I am too restless to sleep. I have been twisting and turning in my bed for the past hour or so. Apoorva went to bed around the same time, but either her wine really worked or she was able to unwind so well that all was off her chest. Sadly, it wasn’t my case. I have been waiting for my turn but after all that she said, I couldn’t do it. She sounded if not a bit happy, hopeful. There was no way I was going to bring her down with my sob story. At that time, I thought to let her have the moment but now I’m wondering if should have talked too. I am staring out of the window from my bad and realizing that I am a good listener but I do need someone that listens to me too. Nevertheless, one of us is at peace at least, I am not sure if unwinding would have helped me much. I would have ended up thinking about it all a lot more if I had opened up that closet tonight.
Also, I should not forget the ice cream; it could also be the reason why I am so wide awake. I am going through a sugar rush and it will pass in a while. It is not like it is my first time with the sugar rush. It used to be my lifestyle once. Sugar rush peaks can make you feel super energetic before making you feel super drowsy. I want to sleep NOWWW before my brain starts wandering towards the prohibited zone. I should get up and have some warm water. Warm milk would have been a much better option but lately, life has turned funny for me; my very favorite thing, milk, has started triggering my migraine. I wish it is just one of those phases. I like my milk way too much to cut it for life. Now that I think about it, If the universe is all about balancing out, it will explain my body’s sudden rejection of milk. I have had way too much milk growing up and my body is fed up and does not want it anymore. I was one of the few kids in my school that loved the milk that we used to get before leaving for home. Yep, I was in a day school for the better part of my school life, morning 7 to evening 5! It is surely the reason I don’t have typical girly tantrums. I am not picky, I can eat just about anything edible and of course vegetarian… but I like baked desserts way too much… and let us be honest, most of them are best made with eggs. So, I turn blind eye to the brown signs on the food cards every time I pick something from the patisserie. Ahh, I think I am feeling sleepy now… It is going to be cakes and cupcakes in my dream factory tonight.
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I opened my eyes at the sound of ‘Cheap Thrills’ being played on a very high volume in the front room. I tried to shush away the sound by putting another pillow over my head and adjusting myself to continue sleeping. While doing so, my eyes fell on the table clock I have for no other reason but because it looked cute, it was close to 11. I am in no hurry to go anywhere today since it’s the weekend and I have no plans whatsoever. I hear Apoorva shouting something over the music and it sounded like my name. I wake up but sit on my bed, legs folded. I know she will come inside before the song ends, to make sure I am awake. I also know she will repeat the song for us to sing along. It used to be our favorite song; when I say our, I mean the original 6 of us, The 501 tribe. At some point, it was the ringtone to all our phones, and have danced on it a number of times; be it at waking up at home or partying out at some disc we all went to. I think, Shambhavi introduced us to that song and the rest was history. We call it our 501 anthem; if you haven’t already guessed it, 501 was our flat number.
As expected, Apoorva was talking to me; before I could register a single word she pushed me inside my bathroom. On most days, I am a morning person and entertain just about anyone right out of my bed but right now I would appreciate some alone time. I spend around 20 min in the bathroom which is double my usual. I come out fresh and ready to dance to the song I know she’ll put on again. She looks at me with a query in her eyes of whether I am still grumpy. I give a smile assuring her that I am not and she does not need to handle me with care. She is sipping what looks like black coffee to me and internally wonder, how lucky one has to be, to not feel hungover after drinking half a bottle of wine by yourself. While my mind was busy envying Apoorva, I hear the familiar beats followed by Maggie Lindemann’s voice from all around me, Pretty Girl it is! Inside my head, I thank my brother for installing this ace sound system at this house. That song has had my heart from the first time I heard it. It was in my sister-in-law’s car and oh god that song just spoke to me. I go on full-on screaming my lungs out whenever I hear this song, as I have started doing it right about now without realizing it. I have no shame whatsoever that we live in a society with several kids, who shouldn’t hear me scream the words that fall under explicit content. Screaming that song out loud is therapeutic; not that I need it right now but I definitely know that feeling.
Towards the very end of the song, I hear Apoorva saying “Alexa, lower the volume!” She gives me a cup of warm water that I take every morning. As I sit down on the sofa and she asks me if I still want to go to that place I had suggested yesterday and it takes me a minute to remember that I had texted her when she was on her way to meet Nakkul. I nod but quickly recover and tell her that I will be fine if she has plans with Nakkul. She smiles at the mention of his name and informs me that he left for Hyderabad earlier this morning. I learned that he was here on official business and will be flying in and out of Pune for the next few months.
When I tell her we can go if she feels like going, she agrees and we rush to our respective rooms to get ready as quickly as we can. One thing about me, I am not the one for saying no to buffets accompanied by some outdoor sun in winters. We decide on leaving as soon as we can because well, it is supposed to be a “brunch” and we are already close to 12 right now. Also, from whatever I have heard of that place, it is hip & classy with really delicious food options in their buffet; So it can get overcrowded very easily and we might not find a place to sit if we are late. Also, I am very hungry. My stomach is making those rumbling noises. I don’t blame it because well, if I do not count the ice cream, I have not had real food in over 15 hours and that is a stretch even for me.