Fridays were filled with theory classes, and Siddharth had conveniently slept through all the classes today. Whereas, I had been continuously writing, editing, and taking notes for the two of us. Also, I ensured his attendance remained perfect so that he didn't have to worry during the semester's end.
The amount of sleep he harvested by dumping all of his work on my poor frail shoulders was adequate enough to challenge 'The Sleeping Beauty' princess for a duel. I was so infuriated that I wanted to grab hold of his neck and choke him till he woke up and agreed to do what he's supposed to do.
But being my cousin, I let him off the hook and gritted my teeth to do the note-making job.
Around lunch, he opened his dreary eyes and lazily lifted his forearm to dismiss me and said, "Buy something for me."
I closed the book, kept it in my bag, and stared at that parasite with annoyance and said, "What do you want?"
"Double egg chicken roll." Siddharth said, barely audible with his head covered by his arms.
"Ok. At least walk with me to the cafeteria. Sleep over there." I pulled his right arm with all the strength I had to make him stand up, but he spent the exact same force rebelling against me. He sat on that chair as if he were super-glued to it.
"Oh, come on. I can't walk all the way to the cafeteria, buy two rolls, and walk up to the lecture hall. It's too tiring, and it's raining outside too." I protested.
"Fine. I'll come. I sleep in the cafeteria." Siddharth said and stood up.
"Fine by me." I said and puffed my lips.
While he walked up to the exit of the lecture hall while stretching his joints and muscles, I arranged my bag and took out my three-times-folded umbrella. After checking our seats to ensure we left nothing behind, I slowly and carefully opened the umbrella and said, "Let's go."
The umbrella was big enough for two people squeezed under. We walked slowly because Siddharth was still sleepy and I was avoiding water splashes that could potentially wet my skirt. Laundry was expensive in this locality, and the way it was raining, I would have to use the dryer too.
When we reached the cafeteria, it seemed the entire university had taken refuge there from the rain. Luckily we found a spot, and Siddharth immediately slouched over the table and said, "My head is hurting like someone is trying to split open my skull and pop out of it."
"Should I bring some tea too?" I asked gently, now feeling guilty that I was angry at him the entire morning while he was in this state.
"Yeah. Get a mug of it, if possible." Siddharth held his head and started massaging his scalp, trying to release the unknown tension that came from an unknown source.
"Do you have your cup?" I asked, reaching for his bag.
"I think so. Check in there. I can't remember." Siddharth replied.
Both Siddharth and I used cups gifted by his mother. It was our high school graduation gift. She had it custom made by one of her pottery friends. After searching for some time, I finally found the cup that Mashima[1] bought for the two of us.
I went to the cafeteria staff and asked if they could fill the cup with some tea. They took the cup and said to wait for a while as the tea was still brewing. I went to the paying counter, ordered two double egg chicken rolls, paid the money, and took the token. The token number was fifty-two. The current number was forty-five. I stood there, waiting for the food.
While waiting for the token number, in the corner of my eye, I saw the one person I would notice no matter where we were. I hid my face in panic but kept peeking glances to see her.
Kriti looked busy, carrying various boxes of packed food and walking carefully while Lalith, the Vice Head, was covering her with a polka-dotted umbrella. I stood still, watching every movement, imprinting it on my mind like always. Yesterday was a fluke. If I weren't drunk or having a pity party yesterday, she wouldn't have kissed me, or we wouldn't have had a one-night stand. But at least I learnt one thing: Kriti doesn't have any issues having sexual interactions with women. No, I didn't learn just one thing. I learnt the pleasure, a preview, of how it is to have a girlfriend.
But that didn't make things easier for me. I didn't even know her type. I didn't even know if she was a lesbian or bisexual like me. I didn't know if she had someone she was interested in.
All I knew was at that point, she was handsome and exactly my type. Her favourite colour was black. She loved reading books written by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Jane Austen, and Edgar Allan Poe, just like how I loved reading books by Franz Kafka, Sylvia Plath, and Agatha Christie. She loved spending most of the time in the library, studying or sleeping. She hates things that are messy, though she is fine with being drenched in sweat and oil from working nonstop in practical classes.
"Token number fifty-two." The sudden older woman's voice cut my chain of thought and brought me back to reality.
"Uh, me." I showed her the token.
"Two double egg chicken rolls?" She asked while packing them with butter paper.
"Yeah. Very spicy," I added.
"Ok." She said and added a bit more of the hot sauce and handed me the two hot, freshly made rolls.
[1] Bnegali word for maternal aunt