Iridescent

CHAPTER 24

I quickly turn the knob of the gas off and run to her house.

I swear if it's a burglar, I'll kill him! She's already having a bad day!

The door is unlocked, so I open the door slowly and walk towards her room. She's sitting on the bed, her hair messy, eyes puffy and her legs perched on the bed, looking at the ground warily.

I walk up to her. "Amy, what's wrong?"

She looks at me with wide eyes. "Jai! Stop! Don't come closer."

"What? Why? Why did you scream anyway?"

She points to the floor. "There's a cockroach near your leg."

Wait what? I think my heart stopped beating for a while.

With a loud and really girly scream, I jump on the bed and hug the pillow to my chest. "Where is it? Where is it?"

For a while, it's silent. Really silent. Then, I feel a poke on my arm. I ignore it. Another.

"What?" I open my eyes slowly, my voice low.

Amy is looking at me with an amused expression on her face. "You're supposed to be getting it out of the house, " she whispers back.

"Why?"

"Because you're a man, "

"So? Everyone has weaknesses."

She shakes her head at me, her eyes shining with humor. I look at the floor to see if the cockroach still is there, and it's still there!

"Why can't cockroaches just stay away from people's houses?" I ask with a groan.

"Okay Jai, we'll have to put it out together, "

I hesitantly nod. "But how?"

Both of us think for a while.

"Wait, where's your footwear?" I ask.

She gasps. "Jai, you may be scared of them, but you have no right to kill it, "

I give her a blank look. "I was thinking of shooing it away with your footwear, "

Her eyes widen and she looks at me with what looks like awe. Clapping her hands, she exclaims, "Genius. Oh my God, this is brilliant!"

"I know. But let's get to work, shall we?"

She pulls her footwear from her closet. I hold it and slowly walk towards the dreaded creature with cautious steps. When I'm five steps away from it, I drop the footwear a little far from it. It moves a little forward. At this, both of us look at each other, and nod.

We probably look like morons, but we don't care.

I repeat it, and it moves a little more.

"Okay, I'll slowly go and open the balcony door, " Amy whispers.

"Yeah, " I whisper back.

I don't even know when we went from talking to whispering.

After she's done, she walks back. "Okay, I'll try now, "

I hand her the footwear. Amy takes it determinedly and tries to shoo the cockroach, but this time, it flies.

We both let out a shriek and wrap our arms around each other.

"Why does it have to fly?" she whines.

The cockroach decides to take a tour of the room and flies around the bed and the bookshelf, while we stand near the entrance of the door, praying it doesn't come near us. When it stops flying, it sits on the wall, near the balcony door.

"Our work is easier now. I'll do it, " Amy goes.

And finally, finally, the cockroach goes out. We clap our hands together with wide grins.

"It's gone, " she whispers.

"Yeah, " I whisper back.

"Why are we still whispering?"

"I have no idea, "

And she finally smiles.

. . . .

After the balcony is thoroughly locked and the curtains are drawn, we sit down in the living room, ice cream bowls in hand.

We totally deserve this after our gallantry there.

"So Amy, when are we continuing our conversation?"

When she remembers it, she narrows her eyes at me and turns away.

"Oh? Now you are angry with me?"

"Yeah, and I have every right to. You believed that guy, whom you saw for the first time that day, over me? I told you, he's not my boyfriend."

I groan. "I've heard that sentence enough times to last me a lifetime."

She chuckles and swats my arm.

I turn to her with a serious expression. "I'm sorry, Amy. I really am sorry. I should have listened to you. But- but I don't know! When he told that, I was so angry! I was angry you didn't tell me. But seriously, who's he?"

A wave of anger and sadness passes over her face. "He's my boss, Yash. He was my first friend when I got here. He was sweet, you know? I hung out with him like friends. But after a while, things changed. He would constantly stare at me. He cracked more jokes and would look at me, at my reaction. And that smile! It was that soft, adoring smile couples give each other. I found it all odd, okay? But I ignored it, not thinking much of it. And his odd behavior kept increasing, "

I can see where this is heading. My breaths are getting shallower, as I listen to her.

"And then, one day, he asked me to be his girlfriend. I refused it right away. But the guy doesn't get the hint!" she exclaims with a huff.

With a stony smile, I ask, "Since when is all this happening?"

"Um, a few months back, "

I narrow my eyes at her. "And you didn't tell me because?"

She gives me a nervous smile. Why is she nervous?

"I thought it wasn't important."

I laugh, an angry and irritated one. "When I thought telling you what I work as wasn't important, you cried. Should I cry now?"

Her lips twitch. "Your wish, "

I raise my eyebrows at her.

"So, why were you crying today?"

"Oh, you saw that?"

"Answer the question, Amy. Is it because of that guy?"

"Yes."

***

That's right, guys. Another cliffhanger!!

Thank you for reading till here. Means a lot to me!