The Way You Smile

chapter eleven

Featured song
Standing by you
(Nish)

Aditi's POV:

Oh god just a few more hours to go! I spent the last two days staying in. I prohibited myself from using mobile and computer. It was horrible yet Useful. 

Yes, my brother arrived back in town. Not by himself, but with a girl. 

He is technically not 'my brother' (air quotes). Yeah, but I don't say to anyone cause he has been legally adopted by my mother, from her dear brother. Yes, he is practically my cousin (when I was three) But now he is my brother. My very own.

The reason of his adoption was still unknown and I have never really met my aunt and uncle (Bubloo's parents). Mom and him sometimes will have an eye talk which is prohibited for me, Duh. He was sent away from home when I was six or something and I had seen him come home once or twice a year. That too, for a day or two. Enough of his history, even though he is not my bro,we still like and love to indulge in sibling wars.

All those years, he was being a big fat nerd! How could he? Just I can't digest it. Not to mention, she is so pretty. Her name is Pramita and she is a post graduate in commerce. I immediately liked her vibe which resembled mine.

Oh come on, I have told his whereabouts except his name. He is Bubloo but his certificate name is Shaurya. Shaurya Varma. Can't remember him crossing nineteen years of his life but World says he is twenty seven currently.

He is now working in Chennai, as a popular public prosecutor. He is practically good at arguments and so I suggested he take Law, which turned out… well. Giving compliments to your siblings is the worst thing in the entire universe.

Pramita is from Kerala which makes her a malayali. She is twenty five and has already settled her life. She is a professor at University of Hyderabad.

Bubloo said that they had met when they were in their final and third year at UH. (University of Hyderabad)

My mom was convinced that they were almost twenty seven and didn't find anything to stop this union. Besides, like me, My mother also liked Pramita.

They had planned for a Spring wedding and the date was not yet confirmed. And here is the funny thing. Premita asked for my permission to marry my brother, I personally liked that about her. Which made me feel like an adult, and not some snobby teen.

She made sure That I was hydrated the whole time and she kept me busy and even helped me understand certain concepts, I don't know how. I think she is great and also she is perfect for the post of my daughter in law.

That's how the last couple of days went. Here I am, on the last day of preparation for my exam. Since I don't have my phone, I don't know if Vivaan called or not. And I preferred it to be.

***

God, I'm more nervous than an older chinchilla. I can feel goosebumps all over my body everytime I think about the moment of satisfaction.

It's morning. The day of examination. I just woke up from a goddamn sleep. I have only slept for a few hours, four to be exact. I was tossing and turning the entire night not being able to relax. But then around one or two, the exhaustion took over me thankfully. 

I am currently sitting at the dining table, with Premita and mom in the kitchen and Babloo in front of me, reading a newspaper. I scoff as he pushes his glasses further up his nose. I swear upon the holy name of Namjesus, that boy never reads the newspaper!

HE IS MANIPULATING MY MOTHER!

And now it's my turn to penetrate as a guy. I mean, not the actual penetrate but I had to do something! "Hey, um Premi!" I began sheepishly smiling. "I know it's been almost three days since you'd arrived in town, so how about a little girl's out?"

"Somebody forgot something," My mom scoffs at doing the dishes. "You have got less than three hours to be at the center of examination,"

My pupils widen at the thought of exams. "I got it mom," I say, trying to calm myself down.

"Do you want your brother to drop you there?"

I grin. "Then what's this for?" I wave my car keys. "And who'd ever ride in that dumpster?"

"You did. Before you got that car of yours," Babloo says, pointing to a picture of me when I was sixteen and dumb, sitting in his car and singing 'mine' to that car. I remembered that I expected that to be mine when I  complete highschool, but mom had other plans. And that's how I got my very own car.

"No thanks, It did stink anyways," I say as I collect all my belongings. "Ain't got time to argue with trash, got MBBS to study," I swayed from there and reached my room.

As mom said, I have exactly three hours before the exam starts. I  don't have to worry about my hair or stuff because I'm ready already. That rhymes perfectly.

There are two things I need to do before I leave. Get my hall ticket and get blessings from mom. So I decided to do both of them at the same time because  my mom had the hall ticket and she is the one I'm gonna get blessings from. What a score, Aditi! Actually it's Aditya.

I did the things I mentioned about and here I am driving alone oops I forgot to mention, Premita is here with me. She wanted to meet a few friends and I was going that way. And My mom has set me up with her. She says that she made that to bond me up with her. Bitchy plan! 

I dropped her and Was finally given time to say up some clues about DNA. She would think that I'm weird because I have totally freaked out clues for learning like how a muscle guy and a fragile girl who had healthy babies. I can sum you up with all I have but not right now.

I decided to do that and it was very good.

I reached the examination center where I found a whole bunch of hell raisers studying anxiously which made me more nervous than I already was. 

I parked my car and again double checked and climbed off. When I raised my eyesight to see what's happening around me, I found myself imagining someone. My little buddy's big brother.

Wait, what? I AM FREAKING HALLUCINATING! God, I must have gone mad in studying continuously for four days. I shut the backdoor violently to get myself out of the freakish show That I'm dreaming of. 

Shit show! That attracted more people to me! I should have welcomed a firing party to shoot me dead. Damn it. That guy- he is the guy who you should never have by your side. I know me, but not currently. He has been getting me to think about things… damn it again.

I can't think about this in the exam hall. I slap myself in mind for expecting him to have the same exam center. Damn it again and again. I put my bag on my shoulder and found a place to fess up my mind. To get my mind fresh and tidy. Of him.

I make myself seated against a hundred year old wall and take out the only book that I'd bought. "Reproduction in Human"

I AM MAD AT MY FUCKING SELF! I threw out that book into my very own bag and looked around. Snooping for him.

I called Anu impatiently because she has always been the therapist whom I could  always rely on. But mind the word 'fully fledged three hundred rupees for each fuckin session!'

"Hey there long lost friend," She says, turning on the hair dryer. "Hanging out with your new bestie? And maybe his hot damn brother?"

"Shut up," I squeal.

"Good morning to you too,"

"Did you realize what day it is today?" I scoff stupidly.

"It's the fifth of May, 2023," she answers nonchalantly. "FYI, I know you are currently in the exam center, XYZ arts college, Hyderabad, Near a casuarina tree, wearing the  cyan coloured tee that you told me which attracted you, and further, you look like a kangaroo carrying a baby from back,"

I cannot control my enthusiasm anymore. She was there! I turned immediately like Deepika Padukone does on Padmavat seeing the king. "My girlfriend is here!"

She tickled me for a second while I tried to process what, but who was precisely standing before me. 

Vedant.