said "Music Arts school", I thought it was a small one, not the best one in the country.

This has got to be some kind of joke.

 "No way! Kion and Kiara?!" Baliyo asks, stunned.

Nirmala picks up her empty plate and stands up. "I don't know what their names' are, but yes." She then gives me a proud look. "Well done, Rani." She says before walking out of the dining room.

After a few seconds of silence, Surak places his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry it's not what you wanted, Princess, but -"

I shake his hand off my shoulder. "I think I need some time to myself." I tell him before quickly walking out of the kitchen and into my bedroom, locking the door behind me.

~~~~~
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This was a long chapter compared to my others, so I hope you enjoyed :D.
Pls leave a review!!!
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