Playing Her Lover

Part 16 - The Load

The next day, Sameera faked being sick. She sat at home all day, cooped up in her room. Her mother came to check on her a few times, but nothing else. Sameera was tired. She wanted the thoughts to just shut up for once. It felt like too much, all at once. Her mother noticed the wetness on her pillow but refrained from commenting on it.

But when dinner rolled around, Sameera's mother dragged her out of her room and made her sit at the dining table. Sameera reluctantly went along, still feeling exhausted. Her father, in an unusual move, was also sitting with them. She started on her dinner, tearing out small pieces of her roti and picking up the daal with it, before putting it in her mouth. Her parents, on the other hand, did not eat. She looked up at them, slightly confused. Her mother was the first to speak.

"Sameera, we need to talk about your behaviour since yesterday. What is happening?"
"Nothing ma, just tired. And I've had a fever since morning. Of course, I'm tired," she whined. 
"Sameera, I'm your mother - I know you were not sick. I just didn't have the energy to argue with you in the morning." 
"Maa, I'm really tired, okay? Just let me take a break!"

"Sameera, you can't take school this lightly. If you can't do it, tell us - we'll just find a boy for you as soon as you turn 18. If you are tired at just 11th grade, there's no way you can handle college, na? I'm sure there's some guy who'll be willing to take on a 12th-grade pass," her father said, barely looking at her.
Her mother scoffed, "She has to pass 12th for that, no? Look at her marks. Did she tell you what she got last time? She's failed two subjects, you know that?" Her father turned to her with a stern look on his face, then looked away - as if he had never expected anything more from her, but still hoped that she would break those expectations.

Sameera was barely managing to hold on to herself through this. "I won't get married at 18, never," she said, in a small, but firm voice.
"Of course not - if you do just your 12th, you will never be able to live the luxurious life we've given you till now. If you were fairer, you'd have a better chance, but no, you had to go and get your father's complexion."
"What am I supposed to do about that, Maa?!" Sameera looked at her mother in exasperation. 
"Nothing! And watch your tone! Can't you speak more politely?" she raised her voice now.

Sameera hung her head and continued to eat her food in silence. Her mother broke the silence, again. "Is it a boyfriend? Did you go through some breakup or something? I swear to god Sameera if you've done all of that - I don't even know what I'll do." she asked. Sameera took a deep breath to control her breathing, then assured, "No, nothing of that sort."
"Then what is happening?! Who will you tell if you don't tell us?" her mother asked her.
"Nothing is happening. I'm tired, and I took a day off of school. Is that such a crime?" said Sameera, her tone curt. She finished her food, put the plate into the sink, and practically ran upstairs, ignoring her mother, who was desperately telling her father how she had gotten completely out of hand, and how they could not control her anymore.

Once she softly pushed the door of her room to the maximum acceptable limit, she broke down. She put her hand over her mouth as she sobbed, not knowing what to do. In a teary haze, she hunted for her phone and did the first thing that came to her mind.

A few streets away, Indu's phone lit up, and she did a double take when she saw the name showing up on her screen. Hesitantly, she picked up the call. The first thing she heard was muffled sobs and her mind went blank. "Sameera!" was all she could muster. She could hear Sameera hurriedly trying to calm herself down. "I... I'm sorry for this... I impulsively did this, I didn't expect you'd pick up," she said, her voice trembling at each syllable. 
"No, no, tell me. Did anything happen?" Indu asked. 
"I don't know... Are you free right now?" Sameera had gotten a little more control over her voice now.
"Yeah, sure"
"Wanna go to the ice cream shop?" Sameera could hardly believe what she was saying. 
"Huh? Ice cream shop? At this time?" Indu was perplexed.
"Ugh, I'm not thinking at all. It's okay, I'm sorry..." Sameera pinched the skin between her eyebrows, in an attempt to get a hold over herself.
"No, no, the one near the main road right?" Indu asked.
"Wait, you can come?"
"Yeah, my mother's not home tonight, so I can lock the door and come." She assured, wanting to console Sameera in any way possible.