Ding! The sound emerged from her phone. A text message
Ding! The sound didn't disturb the sleeping beauty
"Wake up, Kwai" phone screen brightened with the notification, followed by a buffalo gif from a contact saved as "Saraleo" with a blue heart. A phone call finally broke her sleep, she surfed through her bed and got hold of the phone and she answered.
"Arai wa, saraleo?" As if he is the only one who would call her
"Saaptiya da, enna time aaguthu?" Replied the voice that calmed her nerves down
"Amma, hiiiii, epdi irukinga, its 7 am i think, let me check" she pulled herself up in the bed and proceeded to yell on top of her lungs. "It's 7:50, I have my first class at 8"
"What? Did you go there to sleep? Is this why you wanted to leave all of us after arguing with us? Learn to have some responsibilities, Dhi, you are not a kid anymo…." The same voice that calmed her down was the same voice that's getting on her nerves, moms, am i right?
"I am already late ma, will call you later, bye, love you" she hung up as soon as she can to avoid a hour long lecture on responsibilities, little did she know there was another person waiting to give her a lecture on responsibility.
"Khun hwey, you come to Thailand just to piss me off" and he proceeded to monologue for few minutes. Riddhi sat there as ideal and stiff like a tree log. The yelling went on until Riddhi apologized over and over. There are people like that, who plan everything enthusiastically, all cheerful, that will make you believe you are gonna have a great time with them, then they will proceed to turn the phone off and sleep their ass off. Riddhi is the leader of that club. Even her friends in India hate her for that. For Luffy Gear 5 episode of One piece, she planned a watch party with her friends, made some mugiwara herself, ordered food and asked her friends to meet by 5. Then forgot to charge her phone and was playing WWE on her PlayStation all day, forgetting about her plans. The surprising fact is that she is well aware that she does that, and that whenever she does that, it pisses off the people that love her. She recalled her mom's words. "Have some responsibilities, Dhi, you are not a kid anymore".
Tears rolled down her eyes involuntarily. As her hand reaches the face to wipe it off, she felt a different hand on her cheek, rubbing of her tears. Her face lifts up to meet the eyes of the person's hand resting on her face. "I didn't mean to yell at you, its just - you plan it, its the first day of college and then I am here roaming like a loner at the orientation without you. Do you know how many people asked me if I wanted a date?" Riddhi breaks a laugh "Girls, he is single!" She yells in Thai. Then she turns to Isuan "Are you… single?"
"Like a RNA" he replied, letting out his biology facts already in the first day of college.
"Nerd alert" she coughs it out and apologizes to him again and again
"Don't do it ever again, five years and still the same Kwai you are. But please don't ever cry, I can't see you cry" he says cupping her palm into his, setting his eyes on the floor. She wanted to lift his face and lock eyes but instead pulled her hand off of his in one quick motion "Liar! You had no problem making me cry when we first met" His eyes still set on the ground, he let a deep sigh out. Folding his arms to his head, letting a deep breath out he said, "You don't have any more classes for today, wanna eat?"
"SPICY PORK like old times, your treat?" She replied enthusiastically
"I am treating you for irritating me, remind me, why am I friends with you again?" Riddhi laughs it off as he hangs her bag on his shoulder. As if two bags on either of his shoulder, one of his own and one of Riddhi, wasn't enough weight for him as she hugged his arm in a tight grip and walked in the streetlight to their favorite shop. The world looks and feels smaller and smaller when they are together, talking and eating the whole evening when…
"I thought it was our spot" said the voice either of them are so familiar with but in different ways. To Riddhi, it put the biggest smile on her face, bigger than when she saw Isuan waiting for her at the airport, bigger than when she heard that she scored the district first mark, bigger than the time she heard she is getting a dog for her birthday. To Isuan, he just wanted to punch the face that belonged to the voice so hard until he passes out even though he knows he can't even place a finger on the muscular, sculpted god-like body of Zee. It would be a lie if he has never thought of that six packs before going to sleep sometimes. He hates that he can't get that image out of his head since their first football match when P'Zee threw the sweat soaked jersey onto the ball boy Isuan's face just to piss him off, he felt the six packs was mocking him more than the wet tshirt.
Standing behind her while not losing eyes with Isuan, Zee rested both his hands on Riddhi's shoulder and planted a kiss on her cheek as he continued, "what are you doing here, I thought I was buying you dinner tonight" Fumes were flying from across the table not sure if its the steaming smoke of pork or Kuea's stomach. Yes, she was supposed to have dinner at Zee's house that night, but she had completely forgotten about that until now.
"Sua, you remember P'Zee? P'Zee this is Isuan…" Zee interrupted and finished her sentence "The one I used to save you from" Riddhi nodded pitifully
He continued "Did he forcefully bring you here, did he kidnap you?" Riddhi snorted as she let out a laugh that could be heard from across the street. "Yes he kidnapped me to treat me to delicious pork and devil eggs" she says laughing on his face. As they faded into their own conversation, Isuan was fighting for words and rationalizing his thoughts because he didn't want to come off as the same old Isuan who has always wanted to punch this guy. He broke his silence after thoughtful understanding "Umm, uhh, sorry but somebody please tell me- What the heck is going on" Well rationalized thought, Sua, way to go!
"Why are you here?" Said Zee mockingly
Why are YOU here?" Yelled Isuan, trying to pick a fight. As Riddhi stood up to collect the leftovers, she dragged her boys out of the shop before they could create a scene like they always do, except she thought they will be more mature as the years went by. She saw them standing so close to each other enraged and infuriated while she was paying the bill. Yes, it became her treat now. Pushing them away from each other, she said "Oh my god, you guys are the same ass heads you used to be. Wait, you haven't seen each other since the last time I was here?"
"Not really" Zee mumbled to himself
"You know what? I don't care about that right now. P'Zee, apologize to auntie and uncle on behalf of me, I will talk to them on the phone later and apologize myself, but I will go back to my dorm today, I will come by home tomorrow." She turned to face Isuan "Sua, I can't make it to the movies tomorrow"
She continued to Zee "I will explain everything tomorrow okay?" Their eyes locked in shared understanding as Zee shrugged in approval. Sua pulled Riddhi's bag off of Zee's shoulder while staring at Zee, but he was taken aback confused as Zee's eyes weren't filled with rage like usual, rather it reflected with something that Sua isn't familiar with. Zee yearningly stared deep into Sua's eyes. Sua felt the emotion that he received from Zee's eyes in his stomach. As the eye contact started to tell a story of its own, a story that Sua quite couldn't comprehend, he broke it off, shy fully. As Dhi wrapped her arms around Sua's arm, Zee stood there watching them walk away in the moonlight.
"Care to fill in?" Sua looked down at Riddhi's head that was resting on his shoulder as they walked by
"I was supposed to have dinner at P'Zee's house tonight and I completely forgot about it, we made that plan last week and I forgot it was today, aunty must be mad that I didn't meet her yet and uncle….." Sua was going deaf slowly in confusion, what's happening, Zee's house, she calls his mom auntie, dinner? Is Riddhi still close with Zee, with that monster? Why, how? He decided to utter his thoughts out loud. Well, he thought he presented his doubts in a respected, matured manner but it sounded like "how… why… what… the hell you are close with that monster?"
After knowing Sua at his worst for years, Riddhi expected a much worse reaction, so she was contented that this was all. If Sua is known for doing something better, it is throwing a tantrum, and time to time it makes sense too, so Riddhi analyses his high pitched voices before she reacts to his tantrums… learning from the experiences that wasn't easy for her five years ago. "P'Zee is the reason I am here today" said Riddhi, adding more confusion to his already melting mind. His starry green eyes starred at her through his lowered lashes, expecting an explanation. "He is my sponsor, my local guardian"
"You need a local guardian to study here?"
"Not really, but he convinced my dad that he will look after me, much stricter than my dad we've will be and that he will take sole responsibility on me" said Riddhi looking at Isuan's baby like eyes roaming around searching for answers. Why did he do that? Maybe he is an asshole only to me, He thought to himself. His mind wandered with so many more questions, skeptical. Ay there's a more obvious question to address.
"He talks to YOUR DAD? How.. whyyy… are you still close with him? Ahhh it hurts my brain.." Riddhi laughs out loud at the despair of her best friend in the whole world. That's the dream right? To have a friend who would be there for you no matter what, when they fall down, you would be there to pick them up, just after laughing for 5 minutes. "ANSWER ME LADY" yelled Sua while Riddhi decided to keep the answers to herself just to see his friend grow crazy.
That night, as she climbed into bed after an extensive and expensive 10-step skin care routine, her phone buzzed in with three new texts. From her sponser, her another best friend that has been a secret, Zee.
Ding! "Reached home safe?"
Ding! "Asleep yet?"
Ding! "Ma says she miss your sambar" read the message
She replied "God, I miss her, my sambar idly is coming to her soon", she continued, "I am sorry for today," next message she wrote "Would you two have been friends if you weren't there fighting him to save my ass?"
"Haha as if I pick a fight with him to save you" she smiled to herself to the context of the text
"I think someone has a crushhh"
"Go sleep you dumbass, or your guardian will dial Kumar uncle" little did she know he was laughing at the texts too.
"I hate that you have a hold on me like this. I will behave, please dont do that, ever, that will be the death of me" she replied back with a skull and laughing emoji.
Staring at the photo frame, she uttered to herself, I have to be the luckiest girl in the world now.