Dil Dhadke Hi Jaye (Heart Keeps Beating)

6|You Little B--

6| You Little B--
Some people never understand what others value.
* * *

Though I despised his face, I searched around for Aryan to thank him for the flip flops.

Maybe I judged him a little too quickly.

He wasn't that terrible.

Lola told me the guys were helping set up a movie for the oldies to enjoy. While they did that, Rohini and I decided to bring popcorn and lemonade for everybody. Although I insisted on something healthier, neither Lola nor Rohini would comply.

"Who thought of the whole wishing thing?" Rohini asked, placing a bag of popcorn in the microwave. She was referring to the whole Tattad Tattad Tattad God scenario.

"Krishna and Arnav." I squished the juice out of the lemons with the little steel squeezer.

"That was really sweet," she said, leaning on the wall. "Krishna really thinks he's a God, doesn't he?"

I chuckled. "God or not, he and his brother better make everyone's wishes come true or their future won't be too bright." We all knew when it came to the oldies, if their demands or desires weren't fulfilled, they went through this depressed phase which brought down my mood. Let's just say, an upset me was a monster. "They have no rights to hurt these people."

Suddenly, a boost of energy burst through my body and crushing the lemons became easier.

"No one has the right to hurt anyone," Rohini sighed. She tucked her short hair behind her ears and stared out of the window. I added sugar to the drink I was making and contemplated asking what I wanted to ask next.

Might as well.

"Things okay at home?" I asked casually.

"Same old."

"If you want, I can--"

"It's just for the summer break, Ahna," she said, using my nickname. Sometimes, people here called me Ahna because apparently, Chahna was a mouthful to say. "If I can handle the taunts since birth, one or two more months won't make a difference. I'll be back in Mumbai and the parent problem will disappear."

Unlike me, Rohini didn't reside in Simla, instead she ran away to Mumbai to pursue her ambitions of becoming a famous fashion designer. She had gotten an internship and right now, she was on a break from it. Her parents, obviously, didn't support her. A girl's job wasn't to run away from home.

Her sole purpose in life was to sacrifice her ambitions for whatever her parents demanded.

Sarcrifice my ambitions, my damn foot!

"If you ever need my help, you know where I live," I told her. I mixed together the lemon juice, water, and recently added sugar in the jug. She gave me a grateful smile and took out the fluffed up popcorn bag from the microwave. She took another unpopped bag to place in the microwave and accidentally dropped it.

Quickly, she picked it up and shoved it in the microwave.

"Ahna?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are your feet so dirty?" Cringing, I stole a glance at my dust and sand-kissed toes and ankles. Too late to conceal them now. I explained my tragic monkey ordeal and earned laughter on her part. "How did you get them back?"