The afternoon sun gives the entire room a soft glow. A sophisticated adult mixture of scents hangs in the air: perfume, spicy aftershave, eucalyptus oil. Their king-size bed is made, complete with hospital corners and a mountain of throw pillows. What’s the point of having so many freaking pillows? It seems like so much work to remove them every night and put them back in the morning.

Suhani’s dresser is covered with bottles of perfume that smell like different exotic flowers. At the edge, Natasha sees the hot-pink spine of a burn book. They both bought one after the first time they saw Mean Girls. There’s a stacked makeup case with Suhani’s latest splurges from Sephora. Suhani’s tried (and failed) to get Natasha into everything from bronzer to fake eyelashes.

A pair of gold-and-white ankle bells from Suhani’s kathak lessons are hung on the wall. Mom enrolled both of them in the North Indian classical dance class when they were in elementary school. The instructor, Kajal Auntie, had a habit of teaching steps by shouting dramatic commands: You are a blooming lotus flower! Show me you are Goddess Saraswati! Twirl like a Bollywood actress! Suhani used to practice for an hour before class while Natasha found reasons to get kicked out at least once a month.

At the corner of the dresser, there’s a sepia-toned picture of the Joshi family during their first trip to Disney World. Mom and Dad are in the back in matching Lion King T-shirts while Suhani has her arms around Natasha and Anuj. Splash Mountain is behind them.

Natasha refills her champagne flute and then starts on the closet. It’s an ad for the Container Store. Everything is labeled and folded and in its place. Someday, Natasha thinks as she sips her champagne and gazes around, she’ll have enough money for nice things. Even if she isn’t a girly girl like her sister, it would feel cool to have one kick-ass pair of shoes, like Dr. Jenkins, or a handbag that tells the world she’s doing well. She scans Suhani’s collection of satchels, clutches, and cross-body bags, then moves on to her wardrobe. Her hands graze dresses with vibrant animal prints, a blush-pink leather jacket, an impressive collection of hats. Some of it even reminds Natasha of Mindy Kaling’s outfits that she posts on her Instagram account.

Zack texts her. Did Suhani seem mad this morning?

NATASHA: She’s always mad. Don’t worry about it.

ZACK: But something’s been different about her.

NATASHA: Did she say something?

ZACK: No. Just a feeling.

Only a guy like Zack would be intuitive enough to pick up on something like that.

NATASHA: I’ll see how she is when I talk to her. Will keep you posted.

She knows she should leave their room now. (Actually, she should have never gone in in the first place, but what’s done is done.)