I looked at Vishal who was still crossing his arms. Oh- so that's the reason why he called me…
I smiled feebly and helplessly as he just looked at me in pure disappointment.
'Like, you should've-'
'I WAS FREAKIN' CALLING YOU!' He said out loud- loud enough for that girl to hear too.
I shushed him.
'Okay, okay, OKAY… I'm sorry.' I whispered.
I looked at her again. She looked at me. Nah- that's awkward, I turned back again.
Vishal chuckled.
'Why don't YOU talk to her?' I asked him.
'I DID talk to her in car…' He said, clearing his throat. 'It was kinda embarrassing, but this is what happened.'
So, since she looks just like you, I thought it was you who sat beside me. She looked JUST. LIKE. YOU. Honestly, I was so tensed up that I didn't even look at her hair to distinguish…
He slapped his forehead. I chuckled.
But yeah, REALITY is always a disaster for me… So, without even second guessing myself, I started talking to her thinking she was you.
'Hey, this car looks really costly right!' I said.
I burst out laughing. She looked at me. I stopped laughing awkwardly… She was looking at her phone.
'Okay, continue.'
Stop laughing. If this is funny, I don't know what to say about the rest. And then, she just looked at me from top to down like I am-
This is embarrassing!
And then I asked her, 'What happened bro?'
'Bro?' She repeated, raising her pitch because she doesn't know me.
My dumb brain wasn't able to understand why "Avanti" was being rude as if SHE owned this car.
'Hey, I am your friend!' I said. Normally, it would've been better. But I said that with strength and passion that she got utterly disgusted. MY STUPID BRAIN isn't for this reality anymore!
'Who are you?' She asked me. She sounded just like that meme. It was top notch embarrassing.
'I'm Vishal! Don't act like you don't know me…' And that's how I met my second-hand embarrassment,
'You are acting rude once you entered this car.' I just said, straightforwardly.
She rolled her eyes and turned forward. That's when I saw her hair and came to my ACTUAL senses. You don't have straight hair- I remembered one day when you left your hair after brushing it and it looked like a fully grown bush!
And then, she was like, 'You adopted me, right.' And my jaw dropped. Who is this girl- she looks JUST LIKE YOU!!! And then I looked in the front seat and I saw your curly bush and your side face. And then I started using my brain so that I wouldn't have any embarrassment again.
Then I quickly whispered an apology to her. SHE ROLLED HER EYES AGAIN! I know; I just spoiled my image in front of a girl!!! Now, what does she think about me? She thinks that I am a foolish, useless, stupid, idiot who gets embarrassed all the time-
'Hey,' that girl who looked just like me approached us, smiling.
Vishal blinked- hoping for something better. I smiled.
'My name is…'
'I know; I know your name-' Vishal started.
She raised her eyebrows. Vishal is just the kind of person who would create opportunities for him to get extra embarrassed. Okay, let's see what he does.
'Okay, what's my name?' She asked him.
'Sunny? No- no, no. Does it start with "S", or "P"??? Shanti? Shitty- oops, sorry, NO-'
That girl chuckled, listening to Vishal's gibberish.
'Uhhh… Yeah, Party- Parthia- Preset- P- Does it starts with "P"?'
She shrugged, grinning.
'Oh, then with "P"… YEAH, Pretty?' He uttered.
She chuckled, blushing. 'Pretty? Thanks!' She uttered.
'No- Um, I- mean- Preeti- Your name is…'
'My name is Sravanti. I am studying in [A school I never heard of] high school. Unwanted details, but I guess you already know; my mom is a world famous actress and a business woman and my dad's a scientist.' She said gracefully.
She looked at Vishal who just kept awkwardly hovering in his place while every second is punching him with embarrassment.
'I understand. You have mistaken me for her, right.' She asked him.
'Yes, yes!' Vishal said with joy I have never seen in his face. Maybe he's happy that he isn't embarrassed anymore…
Sravanti turned to me, with a sharp grin. 'Your name?'
'Avanti. Nice to meet you.' I said, smiling.
Padma came back from the kitchen with a tray of two glasses and two plates of snacks.
'Where is she?' Padma asked, her eyes searching for the lady who just left.
'Aunty, mom left. Flight is in two hours, so…' Sravanti said.
Padma dropped the tray she was holding as she saw Sravanti and me. I jerked backwards and fell on my couch as she dropped that steel tray. It made A LOT of SOUND and MESS. A glass fell from the tray, bounced back and hit Vishal's head making him let out a BIG scream.
'Y- You t- t- two' Padma worried, pointing at both of us.
'She is Sravanti,' I said.
'Hello Aunty- I mean, Namaste.' She said joining her hands.
Vishal started moaning in pain.
'Ok- Okay, Avanti, share your room with Sravanti. I'll clean this and come back…' Padma ran to the kitchen to get a cloth.
Should I share a room with her? Bindu would literally die- once she finds this out, she'd SURE kill me. But, Bindu is my ONE. AND. ONLY. FRIEND. She would understand me right! Today, we can talk about this, give my messy and useless room to this Sravanti and I can share Bindu's room. That would be magnitudes better.
'Oh no, blood is coming…' Sravanti said.
Vishal was sniffing, pressing his forehead. Sravanti took out some cotton from her hand bag and she slowly dabbed it on Vishal's forehead.
'Ahhh… You're applying too much force-' Vishal grabbed the cotton from her hands.
'Sorry,' Sravanti apologized awkwardly as he finished cleaning his wound. He applied the bandage Sravanti gave to him and he finally stopped whining.
'Are you okay?' Sravanti asked him gently. He nodded, holding his tears.
'Thanks,' He uttered, pressing his forehead as if that would protect him… Sravanti smiled.
'You guys scared me for a freaking second!' I said.
'Will you show me your room?' Sravanti asked me.
Well, I don't want her to be in my room at all- but I could just show her my messy room???
'Her room is the messiest room you'll ever find in your life!' Vishal said.
'Says who? A person whose room is probably messier than mine?' I cooked him.
Sravanti laughed at Vishal, hitting the table beside us. Vishal blinked again- in embarrassment. Vishal is THE brand ambassador of embarrassment…
'Um, I at least clean my room-'
'Yeah, once an eternity.'
'Don't talk as if YOU put your room neatly.'
'Yeah, BOTH of us don't clean our rooms at all.'
'Let me see the pile of chaos your rooms' have-'
'First visit Mr. Embarrassment's room!' I advised her. Sravanti laughed like there's no tomorrow while Vishal was glaring at me thinking that his glares could slice me.
'Okay, let's gaur-' Sravanti said while I showed her the way. Vishal was still glaring at me.
Vishal's room was GIGANTIC honestly… But there's not even a speck of dust lying here and there in his room. Books are placed neatly- everything looked tidy. Wait-
I did not expect this! What kind of wizardry he used to clean it in seconds? How is this even possible?
Vishal was grinning. Sravanti was in awe as she looked at it.
'Now tell me who Ms. Embarrassment is?' Vishal said, grinning.
Sravanti stepped in and started looking everywhere in the room. I looked at the table… It looks clean though. I swiped the table and there's not even a single dust particle!
'Wow! This concealer has full coverage-' Sravanti said. Concealer? Why does Vishal need it?
Vishal ran to her. 'Uh- this one is Ravi's- n- not mine.' He took it from her and kept it inside a box quickly…
'Are you interested in makeup?' Sravanti asked him. He shook his head.
'Oh…' Sravanti turned to Vishal's cupboard.
Vishal raised his brows and his eyes widened.
'This cupboard's designs are so detailed and beautiful!' Sravanti said, brushing the doors gently.
'Don't open the cupboard-'
'What's in it?'
'Boring books-' Vishal said.
'I love books!' Sravanti said, still brushing over the designs.
Vishal ran towards the cupboard and took her hand away from the cupboard. 'Don't open this cupboard-' he sighed.
Sravanti squinted. And then,
'Okay,' she shrugged.
Vishal looked at the cupboard holding it's handle as if it's an ancient treasure about to be stolen. He sighed.
'Thank god…' He said and started coming away from his cupboard. But instead, he also pulled the handle which opened the door.
An avalanche of books and clothes fell on both Vishal and Sravanti.
Sravanti shoved the books from her face. And started laughing… Vishal just sat there, accepting his fate.
'See, reality IS a disaster…' Vishal said his iconic dialogue.
Sravanti came with me to see my room which was messier than Vishal's.
She looked at me as if I had personally her offended existence.
'You know, at least I didn't hide it like him…' I said, smiling feebly.
She started laughing momentarily… and she glared at me in a second.
Well, that was scary…
'Okay, let's clean this together. First, we gotta shift my luggage to here.' She said and started walking towards the front door.
She lifted a bag and I lifted- another bag, we started walking towards the room.
'Does Vishal have a girlfriend?' Sravanti asked me. Woah, that question was really unexpected…
'Looking at the amount of clumsiness… Nope.' I replied.
'Yeah, he's clumsy and kinda cute though.' She said. I looked at her in shock. Does she like him?
'You know, honestly at first I thought that he's some brainless person-' Sravanti said. I giggled so hard I almost threw the bag I am carrying.
'But now, he's just some clumsy person…' She said.
We kept the bags in my room and headed to the door again to bring the rest of her luggage.
'You have a LOT of clothes! You are rich right!' I asked her out of curiosity.
She nodded slightly. 'Yeah, I am… no, my parents are.'
'Okay, tell me about your parents… I have heard of your mom's name but I never saw you honestly!'
'There's nothing about my parents… they're popular- you know that. And they just are my parents for a name.' She said slowly, her voice softer than the avocado plushie Bindu gifted me.
'Oh… so?'
'Okay- what about YOUR friends?' Sravanti asked me. Oh, my friends? I have many right!
'I have a few friends in this orphanage, a few in the neighborhood and a few in school. While all of them are just a few surface level friends, Bindu has been the only bestie for me, forever.'
Sravanti smiled softly.
'What about your friends- wait, do you have any boyfriend?' I asked her, grinning widely.
'Oh, no. No friends yet. No boyfriends too… You know, it is a compliment when I say that I am actually jealous of you.' She said.
'Jealous of the number of friends?'
'No. Jealous of your authentic friends… Every person my age- who talked to me would bring up about my mom's net worth or how much rich and attractive my parents are. NO one cares about ME.' She said.
We were silent for a minute as if we are mourning her misery- but yeah, technically we are. Honestly, I know how rich people's life would be like. Reality is very far from what we see outside right,
'Vishal was the first person who talked to me like a normal person… For some reason, I felt like I was a normal being!' Sravanti said, her voice carrying a bit of hope.
Now I understand why she acts like she likes him- or maybe she's just being nice… Poor Vishal was thinking he should be embarrassed for every nanosecond he is existing.
Wait- if Sravanti is adopted, then there's a high chance that she could be related to me right!
'Then,' I started. She looked at me.
'You were telling that you were adopted?'
She looked down, trying to put the words for her response together.
She looked straightly at my wrist. She widened her eyes as she spotted my scar that was glowing. She also had a scar on her wrist that's glowing too…
She looked at me, her jaw dropping.
'You know, there's a letter I found in my dad's lab yesterday. He hid it under that lead container that has some radioactive substance so that I wouldn't see it! He underestimated me, how dare he?' Sravanti said.
I stepped back as I saw the letter she pulled out from her bag. It must be radioactive too right? Who knows?
She looked at me, wondering why I am stepping aside.
'It's okay, I checked it. It isn't harmful right now. Trust me.'
The letter looked exactly like the one I found in the store room too. So, we are basically twins right? If Bindu finds this out, I am cooked. But why do I even care about this- Sravanti is still a stranger to me right! I'll just tell her that I don't want any of this sister-like things at all…
'Srav-'
'So, show me your scar?' Sravanti grabbed my hand before I could speak.
'Srav-'
She looked at my hand- and my scar. She placed her hand adjacent to my hand. Our scar shapes joined and it formed a heart. Our scars started glowing intensely in neon pink as she joined our scars.
A chill ran through my spine as I saw it. It looked ETHEREAL. The line that joined and looked like the shape of a heart crackled and wiggled like jelly as the area inside the shape glowed that spread warmth across my arm. It started tickling around the scar.
As our scars joined together, a sense of familiarity nudged me. Do I know Sravanti for decades? I can't describe this feeling nor could I point it out. What is this eerie feeling that's brushing across me like a wave of new realization- it's awakening poetical skills too!? Everything around me is shifting and changing- the matter was spiraling around.
I rubbed my eyes. What in the freaking world is happening here??? Is this magic or real?
Sravanti pinched my hand.
'Why???' I moaned.
'To show you that this is real.' She said, smirking.
I glanced at the door- it was closed. Thank god. No one is seeing this.
Everything around that was shifting started slowly settling down neatly in an orderly fashion. I can see a pattern of color emerging out of the chaos as everything was setting itself around the room.
After a few minutes of amazement I have never experienced in the 14 years I lived, the entire room was neatly organized in purple aesthetic. GORGEOUS.
'I never saw such a clean- and also, beautiful room!' I said, my voice being barely a whisper out of awe.
'I have always experimented with the scar I had, and this is something that I can with my scar. MAGIC!' She said, excitement chiming in her voice.
'Wow' is more than what I could say because for what I just saw, I became speechless.
The books and clothes in the shelves are arranged chronologically and everything was kept in a place and in a way in which I can see patterns I have never come up with while looking at my room for these many years. She did it in just a second. In the middle of all of this, there was the green avocado plushie sitting on my bed, between me and Bindu's photos. It looked REALLY wholesome.
I looked at Sravanti who is smiling faintly, as I remained in just my innocence of this magic. I jumped on my bed and grabbed the avocado plushie while Sravanti opened the door. I am just afraid that if Bindu finds out that Sravanti has become a friend that I share my room with-
I kissed the plushie as I felt sorry for Bindu… a sense of thick silence was really uncomfortable around me. Why?
Sravanti sat beside me.
It felt like I was sitting with Bindu.
Am I bonding with Sravanti? No. I shouldn't. Bindu is my only friend right? And I don't want to meet my family either…
'Do you like plushies?' Sravanti asked me. I tossed my plushie aside to look at Sravanti.
'Yes, I LOVE soft toys and no one knows that,' Wait-
Only Bindu knows that…
I looked around as Sravanti chuckled softly. Bindu was standing right there in front of us, near the room door, looking at me and Sravanti… Wait- she came from her school already?
I looked at the watch- school was over!
Sravanti turned to me as I looked at Bindu in shock. 'Hey,' I turned to Sravanti.
'Can you give me a strand of your hair?' I plucked a strand and gave it to her.
I didn't ask why- I was too surprised to ask.
'Let's do a DNA test to see if we're twins!' Sravanti said. My heart broke as Bindu glared at us. No- NO, I don't want this… I don't-
Bindu's serious gaze flickered to the plushie I shoved aside. And then, she shot a glare between me and Sravanti.
Her hands curled into fists at her sides.
Oh…
Shit- no!
She saw everything. EVERYTHING.
Is she angry?
Is she jealous or-?
Is she gonna leave me?
I used to live FOR her. Now, I am afraid to even live WITH her…