She leant forward and hugged me quickly. ‘You’re one of the most awesome people I know. There’s nothing ugly about you. Not now. Not ever. I really need you to start believing that,’ she said.

‘I know . . .’

‘Your awesomeness has nothing to do with how much you weighed or weigh,’ she said fiercely.

I hugged her again. Sometimes words weren’t enough to convey feelings.

35

I stayed at Nisha’s for a little while longer, not willing to go back home to face Nani and her intrusive questions.

Anirudh accompanied me to the door. He was leaving too. They both were frantically preparing for their various entrance exams and had taken out some time for me.

‘Shall I drop you off at home?’ he asked with a smile. He picked up his helmet from near the door and looked at me with his eyebrows raised.

‘Okay,’ I told him. His Scooty was parked near the gate. He removed an extra helmet from below the seat and handed it to me.

‘Thanks,’ I muttered as I strapped it on my head. My house wasn’t too far away, but Anirudh was always cautious about everything. If I told him that there were no cops around and we wouldn’t be caught if both of us weren’t wearing helmets, he would most likely be very confused. Because he was one of the few people who wore a helmet for safety and not because he didn’t want to get caught by the police.

A part of me wanted to ask him how he knew that Nisha was more than a friend. How had he known about his feelings for her? Because that could help me understand Raghu’s attraction to me. I didn’t ask him because it was silly. Raghu and Anirudh were two very different guys. I couldn’t generalize their feelings like that.

As Anirudh dropped me off, I spotted Nani sitting on the wicker chair on the porch and glaring at me. I kept my face impassive as I walked inside.

When would Raghu call me? I wanted to go meet him right away but since it was lunchtime, he wouldn’t even have the time to text me. I really wanted to meet him, and talk about everything, get it over with so we could move on with our lives.

Things at home seemed okay on the surface. Ma was lying in her room, sleeping peacefully when I looked in on her. Nani ambled back inside but I didn’t want to be caught alone with her so I rushed off to my room, claiming I had a headache. I kept looking at my phone, willing it to buzz so I could go and meet Raghu.

When I emerged from my room to get something to eat, Aunty V and Nani seemed to have come to a truce of sorts because they were both cooking away.