|Chapter Nine|

The neighbourhood is peaceful and cool on the fourteenth of April with the sun peeking through the layers of fluffy, ivory clouds skimming the infinite skies, merging with the blue hues harmoniously. Sighing satisfactorily, Aisha turns in her bed, snuggling into her pillow with the soft quilt keeping her warm and comfy.

Peace, however, is a very delusional term. It's inconsistent.

"Ash!" And the next moment Aisha flinches as she processes her quilt flying away with the speed of lightning.

"Wha...?" she mumbles sleepily as she sighs in her sleep, furrowing her brows in protest.

"It's past seven in the morning already! Get out of your bed now."

"Please, ma..." Aisha whines, making grabby hands for the quilt which was taken away.

"Nitya's already helping me out with the preparations, so you, young lady, get your lazy self out of that bed and come down to the kitchen." With that Tulika leaves the room, taking the quilt with her.

"Not the blanket!" Aisha cries, internally applauding at how smart her mother is. Being the daughter of a witty lawyer is no fun, really.

Dragging herself out of the bed, she trudges to the washroom to brush up and get the remaining sleep out of her system. Once done with her morning routine, Aisha ties her hair up into a bun as she heads off into the living area.

Just as she steps for the kitchen, Aisha halts on her strides when the doorbell rings. Turning around, Aisha reaches for the door and, grabbing the handle, pulls it open.

"Oh..." Aisha mumbles when she takes notice of the person in front of her.

"Aren't you coming to school with us...?" Vivek asks, glancing at her. Aisha's dressed in unicorn-printed pyjamas and a soft, long-sleeved T-shirt.

"Actually no," Aisha shakes her head.

"Is she sick?" Veer asks, reaching Vivek's side. Before Aisha gets to respond, Veer's already placed his hand over her forehead, checking for a temperature with concern crossing his features.

"Oh God, stop it!" Aisha says, swatting his hand off her face.

"Is Nitya not well then?" Vivek asks next.

"Everyone's fine," Aisha sighs. "It's the fourteenth of April...?"

Both the boys blink at her blankly, having no clue about what she means. "Oh, right," Aisha speaks. "How'd you guys know about it anyway?"

"Know what?" Vivek asks.

"It's Bohag Bihu today," Aisha says. "The beginning of new year according to the Assamese calendar."

"Oh," both Veer and Vivek nod, finally understanding.

"So there's a party today then?" Veer asks, grinning at the prospect of a big meal and festivities.

Aisha smirks at him. "This is a cultural occasion, Veer, not your western-world-influenced party with drinks and midnight music and flashy costumes."

"The bigger question being: are we invited?" Vivek asks.

"Sorry, VIP's only," Aisha grins. "Go to school now, you'll be late otherwise." With that, she closes the door before heading back to the kitchen.

Standing at the doorway of the spacious dining-cum-kitchen area, Aisha crosses her arms as she eyes a small creature perched on the island counter. Nitya's arranging the freshly ground rice-flour, her face and arms patched with the powdery mess.

"I see, you're really helping out," Aisha shakes her head at the mess which the eleven-year-old has made.

"Ma says I will be a pro in making pithas," Nitya says haughtily.

Aisha can't help but snort at that. Grabbing the bowl of ground coconut, she settles on the countertop beside her mother who is making the traditional pitha with a small smile.

"What's left to do?" Aisha asks, munching on some of the coconut as she glances around the kitchen. "I don't see any work pending for me."

"There's nothing because there actually is no work left to do," Tulika says, handing Aisha a spatula. "I need you to start flipping the pithas on the pan, make sure the sides are cooked properly."

"Ugh, traitor," Aisha sighs, grabbing the spatula and replacing her mother in front of the stove. "I thought you were actually lagging behind in preparing the breakfast or something."

"One little lie doesn't hurt now, does it?" Tulika grins at her not-so-happy daughter.

___________

Vivek's room is filled with peals of laughter; Aisha's laugh, to be more precise.

"No," Vivek makes a face, eyeing the food in Aisha's hand rather suspiciously.

"But why?" Aisha laughs. "It's just a pitha!"

"A delicious one, actually," Veer says, munching on his sixth rice-roll, his face full.

"Why don't people open stalls and sell these?" Payal asks, taking another bite of the snack and sighing contentedly.

"Actually they do, in Assam," Aisha tells Payal with a smile.

"I don't wanna have them," Vivek shakes his head, scrunching his nose as he eyes the roll in Aisha's hand.

"Why though?" she asks, pouting slightly at his refusal. Aisha then narrows her eyes at Vivek, raising an eyebrow, she speaks, "Is it because I made them?"

Vivek widens his eyes before shaking his head innocently. "No! Why'd I not eat them for such a petty reason?!"

"Then what's the matter?" Payal asks this time. "You're missing out on something great."

"It'll ruin Mr Deshmukh's diet plan," Veer mocks his brother who glares at his twin in response.

"But it's just got rice-flour, coconut and a little sugar," Aisha reasons.

"Fine," Vivek sighs. "But just one."

Grinning, Aisha holds the pitha out in front of Vivek. Leaning in, he takes a bite cautiously before holding the rest of the snack in his hand. Aisha watches his face attentively as he chews and savours it. "Man, it's good," Vivek nods, still chewing with a smile on his lips.

"Told ya," Payal grins.

"Extra laps around the sprinting strip in school tomorrow morning then for breaking your diet plans," Veer grins at his brother.

"Talking about school," Vivek says, getting up to his feet from beside Aisha. "Get out of my room now, I need to finish working on the draft for the Chemistry practical."

When only Aisha gets to her feet and stands at the doorway obediently, Vivek's compelled to grab Payal and Veer by their arms, yanking them out of the room.

"Killjoy," Payal yells when Vivek hauls her and Veer out of his room, into the hall outside Vivek's room where Aisha's already waiting for them.

"Where do we discuss the upcoming articles for our paper now?" Veer asks Vivek who stands at the doorway, about to close the door shut.

"You have been given a room of yours right next to mine," Vivek passes his brother a tight smile before slamming the door shut.

"No way am I sitting in that pigsty of yours," Payal states, gesturing a hand at Veer's bedroom.

"How about the living area then?" Veer suggests.

"No privacy in there," Payal says.

"You guys can come over to my place," Aisha offers. "My room's perfectly clean and nobody will disturb you apart from me."

"Good idea, Ashie," Payal grins at Aisha. Grabbing Veer by his arm, she drags the fellow with her to the Medhi's residence, following Aisha closely.

Aisha tells the duo to head into her bedroom and directs the way to them before heading off to the kitchen to check up with whatever is going on. She laughs when she takes notice of the sight ahead.

"What are you doing?" Aisha asks, still giggling.

"Looking for the snacks you girls made," Pranjol responds, preoccupied as he rummages the fridge and cabinets, his tie still around his neck, meaning he's just reached home from work. The look on his face is equivalent to that of a nine-year-old looking for food.

Aisha clears her throat, tapping a finger over the counter. Turning, Pranjol looks at her. His daughter points a finger at the plate over the counter with a suppressed smile.

"Stop throwing me that look now," Pranjol scowls, grabbing a pitha from the plate while Aisha laughs.

"It was right in front of you!" she tries to reason the expression on her face.

"I was blinded by hunger," her father shrugs sheepishly, nibbling on the snack. "Oh this is lovely," he adds, nodding in appreciation.

"Yeah, whatever," Aisha shakes her head before turning on her heel and marching back towards her room.

Aisha's parents are really an amusing pair. While her mother is a swift liar, easily paving her path and making people work according to her wishes; Pranjol is more of a team-worker, always ready to lend a helping hand and never trying to hold too much power. It's funny how such opposing characters ended up together.

Her smile falters a little as she wonders about their current dynamic, the way they bicker and talk back to one another. Aisha can only hope for things to turn brighter between her parents.

With these thoughts encircling her head, Aisha steps into her room. She blinks when she processes the sight ahead. Both Veer and Payal are glancing at Veer's phone intently, Veer's other hand holding Aisha's blue and black hairbrush as they scroll through the device with keen interest.

"Oh my lord," Payal squeals lightly, glancing up at Veer. The both of them are still oblivious of Aisha's presence.

"What happened guys?" Aisha asks, closing the door behind her as she reaches the duo on her bed.

Veer looks up at her, his chocolate brown eyes gleaming brightly. "You're the A-Stylist?" he asks, his voice barely concealing the surprise and excitement any long.

Those words hit Aisha like a cold gust of wind, making her heart beat faster now. Did Vivek step out of the promise? Did he tell Veer about it?

But Aisha's thoughts immediately get contradicted when she spots the YouTube channel flashing over Veer's phone. She then looks at the hairbrush in his hand.

"Don't you dare deny it now!" Payal jumps up to her feet, wagging a forefinger in front of Aisha's face with a grin. "We compared the hairbrush with yours and it's the exact one in the video."

"And the room's set up is exact as yours," Veer adds.

"Fine," Aisha sighs, not knowing how to react to this. She had always wanted to feel how it was to be the A-Stylist in front of her friends but now that it's happening, she doesn't know how to respond to it all.

"And the most important fact," Veer says, nearly gasping. "You used my brother for a demo!"

"Uh...yeah, I did," Aisha nods hesitantly when she takes notice of Veer's pout.

"That's why that moron had the perfect haircut to try that style!" Veer says mostly to himself, planning on strangling Vivek later on in the night.

"I can't believe my best friend is a famous star!" Payal says, fanning her face with her hand to stop herself from going into hysterics.

Aisha can't help but roll her eyes at this.

"Fix my hair now!" Veer grins expectantly.

Oh God, Aisha thinks.

_____________

Author's Note

Arhana always wanted to mention things about Bihu in her books but the contexts were never suitable. But today she did!!! *jazz hands*

Geez, talking about myself in third person is actually creepy. *shudders*

Anyway, so Aisha's secret is no longer a secret considering the number of people who know about it now XD

See y'all at the next update!
*waves a goodbye*