Charu, the youngest of Priti’s three cousins, sets down the plate, ceramic clinking against glass. Aunty and Uncle are both at work, and Rudra’s off with the other two—Varun and Jalaj—in their bedroom, gaming on their PlayStation.
“I’m done, man!” Jalaj groans.
“Wuss!” Varun exclaims. “You’re just saying that because Rudra totally took you out.”
“I’m tired.”
“So get off the battlefield and quit holding us up.”
I roll my eyes, sick of their ceaseless yelling in the background while we’re trying to watch a forgettable Hollywood rom-com. Charu giggles, her usually wide light-brown eyes crinkling and plump cheeks resembling cotton candy.
If I’m being honest, this whole meeting wouldn’t be that bad if I weren’t sick of watching Priti whisper, giggle, and gossip away with Digha—Varun’s girlfriend and the Sinhas’ neighbor—in the corner.
Digha’s pretty, with bangs like Priti’s—except hers are straight—wisping around a small, sharply defined face. And now I’m discovering that she’salsoPriti’s BFF. Because apparently, the moment she heard Priti was coming, she hurried over. The two have been all smiles and girlytee-hees since we got here.
A part of me feels bitter and enviousseeing Priti so engaged and happy with her paternal cousins. At Nani’s, she’s always so distant, locked up in her room and refusing to mingle unless shehasto, especially this summer. The only time we cousins meet up is when I’m visiting, so the rest of them haven’t interacted with Priti while I’ve been away either. And, well, Priti hates me, so it ends up affecting her rapport and relationship with the others.
I’mthe reason Priti has a better relationship with her paternal cousins. I glance over to see her slapping Digha’s shoulder as the two explode into raucous laughter over a shared joke. I’ll never know what I did that pushed her away from me and made her resent me, but it’s not worth mulling over. There’s only so much a person can try, repeatedly, to heal a broken relationship before they tire of it.
I swallow the hurt to stop it from spilling over and make a promise to myself to take Priti at face value. We’re on this journey because there’s something awaiting both of us in Goa. While I’ll never know what she’s after, we share a common goal, and that’s allwe need from each other. Nothing more.
She made it clear she doesn’t want anything to do with me after this summer when she hid getting into FIT from me. So if this road trip continues the way it’s been going... the only option left might be to cut myself off from her completely.
Sensing the heat of my gaze (correction: glare) on her cheek, Priti turns to me, her eyes narrowing, but she doesn’t say anything cutting like she normally would. Ofcourseshe’d care about the impression her paternal cousins have of her—with us, she barely hesitates before spoiling the mood.
“Let’s watchKal Ho Naa Ho,” I quickly say, picking up the remote, not too keen on having Priti embarrass me before strangers either.
“I’ve never watched that movie,” Charu says sheepishly as my mouth falls open in shock.
“Youhaven’twatched the most heart-wrenching KJo movie ever?”
“Um, no?”
I press play. “Your life is about to be changed forever.”
Kal Ho Naa Hois a three-hour-long movie, so it’s past noon by the time we’re done. I don’t expect Priti and Digha to watch with us, but they do.
Charu, Digha, and I are a sobbing mess. Priti—the stone-hearted Ice Queen that she is—rolls her eyes at us before walking into the bedroom to ask the boys what plans they have for lunch.
When they finally join us in the hall, Rudra looks in my direction, startled.
“??? ??? ??,”*Varun exclaims, pulling Digha into a tight hug and squeezing her shoulder. He’s about as tall as Rudra, lanky, and has a goofy smile. “Why are you crying?”
“They were watchingKal Ho Naa Ho,” Priti says, snorting.
“That explains it,” Jalaj says. He’s well-built (Charu mentioned he’s sort of a gym buff), slightly taller, and more reserved than his fraternal twin, Varun. “That movie is the saddest thing I’ve seen.” He turns to Charu, joking, “Are you sure you should’ve been watching it, kiddo?”
“I’m just two years younger than you, idiot,” Charu says.
Rudra’s smiling as he sits on the floor beside the couch I’m seated on. I frown at him. “Why are you smiling?”
He glances up at me, blinking innocently. “Who, me?”
I narrow my eyes. “Yes, you.”
“I’m not smiling. Did you likeKal Ho Naa Ho?”
“Of course I did,” I say slowly, still suspicious. “But I won’t be distracted. You’re literally smiling right now!”
