Life is... Beautiful?

Chapter 2: Cricket Match

The two of you made your way down to the field, where the match was going on. You had selected a white midi sundress with red flowers for Paru, with a creme-colored rose/feather hairpin. She chose a light pink knee-length dress for you, with puffy sleeves. 

You glared at the sun, thankful that you applied sunscreen and remembered to wear your wide-brim hat and sunglasses (because while tanning is temporary, skin cancer is forever - protect your skin everyone). 

One of the guys from the afternoon was sitting on a lounge chair, taking care of kebabs on a grill next to him. 

"Hi Rakesh," Paru said. You offered a short wave.

"Hey Paru, come sit. Who's your friend?" He asked, shooting you a smile. 

"This is y/n. She's a family friend, she lives in America. She's staying with us for a while before she goes back for medical school," Paru said. 

"Oh, America? That's cool, nice to meet you, y/n," Rakesh replied, not taking his eyes off of you. You shook hands briefly, before Paru took you away to meet other people. You met Ajay, Suresh, and Rakesh's younger sister, Sonia, who all greeted you well. 

Paru and you sat down on lounge chairs, while Rakesh offered you guys some food and drinks. He sat down on the other side of you, sipping from his soda. You watched the game, not paying him any attention. 

"Do you like cricket," he asked, looking at you. You turned to him. 

"I honestly barely know how to play the game. I don't even know what's going on right now," you said. Rakesh put his drink down and smiled at you, explaining the rules. 

"So right now, the other team is losing. They need to get more runs if they want to have any chance of catching up, which is likely not going to happen," he said, leaning back on his hands. "It's not like they ever win anyways. We always bet 30000 rupees, and they always lose so one of them is just going to end up working for us for a month for free," he said confidently.

You sensed some hostility in his voice. "Do you not like them?" you asked. 

"Like them!" He laughed. "They're B-phase dogs, there's no question of liking them. They're not even on the same level as us," he said.

"Damn, that's a bit harsh," you said. You had noticed that your side did look a bit more high-end, but didn't think much of it. 

"They deserve it, they're literally way poorer than us, and yet they still act like they can compete with us."

"Huh." You slightly turned away, feeling uncomfortable. You weren't one to judge based off of economic or social status, and Rakesh speaking this way didn't sit right with you. Some commotion started at the field, and Rakesh got up to go help sort it out. He quickly came back, sitting up straighter and watching the game more intensely. The other team got a new batsman, who was playing phenomenally. 

"They might actually win this time," Paru told you, leaning over to you. Rakesh, and the other boys got more and more aggravated as the game went on. Finally, the other team won. You smiled, almost going to clap before you realized that almost everyone on your side was mad. 

The boys went up to the other team, fighting and refusing to pay up. You and Paru got up, walking over to try and convince them to break it up.

"Okay guys, they won fair and square. We should just give them the money," Paru said.

"Paru, stay out of this," Suresh replied. 

You looked between the two of them. "Wait a damn minute, this is your boyfriend?" you asked Paru incredulously. Paru nodded yes slowly. You tried to control your disgust. 

"Girl..." you could do so much better. You were definitely going to talk to her about this. She looked back at Suresh. 

"Fine," she said, raising her hands up and walking away. You turned to follow her, shaking your head in disbelief.

"See, even Paru is saying to pay us," one of the B-phase guys argued. Suresh and Ajay surged forward to fight, but Rakesh held them back. 

"Hey, just pay them the money. Throw it on his face," Rakesh said, his eyes following you. 

Once the other team had started leaving, he explained. "If we don't give them the money, then they'll look like heroes before Paru and y/n."

"Hey!" One of the B-phase guys, Abhi, threw a chocolate bar at Suresh. "Keep this! Paru's going to leave you in three months!" He ran away, laughing while Rakesh told Suresh to let it go. You had turned back, hearing Abhi's words, and held back a laugh. Damn right she'll leave him, if it's the last thing I get her to do.