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Iris
The clock strikes twelve and Cinderella fights her way through all the obstacles to retrieve her broken glass slippers, herself because she doesn't have any Prince Charming.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY IRIS!"
"Go away!"
Some birthday music blasts in my room and I groan, putting my head into one pillow and keeping one over my head. Damn these people to wake me up from such a dream.
"GERONIMO!" I hear two voices and I feel a sudden force on my body. Even though it is not that much but it is enough to wake up people.
I want to curse all of those astronomers who thought at twelve midnight, a new day starts. Can't it be every six in the morning, when I go jogging?
"Get. The. Hell. Off. My. Body!" I say to, obviously, Caleb and Colt. They are over me as I take out the top pillow I have. I know they have their fists raised, I move my legs so much that I have no idea about what of them I hitting and, thus, in the end, they fall.
Rubbing my eyes, I grumble, "I hate you both."
"Eighteen but no changes," Dad says and I turn towards the door. He is leaning against the doorframe and holding the iPad which shows Daisy and Ava's faces, who are laughing and singing.
But my eyes fall only on the cupcakes which have lighted candles on them, Mom is holding on a plate.
"Cupcakes!" I gasp. "Gimme gimme gimme."
"I... hoped..." Caleb starts to groan while Colt gets up. I look between him and Caleb, questioningly, and he shrugs.
"An increased number would change Iris's beating up tendencies? Yeah, no." Ava's voice comes from the iPad and Caleb looks up shocked.
"I agree," Daisy says, laughing.
"Is sheâAva?" Caleb mouths to Dad and Dad nods, shrugging. Caleb clears his throat, fixes his shirt, and stands up. He looks at Ava. "Hello, Ava."
"No. No. No. How many times do I have to tell you, Caleb? Not my best friend!" Daisy glares at Caleb but he ignores her and gives Ava a wink.
Ava's eyes widen and Daisy pushes her off the view. "Okay, Ava. Off to sleep. Your boyfriend will beâ"
Caleb takes the iPad in his hands. "Boyfriend? When did you getâ"
"Happy Birthday, Iris!" Colt says loudly and they stop talking. Dad and Mom just laugh as they sit beside me and Colt turn on the family camera.
"Many many happiest returns of the day, Iry!" Dad says, hugging me tightly.
"Happy birthday, hon." Mom joins the hug and kisses my forehead, before giving me the plate with eighteen candles on eighteen cupcakes. "Come on, blow the candles."
"No, first make a wish," Caleb says and Colt rolls his eyes.
"Nothing happens from that, Iris. Remember I wished for a toy helicopter for Christmas but instead, I got a toy car," Colt says to me and gives me the expression, 'don't fall for it.
"Ya and remember in middle school, I wished Danny wouldâ" Daisy stops, looking at Dad's questioning expression. "Story for later! Happy birthday, Doraemi!"
Rolling my eyes, I say, "Who needs wishes when I have cupcakes!"
With that, I blow all the candles and take one cupcake, starting to eat it when a hand pushes it up on my face. Now, I realize not all of them are cupcakes â some of them are... just cream.
"Colten Dias. You are dead meat," I say, glaring at him as he grins at me but before any murder can happen, Dad comments something.
"Eighteen years since your Mom nearly broke my hand."
"What?" All, except Mom, say out, giving Dad a surprised look. Mom just laughs, shaking her head.
"It is nothing â No, no more cupcakes until morning," Mom says, taking the plate from my hands. She kisses my forehead, again, before going out of the room.
"Love you, tons, Iris! I will talk to you in the morning â the morning over there. Bye!" Daisy says and Ava waves from the background, before ending the call.
"Happy birthday, kiddo," Dad says, again pulling me to his chest. "You are going to love your birthday, Iris," He says to me, winking, as he gets up from the bed.
"I told you, Dad. I don't want any party," I say to him, firmly, but he just laughs.
When Caleb gives him the iPad, he says to Caleb and Colt, "I hope I don't need to remind you both of the no birthday beats law?"
Colt straightens himself and distances himself from Dad while Caleb just nods, nonchalantly.
This is one of the laws in our family. Whatsoever happens, no birthday beats or you have to do something pure disgusting. I do not know the story behind this but I suppose it is something related to Aunt Stevie and Dad's birthday. Unfortunately, Caleb and Colt found the loophole, and that was 'smashing the cake on the face' beats.
Again, I hate these two.
Dad gives us an 'I am watching you kids' look before he goes out and leaves us in awkward silence.
I look between Caleb and Colt, again. After that fight, they haven't talked with each other, and trust me, I tried to resolve but they are too stubborn.
"So...?" I trail away, expecting them to talk. "You both are talking now?"
Caleb grins, easily, and pokes my cheek. "Little sis is eighteen, now, huh?"
I slap his hand away and glare at him. "Do not change the topic."
Colt sighs and sits beside me. "Iry, we are okay. We... talked things out."
"Also," Caleb says, squatting down in front of me. "It is your big eighteen and we don't wanna ruin that with our fight."
"Aw, you guys," I say and pull them into a hug. "I hate you both but I love you too."
Caleb laughs and Colt murmurs, "Yeah, sure."
We stay like for a moment until Colt starts, "And here they comeâ"
"No," I push them away and run off to the corner of the room with my pillow. They look at each other and nod. "Touch me and you will lose your baby-making machine! You both know I am capable of doing it!"
Colt backs away, quickly, and Caleb scowls at him. "You are too scared" Then, He grins at me and says, "I don't care about it!"
He runs towards me but I duck under his arms and run towards the bay window. "What kind of brother are you!"
Colt laughs as Caleb and I turn to Tom and Jerry. He says, "Happy eighteenth, Iris!"
Sure, a good start to eighteen.
***
"Eighteen years and she, still, has an obsession with cupcakes."
Finally, completely eating the third cupcake of the day, I give Nick a look as Colt, Caleb and I walk towards the gang.
Like every morning of my birthday, a plate of tall waffles with chocolate syrup and cherries awaited me till Colt came and forced me to leave those and to go to a place with plaid food, no excitement and, you know, has lots of people â yeah, school.
"Happy Birthday!" All of them say, together, grinning.
"Thanks!" I grin. Turning to Nick, I say to him, "Why do you even think a number will change my love for the sugar-coated caramelized andâ"
"Milady!" Out of nowhere, Adi comes and pulls me into a hug and, now, I can't feel the grounds â or even breathe the oxygen.
"Aa-dee! Cahn bre...athe," I say, patting him on his shoulder.
"Oops. Sorry!" he sets me down with a sheepish smile as I hold my knees, trying to breathe. I look up at this guy, who, may I remind you, sucks at sports and in a gym.
"How? When... did you have so much strength?" I ask him, straightening up.
"Sorry, Milady. Happy birthday!" Adi grins at me and I chuckle only to stop when I see Tom and Michael with raised fists.
"Dare anyone of you beats me â I swear I will kill you, resurrect you back to life and then, kill you again!" I growl at them and Tom and Mike, quickly, drop their fists.
I hear Alyssa say, "You look very radiant, today."
"I got cupcakes in the morning. Oh. My. God." I grin at her, looking at her. "You dyed your hair lilac! It looks so good."
Alyssa touches her hair and smiles. "Yeah, it was a very spontaneous decision but yeah, I liked it too."
"I love your hair color."
"I know, right?" Alyssa grins, flipping her now lilac-colored hair. Not only she colored it, she has straightened her hair, making it fall almost above her waist.
"It represents her risk-taker characteristic, doesn't it?" Victoria says, looking at Alyssa.
Then, there are the guys who much less talk about her hair color than die emasculating themselves and there is Aditya Subramaniam.
"Oh my god! You look like a walking anime character â or, like those in video games!" Adi exclaims and tries to touch her hair but Alyssa smacks his hand away. "What? I meant that as a compliment."
The next moments are very much dedicated to my own thoughts as I blank out, looking everywhere in the parking lot until my phone vibrates in my pocket.
Noah
07:34 am
Happy Birthday, Bella.
I just stare at his text. I haven't talked to him and neither, is he trying to talk to me. I mean if he hadn't lied to me, couldn't he try to talk to me and tell me that whatever I am thinking is wrong? Or is it just my desperation to be with him that wants it?
Iris
07:36 am
Thank you.
"Hey," Adi nudges my shoulder and grins. "I am taking you somewhere, today."
I scrunch my eyebrows. "Where?"
"Yeah, where?" Colt asks, raising an eyebrow. This time I notice, except for Adi and Colt, everyone has started to move towards the school.
Adi looks at him for two seconds, before replying, "A place?"
I feel Colt's sideways glance at me but I am just more confused and, suffice to say, suspicious. So, I tell him, "If you are arranging a surprise party, do not."
Adi looks at me and starts laughing. "No, no. It is not a party and how can you even think that I can arrange a party."
I turn to Colt, questioningly. He holds up his hands and says, "You said you will kill me if I do. I take your threats, seriously."
I hum and I ask Adi, "So where?"
"I knew you won't come without knowing," Adi says, shaking his head. "It is my birthday gift; a trip to my placeâmy home."
***
"He has a vendetta against me, I tell ya, Iris."
"He doesn't. He can't even glare without leaving that smile."
"No. No. He fails me with that fucking sinister smile."
I sigh, turning towards him. "You didn't fail, Adi. You got a solid B plus in physics."
Adi and I have been talking about really random stuff since the car ride. Right now, we are walking to the fourth floor using the stairs because Adi wants to 'lose that small tummy of fat'âhis words not mine.
"That is fail in my dictionary," Adi states, and I blink at him.
"Well, technically it is not."
"What do you know? Most of your subjects are AP classesâI have only two AP classes. One is Calc and the Second is Computer Science."
"AlrightâAlright, you win this round," I laugh until we are standing in front of a brown double-sided door. On its side, there is a slate that has something written in a different language.
When he notices my gaze on it, Adi taps the golden slate and says, "Ghar. Translation: Home."
"Cool," I say, grinning. He smiles at me and opens the door, letting me inside first.
Adi tells me his 'lair' is of two stories. I can see wooden stairs leading upstairs while a window door leads to a balcony. The walls are white, which blend in really nicely with the furniture and the colorful painting and antiques, but it still gives a good homey feeling.
I think the most prominent thing I notice is how clean the place is.
"Can you keep your shoes here?" Adi says, pointing towards the wooden shoe stand, nearby. "My mother is a clean freak...as you can see. It is her OCDâ"
Just then, three foam (the one with sticky ends) bullets hit Adi. One on his forehead, second right over his heart and third... a bit under his navel and just above his...you know what.
"It is not an OCD, Aditya Subramaniam!"
It is just not me who is shocked. Adi blinks as his face turns red, slowly second by second.
A petite woman, wearing a yellow tunic dress with black leggings, comes in the room with the gun and blowing over the top just like in movies. Her brown hair is wrapped in a bun and she has grey glasses over her dark hazel eyes which are gleaming with amusement.
"And that's a bullseye! Woohoo!"
"What is wrong with you, woman?" Adi asks, gaping at her, as he takes the bullets off his body. "You almost cost me my manhood."
"Manhood?" Adi's mother scoffs. "The boy says manhood." She murmurs to herself, mocking Adi. Then, she narrows her eyes at him. "Go to your room."
"Why?"
"Why? You forgot to pick up my calls," She says, incredulously.
"Call," Adi argues. "Just one call."
"Yeah, okay." His Mom shrugs. "But that doesn't mean you should notâWhy the hell am I fighting with you? Go to your room."
"Butâ"
"Now."
"Okay," He whines, dramatically, as he goes off into the flat, walking upon the stairs. Now, Adi's mother turns to me with a dazzling smile but she is definitely not subtle when it comes to staring.
Me?
I am just processing the scene that just happened.
Of all the things I could have said, I say, "You and my parents would get along really well."
When she meets my eyes, she says, smiling, "That's good, I hope. You must be Iris aka Milady." She extends her hand and I shake it, still gaping at her. "Nice to meet you, Iris. I am Saraswathi Krishnamoorthy."
"Can I call you Ms. K?" I ask her and she nods, pondering. Her hazel eyes twinkle as she looks at me and I realize Adi doesn't look like her or has her accent.
"No one has called me that and it seems cool. So, yeah, why not?" She says, grinning.
Okay, Adi is really like his mother.
"Nice to meet you, Ms. K."
"So, Iris..." She pulls me towards the sofa and gestures me to sit beside her. Sitting, she continues, "I am going to turn on my Sherlock mode and ask you questions. Are you ready?"
"Uhm, I guess?" I reply, looking at her.
She pulls away and smiles, warmly. "Beforehand, I apologize for being nosy... but it is just I want to know Adi's Milady."
Translation: Are you worthy of my son's friendship or not?
For eight minutes and thirteen seconds, she asks me about my parents, their jobs, school performance, hobbies, and my beliefs and obviously, she notices my manners. When it ends, I almost have a feeling that she is going to rate me on my performance.
"Okay, this is the last one, I promise." She takes a dramatic pause and asks, "Do you like Taylor Swift?"
I look back at her, surprised by her question.
I didn't see that coming.
I nod. "I do."
"Your favorite album of hers?" She questions.
Without any hesitation this time, I reply, "Reputation."
She grins and hugs me. "I knew you were perfect!"
I am... still just processing everything. The similarity between Adi and Ms. K is so uncanny yet so amazing at the same time. I have to make her meet Mom and Dad.
She pulls away and smiles with relief on her face. She says to me, "I must say, Iris, how are you friends with Chiku and Noah is beyond my imagination, since they are such goofs."
"Chiku?" I ask, slowly smiling.
"It is his nickname," Ms. K replies, and then, she winks. "Use it wisely."
Adi pokes his head into the living room, from the staircase. "Ma, did you justâ"
"Aditya Subramaniam," She says, sternly, looking at him. She murmurs in another language. "You were supposed to be in your room, not eavesdrop on us."
"I was not â okay, fine. I was eavesdropping. I am sorry!" He says that but his expression says the opposite.
Ms. K sighs, turning towards me, and says, "Sometimes, I can't tame this kid. Wait, Adi, did you get your phyâ"
"So, Iris, are you staying for dinner? Mom can lower the spices just for you." Adi interrupts in between, grinning forcefully.
"Iris, please." Adi looks at me with his big eyes and I narrow mine. I can't believe he is using me to stop his Mom from asking about his grade. But Ms. K is smart. Really smart.
Ms. K has a suspicious look on her face as she looks at Adi. "You failed in physics, didn't you?"
"Well, I got a Bâ"
She holds up her hands and says, "That's way better than getting failed." She looks at me. "The day before the test, I found him watching porn. I expected him to get at least a D."
"Ma." Adi groans. "You told her my nickname and now, this?" He starts to talk rapidly in Hindi.
Ms. K has a small smile on her face as she turns to me, ignoring her son. "We don't usually eat spicy food. Adi is more of sweetâ"
"âPerson to embarrass in front of his friend?" Adi inputs but Ms. K ignores him, again.
"âfood person. So, the food won't be too spicy. Honest. And you are not going off without eating anything, okay?"
I let out a laugh. "Well, I can't say no to good food."
"Well, then..." She gets up and I follow her too. "...Adi, why don't you show her your room while I prepare for dinner?"
"Okay." Adi grins and bows down, holding out his hand. "Milady?"
***
Adi's room is almost as big as Noah's room, not unusual, but it is not usual. His single bed lay against the wall on the opposite side of the entrance. Huge glass windows on the right side of the bed, dark violet curtains preventing much light to enter the room. A small bookshelf with photo frames over his table, having a laptop covered with various colorful stickers. Another door that probably leads to the closet.
The main attraction is that the room is full of posters hanging on the walls and merchandise of various franchises kept as a proud collection â which it should be. Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Star Wars, Avengers â hell, just name it and it is there.
I say to him, "Your room is so geeked that it should be a geek museum for geeks."
"Why, thank you, Milady. I take immense honor inâ"
"Is that Baby Yoda?" I say, excitedly, as I look through his collection. "Oh, my goodness, I have been searching for these Iron Man action figures but I could never get them. Bloody hell! You have the cloaks of Hogwarts! Holy Hera! that's the spear ofâ"
"Iris, calm down." Adi laughs, putting his hand over my shoulder. "This is just my bedroom. I haven't even shown you the game room, which just really awesome like moi."
That snaps me back to my senses.
"You are showing off," I grumble, looking at him but then, I look back at the room. "Hey, is that you and... Noah?"
I do not know if he senses the strain in my voice when I said his name but I quickly cover it by saying, "You look cute."
"Yeah, it was seventh grade."
I pick up the photo frame from his table.
The scene is probably in a water park. Noah and Adi have their arm around each other's shoulders, grinning and laughing. Noah is a bit taller than Adi. Both of them are wearing swim pants with their bodies drenched with water. I don't know why but it seems surprising Noah is grinning. Their younger versions look more carefree and happier.
Adi takes the photo frame and I look at him. "After this picture was taken, that dick pushed me into water. Asshole," He says, looking at the picture.
"You weren't in the same middle school as us, right?" I ask him, sitting down on the bed.
I cannot ignore the way he tenses. He keeps back the frame on the table and turns to me. "I wasn't," He answers me. "But I was studying in a school then until the ninth grade."
"Yeah, I remember you told me you were homeschooled."
"Honestly?" He sits beside me. "I am thankful that my homeschool teacher lost his license and I came back to school."
I tilt my head and look up at him. "You do not seem that thankful."
He looks at the floor as if it is very interesting. He looks at me and smiles. "I am because I met you and the whole gang."
I chuckle and I say, "Adi, you are the sunshine to any dark clouds."
He blinks, taken aback. "Thanks, Iris. That... that means a lot."
"And your mom is..." I smile, sheepishly.
"I love her, alright, but she loves embarrassing me in front of my friends. Last week, I got Alyssa and Tom because we had some assignments to complete. Ma showed them my naked baby pictures."
"Oh!" I laugh. "So, I am not alone in the category of the parents who love to embarrass their kids. But, in all honesty, she reminds me of Sally Jackson."
Adi raises an eyebrow. "You know, she is a big fan of PJO and literally adores Sally Jackson."
"Then, I will say this to her and get more sweets than you."
He winks. "You can only try."
I roll my eyes.
I know Aditya Subramaniam is cheery and happy but moments like these tell me that there is more to him than just tacos and weird thoughts. He may look dumb but the guy is really, really smart.
I look at him, nudging his feet. "You know what? I will take you somewhere."
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