The Red String

Chapter 3

15 years ago...

It's been a few days since I've joined that group chat and I lost interest in it the minute I met someone I clicked with on the spot. Talking in that group chat felt straining, almost. It felt like I had to try too hard to fit in and make a first impression. I guess it's like that when you're meeting people online. It worked for everyone else, Honey especially, but not really for me. I spoke in the group chat for around thirty minutes before I met him.

Izz
You know what the best way to eat chicken is? Biriyani.

Divya
I wouldn't know lol
I'm vegetarian

Ash
Oh really? Same
I still watch the cooking videos, though
I love them

Divya
Oh yeah the cooking videos are the best

Izz
Lame
Being vegetarian rules out 90% of all good food

Ash
That's not true
Meat is just a preference
There are millions of veg Indian dishes worth dying for

Divya
Wait, you're Indian too?

Ash
Yeah lol
I'm from South India
How about you?

Divya
Same
What part of South India?
I'm from Chennai

Ash
I'm from there too, but my family lives in Bangalore

Divya
Oh cool
Do you speak Tamil?

Izz
He's been annoying me with the slang since he's joined

Ash
What do you mean da you love it

Izz
Oh my God, shut up

Ash
Lmao
But yeah I do speak Tamil
I speak Tamil and Hindi

Divya
Oh same
I only speak Tamil, though
Not Hindi
I understand bits and pieces of it, though

I was so excited to meet someone so similar. I had never met anyone as similar to me as him. We were like synonyms. Well, I don't know him enough to say that yet, but so far, if we were a part of a dictionary, we'd be synonyms. Looking for another word for Divya? Oh, found it. Ash. I paused from conversation, just watching the texts pop in from Ash and Izz back and forth. I know Izz's name isn't actually Izz, it's just a name he set for himself. He's the guy Honey's been talking to; Shyam. I wonder what Ash's name is. I'm not going to ask him in the group chat, though. In fact, the more he talked to Shyam, the less he noticed I stopped talking. Then again, we exchanged, like, ten texts. I can't expect him to be obsessed with me.

Two more people joined the conversation while I was contemplating sending Ash a friend request. It's either that or wait for him to do it. He didn't seem as excited about meeting me as I did. Maybe because he lives in India. He knows so many people similar. He's probably got so many people he can bond with. I can't relate, though. I've lived in Arizona for half of my life. I don't miss a lot of India, but I certainly miss the friendships and familiarity. There are a lot of Indians here too, but it's just not the same. It's so rare for me to meet someone from Chennai, specifically, and if I do, it's even rarer that they know Tamil. Knowing that this dude is everything I've been wanting to meet had me excited, but knowing he was gonna be in Arizona in a few months just made everything even better. What the hell. I'll send him the friend request, who cares? If he's excited to meet me too, he'll accept it. If not, well, college is a wide, wide, WIDE place of people.

Ash has accepted your friend request.

Immediately.