‘Yeah—it’s hard to tell,’ grinned Lubna. ‘I mistook some of the Indian girls on our team to be from Bangladesh too. Have you ever been to Bangladesh, by the way?’

‘Nope. But isn’t Bangladesh close to where Jhulan Goswami is from?’

‘Pretty close. Just across the border. You like her, huh?’

Inaya nodded.

‘I too think she’s amazing,’ said Lubna. ‘In fact, my grandmother originally comes from the same town as her family does—Chakdaha in West Bengal.’

‘What! How awesome is that? Why would anyone leave the town where Jhulan comes from?’

‘I know, right? I asked them the same question—they said the Partition happened,’ Lubna shrugged.

As they waited at a zebra crossing, Inaya noticed a familiar face bobbing up and down in the crowd of people approaching them. Inaya grabbed Lubna’s arm and made her do an about-turn.

‘Come with me,’ she said. ‘It’s lunchtime—and I’ve just seen someone who has a good nose for food. Let’s just follow him.’

‘What? You’re crazy, Inaya.’

‘Trust me. This will be fun,’ said Inaya, with a wicked grin.

And so, unbeknownst to Jai, he was being stalked by the twosome. This time though, he wasn’t headed to eat. It was his mother’s birthday the next week and he was out looking for a gift for her. He boarded a bus headed for Oxford Street, oblivious to the fact that both Inaya and Lubna had also hopped on to the same bus. When he got off, so did they.

As he drifted along Oxford Street with the throng of other tourists, Jai kicked himself for not having bought his mother something in India with Rusty’s help—like he always did. If there was anything Jai hated, it was shopping. He hated making decisions, especially those that had to do with buying things, and it was so much worse when he had to choose on someone else’s behalf. The very thought of entering any of these shops and being approached by an overzealous salesperson gave him cold feet. Just as he was on the verge of giving up and turning back, he spotted The Body Shop. He remembered having seen some of their products on his mother’s dressing table. Perhaps he could just get her something from here.

Five paces behind him, Inaya watched, rather nonplussed. This was an unexpected detour—certainly not what she had expected.

‘You said your friend was some sort of restaurant expert?’ whispered Lubna, as they entered the shop as well.

‘I wouldn’t call him that!’ Inaya whispered back. ‘But he has a knack for ordering the right dishes.’

‘So, what should we eat here, Inaya?’ said Lubna. ‘Delicious mango body butter?’

Inaya burst out laughing. On hearing her laughter ring out, Jai, who was trying to make sense of the papaya face mask, looked around, swamped in dread.

‘No, no, please don’t let it be her,’ thought Jai in desperation. But it was. That Pesky Girl. Again.

Inaya grinned widely at him.

‘I’d really recommend that face mask actually,’ she said. ‘Papaya is great for a glowing complexion and its strong aroma masks all other odours—so you can actually go without bathing for weeks.’