Playing Her Lover

Part 21 - The Day Before

Sameera was in a state of shock. The weight of her previous actions were coming to the surface and the guilt overpowered her. As Indu explained the truth behind what had happened, she became increasingly frustrated and angry at herself for being one of those people who had been a bystander while Indu was being either bullied or isolated. 

"The next day?" she prompted Indu to continue, dreading the words that would come out of her next.
"Well, I had missed the bus, and I came to school pretty late. I walked into the class, and... Kriti was standing there, throwing daggers with her eyes. Everybody else was looking at me with so much disgust in their eyes. I didn't know exactly what had happened, but I was sure I'd been outed. Looking back, that would have been a better alternative than what had happened."
"She really had us convinced there, didn't she? We believed that you'd forcefully kissed her so easily..." Sameera had tears in her eyes now. "I'm so sorry Indu, I'm so sorry," she sobbed, cursing herself for her despicable behaviour then. 

"Well, I appreciate it, Sam. For what it's worth, you aren't the same person you were then. You've become better, so don't unnecessarily beat yourself up now," Indu consoled Sameera.
"But yeah, after that, everything changed. I think she'd gone and told my boyfriend the same thing, and he also chose to believe her. I waited outside his class that day, and when he came outside, he glanced at me, and completely ignored me, as if I was a stranger. I was too embarrassed to go after him and create some scene. So I took it. And the aftermath... I think we very well know. I've never really ever had friends since. I decided I didn't want them either. Fortunately or unfortunately, that seems to have not worked out," Indu explained.

Sameera was devastated. She took Indu's hands in her own, looked up and asked, "I don't know what I can do, but I know this was difficult for you. Can I... Do you want a hug from me, Indu?" Indu looked at Sameera, wide-eyed in shock. She felt red creeping up her face, and was oh so tempted to take up the offer. 
"It's alright, I don't need a hug, Sam. Thanks for the offer though," she said, with a sigh. She knew the hug would mean completely different things for both of them. It would not just be the comfort given by a friend to her, and she didn't want to bring her hopes up about Sameera thinking anything else. 

Sameera dropped Indu's hands reluctantly and nodded. "Okay," she said, "But if I can do anything to make you feel better, tell me. Please,"
"If you're doing this out of guilt, Sam, don't. I forgave you the minute you decided to start bettering yourself." Indu looked downcast, disappointed at this prospect.
"No! Indu, obviously a part of it is guilt. I was an asshole back then, and I need to take responsibility for that. But there's also the part where I just want you to be happy. And I want to do what I can to help you reach there." Sameera's cheeks turned beet red as she uttered these words, a colour that Indu seemed not to notice, or was determined to ignore.

"Okay then. I just... I don't know how I'll be in the future. But I know that despite my experiences, nothing really is an excuse for being mean and rude and picking fights. I shouldn't have done that, and I'll try my best to change." Indu smiled softly
"I think you're already changing - but don't change too much, okay? I really like who you are now as well. I don't think I could handle an Indu who's like Siddhu or something," Sameera laughed, trying to hide the fact that her heartbeat had gone up by a million times. Indu laughed along softly, telling herself frantically, 'She meant it as a friend, she meant it as a friend, she meant it as a friend...' 

Just as Indu began recovering from Sameera's words, a familiar pitter-patter was heard outside. In just a few seconds, a small drizzle turned into a violent downpour that seemed like it would take hours to end. 
"Aah, shit," Indu exclaimed.
"We'll buy an umbrella, it's fine. There's a small shop right around here only." Sameera consoled her. They finished the rest of their ice creams and ran out the ice cream shop to the store nearby. Even though it was a small distance, both were almost completely soaked by the end of it. They both held their knees and laughed hard, probably the most they had laughed in years. They bought an umbrella and slowly walked. Indu insisted on walking Sameera to her house first. They reached sooner than they had expected to, and Indu let out a small sigh of disappointment.
"Today was good, Indu. Thank you. And... I'm really happy that you were able to tell me everything."
"It's all good. Thank you too... Get inside now! You'll catch a cold otherwise, and we have a competition tomorrow," Indu insisted, and made Sameera walk inside. 

All five of the friends could not sleep properly that night. For some, it was nervousness more than excitement, and for others, it was the prospect of it all finally coming together. And for someone else, it was the fact that she had just told someone her story for the very first time. Not just someone, it was Sameera. Indu lay in bed, wondering what the old her would say if she knew that Sameera, out of all people would be the first person who heard her out. Even her own mother didn't know all the specifics of what had gone down. She knew Kriti was involved, mostly because it was too obvious to be missed, but Indu had shot her down every time that the topic came up. A small voice in her head was having its natural reflex - fear, and the urge to shut down, but she had made a promise to try. And she wasn't letting that voice win without any struggle.

In her own bed, Sameera too was unable to sleep, her head a hodgepodge of thoughts about Indu and the next day. She felt a sense of pride in who she was slowly evolving into. She had been increasingly able to separate the good and the bad in the things her parents told her and was trying to keep a healthy distance from them, for now. She thought about how Indu had told her and felt happy that Indu was finally able to feel vulnerable after so long. She had no expectations that her feelings for Indu would lead anywhere, but that didn't stop her from wanting to be as close as fate would let her be with Indu. She giggled at her bravery that day and wondered if Indu had picked up on it at all.

The next day came with speed. Almost all of them had only slept by 2 AM in the morning, and Sameera, knowing this would be the case, packed all the concealers she had in one pouch before getting into the car. She'd texted Indu late into the night, and asked if she wanted to be picked up, since they lived close by anyways. Indu had agreed readily and was waiting outside under the grey sky when Sameera's car pulled up. She got in and smiled hesitantly. She hadn't put any costume piece on, since they would be eating their breakfast at the school they were going to and she didn't want to ruin the costume before that. Her dark circles stood out against her paler skin, and Sameera inhaled sharply as soon as she saw them.
"Hi! Nervous?" she asked in a bright voice.
"Yup. I've been going over the script since morning," Indu confessed.
"You'll do better than me, you know it," Sameera consoled her.
"Oh, you don't know how much I've been blanking out," Indu's eyes widened in fear.

Sameera carefully extended her hand and patted Indu on the back, the touch sending electric waves through both of them. 
"On a better note, I was expecting all of us to have dark circles, so I have my full set of concealers and a couple of my mom's." Sameera gave two thumbs up.
"Oh, but wouldn't they be too dark for us?"
"Indu, I have one concealer that fits me. The rest all are supposed to be the "darkest shade", but they're literally your shade. You had to see me when my dad went to America on some office trip - I was begging him to buy so much makeup from there. But my mother also prefers me buying lighter shades for me. She's not particularly happy I've inherited my father's complexion," Sameera rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. 

Indu looked at Sameera with concern. Noticing it, Sameera assured Indu,
"I've been doing much better, I think. It has become more difficult to stay around them, but it's just a year more before I leave for college, so that is keeping my spirits up... It's been hard, yes. But I think I'm managing it well enough for now. Let's talk about something else?" Sameera sighed.
"Shall we go through our scripts?" Indu offered.

They reached the school and got off. Swara was standing in front of the gate and immediately ran to them.
"I've been waiting for half an hour now" Swara confessed, giggling nervously.
"Oh god, why?!" Sameera asked.
"I didn't want to be late, so I left home extra early and ended up being too early," Swara laughed, and Indu and Sameera joined her. 
They decided to wait outside till Mirzab and Siddhu came along. Thankfully, they did not have to wait much longer, since the two arrived within the next fifteen minutes. Both were already dressed and looked extremely excited.

The green room was packed with students from different schools, all dressed up in various costumes. The five kept their bags down and began preparing one last time.