It was the first morning of the new year, and I was shaken awake from a deep sleep. It was my mom, of course. "It's 4:40," she said firmly. "I knew you'd make us late!" That's when I remembered that we had to leave for a family trip to a Murugan temple far away from our city. Groaning, I got up and dragged myself to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, I saw how dry my face looked. I quickly washed it with my face wash, hoping to feel more awake.
Meanwhile, my mom was already in multitasking mode. She had her phone in one hand, talking to one of my uncles, and was combing her hair with the other. I grabbed her phone, switched on the speaker, and went back into the bathroom. After twenty minutes, I came out feeling fresher. My mom stood there, fully ready, with my outfit in her hands. She knows me too well; I take too long picking clothes. I quickly got dressed, though the thought of the journey didn't excite me. My mom's side of the family had no one my age, and these trips always felt boring.
As we left the house, my mom knocked on my bedroom door to hurry me up. We walked to the bus stop where the tempo traveler would pick us up. The sky was still dark, and the sound of crickets surrounded us. At the stop, I saw a dog sleeping peacefully, completely undisturbed. I reached into my pocket to take a picture of it, but just as I was about to snap it, the bus arrived, and my mom dragged me inside.
She looked excited, but I wasn't. As we stepped onto the bus, its dark interior lit up. Sitting in the front seat was my uncle, the one whose sarcastic remarks always irritated me. "How many times should I call you?" he said mockingly. "Do you expect me to make coffee and come wake you up for this trip?" My mom blamed the alarm for our delay, and he made a few more lame remarks before finally dropping it. She then went to sit near my cousin, who is married and has a six-year-old son.
Her son is the only person on my mom's side of the family who makes family gatherings fun for me. Unfortunately, he wasn't on this trip. When I asked my cousin about him, she told me he had a cold and had been left at her mother-in-law's house. Hearing that made me feel even more annoyed. After saying hello to everyone, I headed for the last row of the bus and was relieved to find two empty seats. I slipped in, put on my AirPods, and started my favorite Spotify playlist. Watching the world pass by through the window while listening to music felt like a small slice of heaven.
But that peaceful moment didn't last long. A tap on my shoulder brought me back to reality. It was my uncle again, the very one I wanted to avoid. Without asking, he sat down beside me. He made vague noises, a sign that he wanted to start talking about. "What are you studying?" he asked. "Law," I replied shortly, hoping the conversation would end there. But no, he had more to say. "How much will you earn after graduating?" he asked, and before I could answer, he continued. "Lawyers don't make much money these days. Most of them are just brokers for the rich," he added. His words made me angry, but I bit my tongue to avoid an argument.
Before I could reply, his 15-year-old daughter approached us. I don't like her or her family much, they carry an air of superiority wherever they go. She asked her father for his phone to play songs on the bus's music system. He refused, saying he might get calls. Without asking, he grabbed my phone, which was resting on my lap. I felt furious and was about to yell, but then my mom's voice rang in my head: Don't get angry; they're your family. There is nothing more important than family in this whole world. Swallowing my frustration, I stayed silent. His daughter connected my phone to the bus's music system. At first, it didn't pair, and I sighed with relief. But then, out of nowhere, it connected. "What the hell," I thought, as the driver warned us not to unpair the device, saying it would be hard to reconnect. Now, my phone is completely under her control.
The loud songs she played made the trip unbearable. I walked to the front of the bus to check on her, making sure she wasn't opening other apps on my phone. The journey felt so boring without it. Suddenly, my phone rang. She handed it back to me with a warning: "Don't unpair it!" The name on the screen was Soniya, my best friend and classmate. Seeing her name sparked curiosity among the family members. It was 5:45 in the morning, and I could feel their eyes watching me. To avoid giving them any material for gossip, I decided to take the call through the music system.
"Hi Soniya, happy new year," I said cheerfully, but her reply was far from happy. "It's not a happy new year, Sid," she said in a low voice. Her tone made me uneasy. "What happened?" I asked. She hesitated before dropping a bombshell. "Last night, at midnight, I saw Roshan kissing another girl," she said. Roshan, who had been in a relationship with Anitha for three years, had betrayed her.
"What?" I asked, my voice trembling. "I don't believe this." She sent me pictures, and as I looked at them, anger bubbled inside me. Forgetting where I was, I shouted, "How dare he!" My voice was loud enough to silence the entire bus. Everyone turned to look at me.
Ignoring them, I called Anitha's elder sister, Srishti, and explained everything. I sent her the pictures, and her reaction mirrored mine. "What's going on?" she asked furiously. "That's Roshan, isn't it?" I confirmed it. She sighed deeply. "We have to tell Anitha, but we need to do it gently," she said. Her calm voice steadied me. "Let's stay strong for her," she added. We decided Soniya and I would break the news to Anitha together.
As I ended the call with Anitha's sister, I noticed the weight of silence in the bus. Everyone was looking at me. I could hear faint murmurs around me, whispers carrying their curiosity. I was in no state to explain anything to them. My mind was already overwhelmed. Then, my phone rang again—it was Soniya. I sighed and quickly tried to disconnect the Bluetooth, but for some reason, it wouldn't disconnect. The technical glitch left me stuck. The call was seconds away from being declined automatically, and I had no other choice but to answer through the connected speaker.
Reluctantly, I picked up the call. "Soniya, what happened?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. She sounded shaken. "Roshan saw me when I was leaving the party," she said. "I just managed to escape without him catching me, but he's been calling me nonstop. I don't know what to do, Sid."
Hearing the fear in her voice, I tried to think quickly. "Okay," I said, "Put me on the call with him. Let me talk." At first, I stayed silent on the line, pretending I wasn't there. Roshan's voice came through—calm, but I could sense the tension underneath. "Hey," he began, "You were at the party, right? I saw you an hour ago."
"Yeah," Soniya replied, her voice steady. "I was there."
He hesitated for a moment before asking, "When did you come to the party?"
"I've been there from the beginning," she said confidently. His tone shifted; it lowered, and I could hear the fear creeping in. "Oh," he muttered, trying to steady himself. "Did you… Did you notice me there?"
Without missing a beat, she replied, "Yeah, I saw you. I saw *everything* you did." Her boldness left him fumbling.
"What… what did you see?" he stammered, his voice cracking.
"How dare you cheat on Anitha," she said firmly, no hesitation in her voice.
There was a long pause before he replied, his words anxious and rushed. "No, no, I didn't… it's not what you think…" But Soniya cut him off. "Check your WhatsApp, you liar," she said coldly. She had sent him the photos she took, exposing his betrayal.
Another wave of silence followed. Then, his voice returned, softer and pleading. "It was an accident," he said, desperation spilling into every word. "I'm still in love with Anitha. Please don't tell anyone. Please."
That's when I decided to join the conversation. "Oh, so it's not cheating now, huh?" I said, my voice sharp with sarcasm.
The sound of my voice made him panic. "Sid… you…" he stammered, now even more nervous. His words tumbled out quickly. "It was… it was a complete accident!"
I took a deep breath to keep my temper in check. "Okay," I said, "I'm not the one to decide what's wrong or right. If you're truly in love with Anitha, you should take this matter to her. Be honest. Let her decide."
He tried to defend himself, grasping at straws. "It was an accident! I swear, I'm still loyal to her," he insisted, his voice rising with urgency.
That was it for me. "Cheating is not an accident," I snapped. "It's a choice. You chose to cheat, so stop trying to pass it off as an accident. Accept your mistake and apologize to her. That's what loyalty means. And if you try to cover this up, we'll make sure she knows the truth."
His voice dropped again, almost defeated. "Why can't you just let this go?" he pleaded.
I shook my head, though he couldn't see it. "I've told you before, and I'm telling you now, I'm not the authority here. Anitha is. Go talk to her. That's the only way out. Let her decide."
Finally, he gave in. "Fine," he muttered, "I'll talk to her."
After the call ended, I immediately informed Anitha's sister about his decision. "He says he's going to apologize to her," I told her. Srishti thanked me, though her voice was still tense with worry.
I leaned back in my seat, exhausted. When I glanced around, I realized the bus had gone silent again. Everyone was staring at me, some of them murmuring, but I was too drained to care. My mind was far away, replaying the entire situation over and over again. Without a word, I walked to the back seat and sank into it. I pressed my head against the window, shutting out the world around me. Let them think what they want. I didn't have the energy to explain or justify anything anymore.