Playing Her Lover

Part 17 - Irritating Thoughts

Indu leaned forward, "Tell me all about it, Sam"

Sam put her head on the table. "They scolded me for taking the day off, then it spiralled down... It's the usual, just the things they said hit harder today, after letting in what i let in today."
"What do you mean?"
"It's just... My whole life, all they talk about my future is how I'm supposed to be a good wife. Even when we're talking about my career - oh don't take that, nobody wants to marry someone with that degree! It's boys this, boys that, but also about how I shouldn't date, shouldn't do this, be pure, be innocent - I'm sick of it."

"Mhmm?"
"Even today, they talked about my future husband, and now that I realized that I might not like guys... That I might... have a wife in the future?"
"I get it, Sam..." Indu said, desperately trying to find words to let Sameera know that it would be okay, to let her know that she cared, to cheer her up, somehow. But Sameera's head lay on the table still, her silent sobs clear to the watchful eye. Indu did the one thing she could - not letting go of Sameera's hand. 

After an eternity, Sameera wiped her eyes with her free hand, and sat straight. Her breathing seemed normal, Indu noted. 
"I'm sorry I dumped it all on you like that..." Sameera said in a small voice.
"Hey! No, no, no. Don't you dare think that, okay? I'm glad I could help," Indu responded promptly, without hesitation. 
"Thank you," Sameera almost whispered. She then took a look at her watch and jumped, withdrawing her hand from underneath Indu's. She instantly regretted it a second later, but there was nothing she could do now.

"It's getting late, we should probably go, huh? Thanks again, Indu... I feel much better now," Sameera ended off, before practically sprinting out the door, the cool air touching both her hot cheeks and her tear streaks. Hey, at least she felt better. Indu slowly got out of the chair, and walked home slowly, still processing the last hour. She wondered if she had done enough. It felt weird, wanting to make sure that Sameera was okay. She walked with her eyes firmly on the ground beneath her, zoning out to calm herself down. A thought entered into her mind that she could not push away.

'So, she likes girls... That's nice, isn't it?' Indu felt the corner of her lips curl up. Why?! This didn't make any difference. Not at all. Difference to what?, she wondered. Shaking her head to clear it, Indu looked up to find her house in front of her. She went in, went on her bed and firmly shut her eyes, not ready to do any more thoughts. 

She woke up the next day with puffy eyes. She did not, in fact, sleep as she should have. For some reason, her mind decided it would be fun to think about Sameera coming out to her. About all the signs, and her mind also decided it would be fun to make her relive every time she had judged Sameera for being a 'pick-me', or for talking to Raghav the way she did.

 At 6.15, Indu remembered that that day was the day of dress rehearsals. Or at least, that was what everybody was calling it in the group chat. They were all bringing various options, dressing themselves up today. Then, one of them would be buying the sophisticated version of it as their actual costumes. Indu hurriedly took some shirts, loose white tops and a dhoti that was lying around somewhere. She got ready as fast as she could,  and rushed out of her house and barely made it to the stop when the bus came.

She walked in, and Sameera looked at her expectantly from the back of the bus. She had a seat empty next to her, and she patted it, gesturing to Indu to come. Indu stared at her for a second, the reality of what happened the previous night hitting her. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and walked to the back of the bus. She took the seat Sameera had saved for her. She looked at her, and saw her eyes seemed relatively less puffier than the previous day. She breathed a sigh of relief. But she felt too stiff to say anything.