Colors

five

five

I slammed the door shut behind me, wincing at the noise I had created unintentionally.

"Laila!"

And there it was.

I was gonna get the lecture of a lifetime.

"Yes, Mummy?"

"Come here right now!"

I slipped off my shoes and walked to the living room to set my backpack on the floor. The aroma of something spicy hit my nostrils, and the air was cool and comfortable.

Our house was spacious and not cluttered with tons of extra decorations, so it was easy to move around in and felt very homey.

I could hear my brother yelling at his friends on a call from upstairs... something about how their plan wasn't gonna work because they were all stupid. I shrugged it off.

I tried to make my steps and presence as quiet as possible. My mom was in the kitchen and facing the stove, so I couldn't see the anger on her face.

I went to stand beside her. "Mummy, maaf karjo. I didn't mean to slam the door-"

My mom waved her hand. "It's okay, putri." She turned around to face me. "Do I look okay?"

I was in shock that I didn't get a lecture for slamming the door. I shook my head and recovered as quickly as I could.

The last thing I wanted to do was make her angry.

I glanced over at her. She was wearing a yellow kurta with blue designs on it, and she looked beautiful. Her makeup was minimal, and her jewelry was simple.

I had definitely inherited her minimalistic nature when it came to dressing up, and I didn't mind.

"You look so pretty, Mummy!" I told her truthfully.

She grinned. "Don't try to be nice to me just because you don't want me to scold you for slamming the door. Don't think I've forgotten about that." Mummy pressed a short kiss to my forehead.

Damn it.

That didn't exactly make me feel better, but she didn't look too mad. Maybe she was in a good mood. "I'm serious! You look so amazing... just wait until Pappa sees you," I told her, giving her a teasing smile.

"Heh! Pappa never compliments me," she complained, stalking off to the living room to get her purse.

"Rina!" my dad called out from upstairs.

"Haan, Chetan?"

"Are you ready?" I heard him coming downstairs.

"Haan!" Mummy called out again. "Chalo!"

Pappa appeared downstairs. "Rina, could you find the cookie tin-"

He paused at the sight of Mummy. "Wow Rina... the kurta looks very nice," he said carefully, his tone even.

I knew my dad well enough to see the excited little hearts dancing in his eyes as he looked at my mom.

Mummy gave me an exasperated look. "See, I told you." She turned her attention to Pappa. "You never compliment me — only my clothes."

I stifled a laugh. She wasn't exactly wrong; Pappa chose to compliment her outfit more often than he actually complimented her.

But I was surprised that she didn't notice the giddy smile on his face.

"Rina, Rina," Pappa tutted as he came and stood in front of her. "Tu bau sundara dekhe chhe."

My mom's face turned a bright red. "Bas karo. Laila is right here," she whispered loudly.