ENTRY 2

I finally got my period! Which means no having to make tea for Rishi, no sitting for puja* and being absolutely alone in my room with my very own mattress.

*A prayer to God. 

Thank God for Dadi's* superstitious beliefs.

*Grandma

The plan is to finish Audit within these four or five days.

Who knows, if I'm lucky enough, I'll continue chumming for a whole week! One whole week; with my solace. A dream come true.

~Meera

Sipping into the cup of hot chocolate; Vedant found his brows scrunch up in amusement. He was obviously aware of just how much women disgusted those few days of the month.

Cramps? Back pains? Staining?

He'd watched Vidisha; his little sister whine about it all.

He'd even watched with utmost horror from how she changed from a vivacious, happy soul to a conniving monster; ready to attack you at the slightest provocation.

This girl...Meera...seemed like an exception to the stereotype.

ENTRY 3

Apparently pink is a girl's colour and blue is a boy's colour. I was out buying a phone case for myself with Jai, Aashni and Nikhil. Of course, Nikhil just had to pass a sexist remark.

Something on the lines of how we girls should get over our obsession with pink.

In my defence; I genuinely liked the cover. It is this nice rose gold colour that totally flatters my super common Samsung model. But his remark made me conscious; also making me want to point out that Aashni was bathed in pink the first time he officially took note of her and eventually asked her out.

Talk about hypocrisy.

I still got the phone case though.

~Meera

Jai, Aashni and Nikhil?

Do I know any of these people?

Pressing his forehead tightly; Vedant tried to brainstorm for sensing any recognition. Who was he kidding?

Jai and Nikhil were probably the most common names out there. And if Meera was someone from his friend circle; he'd obviously know. Which meant that he most certainly didn't know these three people all that well.

Hooking; was putting things mildly. He was beyond hooked to her entries.

Vedant settled on his bed with the pink diary with more stirred interest.

Who writes journals these days?

Apparently Meera does. And she loves pink. He sighed.

ENTRY 4

Rhea Di is getting engaged to Somil.

Yes, SOMIL PARMAR. I find this match absolutely absurd! Considering he was dating Rhea Di's* best friend for a good three years before he decided to be a typical Mumma's boy and agree to an arranged marriage.

*common noun used for elder sisters

I'm not sure what amazes me more; the ease with which he moved on or the expertise with which my entire family is ignoring the elephant in the room and going ahead with the wedding preparations. 

Rhea Di looks positively THRILLED. She's all over the house; frolicking to various stores shopping for the 'ideal' lehenga*. Somil; being typical Somil; convinced all the elders to keep the ceremony on Rhea Di's twenty second birthday.

*The garment wearing which most Indian Hindu women get married.

And that was all that was needed to have her swooning over him already.

When I asked her what she saw so amazing about this match she beamed saying her sasural* would be within a three km radius.

*in law's house. A good chunk of newly married Indian couples move in with the groom's family and live as a big, happy family.

GREAT.

JUST GREAT.

~Meera

ENTRY 5

I'd just settled with a good pace at accounts when Ma suddenly called me out to the dining room.

I had to go.

She was waiting eagerly with the cordless phone in her hand for me to talk to Meher. You know, a distant cousin of mine who I've always been compared with.

Meher has always been the beautiful one. She's tall and slender and fair with the right amount of softness and right amount of sass required to make her the most ideal bahu*. She got married a year ago and had gone to visit Mauritius with her husband recently.

*daughter in law

She called to you know, fill me up and probably get me jealous.

It's been YEARS, and I still FAIL to understand why she still tries to make me envy her. I've never been anywhere even close to that degree of misery as to want to get married to or be sent off to Mauritius with a virtual stranger at the age of twenty three. 

Anyway, THIS isn't it.

Wait for it.

She's PREGNANT.

My jaw almost hit the floor with shock. But she got super stressed and asked me to shush up till she tells her husband and in laws and all that.

Seriously! She has hardly been married to the man for I don't know...six months? HOW does one get comfortable enough to get into a such a long term commitment with a stranger?

Have they...have they discussed it? Are they even comfortable enough to bring up a child together?

Urgh. I'm speechless. I was speechless even over call.

It felt like she was seeking some sort of validation from me, which sounded EXACTLY like Meher.

Even when we were kids, she was always restless and impulsive and would act without even a moment's pause. And later; when she'd mess up or land herself into trouble; she would come rushing to me seeking solace.

Today felt like a weird sense of déjà vu. I didn't like the feeling of helplessness I felt over call.

I COULDN'T give her the validation she was seeking. She needs to understand that we're not kids anymore and that she cannot be this impulsive and rash.

When our conversation steered to my chartered accountancy, I was actually very glad.

Then of course the conversation steered to my chartered accountancy.

"Oh so you're writing the exam next month?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah." I replied.

And then she squealed the inevitable, "You'll be the first CA in our house!"

I could just roll my eyes at the Universe for the bazillionth time.

~Meera

"Vedant!"

He shuffled in his seat, shutting the diary close.

"Yeah Ma?"

"Akshay, he got through. He's got a seventy five percent scholarship." She whispered softly; handing him a cordless landline. With her whisper he concluded, it was his cousin on the line and he was expected to congratulate him.

SERIOUSLY? Another coincidence?

He took hold of the phone; and forcing a smile greeted,

"Congrats man. Seventy five percent scholarship?"

Akshay laughed on the other end; thanking him and then again; asking him his study status.

"I uh, I just gave my IPCC."

"Great! I'm sure you'll clear. What then? You'll be the first CA of the family man."

He cracked up at that, almost able to picture Meera's irritated look as she rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Actually, no. If I clear I have three years of Articleship and then a final CA paper to write." He corrected someone for the umpteenth time, his head still reeling with thoughts of her.

It was annoying how people mistook CA for any other bachelor's course.

"That's some really long course eh?"

Hanging up on his cousin actually felt nice, and he gathered his faculties staring at himself before the mirror for seconds altogether.

What if I don't clear IPCC this time?

Not one person in his family had ever failed. Not one person had ever had a second best job. They'd never settled for anything but the best.

How would he face his family if he became the first failure?