Just as these thoughts began to set panic alight in my chest once again, Priam and Vicki were reaching the climax of the song and trying to replicate the numerous voices emerging out of our stereo from the living room, including the one that goes super high at the end. As both of them tried to reach that note, Shanti reached over and seized my hand, finally turning her head my way to look at me with what could only be described as a combination of amusement, disbelief, and euphoria.

I’ll admit, it was difficult for my displeasure and panic to sustain itself in the face of her surprising but equally endearing reaction. What surprised me even more was when she gripped the crap out of my hand in her excitement and what I felt—instead of the usual pain in my palm—was something else entirely in my chest.

After the showstopping number ended, Vicki and Priam took their bows—something they found a way to squeeze in at least six or seven times a day—and seated themselves back at the table. Still beaming at us through slightly heavier breaths, they began eating their breakfast. Shanti looked at me, shrugged, and let go of my hand to start eating as well.

Between bites, Vicki asked a series of annoying questions that neither Shanti nor I knew how to answer.

“How long have you two been… what do the kids call it these days?”

“If you were a musical duo, which one would you be, you think?”

“Who’s your favorite Glee couple? You can’t say Brittany and Santana!”

Shanti and I muddled our way through this overeager interrogation as best we could, but as soon as I’d inhaled my avocado toast and eggs (and stolen Shanti’s last piece of fruit to speed things up), I pulled her out of her chair and told Priam and Vicki we had to go.

“Oh! Where are you off to?” Priam asked.

“We’ve got… skateboarding practice,” I shouted as I practically bodychecked Shanti away from the table.

“Oh, Daya, couldn’t you just take a break from all that thrashing about for once? We never get to see you and your friends!”

And you still haven’t figured out that that’s by design? “We won’t be ‘thrashing about.’ We skate. On a board. And I like it.” The edge creeping into my voice must have done the trick, because Priam jumped in.

“Oh, all right then—but maybe we can all go to a show together sometime or something! Do you like musicals, Shanti?”

Shanti made sure to look straight at me as she replied, “Absolutely!”

Jesus.

Once upstairs, I shut my bedroom door behind me and leaned against it. “Don’t say a word.”

Shanti stood in front of me and placed her hands on my hips, her lips leaning in toward my own. “Fine. I won’t.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven