Running Hearts

Chapter 7

Avantika

“Prude.” Nivi adamantly states her point while Maisie glares at her.

“I’m not a prude. I just don’t want my tits out.” Maisie protests as she puts on her long sleeved top. Despite our many attempts, she insists on wearing warm clothes as per ‘the weather’. What weather? It's September. It's not even that cold.

“But you should show them off. You’ve got the best rack of us all.” Nivi is not ready to let this go as well. As a fashion major, she takes it upon herself to advise us on what will define our best assets. And, right now, Maisie is her target.

I am curling my lashes in the bathroom while I hear both of them arguing in the room. Lia is doing her makeup beside me, finding humor in what she’s been hearing. We have to leave in fifteen minutes for the party, and Nivedita has yet to do her makeup. Since it’s our first college party, we have decided not to go overboard. We would prefer to observe what the parties are like first. Putting the curler down, I take a look at myself in the mirror. I paired my black skirt with a maroon square necked top. According to Nivi, I have great collar bones and shoulders. I am glad I listened to her because I look great.

Shifting my eyes beside me, Lia is wearing her jeans and a black one shoulder top. We all agreed that her best feature was her face itself. With cheekbones sharp like hers, she is definitely stunning. She has applied highlighter on her cheekbones to accentuate them more.

“How long do you think will this go on?” She points towards the room.

“Not for long because I’m going to drag one of them here. It's getting late.”I pack my makeup in my bag before putting my lip gloss in my pocket. Yes, my skirt has pockets. That’s one of the reasons I bought it. I leave the washroom, making sure I’ve not made any mess. I’m thankful enough that the counter is big enough for us.

“Nivi, can you please hurry and do your makeup? We are going to be late.” I cross my arms in front of her.

“Fine. I’ll go. Next time, she’ll be wearing one of these.” She points towards the line of tops she's stacked on the bed. She’s putting on her black block heels to complete her outfit, which is a long sleeved white blouse with a deep v cut and black shorts. As one can obviously see, her legs look amazing in these shorts. She rushes to the washroom as I start tapping my foot against the floor. And finally, I catch a glimpse at the last one, Maisie.

Maisie has put her dark curly hair half up and half down. Two strands of curls are framing her face. Mixed people are really gorgeous. Even if she is dressed with a modest long sleeved top and white pants, she looks beautiful. “How do I look?” she asks nervously. “So pretty.” I reply genuinely with a smile. She takes her mascara and blush only to the washroom.

I sit on the bed, texting my parents that I'm going out tonight, and I will call them tomorrow. Mom replies, almost instantly asking me to give the other girls’ numbers in case of emergency and to leave a text once I'm back. I'm 20 years old, but the way I keep updating my parents, I almost feel like a teenager. Brown parents will always regard you as a kid, no matter what.

Soon, I’m joined by Lia on the bed, who asks, “So, how are you feeling? Nervous?”

“No. I’m weirdly chill. Or maybe, I’m just convincing myself that this is going to be a great night.” She hums in reply but smirks. I hope she has not noticed the way fidgeting with my ring.

She probably can see right through my lie.“What? Why are you smiling like that?”

She gets cut off by Maisie and Nivi arriving together. “We are ready to go?” Maisie asks. We all grab our bags and leave the room. Walking by the hallway, I hear Rajvir's voice in his room. None of us apparently heard him because everyone was staring at the door now.