Zahir glanced at the time on his phone and said, "I'm going to get ready. We'll leave in half an hour."
"Okay," I replied automatically.
"Sam, do you... want to change your clothes?" he asked, turning his head back as he entered the bedroom.
I shook my head. "I'm fine."
"Oh. I just-" He scratched his head awkwardly. "I mean, you've been wearing the same clothes since morning. That's all."
"I'll survive," I muttered.
"Right. Cool," he said as he disappeared into his room.
I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. When I straightened up, I looked into the mirror and gave myself a long, thorough appraisal.
No facial hair. Not even a trace of stubble. That was... surprising.
What kind of bleach had Jyotsna applied on my face?
With the grime washed away, my skin looked fresh. Too fresh. Smooth. Damn... girlish.
I frowned. It was the eyebrows, probably-shaped just enough to soften my face.
And the hair? That was still in my usual style: short, thick, and wavy.
But plenty of young women had hair like this nowadays.
Yes... that added to the female look.
And the damned boobs sitting there beneath the T-shirt proclaimed me a woman unapologetically.
"Hell," I muttered to myself. "So what. I know what I am."
I sniffed my armpit.
Yeah. Not great.
The T-shirt had absorbed a full day's sweat and anxiety.
I knocked on Zahir's bedroom door. "You got a loose shirt I can borrow?"
He tossed me one that looked oversized.
Thankfully, it was comfortably loose and not tight over my chest-though the rounded shape beneath was still unmistakable.
As Zahir locked the door of his apartment, he chuckled and said, "Dude... you do look like a cute girl."
I sighed. "Yes. I know. Now don't make me regret agreeing to come with you."
He laughed. "As you command, princess."
I swore at him and punched him lightly in the back, leaving him wincing.
---------
Rahul's place was a cramped one-bedroom flat that smelled faintly of room freshener, beer, and instant noodles. As soon as we entered, I froze.
There were women. Girls.
Two of them.
Damn it. I hadn't factored that in.
Apart from them, there were four guys lounging on bean bags or sitting cross-legged on the floor, arguing over topics that didn't interest me. I spotted Shreyash, the guy who had come to Zahir's flat earlier, and the guy from the traffic signal-the same one who'd called me Zahir's girlfriend.
Zahir gestured casually. "Guys, this is Sam."
That was it. Zahir kept it simple.
"Hey," a few voices chorused.
The traffic-signal guy grinned. "Well, well. Nerdy Zahir actually brought his girlfriend."
Heat flared inside me.
Zahir shot back instantly, "Niraj, yeah, I did. At least someone agreed to come with me. Unlike you-no girl would survive five minutes near you."
Niraj bristled. "What the hell-"
"Hey!" Rahul, the birthday boy, cut in sharply. "Not today. It's my birthday. Save the testosterone for later."
Laughter broke the tension.
I slipped quietly into a corner, hoping not to be bothered. No such luck.
One of the girls approached me. She was tall and wiry, with sharp features and big glasses softened by a pleasant smile.
"Hi, I'm Aakansha," she said.
"Sam," I replied.
She gestured to the other girl. "That's Julia."
"Hi," Julia said, waving.
Aakansha tried making small talk-what I did, how I knew Zahir-but I kept my responses short. Polite. Noncommittal.
Soon someone suggested games, and bean bags and chairs were dragged around, phones put away. We played dumb party games-dumb charades, antakshari, a strange online quiz, Pictionary on someone's tablet.
They were silly.
But oddly... distracting.
They treated me as part of their group and included me without question.
I found myself laughing-genuinely-and having fun at some point during the evening.
And then Rahul cut the cake-a ridiculous laptop-shaped thing that looked more like a melted brick of chocolate than a computer. Everyone cheered anyway, clapping and whooping as Rahul grinned and smeared a tiny bit of frosting on Aakansha's cheek. In return, the whole group ganged up to smear cream all over Rahul's face. Even I couldn't resist joining in the fun. Someone opened another round of beers, and plates of chips, wafers, and samosas made their way around the room.
I was beginning to feel... almost normal. Like a person hanging out with friends, my situation forgotten for a while.
But it was too good to last.
"Okay, people!" Rahul suddenly announced, thumping his empty beer can on the table. "Time to move! We're getting late for bowling night. Chop-chop! The night is young."
I froze mid-sip.
Bowling? Night is young?
The group planned to go out. To a public place. A bowling alley. Maybe more.
Hell. I hadn't planned on this.
---
That's the end of Chapter 6. Do let me know your thoughts on the chapter. Comment freely. Drop a like if you enjoyed reading it.
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