I looked at Sammy as she flopped back against the plump cushions on my bed. She was dressed in her tracks and ‘I look like this ’coz I just had a baby, what’s your excuse?’ tee, and her long wavy hair was piled on top of her head. She looked great as always, albeit a little tired, her girlish good looks unmarred by the few excess post-pregnancy pounds she was yet to lose. It was easy to tell we were sisters; after all we looked so alike on the outside. From the inside, however, it was a different story altogether. Unlike me, caught up in my perpetual haze of confusion, Sammy had always been very clear about what she wanted to do with her life. She had dreamed of being an architect all her life, or at least since she was fifteen years old, and she had steadfastly stuck to her goal. She was the best person to turn to for the serious career advice that I desperately needed.

‘Actually Sammy, I wanted to talk to you about work too,’ I began hopefully. If there was anyone who could understand my dilemma, it was Sammy! She knew me better than anybody else. ‘It has been a little weird, you know, these past couple of months…’

I was interrupted by a loud wail from the adjoining room—Aryan! He had woken up and was bawling in full force. ‘Oh my God, the small rakshas is awake!’ Sammy gave an anguished shriek and dashed out of the room. I sighed and flung myself back on the pillow, all notions of the longed-for heart-to-heart chat evaporating into thin air. Maybe the Momster was right, after all—I wasn’t a sixteen-year-old any more! It was high time I did some soul-searching and got my life back on track. I had to figure out what it was that I wanted to do with my life and fast!

Four

I uncrossed my fingers and flexed my aching hands. Swivelling around in my chair, I shot a glance at Suketu who grinned back broadly and gave me a thumbs-up. The verdict was in the first round of concepts generated by Neil and Shubhra were a stupendous success! We had just reached the end of a presentation by the market research agency, throughout which I had sat with tightly crossed fingers, my heart hammering loudly. The presentation had been like a dream come true—consumers had loved the idea of biscuits formulated with almonds, walnuts and saffron, which were not just tasty but were also good for the brain. The combined benefits of science and nature that we had communicated in the concepts had been a huge hit as well.

Feeling slightly giddy with the mixture of relief and happiness that was coursing through me, I looked at Shiv in anticipation. He nodded at me approvingly. ‘Good job, Megha. Well done! I’m confident now that this launch is going to be a huge success.’

‘Thanks, boss!’ I heard Varun’s high-pitched squeak before I could get a word in to thank Shiv. ‘I think Megha is able to manage now, and with my guidance and supervision, I’m sure Bright Biscuits is going to be the biggest launch of next quarter!’