Brute

6. Kalki

"And he's still that egotistic! Unbearable and unlikable." Kalki huffed.

"Don't put yourself in a bad mood bachcha, here have some more of this!" Her father offered her another serving of food.

The family had gathered once again for a meal and spending the evening together, they were most excited to hear what Kalki's weekend had been like. Clearly, she didn't enjoy it as much as she had hopped to.

"I'm not saying my decisions were wrong but the whole time I couldn't stop thinking about how I could have been the one driving the car instead of watching them from the sideline." Kalki confessed. "And above all, watching Max's success just-"

"His win is not your loss, always remember that." Her mom held her hand.

"I know, I know I shouldn't feel jealous but I used to humble that guy! I could have been brilliant!"

"I understand, now cope with this feelings in a healthy way. Most importantly, think about what you have now, would they have been possible if you went down the other path?" Anika added.

"You know what? Maybe my Karting career was a mistake." She hung her head low, "I would have never come across Max Emilian, I wouldn't have ever been Sulky Kalki the meme in that world and I would have just been happier."

Both her siblings cast a worried look at her, they glanced to their parents, both of who signalled them to remain calm. Kalki tended to be like this, extremely self critical when things didn't go right or even looked down in the slightest but that was her strength- her mind was able to find a way out of the spiral and work out a probable solution.

"I don't want to be alone right now, can I stay over?" She asked.

"Of course! You don't have to ask." Her dad smiled.

"Gah! I've been so negative I completely forgot, I got to meet Charles and he now knows how much you adore him." She beamed at her mother.

"I'm glad he does!"

"He's not even all that good Max-"

"Shut up Neel no one cares about Max as much as you do." Anika interrupted him.

Neel shrugged it off, he was used to this anti Max behaviour every evening at the dining table. He phone buzzed, he nearly dropped it when he checked who the message was from.

"I'll be right back." He said getting away from where the family was gathered.

Unknown number: Hey, I'm not sure if you have my new number, it's Max here.

Unknown number: I really hope this is Neel Burman or it would be very embarrassing 😅

Neel: Yeah you've reached Neel but who are you? Max from design team? Buddy you've gotta talk to my supervisor for that approval. Tbh I hate your idea, it's too tacky 😐

Unknown Nunber: .... Wrong Max

The next thing he knew he had a call from the same number, he answered it hesitantly. But the minute he heard the voice on the other side, he knew for sure it wasn't Max from the design team.

"How have you been? What have you been up to?" Max asked.

"I've been good! I recently joined a gaming firm as a developer. I How are you doing?" Neel asked.

"I'm good!"

"I've been watching you race when I can, I'm so happy for you mate! You made it, you're living your dreams." He said.

"I am! We've got a lot to catch up on, I'm sorry for drifting away." Max apologised.

"You don't need to apologise, I'm at fault too." Neel admitted.