Sparks Fly

CH:7 A Tiger print hoodie

It's Christmas this week and we get an entire week off since Sara and I, both are in a missionary school. On our way back home Sara has already chewed my entire ear off on how we should go for a week long trip.

"We are never going to get this time again in life," she says.

"We're not dying, stop being so dramatic."

"No seriously. After this you have to prepare for finals, for university exams and if selected you're off to college away from us. I'll be entering the final year of school. I wanna have fun especially now that we have boyfriends."

"Boyfriends? You have a boyfriend. I have no one," I tell her.

"You have Neil," she says as a matter of fact.

"I don't have Neil, he's not mine."

"Yet," she says. I give her a blank stare and she drops the topic for the time being. Although a little downtown time doesn't sound that bad. I tell her I'll think about it. My phone pings and I open to read the message I received. It is from Neil, it reads that there won't be any class today. He'll make up for the lost time in the next few classes. I don't think much about it and go about my day.

It's almost seven, I have been rotting in my bed for quite a few hours with Sara beside me. She stepped into the balcony almost half an hour ago to talk to Jay. But right now she is screaming for me and is asking me to come there. I joined her on the balcony and she still has her phone to her ear. But she's pointing downwards. Following her gaze my eyes land on Neil who's hugging a girl. The mystery girl says something to him in his ear. Their hold lightens and she steps back and waves once again after which she's on her way out of the building. Sara has her mouth wide open when she says into the phone,

"Jay, you'd want to know what I'm looking at."

She goes inside the house. Maybe I'm staring at him intensely for him to feel a pair of eyes on him and he looks up at me. He smiles and waves at me and I wave back. He motions to come up to my house and I mouth back to him, 'later.'

The next day Neil and I study for almost two hours, as we wrap up he's telling me about his day.

"That's nice," I say.

"A college friend also visited me. We're doing a project together." He folds his hands in his laps. I give him a light laugh and say,

'"Don't sweat it, you don't have to explain anything to me."

"I don't?"

"You don't," I confirm. To dispel the tension (not that there was any), Neil changes the subject to a trip Sara is planning.

"Sara is planning quite the trip. She's thinking of going to Corbett for five days."

"Corbett? What's there?"

"A tiger reserve. There is more to do than that in the town. Sara has already made quite the travel itinerary."

"Well, she can do all that her heart desires, but who's gonna convince our mothers? With boys coming to this trip. I'm guessing you'll also be there?" He hesitates as he answers,

"I'm not sure. I have quite the assignments piling on my desk. With teaching you and all the shenanigans going on it doesn't leave me with much time."

"Oh," is all I say.

"You should definitely focus on that. Work comes first. Anyway Sara can dream on all she wants, "I tell him. By the time Neil leaves we both have a grim expression on our faces.

Sara took two days, literally two days to book tickets, hotel rooms, convince both our mothers- provided they accompany us for this little trip. Now that mom's on the trip there is absolutely no place for Jay to join us. Sara's a little down because of it but even this can not hold her down for long. We have an early morning flight, so there is already a cab waiting for us downstairs and all four of us hurry along. As we reach the cab, I notice that the trunk is wide open with already a suitcase placed in. I help put everyone's bags into the trunk. The driver closes it behind me as I reach for the door.

There he is sitting. So apparently no one thought it would be wise to tell me that the Sharma's would be joining us. Basically her mom and Neil. He is wearing a black hoodie with an animated tiger print on it. I have been staring it for a while, so he clicks his fingers in front of me and says,

"My eyes are up here."

"Yes they are, I'm aware," I say.

"She can't miss those gorgeous pair of eyes Neil, even if she wanted to. Seriously, what do you use for such long lashes?"

"It's all my mothers love," he says and puts his head on his mothers shoulder with an innocent smile on. I get into the car and the driver leaves for the airport. In the background are her few 'awws' and one 'my baby.'

The seating arrangement of our economy flight seats are as follows. The three mothers are sitting together. While Sara and Neil choose to sit together. Leaving me to share seats with an elderly lady who wants me to give up my window seat. Not getting it lady, not on my watch. So she chose to extract her revenge by eating my ear off with her stories. I did have an ounce of good luck when I found wired earphones but that turned out to be defective and there were no extras left on the flight. I can hear the laughs and murmurs of those two even down three seats. What do they even have in common to talk about? Neil and I have hardly had a conversation that has lasted more than 20 minutes. So seeing them like this makes me a little INSANE. Just a little.