A Two World Life

Graduation "Present"

"Your beautiful. Your delicate lips...your nose...those marvelous eyes...please just one. Just one, please?"

Colton Haynes came closer to me. Each step and breath raising a weird kind of emotion in me. He looked like he was hunting for something but there was a teasing glimmer in his eyes that made my lips curve and boldly pushed me towards him. When we were close enough to feel each other's breath, I placed my palms on his satin blue shirt and inched them towards his collar and grabbed it. He placed his fingers delicately on my cheeks and I felt his eyes get closer to mine. But my only thought was shoot his eyes are moving so according to physics his lips should also be moving closer to me. Shoot me, I'll have babies with the hottest actor and his fan girls and my mom will bury me deep in the ground. His lips were now a millimeter away from mine. That's when I felt the vibration and inevitably heard my alarm screeching,

WAKE UP TRISH WAKE UP! 

"Just one more babe"

"WAKE UP YOU BROKE COLLEGE IDIOT. WAKE UP!"

I shut my alarm with a million plots on murdering my alarm. But I bolted out of my bed after my brain's alarm went off with one word: graduation. 

Graduation.

Next thing I knew, I was brushing my teeth like a savage caveman with toothpaste oozing out of my mouth. Wait cavemen didn't have toothpaste. Well, at least my mother didn't have to witness this savagery or she would've had a heart attack and then give me an hour long lecture about lady etiquette.  After I finished my little bathroom business, I woke my my dear parents and my deadly brother. You see my brother isn't really a serial killer or even any type of athlete, but when it's wake up time...he somehow manages to turn into freaking John Cena in the matter of a second. Wonderful for me, eh? Bruised face for graduation, what a lovely gift. When I finally did manage to wake him up without endangering my face or other body parts, I grabbed my towel and bolted to the shower. In my entire life, I never managed to shower less than twenty minutes. If I was going to soak in my imaginary Hawaii beach in my bathroom in New Jersey, I might as well take time. But lo behold, my imaginary soak only lasted ten minutes with my mother's voice on loudspeaker. 

"HURRY UP YOUR GONNA BE LATE!"

I scoffed at her. If there is one thing I learned in the last four years, it's how to cram for anything and everything. I guess that's the speciality of college- you don't just come out with a degree, you come out with a ton of lemonade because all life gave you was lemons. 

After curling my hair and putting on make up, I slid on my black dress. It had a whit belt that actually flattered me, I am not exactly skinny but not exactly chubby. Somewhere in the middle. I grabbed my red cap and gown and flew down the stairs and waited for my friends to message me back when they'll be meeting at the senior party before graduation. Once everyone was set to go, we made our way to my second home- my college.

Graduatuion looked so decked up with lavish shades of red and black running all around. 

"God I look like a nun in this dress at least it's got a belt" I spoke wishing the dress was shorter. The dress fell just on my knees and I could stand that feeling. Dresses only looked good on me if they reached a little above my knees, but unfortunate me. I wasn't allowed to wear dresses despite my curves. 

"Oh please you look fine! You both look beautiful and so ready to graduate!" Nisha waved me off. 

I came to college with one goal: nail an amazing future. But a week through freshman year, I realized interacting with boys wasn't a sin like my upbringing led me to believe or that sharing someone else's food is begging or that procrastinating is definitely ok or that relaxing and enjoying with friends isn't a bad thing. As much as my first year was amazing, my GPA wasn't. And neither was my grandpa. The second January 2015 hit, we got a call that my grandpa is sick and he might need yet another heart surgery. He soon passed away after that surgery. It really affected me, his death. After all, I did grow up with him.

Instead of condolences, the only questions I got were about when I'll get married. In rural India, especially in my uneducated family girls were married of rather young. My mom was married off at 16, and I was seventeen soon turning eighteen so I was a fair bet at this point in their minds. I heard crazy things like I should've been married to my uncle who is more than twice my age and other nonsense. I knew I was always gonna get an arranged marriage. Such is my culture- go against it and you will be an outcast. I don't care about society, but my parents on the other hand do. Oh, the things they would do to have a good reputation. I realized my fate can't be argued with  early enough when they started saying no to things and people I liked. I lost their trust when they caught me with an innocent crush back in middle school. No matter how much we pretend like I never broke down their image of the perfect little girl, I had to work back to put up all the pieces. Since this was all pre-college, I gained back that image after going to college. 

I decided if my parents are going to control my life two things will be in my control: who I marry and my career.

So you can imagine my surprise, when I find my garage swarmed with strangers my parents warmly greeted. I knew my parents decided on a party tomorrow, but I was t expecting anyone today or my parents would've mentioned it to me. Plus we didn't really have many relatives or friends I didn't know. They would've been my dads colleagues but they obviously weren't as my dad put his arm around the young man. For a second, I felt my heart drop at the sight of this boy. He looked like the kind of guy every girl pinned after. So I dismissed him out of my head immediately. Me and my brother had a silent conversation with our eyes. Turns out even he didn't know the family. Usually, I am the absent minded one but my brother is always on top of all ongoing matters in my family. I stood by my car waiting for some kind of recognition from my parents that I am still their daughter. You can only imagine how tired I was after sitting through a five hour long ceremony. Outside. In the sun. I had the urge to say 'Hello, I am still very much alive. Dam it I am your daughter people. Just got a degree, too.' But I stayed put and just observed. The man my dad was holding kept glancing at me. I swear to god he even smiled at a point. 

"This is probably not what you expected as a graduation present, eh?" I heard a boy's  voice behind me. I swung my head back so fast it was a surprise I didn't end up with a whiplash.

"Who are you?" This was one of those situations. You know what I am talking about. Those moment your thoughts feel like a soap and slip out of your mouth without a filter. Embarrassed, I tried to pathetically apologize if you even want to call it that. "I-I am sorry? I mean so-r--"

"No, no its completely fine. Seems like you're lost." He was testing me. He obviously wanted to disturb my already disturbed brain after physical torture by the sun. Yeah, I'm going to take a jump and assume he's not here for my goodwill. 

On look at my face, and he walked away laughing. 

He walked to my dad as if nothing happened and I wanted to punch him. All the while my parents were too busy to even enter the house. So I pushed my brother to go ask my mom for the keys. My brother being the shy kid he is and the fact that he's my brother itself vigorously shook his head. 

I pulled out my purse and took out a ten and pushed it on his face. He was staring to refuse, but I gave him THE sister look. The one when he realizes I am dead seriously and does whatever I want before I end up screaming my head off and scaring him. He took my ten and shoved it into his pocket. Cautiously, he tapped my mom and motioned her to the door lock.

"Oh sorry for making you guys stand outside." She profusely apologized even though the lady seemed to acknowledge it was no problem at all. 

"I think this is a great start for you Pelli Chupulu, right?" The egoistical guy from before asked me. He seemed younger than the other guy my dad was so close to. I wanted to cry, yell, die or scratch my parents eyeballs out right there and then. Ok maybe not the last part so much but I couldn't believe it! My parents set up a marriage proposal for me and I am meeting the guy now. Peli Chupulu literally translates to 'marriage seeing' where the grooms family come to the girls house to judge her. One can only imagine my agitation my current situation.