Fates

Part 49- Preparation

When Prachi got home, she saw her mom and Saritaben on the couch in the living room, talking to each other.
Seeing Prachi, Pragya got up and went next to her.

"Prachi, what happened? Why are you all wet? Didn't you have an umbrella?" Pragya asked worriedly after seeing her daughter's state.

"Uh, Mumma, don't worry I didn't get wet in the rain. Ranbir gave me a lift, but the umbrella fell as I was coming inside, so I got a little wet, that's all." Prachi said putting her mom at ease.

"Oh, okay, go get changed before you catch a cold. I'll make you a warm glass of milk to warm you up." Pragya said going to the kitchen while Prachi went to her and Shahana's bedroom.

When Prachi entered the room she was shocked by the room's state. A bunch of dresses were thrown around the room, some on the bed, some on the floor. Prachi looked around in shock only to see Shahana holding a dress that was still in its hanger close to her to see how it would look while standing in front of the dressing mirror.

"Oh, hello, what is going on here?" Prachi said going next to Shahana.

"And why didn't you come back to work after getting the papers? I almost had to walk home in the pouring rain because of you." Prachi told Shahana but Shahana gave her no response, too lost in her thoughts, causing Prachi to tap on her shoulder to get her attention.

"Huh, what happened?" Shahana asked snapping out of her thoughts and looking at Prachi.

"I said why didn't you come back to work after getting the papers? I almost had to walk home in the pouring rain because of you. And why does the room look like a volcano of clothes exploded in here?" Prachi asked now slightly more frustrated at having to repeat herself. She was noticing that nowadays Shahana was often lost in her own world.

"Uh- I- uh..took a half-day. To... to... study for a test." Shahana said making up a lie on the spot, speaking really fast.

"Okaayy." Prachi said raising an eyebrow at that not really believing what Shahana was saying.

"But what does a mountain of clothes have to do with studying for a test?" Prachi asked confused.

"Oh, the clothes...these clothes?" Shahana said pointing towards the clothes in her hand, not knowing what to say. "Well... these clothes are... are... for a meeting that I have tomorrow, Sir wants me to work with some new clients and he told me to dress professionally, so I looking for what to wear." Shahana said making up another lie on the spot. When Prachi opened her mouth to say something else, Shahana interrupted her.

"Okay, now come on stop interrogating me, here go to the bathroom and change before you catch a cold." Shahana said handing Prachi her clothes from the closet and pushing her toward the bathroom.

Shahana breathed a sigh of relief when Prachi went inside the bathroom. She no longer had to answer Prachi's questions. The truth was that she was trying on different clothes for her date with Aryan this Saturday. She felt bad for repeatedly lying to her best friend. But she wasn't ready to tell anyone yet, because if things were to go downhill between her and Aryan, society would blame her because she was a girl. Even though she knew that Aryan was a good person and would never leave her like that, she was still hesitant to tell anyone, before she knew where her and Aryan's relationship would go.

By the time Prachi came out of the bathroom, Shahana had cleaned up the room and was laying on the bed. Pragya had also prepared the milk and was waiting for Prachi.

"Here you go." Pragya said handing Prachi the warm milk once, she sat down on the bed.

"Mumma, you know I don't like plain milk." Prachi said in a whiney voice, but one look from Pragya shut her up and she obediently drank the milk.