Blooming Flower ✔️

Chapter 8: Convenient Approval

"Ashwini, Rajiv Uncle is asking if you want to have coffee at their house today at 6. They want to talk to you and Manish. They just want to hang out and have fun," my mom told me, as I mixed the rice in the pathram with some water.

Coffee with Rajiv Uncle and his slightly boisterous personality is something that I would've never traded in for anything. I drained the water out, and said, "Yeah, I don't see why not. I like Manish's parents. I'm just hoping Isha won't ruin anything for me, like she always does."

My mom opened the cooker, took the paathram from me, and placed it inside there. She closed it, and said, "Uncle told me that Isha's going to be at a friend's house today, so she won't be back until night."

I breathed out a sigh of relief. I didn't know how many more times I'm going to have to go to the bitchy intensive care to get treatment for the times she's thrown shit at all of us. I was close to punching her face out if she was to make another snide remark about Manish and I's friendship. "I'm surprised she even has friends. Those 'friends' of hers must have literally no conscience or brain at all to be hanging out with someone like her. I don't know how Jen tolerated her when she was younger."

My mom let out an amused chuckle, as I opened the dishwasher to get a glass of water. I heard Ananth come down the stairs, and say, "What about Jen and being friends with someone and somehow tolerating them?"

I shook my head. I was trying to block the thought of Jen and Isha being together as best friends because I didn't want to lose my appetite for coffee. "It's just about how Jen and Isha were besties when they were younger. I don't know how, I don't know why, and I don't want or need to know. It still amazes me how Jennifer Natasha Samandi, the most chill person I know, was friends with someone whose prick level has attained cactus."

Ananth let out a snicker, and sat down on the couch, possibly to watch another rerun of the thousand favorite shows that he has. "Yeah, I don't get it either. But life is full of mysteries." I grabbed my phone to check it, and to see if Manish has sent something.

Surely enough, there was a text that read, "Your mom told you about today, right?"

I swiped to the right, and replied, "Yes, I can't wait! Skydiving is going to be super fun!" I smiled to myself, because I loved to mess with him. Sometimes I felt bad about doing it, but other times, it was worth it seeing his reaction.

The text read back, "Wait, skydiving? I hate heights. Why didn't my mom tell me about this?" I snickered to myself, as I could almost feel the panic on my side of the screen. Although seeing Manish truly scared made me scared as well, messing with him was even more fun.

I texted back, "I'm kidding, Sunny. Don't worry. I wouldn't make you skydive. I'll see you at your house in a few hours."

"You're so mean for scaring me like that. See you later."

I smiled, put my phone down, and walked back into the kitchen. My mom was sitting on the couch, on the computer, probably looking at the news in India, while Ananth was watching a rerun of "The Amazing Spider Man 2."

I sat down with him, and asked, "Is Jen going to be there, Mom?"

My mom shook her head. "I texted Rania Aunty. Jen and her are helping out with Irfan's wedding reception. She can't make it today. It's just going to be you, Manish, and his parents."

Of course, I was bummed out about the fact that Jen couldn't join us, but that was outweighed by the fact that I could spend more time with one of my best friends, alone. But, a small part of me wondered what would happen if his parents weren't involved.

************

I was getting hot, and it hadn't even been a few minutes. I knew that their house would be air conditioned, with the smell of incense wafting through the air making it a refreshing addition to the hot, muggy summer.