Radhika had messed up. Big time. Now she had to think about damage control. Before her parents came to know about it.
She once again went through her to-do list mentally. She had swept and scrubbed the floors. She had woken her siblings (two-year old Hari and seven-year old Tara), made their breakfast and sent them to school, and cooked food for the guests. Then, she had set the milk on the stove to make some kheer and, as she knew that it would take at least fifteen minutes for it to come to a boil, she had gone into her room to read the very interesting book that she had borrowed. But she had become so engrossed in the book that she had completely forgotten about the milk until the pungent smell of burning milk hit her nostrils. She stood up with a start, tripped on her sari and fell down with a thud, hitting her elbow on the edge of the bed. Eyes tearing up in pain, she somehow ran into the kitchen and turned the stove off.
Now she had to think of, firstly how to get rid of the smell of the burnt milk, and secondly, how to make/buy/borrow some kheer before her mother returned from buying the snacks and gifts for the guests, and her father came home for lunch after closing shop for the afternoon.
To get rid of the smell, she flung open all the windows in the house. Then, she ran into her room and after some hesitation, pulled out the pouch she had kept her secret stash of money in. This is urgent, she thought, and this is absolutely the last time I'm doing this. Finally, locking the door of her house, she started walking as fast as she could towards the closest sweet shop, all the time cursing the guests she was going to see today. Though she was absolutely sure of the fact that they would not accept her as their son's bride, she could not help but feel a little nervous. What if these people found out about her secret? Then she shook her head. No, there was no way these people would know, and it was best if she kept these thoughts to herself. For, if anyone even had an inkling about what she did to earn some money, hell, IF they even came to know about the fact that she earned money...…she shuddered at the thought. Better be careful than sorry.
On returning home (after bargaining with the shopkeeper and buying the kheer), she decided to get dressed up. The guests would be arriving soon. She needed to be on her best behaviour, so that her mother would not find any reason to nitpick her.