The gentleman sitting beside him looked up from his newspaper. ‘I feel your pain. I’m originally from Karachi, and I couldn’t help but overhear,’ he said, by way of explanation for gatecrashing this family conversation. ‘Just in case you’re looking for a good curry place, there’s a lovely little one right by Paddington station. Nabeel’s Kitchen, it’s called.’

‘Much appreciated, thank you. I think I will be in dire need of some such alternatives to save my remaining teeth,’ said Habib.

Humaira harrumphed loudly, indicating that she had had enough of this topic and she didn’t need random strangers to now start weighing in on this public takedown of her sister. Almost fifty years of marriage had taught Habib to interpret these harrumphs. He held his peace for the rest of the journey.

Meanwhile, Inaya’s mind continued to flit between the excitement of playing her first ever tape-ball league match and the trepidation of what if it all went horribly wrong. She unconsciously began to drum her foot against the seat in front of her to release her pent-up nervousness.

Jai looked through the viewfinder of the camera that Rusty had given him, in the hope of getting a decent shot of the London skyline, but all he could see was a grey blur, as the Heathrow Express shot past the scenery. Sighing, he put the camera away and turned his attention to his grandmother seated beside him.

‘Why didn’t Ma come to the airport to fetch us, Badi Ma?’

‘Arathi’s at work, Jai,’ explained Toshi patiently. ‘She offered to take the day off, but I told her we would manage. It’s just a straightforward train ride to Paddington, and once we’ve left our bags at her apartment, she said she would meet us for lunch.’

‘Okay. Where will we eat lunch?’

‘She mentioned some place—it’s very close to the station.’

Just then, a girl sitting behind Jai started to drum her foot against the seat rather annoyingly. Jai wished he had it in him to turn around and ask her to stop. But that would mean confrontation, and that was the last thing Jai wanted in this very quiet train, with everyone listening. He glanced back to see if he could discreetly catch her eye and politely request her to refrain from kicking his seat. As he did so, she caught him looking at her.

‘Do you have a problem?’ she asked, sharply.

Jai’s ears turned red and he quickly turned away without mentioning to her that, yes, he did have a problem. That of her kicking his seat. And then behaving like he was the problem.

What a pesky girl, he thought to himself.

What a weird specimen, thought Inaya to herself.

Dragon Breath

Adeela Noorani stood by the window of her maisonette in Marylebone, waiting for her sister and her family to arrive.

‘Oh, there she is, Humaira,’ said Habib, as their taxi pulled into the driveway. As an aside to Inaya, he whispered, ‘Can you see the window glass fogging up with her fiery dragon breath?’