Love Fired

01| Who ordered Pizza?

Anaisha's POV

There are a lot of things you can do once your semester exams are over. You can watch a movie, read fiction, hang out with your friends or spend some time alone pampering yourself in whatever way you deem fit.

My parents, however, had better plans.

And that's how I ended up babysitting Anushka, my younger sister who is seventeen and perfectly capable of surviving alone.

But as the elder daughter of the Sharma family, it is my duty to manage the house while my parents attend the wedding of our distant cousin's sister-in-law's brother.

You see, there is one rule that most Indians abide by - if someone invites you to their wedding, you go.

It does not matter whether you were aware of their existence prior to receiving the invitation card or not. If you have an invite in your name, you attend the function and bless the couple. Periodt.

Anushka is three years younger to me and we share a normal sister-sister relationship.

Which basically means that we generally can't live two minutes in peace without arguing.

She doesn't need me to babysit her per se, but she needs someone to constantly listen to her blabber about things that make sense only to the youngest member of our family - her.

"And then the plate of biryani slowly moved towards me, teasing my innocent eyes and I almost had my hands on it, but then the scene shifted and I was drowning. I swam hard, really hard and saved myself and reached an island where I cooked fish but t-" I threw a pillow at her and got up from the sofa, stopping her from completing her sob story.

I am sure you understand what I meant earlier, it is impossible to control this little foodie who keeps rambling about her dreams.

"I am going to cook instant noodles for dinner, you bring soda cans and switch on the TV," I ordered as I tied my brown hair up in a bun and moved towards our kitchen.

At the mention of dinner, my sister quickly let go of her pout and ran upstairs to grab the cans.

We had hidden a crate full of soft drinks under our bed before our parents left. If you have never had a mini-party with your sibling when your parents weren't home, you have seriously missed out on the best time of family life.

Anushka and I are no longer violent with each other. When we were kids, it was practically impossible for us to stay silent without ripping each other's hair. Her favorite activity was to let ma know whenever I went to watch a movie with my friends on the pretext of group study. And I returned her favor by telling ma about the midnight ice-cream thief.

Of course, we still argue but we aren't physically violent. And we have learnt to keep a thing or two in our stomach. I am sure ma and papa know all about our secrets even though they never scold us.

When I bought the crate and hid it, they casually started discussing how some fast food items need to be accompanied by a drink or they taste very dry and at night, before going off to sleep, papa came to our room and kept an ant-trap near the bed. He winked at me before wishing us a goodnight. That confirmed my doubts - he knew, obviously.

You should never underestimate Indian parents and their stalking skills!

They are to come back tomorrow and I am gonna go to the airport and pick them. They said that they will manage with a taxi, but I insisted because I want to put my driving license to some use since I don't get to drive to college.

The last thing that Delhi College of Arts will offer you is parking space. Unless you're a famous senior or filthy rich, you don't get favours from the guard. And the few times I took the car, I had to park five streets away and get late for the first lecture. It's just not worth it.

"Di, do you want ice with the drink?" Anushka entered the kitchen holding two cans.

"Obviously, what kinda question is that? Make sure you wash those cans before opening," I said and glanced at her while transferring the noodles into two bowls. She nodded but then clicked her tongue and ran off without pouring the drink for me. Cheater!

"You can say goodbye to your noodles." I yelled after her and took out a glass for myself.

"You can't eat two bowls by yourself!" She taunted from the living room making me grit my teeth in annoyance. I have a small diet, not that I am anorexic or anything. It's just that my appetite is much smaller than hers. Such a foodie sister I got!

Just when I was about to settle on the sofa with my bowl, Anushka snatched it from me with a grin but gave it back when I glared at her. "If you touch my fork, I swear I won't help you with your English project!"

That was enough for her to whine but nevertheless, she got up and went to collect her own bowl that I had left on the kitchen counter.

Sisters are annoying. But despite all her craziness, I love her and I know there's some love for me hidden inside her too. We just don't know how to express it in words.

"Ma called when I was upstairs. I told her you are watching a movie and starving me!"

Nope. Erase my previous words. My sister is a devil.

She came and sat beside me, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Swirling the noodles with her fork, she added, "Be ready to answer their questions on your laziness! I am their favorite child, you know?"

I know our parents won't take her bickering seriously but I played along. "Yeah, they pamper you more 'cause you were so weak when we found you in the trash can," I shrugged.

The way her facial expressions changed made me smirk but taking pity, I was about to clarify when she smiled and said, "You know big sis, you couldn't make them happy so they had to get me!"

My eyes shifted focus from the noodles to her face as I gave her an icy glare.

She giggled, "Aww..cat got your tongue? You should ha- " Her words were interrupted due to the sound of the doorbell. We shared a look of surprise, we weren't expecting anyone since the househelp left earlier this evening. Weird.

I motioned Anushka to go but she royally ignored me and took a sip of her drink before pointing at the door, "You're the elder one, the in-charge of the house. No?"

The subtle mock in her tone made me groan but I moved to check who was disturbing us at this time of the night.

A tiny voice in my head warned me to be careful but ignoring all bad thoughts, I peeped through the hole which I could easily reach, thanks to my tall height. I couldn't spot a thing through the small glass and yet I was sure I heard footsteps when I came near the door.

Maybe the neighbor kids rang the bell and ran, it seems like their kind of funny thing to do.

I nodded at the thought but before I could go back, the bell rang again. I contemplated for a moment before swiftly opening the door and greeting...a pizza?

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