Chapter Twenty
19th June, 2010
When I woke up, I was disgruntled and groggy. My eyes felt swollen; there was a dull, throbbing ache pounding on my skull. I pushed myself up, squinting even in the dim light of the overcast morning, and checked the time. It was ten am. Holy shit, I thought, jumping out of bed, which only resulted in the throbbing to get worse. I'd overslept. I was generally an early riser, and religious about my morning walk. Seemed like I'd skipped it today. Then my eyes fell on my phone, and I remembered last night.
Dropping Ajay at his place... taking off his shoes, leaving him Advil and a glass of water. I grabbed my phone, unlocking it impatiently, and stared at the screen. There were no new messages, no missed calls. I frowned.
Had he woken up? Had he seen my message yet? I'd sent him one as soon as I'd gotten home last night. After leaving him at his place, I hadn't slept for another two hours.
Yawning, I kept my phone down and decided to check it later. Ajay was probably still sleeping. After last night, I doubted he would be in the state to do anything else.
My footsteps were heavy as I trudged downstairs to the kitchen. I could hear mom humming to herself, probably finishing yesterday's leftover dishes. When I went in, however, I saw Surya sitting on the island counter, dressed in a formal, pressed shirt and trousers, his hair immaculately combed. I raised my eyebrows.
"What's going on?" I demanded, making them turn.
"Ah, finally she's here," Surya said, pointing at me with his cup. I made a face at him.
"What are you drinking? And why the hell are you dressed in a shirt?"
"I'm going for an interview," he said proudly.
I couldn't act anymore surprised. "What?"
"Yes," mom chimed in, a faint smile on her lips. "He's interviewing to be a Math tutor at Xavier high school."
"Oh my god," I said, staring at my brother. "Are you serious?"
"What do you think?"
"I don't know what to think," I muttered. "Oh god, I need some coffee."
"And what's going on with you, sleepyhead?" mom asked, as she turned to look at me. I avoided her gaze, lest she should see the bags under my eyes.
"Well, I slept a little late last night, that's all."
"Uh-huh."
"Yeah."
Just to steer the conversation away from me, I began asking my brother about his tutoring job, and we talked about his future plans of being a successful, well known professor. And even though I laughed and talked to them, inside I was still thinking about Ajay, wondering if he was fine. After last night, I wasn't sure he would be. His face kept coming back to my memory; haggard, pale, bleached of all colour.
After I'd finished breakfast and announced that I was going to take a shower, I went up to my room and checked my phone once again.
No message from Ajay. I sat down on my bed, dialing his number, and waited for him to answer.
He didn't.
I tried to call him after lunch time, but he didn't answer then, either. Worried and really pissed, I typed him a message.
YOU ARE READING
Endless Road (Wattys 2015)
عاطفيةLike so many things in life, fear can be fixed. It can be overcome, can be defeated. All it needs is a catalyst-- and the will to see it through. When new boy in the class, Ajay Saxena, crosses paths with Dia Gandhi, he reminds her of everything she...