Falling For You

Saanvi

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I turned off my 6 a.m. alarm clock and groaned as I slowly woke up from my sleep. I sat up from my sleeping position and tried to open my eyes without rubbing them. There is a 70% chance I will get glasses by the end of this month due to my worsening eyesight from watching videos on my phone.

Before college, my eyesight was fine, but now I have to squint to see the blackboard.. I just hope the number isn't that bad. If it did, then I am sure, the outfit that I have in my mind for Ankita Tai's marriage will not be good for me.

Maybe, I should buy a contact lens then?

"Morning," I heard my sister say to me, "Had a good sleep?"

"I haven't slept like I am used to," I replied to her as I finally opened my eyes. "Never thought I would miss the Desert Cooler from our Nagpur house."

"I thought you slept like a baby?" She asks me as she wanders around her side of the wardrobe. "You even watched your favourite K-Drama last night before going to sleep, what was the name again? Ah! Business Proposal, isn't it?"

"I haven't watched it yet, I wasn't able to watch the new episode as I was studying till last night. I was clearing some points that I have learnt yesterday in the class," I told her and got up from the bed. "I do want to watch the episode, but I will do it after arriving from my classes today. I just hope that there won't be extra classes today."

After coming home from class and freshening up, I can watch the episode while doing my skincare routine.

"बरं बाई, तुला जे वाटतं तसं कर," She says to me, I nod at her while getting my stuff from the wardrobe along with my hair towel and made my way towards the washroom. "तू कुठे जात आहेस?" 

(Okay girl, you do whatever you want.)

(Hey, where are you going?)

"साक्षी ताई, मी फक्त वीस मिन्टात आंघोळ करून येते, तेव्हा पर्यंत तू बाबा ला नाश्ता बनवलं साठी मदत कर." I told her, as I stood close to the washroom's door and smiled. "BYE!"

(My dear sister, Sakshi, I will take only twenty minutes to freshen up, till then you go and help papa with the breakfast.)

Before she could acknowledge what was happening, I closed the door in her face and locked it from the inside. She banged on the door and almost cried from the other side of the door. I was smiling at her situation but frowned the moment I heard Papa enter the room.

I couldn't hear their conversation, but I knew that Papa would trust me over her. "बाळा बाहेर ये?" He asks me calmly.

(Beta, come out?)

"सान्वी सुनील मेश्राम! जर तू बाहेर नाही आली तर माझ्या पेक्षा वाईट कोणीच नाही!" Sakshi added. "भैताड बाहेर ये!"

(Saanvi Sunil Meshram! If you didn't come out this instant, then there would be no one worse than me.)

"Papa, first tell her to stay away from the door, then and only then, I will open the door."

"I have told her to stay away from the door, come out now, Saanvi."

I hung my clothes on the clothes hanger and opened the door slightly. I peeked outside and saw that Sakshi was indeed away from the door and Papa was the barrier between us two.

"Why did you go first, Saanvi?" Papa asked me calmly. "You must have a reason for it, I guess."

"I have classes back to back today, and I have to be there for my typing class right on time so that I won't miss my bus for today. That's why I decided to freshen up before." I replied to him. "I promise that I will be back in a few minutes."

"You said that you will take twenty minutes!" Sakshi yells. "Make that fifteen."

"I have long and thick hair, it takes time to wash them thoroughly."

"I don't know, I want you to come out in fifteen minutes, and that's final," Sakshi says and smugs. She knows that I need time to wash my hair thoroughly, I have straight hair, but it also takes time to clean properly. "Deal?"

I glared at her and tried to keep a normal face. "Deal."

Papa had missed the stare-war between us two sisters and smiled at me. "Now that you both have concluded, I will go back to make the breakfast for all of us again," He says. "Saanvi, do as you promise, and be back in fifteen minutes, okay?"

Before I could reply, he went to the kitchen and Sakshi smirked at me. She strode towards me. "If I remember correctly, last time, you said something like, 'Why do you take almost half an hour to wash your hair?' So, you will get what you sow, sis."

"For the last time, I know how your hair differs from mine! And I know that you have curly hair, but that doesn't mean, you will compete with me on how long we both take for washing our hair?"

"You shouldn't have messed with me, Saanvi."

"You are my sister, right? You are acting like I took something from you."

"Wait, I did." Sakshi recognized and came to her usual self. "Sorry, I–It was out of character of me, to do something like that."

"Did someone try to steal your boy?" I ask.

"What?" She looked at me as she was caught off-guard and I smiled at her. Gosh, she is such a dork, when it comes to Sachit Bhaiya.

"I meant, did someone try to steal your toy or something? You get competitive and territory when someone tries to steal something from you."

"Oh, that..." She says and thinks about something. "It's nothing important."

"Are you sure of that? Isn't it related to someone whose name starts with S and ends with T?"

She looked at me wide-eyed and pushed me back into the washroom. "Go, and come back exactly in fifteen minutes. I am keeping an eye on you!" She says and I nod my head at her.

Once I was done brushing my teeth and showering, I got outside the washroom with my head wrapped in a towel and saw my sister staring at her phone while she was sitting at the edge of the bed.

"बाई, जा आंघोळ करून ये" I tell her but she doesn't listen to me. Her old cheerfulness has changed into something else and as I stride toward her, her grip on her phone loosens, I was fast enough to catch her phone from falling. "Sis, what the hell? The phone's screen would have been cracked because of the fall!"