Birds Of Different Feathers (Vahana Vamsathaar series #2.5)

Chapter 3

The test was fine. Not good or dreadful but just fine, meaning that if any professor other than Bhupathi corrected his paper he would pass. But Narain decided not to put too much hope into it since he had shitty luck and knowing Bhupathi, the owl faced guy might just search for his paper so he could grade it and fail him. He was a fucking bastard like that!

Narain kicked a stone on the road in frustration and watched it hit the side of a car.

"Narain! Don't you dare damage my car!" he heard his sister shout at him. He looked up to see her unhappy look and watched Arjun crouch down to examine the scratch on the paint. It didn't look too bad, honestly.

"Sorry," he murmured as he drew closer feeling a bit guilty.
"Akka, what are you doing here?" Narain asked.

Annapoorani was wearing a chudidhar which couldn't really hide how huge she'd become. He refrained the urge to comment on it since the last time he did that he received a sound slap on the back of his head with a newspaper. He didn't appreciate being treated like a dog . Arjun got up after inspecting the car and placed his arms around his sister's shoulders in support. It seemed like he was unable to keep his hands off of her any time he was nearby. It was sickeningly sweet really.

"Arjun told me that you called this morning and sounded upset so I came to see you," she explained.

"We have these fancy devices called cellphones, you know? They're absolutely amazing!" Narain said sarcastically.

Annapoorani scowled at him while Arjun chuckled.

"I tried telling her the same thing but you know how stubborn she can be when she puts her mind to something," Arjun said gazing down at his wife adoringly while she glared up at him.

"I've been cooped up in that apartment for weeks, Arjun! Weeks! You don't let me go anywhere or do anything! One more day in that place and I swear I'll end up murdering one of you, most probably Dinesh because his rules are ridiculous! He refused to let me cook the other day because the heat from the stove was going to harm the baby! News flash, pregnant women have been cooking from the beginning of time and they used firewood or kerosene stoves too! I swear he drives me so damn crazy!" Annapoorani ranted and crossed her arms across her chest petulantly.

"But Akka, you hate cooking," Narain pointed out the obvious and saw his sister shoot laser beams at him which could probably burn him to ashes. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed how Arjun found this ordeal far too amusing by the way his lips twitched violently like he had a facial tick.

"How about you two talk and I'll bring us all lunch," Arjun stepped in before the argument could escalate further. He led them all to one of those small stone tables with chairs that were scattered across the campus which friends and lovers frequently took advantage of.

Annapoorani used the end of her shawl to fan herself and Narain took a moment to appreciate how radiant she looked. This was probably the pregnancy glow that his mother often talked about. That and the fact that she was finally happy with her life. The previous year had been quite hellish for her. Being rejected by their extended family, getting shot at, watching a lot of innocent people die due to selfish reasons and learning the truth about her real father took a toll on her. But her husbands had been really supportive and Narain respected them for it.

Seeing her so content, he didn't want to unload all of his troubles on her. It didn't seem right.

"Are you going to sit there all day staring at me or are you going to say something? You know what's going to happen if you comment on my size, don't you?" she asked pointing a finger menacingly, the glass bangles jingling as she moved her hand.