Band vs Band: Second Edition

Arranged Marriage!?

Chloe's P.O.V
"Mom, can I talk to you?" I asked. "Oh beta, just in time! Come with me" my mother ignored my question and tugged on my arm. I followed her to our kitchen where she was cooking something delicious. "Today, you will help me cook." She said enthusiastically. "Oh...wow that's great. Why today? What's the...occasion?" I asked. ,y mother would never let me cook, even when I offered to. Something's up.

"Beta, I've been thinking about last night and I've decided...you will learn to cook today. It's a very rewarding skill to pick up...instead of singing and dancing." She grinned. I just nodded without saying a word. I had a feeling that I knew where this was going. My mother was cooking Chicken Tikka Masala. It was basically chunks of roasted marinated boneless chicken pieces and it's served in spiced tomato-cream sauce. And it's scrumptious as heck!

But wait...didn't mom say she served the same thing the day she met my dad's parents? Hmm...suspicious.

"M...mom? Why are you teaching me how to cook now? What's the rush?" I questioned. "Well, how else are you going to impress your in-laws?" She asked. I froze. Oh, of course. This was what it was all about. I actually thought this was mother-daughter bonding time. But nope.

I just kept silent until lunch was served. Just as we were done setting the table, the doorbell rang. Oh god, who'd she invite this time? I opened the door and there stood a small family of two, mother and...son???

"M...mom who are these people?" I whispered to her. "Oh beta, I forgot to tell you...I wanted you to meet a friend of mine, Aunty Rani." She gestured to the mother. I smiled and reached out my hand to shake hers. "Namaste Chloe" she clasped her hands together. I did the same although I'd normally settle with a handshake.

"So Kamala, I brought my son, Kavin. Kavin say Namaste to Aunty Kamala and your future wife" she exclaimed. I'm sorry, future wife!?

The boy who stood next to her was skinny. He had slightly curly hair and he had glasses on. He wore a beige coloured kurtha (loose collarless shirt reaching just above the knees). Overall, he didn't really look like husband material.

I just stared in shock as my mom welcomed these strangers into our home. "Kavin, why don't you and Chloe get to know each other." My mom suggested. I hesitantly smiled at him and he gave me a nervous smile back. What has my life come to?

As soon as we escaped our mother's eyes, Kavin instantly turned to me. "Look, I don't want this anymore than you do. My mom forced me into this and I'm just not ready for marriage!" He blurted out all at once. "Well, I'm glad we feel the same way. I'm not ready either." I admitted. He smiled. "Wanna be just friends?" He offered, reaching his hand out to shake mine. I shook his hand. "Sure. But we're gonna have to make it believable for our parents" I said. He nodded.

During lunch, Aunty Rani asked me what skills I had. "Oh, well I can play the violin and guitar, I can sing which made me win a talent show recen..." my mom cut me off. "Umm oh uh actually Chloe is very skilled in cooking chicken sambal and she does chores like washing dishes and sweeping around the house". Aunty Rani looked more pleased with my mom's interpretation of my 'skills'.

I just sighed softly and looked away. "Well, Kavin is very smart. He will be able to support her financially and he could possibly make a good woman out of her" Aunt Rani said. At that moment, Kavin and me both spit out our food. Our mothers gave us looks of outrage. "Excuse me? What does that even mean?" I asked. "Well, it could solve your...behaviour. Your mother was telling me about your out-of-control behaviour recently" Aunty Rani explained.

I looked at my mother with rage building up inside of me. I didn't see my mother as my mother anymore, I saw her as a stranger trying to ruin my life and force me into a marriage with some other stranger. "So me winning a talent show is apparently having behavioural issues!? Me having skills that aren't cooking and cleaning are behavioural issues!?" I yelled. The whole table went silent, except for Kavin standing up and giving me a thumbs up for standing up for myself.

His mother grabbed him by the hand and dragged him out of our house. "Your daughter will be such a bad influence on my son! It's better I find another bride. Good luck with your daughter, Kamala" Aunty Rani shouted. After they left, my mother gave me a look which meant she'd had it up to here with me and my 'nonsense'. "What is wrong with you!? Do you want to screw up your own life?" she yelled at me.

"ME? Screw up MY own life"? I asked. "How am I screwing up my own life if I don't wanna get married yet? And don't you feel like you should be proud of me? I won a talent show for god sakes! I thought you'd be proud of me but instead you're ashamed!?". I was close to tearing up but I had to let my anger out first. "Don't raise your voice at me, beta! YOU should be ashamed of yourself! You embarrassed me in front of those people! What will they think of me!?

"You only ever care about your reputation. You don't ever care about my feelings, how I feel about something. You just force me into it because you want a good reputation!? Why don't you just adopt another child to force into marriage. Because I can't deal with this anymore!" I yelled. My voice cracked at the last sentence and tears rolled down my cheeks. I couldn't believe just how much my mother didn't care about me or my feelings.

"Fine! Leave then! I never needed a daughter and I don't see the need for one like you!" She shouted. At that moment, I felt smaller than a mouse. Growing smaller after each belittling sentence that came out of her mouth. I felt like curling up into a ball and shielding myself from her shouting. But I couldn't. I couldn't stay quiet when I knew this wasn't right. If she didn't want me here, I didn't need to be here. I had better opportunities out there waiting for me. Anywhere else had to be better than here!

I took a deep breath and looked my mother in the eye. "Fine, if you don't, or never, wanted me here, I don't see a reason to stay here any longer." I asserted. She watched as I walked up to my room, took what I needed and walked right out the door. It felt relieving, like a huge burden had been lifted from my shoulders. It made me feel like I wasn't trapped by my mother's rules or beliefs. I was finally free!