‘But it’s in a mall. Why wouldn’t there be parking?’ he asked, looking at my reflection in the mirror.

I looked away from his gaze. My acknowledgment of this crush had just made it all the more difficult to endure this movie outing now.

‘Let’s just take an auto and go. It’s no big deal,’ I said, wishing he’d get up and leave. I was feeling extremely self-conscious about even doing my usual make-up routine of kajal and lip gloss.

‘Fine,’ he said. ‘Uncle’s not going to let me drive his car anyway.’

I smiled. He was right. Papa was quite possessive about his car.

I observed him quietly in the mirror. He was wearing a black t-shirt that had a quote on it and jeans. He looked extremely comfortable on my bed, outstretched sideways with his long legs hanging off the edge.

There was nothing wrong in him sitting here like this, I told myself. It wasn’t his fault that I was having inappropriate thoughts. I shushed them away and tried to focus on my face.

What did Raghu see when he saw me? Did he still see his fat friend from five years ago? My weight loss was not obvious and I was still uncomfortable about my body, and I was sure that my discomfort showed. How he saw me didn’t matter at all, I told myself sternly, because nothing was going to come of this dumb crush.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Boys probably just saw hot or not and I obviously was not hot because he’d seen me at my worst. And I doubted he’d ever forget the sight of me stuck under the table. Ms Piggy. I was desperate for the day I would have visible cheekbones and collarbones. My shoulders were too round and my bust attracted the wrong sort of attention so I tried to downplay it. I knew that my legs were toned, but the rest of me was still Fat Ananya.

‘We’re getting late,’ I told him shortly, my mood becoming glum. I capped my lipgloss and turned to face him.

‘Hmm?’

‘I said we’re getting late. Get your ass off my bed so we can leave.’

‘Eh. Okay, whatever,’ he said, getting up and stretching.

I didn’t want to notice him or his lean and long body so I turned and examined my face in the mirror again, hoping he wouldn’t notice and tease me.

‘Why is Bangalore so hot in February?’ he asked as he pulled away his t-shirt from his back and straightened his shoulders, doing a little jig under the fan.

Aaaaaa. Because you’re here, I yelled at him in my head.

I made a face and shrugged. ‘I’ll ask the weather gods and update you.’