Percy bolted down the hallway with the speed of a scared puppy.
Tiger followed him like a furious Indian mom chasing a kid with her chappal.
"RUKKKK—!!"
("STOP—!!")
Percy yelled back,
"Mujhe jeena haiii!"
(I want to LIVE!)
Everyone else?
They were running behind both of them, shouting, screaming, recording, and tripping over pillows.
THE CHASE MOVES TO THE BACKYARD
Percy sprinted out through the back door.
Mayo: "RUN FOREST RUN!!!"
Felix: "PERCY DON'T LET HIM WIN!!"
Rakhi tripped on a slipper.
Cin screamed because he thought a leaf was a cockroach.
Ella tried to say "ruk jao" but ended up yelling:
"RUK— UHH— ROKO— STOPU???"
(Stop— uhh— stop?)
Everyone burst out laughing even while running.
Jay: "ELLA WHAT WAS THAT??"
Lia: "Is that Japanese-Hindi-English fusion??"
Ella: "I TRIED OKAY???"
Kiefer shouted,
"Tiger, calm down! It was just a drink!"
Tiger turned, emotional and betrayed.
"JUST A DRINK?!
Yeh koi normal milk tea nahi tha, bhai!"
(This wasn't some normal milk tea, bro!)
Kairav confused:
"Then what was it?"
Tiger dramatically:
"It was LIMITED EDITION WINTER SPECIAL CARAMEL VANILLA BROWN SUGAR."
The crowd gasped.
Aries fainted a little.
Jay whispered to Lia:
"Okay… now I get his pain."
Lia nodded solemnly.
"Yeah. That's personal."
Denzel walked to the backyard slowly, hands in pockets like he was in a K-drama.
And then he said in perfect Hindi:
"Tiger, milk tea ke liye murder karna zaroori nahi hota."
(Tiger, it's not necessary to commit murder for milk tea.)
Everyone:
"DENZELLLLL STOP BEING SO SMOOTH!!!"
Freya actually fell to her knees.
Mica fainted dramatically.
Cin started clapping like he solved world hunger.
Tiger blinked.
"Bhai… tu Hindi bolo toh lagta hai duniya mein shanti aa jayegi."
(Bro… when you speak Hindi it feels like world peace will happen.)
Denzel smirked a little.
"I know."
Girls screamed.
Percy scrambled up the wooden ladder like a scared squirrel.
"YOU CAN'T GET ME HERE!"
Tiger growled,
"Watch me."
He started climbing.
Jost shouted from below,
"Tiger! DON'T! The ladder is weak!"
The ladder made a creaking sound.
Everyone:
"…."
Lia: "Oh no."
Jay: "This is how people end up in hospital TikTok edits."
But Tiger didn't listen.
CRAAAAACK.
The ladder snapped.
Tiger fell.
Percy fell.
Both landed directly into:
the inflatable kiddie pool.
—the one filled with glitter slime for no reason—
SPLOSHHHHH.
Slime went flying in all directions.
It covered:
Jay's hair
Lia's hoodie
Aries's face
Angelo's neck
Rory's eyebrows
and Jost's entire existence
Everyone screamed.
Jay: "EEEEEEEHHHHHHH— MY HAIRRRR!!"
Lia: "It's COLD!! WHY IS IT COLD??"
Angelo: "I can't FEEL MY NECKKK WHAT IS THIS??"
Aries: "BRO I CAN'T SEE, I AM GLITTER BLIND."
Cin, covered in pink slime, quietly said:
"Bhai… yeh… kya… ho raha… life mein???"
(Bro… what… is happening… in life???)
Everyone gasped.
"CIN HINDI AGAIN???"
"LEGENDDD!!!"
Tiger sat in the slime like a wet cat.
Percy stared at him, terrified.
And then—
Tiger sighed.
"Thik hai… maaf kiya."
(Okay… I forgive you.)
Percy blinked.
"Really??"
Tiger nodded.
"Ha.
Lekin…"
(Yeah.
But…)
Tiger grabbed slime and smeared it on Percy's face.
"Yeh tere liye."
(This is for you.)
Percy yelled, "NOOOO—!!"
Everyone laughed so hard the neighbors probably heard them.
Jay and Lia sat beside each other again, slime in their hair but smiling for the first time that day.
Kiefer gently cleaned slime off Jay's cheek.
Kairav fixed Lia's hoodie, trying not to laugh.
Denzel sat calmly like he wasn't even dirty.
Cin whispered another broken Hindi line:
"Ye… night… bahut… chaoti… thi."
(This night was very chaotic.)
Everyone cheered for him like he gave a TED Talk.
Section E gathered together for one big photo —
everyone covered in glitter slime, laughing, yelling, chaotic and happy.
And for the first time all day…
Jay and Lia felt light.
Felt safe.
Felt home.
With Section E.