“Make something up. I’ll go along with it.”
A prickle of annoyance crawls up my skin at her nonchalance. I narrow my eyes. “You said we both need to make this work, Is hi—Ishu.”
I can almost see her stifle a sigh of her own. She shifts, the bed creaking under her weight. “Maybe … we started hanging out during one of the Bengali dawats? They’ll be so confused at the concept of a dawat that they probably won’t even ask any more questions.”
I smile, thinking back to Aisling and Dee’s confusion about Bengali parties just the other day. If I had mentioned the worddawatto them, I’m not sure how they would have reacted—with even more confusion, I’m pretty sure.
I turn back to my laptop and the blank white page in front of me.
Started dating: after hanging out together at Bengali dawats.
I frown at the sentence for a moment, before turning back to Ishu. “How long have we been together?”
Ishu scrunches up her face a little, like this is the last question she wants to answer. I have to bite back a smile. At school, Ishu always seems so controlled. Completely put together. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her … let go. Ever seen her at ease. I’ve definitely never seen her scrunch up her face like this before.
“It can’t be for very long …” she finally says slowly. “Because … I mean, that would be suspicious, right?”
“Right …”
Started dating 2 weeks ago: after hanging out together at Bengali dawats.
“We should have some rules,” I say. I typeRULESin big bold letters.
“What kind of rules, exactly?”
“Like … we can’t tellanyonethe truth,” I say, meeting her gaze with my own. “Not our parents, not our best friends. Nobody.”
Ishu shrugs. “It’s not like I have anyone to tell anyway.”
RULES:
1. Hani and Ishu can’t tellanyonethe truth about their plans.
2.
Almost as soon as I stop typing, Ishu clears her throat and says, “We need boundaries.”
“What kind of boundaries?”
“Well … how long is our relationship going to last? When will we break up? Who breaks up with who?”
I shake my head because it should be obvious, right? “We break up when our goal is complete. When you become Head Girl and … Aisling and Dee understand that I am who I am.”
Ishu is watching me, almost unblinking. There’s something uncomfortable in her scrutiny. I can almost feel the judgment through her gaze. I shift around in my chair, avoiding her stare. I expect her to say something condescending or mean about what I’ve just said.
But she finally just says, “Okay. That makes sense, I guess. I should break up with you, though.”
I scoff, turning to her with narrowed eyes. “What? Why?”
“Because ifIbreak up with you then people will think I’m cool. Plus, then your friends will feel sorry for you.”
I can only blink at Ishu for a moment. “Oh. I guess … that makes sense too.”
RULES:
1. Hani and Ishu can’t tellanyonethe truth about their plans.
2. Hani and Ishu will break up when Ishu is Head Girl and …
