Pluviophile

Chapter 5

It was a dreary old Monday, and the sun was already rising. Indra rubbed her eyes until they were a little numb and warm, and she could see the weird, sun-splotch thing. She got up quickly and put on a pink sweater and white jeans. She sleepily searched in the dark for her phone. She began to search her desk and found that it had gotten knocked off into the floor. Stuffing it in her pocket, she shuffled to her door and opened it. The hallway light was on, so she turned it off, figuring that Asim left it on when he had gotten up that morning. Indra could smell the leftovers of his breakfast downstairs, so she went down to clean it up before she went to school. As she neared the kitchen, she realized that someone was in the kitchen. She wondered for a moment if Asim was still home, and then she heard the morning news on the T.V. She peeked into the living room and could see Asim, who was half-awake, reading the newspaper. She quietly but quickly ran into the room and shook his arm.

"Asim! There's someone in the kitchen! Asim!"

He looked at her, a little confused. Then his eyes lit up with a knowing look of understanding. He shook his head and began to explain, "A colleague of mine helped me work on an advertisement and some documents for the release date of a product, so they stayed the night. She offered to stay and fix breakfast, and even though I wasn't hungry, she wanted to make some anyway."

Indra's eyes narrowed. 

She.

Stayed the night.

Her mind interpreted this differently than Asim hoped. Indra nodded slowly. 

"Colleague? Like from work?"

"Yes...why are you-" Asim suddenly realized what Indra thinking and stopped speaking. He lifted the newspaper unnecessarily high and hid behind it. Indra could still see his face, but only enough to know that he was blushing. Indra turned and walked into the kitchen and ignored the other presence, fixing her coffee as if it were the only thing in the world.

"Hello! You must be Indra! Asim has told me so much about you."

Indra felt awkward. This must be his girlfriend. He didn't have time to chat with just any of his co-workers or employees. She nodded, showing lack of interest in conversation, hoping that the lady would leave her alone. 

"I'm Marian. I work with your older brother."

Indra nodded and avoided looking at Marian. She went to the table and sat in a seat farthest away from the stranger. She could feel panic welling up in her chest. Indra was also beginning to feel lightheaded and cold. She sipped on her coffee, which was a mistake. Her stomach took the coffee and began twisting in a sickly and ill manner. Indra bit her lip, staring intensely at the wall. Marian began to speak again, persistent and determined to meet Indra.

"So are you in high school right now? According to Asim, you are smart enough to skip and just go to college. What do you do for fun? Huh? I wanna get to know you."

Indra shifted uneasily, feeling dizzy, "I like t-to take pictures," she mumbled. Marian responded cheerily, "Oh, is that so? Are you an artsy little photographer, or do you have, like, official photo shoots?"

"I take pictures of nature."

"Oh how nice! Could you show me?"

Indra scurried from the kitchen, and the second she left it, she slowed down, wanting to spend as much time as possible from Marian. Indra picked up her school bag. When she came back down, she had made an excuse, "I've got to go ahead and go to school. You can check out my pictures on my blog, if you like." She handed a piece of paper with the website to Marian and for the first time, caught a glance at her. Marian had blond hair that was in a messy bun. She wore a brown shirt and some charm bracelets around both of her wrists. She was tall and skinny, and fairly attractive. She had a smooth, round face with freckles and thin eyebrows. Her bright blue eyes examined Indra with a kind curiosity that was harmless. Marian smiled and nodded, "I'll be sure to check it out!"