Us Against the World

16. The Date

"Chandini, be honest...how do I look?" I twist my body to and fro in front of the mirror, trying to smooth down every angle of my dress.

Chandini hardly looks up from her phone. "Honest opinion, huh?"

"Yes, honest!" I say through clenched teeth. "What? It looks horrible, doesn't it? Does it show my stomach? Or my hunchback? My scar?"

"Firstly, anybody related to me should never be concerned about their looks," Chandini replies flippantly. "I'm here to help, of course. Secondly." She gets off the bed and marches up to me. She tugs the corners of my dress and fixes the lace overlay. "You should put a necklace to help contrast the tones of the dress. Got any diamonds?"

"Do I look like the Queen of England?" I scowl. "Of course, not! I don't have l'argent for that, you silly goose!"

Chandini rolls her eyes. "Geez, somebody's snappy today," she mutters.

I close my eyes, slouching. "You're right, sorry. That was mean."

"Eh, it's fine," she shrugs. "Everybody gets nervous on a first date. It means they want it to go well...but you...you over-worry, sis."

"I have valid fears," I murmur. "What if-!"

"Ah!" Chandini clamps a hand around my mouth. "No negative talk. Tonight, you have a date with the most eligible bachelor in the world. You are gonna pick yourself up, look sexy, and have a good time, you hear me?"

"Mmhm..."

"Good." She pulls her hand away. "If you end up at his place, don't worry about me. Spencer will be here."

"That's not going to happen," I say firmly. "So you can hold your horses." I ignore her sigh and look once again in the mirror, trying to avoid nitpicking my obvious imperfections. "A necklace would look good though, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I just said that," Chandini sighed. "Look, just borrow one of Mum's necklaces. I'm sure she won't mind."

"Huh...I could do that," I realize. "She keeps them on the ground, though."

"Oh wow! It's like you don't have another person in the house who can reach the ground," Chandini feigns disbelief and struts out of the room. Moments later, she's back with a simple diamond necklace (thank goodness she doesn't know where Mum's wedding jewelry is).

"I've seen you wear this before, so I know Mum won't mind," she says as she helps me clip the back. "It matches your outfit too, so..."

"It does!" I marvel at my reflection. "Chandini, you're really good at this!"

"Now you recognize my talents?" She scoffs. "I'm wounded, dear sister."

"Don't flatter yourself," I say, smirking. Then, I lean down and wrap her in a short, tight embrace. "Thanks, Chandini."

I feel her smile behind me. "No thanks necessary. I need at least one person in this family to be rich, after all."

"Sure, you do," I laugh. "Don't start hallucinating about wedding bells. We're not even dating."

"Trust me, you will be soon," she says. "I saw the way he looked at you. No man looks at a woman like that and only wants a one-night stand out of her...well," she snorts to herself, remembering some dirty memory that I want no information about. "Should I pack some clothes for you, just in case?"

"No," I reply flatly just as the bell rings. A spike shoots up in my stomach and I freeze. Suddenly, I'm tangled in a net of anxiety that I've withheld since last night. No, no, not now, Meera!