The door opens and Dadu peeks her head in, smiling. It feels like a breath of fresh air. “Do you want to come grocery shopping with me after breakfast?”

I smile back. It’s always nice to see Dadu in a good mood. “I’d love to.”

Later, when I’m walking through the fruit aisle, my phone buzzes in my back pocket. I unlock it to see a text from Nandini: have you checked FB?

I frown. no, I barely go on fb unless it’s for class!! why?

baaabe. april fools must’ve come early for ace lol

Cora sends a screenshot of her Facebook app to our group chat the next moment. Ace Clyde is in a relationship.

The first comment says Mia Jackson: lmao with whomst?

The second comment says Ace Clyde: karina ahmed, rmbr??

I curse in surprise, dropping my phone into the shopping cart.

Dadu comes up behind me, a concerned expression on her face. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” I say, shoving my phone away and focusing on the bananas. Is Ace insane? I don’t know what could possibly make him think that was a good decision but he’s going to regret it dearly.

The most ridiculous part of this is that we’re not even Facebook friends.

My phone buzzes in my pocket again, but I ignore it. I can’t even think about this or I’ll start screaming, and then I’ll probably get carted out of the grocery store.

“Are you sure, Myra?” Dadu asks, cupping my face and turning it side to side as if she can diagnose me from a glance. “Are you ill? We have to go to Sana’s birthday party on Friday. If you’re feeling sick, we should get you medicine today, to make sure that you’re healthy by then.”

I laugh weakly. Going to my cousin Sana’s party on Friday is the least of my concerns. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. “I’m not sick, don’t worry.”

Dadu hums. “If you’re sure. Let me know though, okay?” I nod, and she tugs my shirtsleeve. “Come on, let’s pick the bananas together.”

“Yeah, maybe some candles, too,” I say, biting my bottom lip as I sift through the various bananas.

Dadu holds a bunch toward me, perfectly yellow with a few brown spots.

The strange block in my chest seems to come loose. “You know me so well,” I say.

She smiles and pats my cheek. “Let’s grab your candles, and then we can get your brother’s cereal.”

I roll my eyes at the mention of Samir’s special cereal but follow my grandma anyway. “He should just eat the cereal the rest of us eat.”

“Your brother should do a lot of things that he doesn’t do,” Dadu says, laughing.