2|| Whispers in the Wind

8|| a glimpse of the past

Kalyani

"Whatcha gonna do when I come come through with that that uh-, uh huh?" Kalyani sang to no one in particular.

Her mom hadn't checked in on her yet, but she decided not to dwell on it, taking the time to reflect on her day. It would be great if her imaginary friend would pop up just about now and she could throw all her darkest thoughts at it.

Feeling unusually bored, she rifled through her backpack, unearthing random assignments she swore she'd put in a folder. Finally, she landed on a piece of paper. It wasn't crumpled, meaning it was recent. On it was a note and a number.

Hi Kalyani. I think I gave you my phone number before, but you might have forgotten it. Could you share it with your sister too?

***- ***- ****

- Arlo/Angelica

Kalyani looked at it in surprise. Arlo was making a huge effort to be nice to her. It was kind of disarming and slightly creepy. Plus, why couldn't she just straight up give Aria her number instead of going through her?

Well, maybe she could talk to her about the whole Evelyn situation and learn a little more about Wilder (not that he mattered).

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Kalyani said, expecting it to be her mom. Instead, it was Aria.

"Hi Kalyani," she said, sounding unusually serious.

"What's wrong?"

"Can I stay here for a bit?"

"Yeah, sure."

Aria settled herself next to Kalyani, probably not used to having a made bed. "I'm having conflicting emotions."

"We've known this," Kalyani laughed.

Aria scowled. "This is serious!"

"Alright, just tell me."

She took a deep breath. "Well, lately, whenever I see Wilder, I get this weird feeling."

Kalyani's heart dropped. "Like what?"

"It feels like there's something off, y'know? I get all nervous."

This was a first. Kalyani had always taken her twin for a fruitcake, but... now she wasn't sure anymore. "Are you sure it's not a crush?"

Aria looked at her incredulously. "What? That's not what this is! I don't like him."

"Then what? What kind of feeling?" 

"I dunno, it's like... I can't trust him?" Aria shivered. "Do you feel like that too?"

Kalyani shrugged. "I'm sure it's nothing. I don't sense that when I'm near him."

"It's not nothing! I wouldn't tell you otherwise," her sister insisted.

"Whatever." She didn't mean to be so dismissive, but she couldn't help it. Annoyance started brewing.

"'Whatever'? Why can't you take me seriously? You're not doing anything- spare me like five minutes!" Aria said shrilly. 

Kalyani unfolded the paper in her hands, suddenly uncomfortable. It felt like something was moving under her skin. "Arlo gave me her number."

Aria scowled, her voice rising. "What? What does this have to do with anything?"

"You want it? I bet she wants you to have it," she dangled the paper in front of her tauntingly.