“I got a letter from the school”
“They can’t take your diploma back. That’s illegal. No matter how little you use it.” Usha’s response was quick in a way that suggested the though had been on her mind.
“Hew heu. No. Apparently they don’t have the phone number or file, not that it would have mattered in this case. I’ve told Kayam to give it to them twice, but I may just have to go in. I do not want to get on that bus again.” Was this Virika experimenting with laughs again?
“I forfeit my speculations”
“Ok, Kala. She jumped off one of the roofs on a bet. They didn’t say which one, but apparently she was fine after a minute.”
Usha paused before answering. There wasn’t any particular concern. “Was she examined by anyone?”
“The Principal’s secretary. I don’t recognize the name, she might be new. She sat being observed for a while. Apparently nothing to say.”
“What I mean is – you hear about those kids who can’t feel broken bones.”
“Ma though of that too. she responded to a nettle, though. It sounds like a thing to run by Aunt Mina. theoretically, we could trust Aunt Mina with that, right? If she were around?”
“Well, you certainly couldn’t trust Ma. Don’t hide it from papa though. But I don’t think Mina’d try to immediately see if she could puree Kala, if that’s the question. I’m pretty sure she was older when the face stuff started. But also I think she’d appreciate having a normal childhood.”
As second Message form Usha a moment later, “I’m going to make sure with my boss tomorrow, just in case, but I don’t think falling off a building is enough to file a report with SAMMANA.”
“Hey. HEY. NO BLACK CARS COMING UP TO THE HOUSE. MA WIL FIND A WAY TO DO MORE THATN FAINT ON THE SPOT. I am walking Kala to the road and riding with her if anyone needs to go anywhere.”
“If it comes to that, I will try two write myself in a few days away from the office for managing Ma myself. I would not be able to get the case assigned to me, but I should be able to keep her fromm finding out the hard way. Until then – good thoughts. Good thoughts. Or, back to scholarship applications and ricg people’s judgement.”
There was a long pause.
“Hey. You know I finally wrote somthing no ushing the name ‘usha’ as a protagntits?”
“protagontits. I will consider this a warning. just send it”
~
Elakshi drunk in the sunshine between monsoon storms. Elakshi drunk in the bottle of boba tea. Elakshi drunk in lecture she had missed that morning, dainty headphones plugged into her phone; the economy didn’t hold a candle to this cool and brilliant day.
She was hidden away in the tall grass of an nature preserve, it’s tall lade winding and unwinding with her hair, the sunlight painting inhuman landscapes on the backs of her closed eyelids. Stroking fingers, curling through belt-loops, and up shorts’ legs, desperate for the moisture the day denied them.
“Hey you, you missed class” the technicolor visions disappeared, and she had to open her eyes the a halo of sunlight around a dark face and quickly plastered down hair. Had his t-shirt been a little longer, the statuesque marble abs would have been unknowable – but unlike the fools of foreign lands, these were properly panted in high relief ans, despite the cool, sweat.
“I’m missing class.” she pulled the headphones down to her neck, “And I can miss it – But I can miss it for a while longer.” the professors voice droned from the headphones.
“Shouldn’t you be doing your family proud, getting you money’s worth?”
“I don’t know, what’s the charge,” She ran to fingers over his ankle, “For this?” The lightly patted his butt, “For this?”, she ran two fingers across his lips, “For this?”
“Separate. Compounding interest. Do you really want to wait for the payoff?” He still offered a hand, to help her rise to her feet.
“Oh, if anything is done here, it’s just done by animals.” She coolly wrapped her fingers around his, “Sniffing, pawing, tearing up the dirt. Good fun, but a very messy situation.”
“Too messy?” He stood to his feet, pulling her up after him.
“Too messy for today.”
“Hmm.” He gave a halfhearted groan, them planted a quick kiss on her forehead.
Elakshi applied herself to him, keeping her forehead to his lips, forcing the tshirt to pull in his sweat as she felt his heart pump through the application of her breasts – and then, that little extra, against her shorts. “Humans cook their meat. I think mine may be a little raw yet. Soon, maybe, soon.”
~
“Does you chew toy have a name?” Was Usha’s first responce
“HERE I AM, opening up myself to you”
“I mean it’s been a while, but there has to have been a time we were both nude at the same time. What, 4 and 3 years old?”
“And that would have been when I was scared stiff of being spanked.”
“Are you going to actually develop characters or is this prose”
“I’ll get back to you on that” And, presumably, Virika immediately went back to not quite doing University applications.
~
Not wanting to look too irresponsible in front of Japeth – and with the rains resuming, the lecture hall was hot, dark and soggy. The air occasionally caught the slightest reason to move, but even the water drumming on the roof was distant.
Elakshi wanted to feel somthing. She sat on the edge of her chair, not out of interest in the lecture, but because she was just barely not squatting in front of it. He knees bumped up and down, her heels never quite touching the ground, a bare movement that kept her from lying her head down on the half desk.
She addressed her teeth, seeing if her toungue could map them out, the metallic taste growing in her mouth until she gave in and started chewing on her tongue itself. While not as tasty as gum, it held up better – and she felt something. She would consume. She would not be consumed. She braced her congue between her teeth and pulled up a little more from her throat – possible or impossible, she didn’t really care. Her role was to sit and listen, not to stand and answer questions. To be a face in a crowd, not to be pinned up for examination.
She imagined herself pinned to a card like a bug. Not crucified, no – her flesh too easily shrugged off fatality. She would be an object of study. Poke into her crannies, spread her parts, go deeper than the last one dared – she only hoped she’s still be able to feel it.
Her tongue was all metalic taste now. She could just swallow it. Work it back into place at the drinking fountain after the lecture.
Sure. A temporary change of taste.
~
“I assume you aren’t trying to prophesy whatever is going with Kala”
“Of course not. Just going into ‘She’s bouncy’ give the wrong impression. Or… I don’t really know how to elaborate on that. Just reminded me of some dance drop Aunt Mina showed me once. It was like she was jumping rope while in the splits. That sort of bouncy.”
“I don’t remember seeing that.”
“You asked about yoga, I asked about other things. Not a big deal.”
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