As soon as Nishant stepped into the fiction section, he saw Shradha there. "What a coincidence. within this 2 weeks I am meeting her more than a whole last semester." He started looking at the books, but there were simply too many and picking one book was going to be really difficult. Thinking for a minute, Nishant decided and walked straight to Shradha. She had not noticed Nishant and was busy reading the back cover of a book. She already had 2 books in her left hand and looked like she could not decide which ones to take. "Now that you have suggested to start reading, can you also help me out with the book? I am really lost." It took a lot of courage for Nishant to say those words. He was the sort of person who had very minimal interactions with girls and he felt nervous every time. Shradha looked at him for a whole minute, as if saying "who gave you the permission to talk to me", then she said slowly, "Dan Brown. Good thriller stories and nice writing. Pick any of his books and it will be a good start". She searched the racks and pulled out 'Angels and Demons' and 'Deception Point' and handed them to Nishant. She also mentioned that she will tell Rajat not to give him more assignments till he finishes reading. Nishant was surprised again as he never thought Shradha was kind hearted. He simply said, "thank you. But will Rajat listen to you, even though you are not in the club?" "who said I am not official member? I edit all of the magazine articles. I might not be a writer, but I am hell of an editor. They know I don't like talking during meetings. So they ignore me. And Rajat will surely listen to me. Trust me when I say I can get them to do whatever I want" Shradha winked and Nishant was once again confused. He just could not figure out what type of person Shradha was. They silently picked up their books and walked out of library.
Shradha went home early that day. Only kavitha was at home and she started nagging Shradha immediately. "Look at you! I am giving you freedom to do what you want does not mean that you will forget your responsibilities as a girl. I have been telling you to keep your room clean and help me with kitchen. But will you ever listen to me? You are helping me with cooking today. Go wear something decent first and don't let your father see that tattoo of yours!" Kavitha was rambling on her own while Shradha just nodded and went to her room. If someone from her class saw her being the obedient kid, they would be shocked to the core. Outside the house, she had an image of opinionated, tough, no-nonsense girl. Sure, they would judge and talk behind her back but no one dared to speak ill in front of her. She surely had sharp tongue. But inside her house, she controlled her emotions to an extent that outside would feel that she was emotionless. She rarely argued or talked back. She would speak to kavitha only when she needed something. Kavitha was used to this behaviour but she never stopped nagging. Shradha silently started with her chores. She had her earphones on and ignored kavitha's complaining looks. Anil came home in the evening along with his son. Shradha was in kitchen she she was preparing dinner. Anil called her immediately asking for water and instructed her to help her younger brother with his school bag. "You are a girl. You should help the men as soon as they come home. You should have known all these things by now. I don't know why I am sending you to that college and wasting money on you. You stay outside the house almost everyday saying studies and you are not learning your duties as a daughter. I am really worried what will you do after marriage. At this rate, you are going to bring shame to me and my family"
These words were not new to Shradha. She had grown up listening to her father talk about responsibilities of a girl. It used to bother her a lot when she was in primary school. All the other girls would say how their parents had aspirations for them and how they would want them to be independent. Of course there were few girls who had same fate as Shradha. Expectation for them was to gain some basic education and find suitable guy for marriage. Nevertheless it bothered Shradha a lot. She had seen how nicely her parents treated her younger brother, but when it came to her, they were always hesitant to spend money or show some love. In her teenage years she had tried her best to be rebellious and gain some love and attention from her mother. But all she got was nonchalant attitude of kavitha which made Shradha think that they don't care about her. This feeling was deep rooted and that was the reason even after 2 years of therapy, she still had trust issues and very low self confidence. She was truly lost and despite of Neeta's constant efforts Shradha was not able to look life in positive way.
Shradha mechanically helped her father and brother and went on doing the work. She knew her evenings will be like this if she stayed home. So she always tried to come home late, even if it meant lack of sleep for her.