Not You

Chapter 5

She stood in front of her door sopping wet, carrying a heavy backpack and an armful of groceries. To top it all off, she was drenched not because she had forgotten to take an umbrella. No sir! It was because some perfectly kind gentleman on the road had decided that driving faster through a puddle is much better for the pedestrian than getting a mud pack from the local salon. She was sprayed with good quality street mud for five whole seconds before she could form a few choice expletives as the driver drove by in air-conditioned comfort.

Mads opened the door and looked at Adi and sensed her foul mood. She extended her hands for the grocery bags and asked sympathetically, "Bad day?"

Adi widened her eyes in response and quietly walked in. The next half hour went in a nice long bath coupled with a fluffy white bathrobe at the end of it. She plonked herself on Mads' bed. Her lovely flatmate had made a bowl of French fries to lighten her mood and had already brought out the magic kit that always worked wonders to soothe Adi's infrequent fraught moods.

Adi leaned over to hug her and smiled over her friend's shoulder.

"What would I do without you?"

Mads laughed and said, "You never have to find out. I promise."

Mads pulled Adi's foot onto her lap and pulled the pedicure kit closer to herself. She began removing the chipped nailpolish and asked, "When was the last time you had an actual pedicure?"

Adi munched on a fry and replied, "The 1930s I think. The same time I managed to eat a fry in peace."

Mads giggled and squirted some lotion onto her hands and began to apply it on her friend's rather dry feet.

Adi smiled happily and asked, "So...what's the deal with your brother?"

Mads asked, "What do you mean?"

"I found a photo and an actual application to that matrimony place in his pocket on the train today. Is he actually getting registered to look for a bride?"

Mads chuckled and answered, "He is."

Adi fed her friend a chip and asked, "Why do I feel there is a "but" at the end of that sentence?"

Mads laughed at that and said, "Because you know me that well, that's why. He is registering because my mom wants him to."

"Okay...and?"

"And he's doing just that."

Adi frowned and asked, "He doesn't want to get married, I'm assuming?"

Mads shrugged and said, "I don't think it's that high on his list of priorities."

She pulled her damp hair out of the towel on her head and asked, "Does he have a girlfriend?"

Mads shook her head incredulously and replied, "No, of course not! He wouldn't agree to this if he did." Then as an afterthought, she asked with a smirk, "Why would you ask?'

Adi was silent for a minute. She didn't really know why she had asked that question. She then shrugged and replied, "Curiosity, I guess. Does he intend to stay here for the entirety of three weeks?"

Mads looked up and asked in all seriousness, "Does his presence make you uncomfortable?"

Adi let out a chuckle and said, "Of course not! He's annoying yes but uncomfortable presence, certainly not."

Mads relaxed and said, "That's funny."

"What is?"

She said, "Well my other friends have always been a bit enamoured with him."

Adi rolled her eyes. She could picture it. He was the type that girls would get attracted to. She asked, "What does he do?"

Mads replied uncertainly, "Uh...I don't really know what he does to get girls to fall for him."

Adi laughed and said, "I didn't mean that, you dodo! I meant professionally."

Mads stuck out her tongue in a goofy look and smiled to reply, "Oh! Sorry. He and a bunch of his friends started their own company there a few years back. It's doing reasonably well. That's the reason he barely visits. He's so busy all the time. But they're branching out to Asia now. So he's come here to explore business opportunities as well."

Adi nodded and said, "Ah! Two birds, one bush."

Mads smiled and replied, "Something like that."

A few hours later...

Adi plonked himself on the edge of his sister's bed. Mads looked up from her book and looked back down after smiling at him. Aditi had gone off to sleep an hour back. Reading the next line, she asked, "Sup, brother?"

He pulled a fluffy cushion up to his chest and asked casually, "So what's the deal with your roommate?"

Mads raised her book to hide her smile.

Author's Note: Hi people! First of all, I apologize for the really long break. Things have been crazy busy and I have been working on other stories as well which is why Adi and Adi were waiting for me to finish. I am ever so grateful for your patience. I have been receiving much love for The Balcony and Imperfect Two and I feel so happy for discovering Wattpad and the joy that it's given me. I'm dedicating this chapter to my friends @AnkitaBihari, @AnupritaRatnaparkhi, @SoChap and @axetogrind who've been asking for a chapter for a very long time. You guys are adorable! <3

Until the next chapter, in anticipation for some great ideas - S.