"Pretty," Olivia said monotonously.
"Uh.. um.. what?" Koushik felt confused by her out-of-context remark.
"Your hand. Pretty." Olivia looked into his eyes with a serious expression.
"I... I.. my..." he became flustered by her sudden remark especially when she stared at him like that.
"Uh... Thanks?" He blushed.
It was the first time Olivia praised something about him. Till then it had always been him initiating most of their conversations and they never really talked much about casual things so it was so out of the blue for him to get complimented by Olivia. But he felt happy.
'Maybe she'll accept me as her friend soon? It's a good progress, right? I'll have to work harder. If I can befriend Olivia I can introduce them when Ankita arrives. This way she will also feel more comfortable in a new place. Although she's better at making friends than I am but still, having a mutual friend always helps right? We can also hang out together sometimes...' he began to dream about having little hangout sessions with Ankita, Rishi, Bikram and Olivia.
"Sorry. Busy."
"Huh?" Koushik looked at her startled.
He was lost in his world so he did not follow what Olivia was talking about.
"Lunch. Not possible. I'm busy." Olivia reiterated.
"O.. oh... Okay. That's sad but what can we do if you already have plans right? And it was also thoughtlessly of me to expect you'll agree right away when I hadn't even informed you beforehand. I'm sorry." His expression dropped.
"But... maybe you can join us next time?" Koushik made a cute face.
"I'll see." Olivia indifferently looked away.
'Yes! She didn't decline outright! I still have hope.'
After school.
"Hey, Olly!" Abhirup's voice echoed through the crowd.
Surjo also waved at Olivia who slowly approached them.
"What are you here for?" Surjo asked.
"Groceries," Olivia answered.
"Ooooh, are we expecting some delicacies?" Abhirup rubbed his hands as his eyes sparked with excitement.
"Veg soup." Olivia shrugged.
"Even mud tastes like amrita in your hands, what's a little veg soup?" Abhirup blinked at her.
"Yes, Olly, be sure to expect a raid from us." Surjo laughed.
"It's nothing new. You guys are the reason my fridge hardly ever has anything. Are you sure you did not transplant doggy olfactory receptors in your nose? I doubt it. Like how do you guys even flock in my room when I'm just fcking washing the ingredients?" Olivia rolled her eyes.
"It just smells soooooo good..." Abhirup closed his eyes acting like he could actually smell her dishes.
"The vegetables?" Olivia raised an eyebrow.
"Ahem. No, I meant your food." Abhirup tried to hide his embarrassment.
"Olly, shall I accompany you?" Surjo looked at her with puppy eyes.
"Argh, whatever." Olivia face palmed herself.
"Yaay!" Abhirup and Surjo high-fived and followed her like two happy malamutes.
Soon they stopped near a store. Olivia roamed around looking for the items she needed. By the time she returned Surjo and Abhirup were standing near the cash counter with two carts full. No, it would be underestimating to say full. The carts were heaped to the point things were falling out from here and there.
Olivia looked at them dumbfounded.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"We're storing food for future use you know? When the items you bought finishes you can just use these. No need to come all the way here. We don't want you all tired right?" Surjo said in a righteous tone.
But Olivia knew what this was all about.
"You guys are shameless! People buy groceries to stock up their fridge but you guys are filling yours up because mine doesn't have enough space to hold that mountain?" She was speechless.
"When was the last time you touched your oven?" She crossed her hands and looked at them seriously.
"We boil milk every day. For tea, coffee or whatever?" Abhirup smiled proudly.
Olivia wanted to smack that smile off his face. Yes, that meant all six of them had breakfast lunch and dinner at her room.
"You all should start paying me for being your unofficial cook." Olivia smiled in a friendly way.
"Sure, would fifty lakh per person per day be enough?" Abhirup asked.
Surjo nodded and looked at her with gleaming eyes.
Olivia felt like throwing hands at these gluttons. She said that to make them give up on her but it seemed to have the exact opposite effect. She sighed in defeat.
"What, is it too less?" Abhirup asked.
"Shut up and follow me." Olivia glared at him and walked ahead reminding herself not to become violent in public.
After coming coming back Olivia gave them a few punches.
"Eat these too. Very helpful for digestion." Olivia scowled.
"So, what are we having for dinner?" Surjo and Abhirup asked simultaneously with sparkling eyes even though they had swollen lips and a black eye.
"Air." Saying that Olivia slammed the door on their faces.
"Olly, I want.... "
"And use a bit of... "
"Ritu said she would like....."
"Nilambori was asking if you could make.... "
They listed everything they could think of even though they knew Olivia wouldn't follow any of that.
"They even called the others? Is this a restaurant that they're piling orders?" Olivia felt a vein pop up on her forehead.