FUZZY DRINKS OF BLUE

There was an unexplainable emotion to the clouds that day. They were dazzling white above the blue canopy. Like ice cubes in a blue drink. You might think that the consumption gives you chills, but they are warm chills. The ones you get as a teenager looking at their first crush. Mil had had some trouble getting up in the morning. As a matter of fact, her vision and memory still blurred. The familiar buildings she passed through looked like giant skyscrapers under the haze. Though her mind was nailed to a foreign topic, her subconscious dragged her feet to the same old room painted in light blue and white.

She was an artist; she drew pretty lines on a blank canvas.

Thin sheets of cloth hid it behind, for it was better kept still.

The only emotion it depicted were hatred and bitter truth anyways.

And society doesn't care for facts but pretty words.

She passed by a row of people who sat adjacent to each other, engaging in small talks. She rushed by and sat with Jabira who was talking to a group of girls. The two friends were social but reserved, hence matched. You might wonder what their usual conversation looked like.

"If we were to become comedians, what do you think our duo name will be?"

"Jabira...Mil... Ja...il...Jail!"

And silence would mushroom over the two.

That day was rather chaotic, for when Mil sat down her black backpack on the wooden bench by Jabira's, she was attacked with several questions at once. Their voices mixed together like an acapell. Their homeroom teacher had other in mind, for when she entered the room in her blue saree draped with white overall, she quoted,

"Is this my class or a fish-market?" And everyone rushed back to their seats. Just at the moment, a loud jazz of morning bell thundered across the school, especially loud in their small four walled classroom. For the metallic structure was installed right outside. It was as if they were attending a local festival. The one where large speaker would play the most inhumane songs as loud as it could. The speakers could then juxtaposition with a victim screaming for help with their life on line. Nevertheless, the songs were labeled disgusting and the festival marvelous. And the judge was of course Mil.

Mil was sixteen and five feet six tall with black eyes and long black hair. One could drown in her eyes that shone under the sun. But even when you looked at her close enough, you couldn't see her pupils contract when the sun rested upon it. She had scars on her hands and face. And each of them carried a long story. Every acne scar on her face could recite a teenage tale. From the moment a pimple rises to the moment it is popped. The scar leaving behind its once existence. Like grave of a soldier or a crack of an earthquake. The hands on the contrary were her own sins.

Mil liked mathematics. This was a fact her classmates could never understand and was one of the reasons she was called a mother-in-law. Because liking math was something only adults were capable of. The other reason was because of her name. She also had other names such as a wheat mill. The story behind this is something you can understand only if you know Hindi. गेहूं , pronounced as Gayhu was the word for wheat and hu meant am. And Gay Hu Mill was the lesbian Mil. The irony was confusing but hilarious once understood. It was at least to a sixteen-year-old. So, the four of them shared a laugh over this secret affair and closeted Mil felt like a weight lift off her shoulders.

Jabira, like her friend was sixteen too, but an inch shorter. No one would let her forget this difference. All she could do was accept and agree. This was something she had to welcome with open arms, for she was 'agree'. The meaning of her name was 'agree'. Her father owned a hotel which was fairly successful on its own. When everyone heard of this, they pictured Jabira as a rich blonde with blue eyes and painted nails. Contrary to this, she was a normal teenager with black eyes and long brown-black hair. She had a burn in her right hand. So, when her hands levitated and her sleeves gravitated down, the mark would plop out like a meerkat.

Mil and Jabira shared a desk as their friends sat in front. Keisha and Anu were two feminine girls that could never digest a secret. Every day they would stick to each other like opposite ends of a bar magnets and poke their nose at every situation. The two extroverts had basically adopted Mil and Jabira. Still, the introverts were the closest. Every weekend when Saturday was the only time the four were allowed to go outside without getting a scornful, they would meet up at Jabira's hotel and talk about the most random things. The conversation was mostly led by the extroverts; however, the introverts would become fairly involved too.

"Winter's coming soon and you know what that means... every hotel across town will be booked for weddings, especially Jabira's dads! We cannot spend the weekends there anymore." Keisha said.

"Wasn't your sister supposed to be engaged this winter too though?"

"Yes, she was. But she finally revolted against the arrange marriage. Why should a successful girl marry a stranger anyways?"

They were interrupted by their homeroom teacher who politely and in a sarcastic tone asked them if they wanted to take the roll call instead, for according to her, their voices were loud enough to give a speech during the morning assemblies without a microphone. That day the class decided that the four of them would give a special performance at the next assembly and Anu who wanted to impress an uninterested Abhi, hurriedly accepted the challenge.

"So, what if we actually pull it off! What will you do?" Anu said.

"We will give you Abhi."

And the crowd erupted in cheers. Now that a reckless girl had gotten them in trouble, they decided to meet up at Mil's that evening. Jabira fixed the lone strand of hair behind her ear as she looked over at Mil. Motioning to Mil's hand she raised her left eyebrow. Mil had to shake her head in disagreement.

That day when school ended and everyone went back home, Mil forced herself to grab some sleep before her three friends came. Jabira who got Mil's mother to open the doors for her, crept inside her house like a surprise gift. Mil's mother said her goodbyes to Jabira and an asleep Mil and headed out for work. The guest was left alone to wake the sleeping beauty. Instead, she went through the wooden shelves and pulled out a black diary.

2012

Diary

It didn't look like a diary from 2012 for it was well kept. The black cover shone like a freshly polished school shoe. And the pages were as white as a peace pigeon. Jabira flipped open the pages, hoping to find the last entry Mil did.

There were no pages filled with ink. She flipped every page of the thick diary only to find white sheets.

"I didn't know you were practicing to become a spy." Mil's hoarse voice startled Jabira and she almost dropped the unused stationary.

"I didn't know you were awake."

"Because I wasn't. You woke me up with the harsh fluttering of the pages. Almost thought my cousin sisters were here ripping apart my homework again. They aren't here, right?"

"Nope, they aren't. The diary though... why didn't you at least try writing? You know you need to find better coping mechanisms."

Before Mil could reply, the doorbell interrupted their conversation.

"It must be Keisha and Anu... I'll get the door." Jabira pushed the black diary back to where it originally was and rushed out towards the main door. Mil was left alone to reorganize her thoughts. She lifted her body out of the bed and pulled her black hair back to a ponytail. Rubbing her half-awake eyes, she joined Jabira and the others out in the main hall.

"I've planned a song or a march or a small play where we read love poetry out loud. Personally recommend the latter." Anu said as she walked past Mil and inside her room.

Mil groaned and turned back as the three settled themselves on the bedsheet. It was a grayish white sheet patterned with traditional Indian designs. One might not know where exactly this tradition came from but could tell in a glance that it was Indian indeed. At the exact middle of the bed was an average sized red stain. The girls did not seem to mind.

"Isn't the poetry just because you want to tease Abhi?"

"That was the whole point of us doing this show anyways."

"The principle will be watching us. Also, you will embarrass Abhi instead."

"Let's sing a song then."

"No! Mil and Jabira have the worst voice ever."

Everyone except Anu gasped.

"Anu being frank doesn't mean you can insult them!"

"It's the truth... remember that one time when Mil was paired with this girl in class for the singing contest? They came in last despite the fact that the other had a voice of a nightingale!"

"We have a girl in class that sings like a nightingale?" Jabira asked.

"The one that got a huge nosebleed and was rushed to the hospital."

"Yes, but what's her name?"

Everyone turned towards Mil but it was a fact that Mil was bad with names. So, at the end their classmate was named the nightingale girl, even if Keisha wanted to call her the nosebleed.

"Let's just do a march like the military. We can use the costume we bought last Halloween." Jabira said.

"To make it seem a bit wild, maybe we can put on some black eyeshadow on our cheeks, like the camouflage ones."

"That would be a bit extreme, and it's not good for my acne marks." Mil whined.

"You know the guys in class who are part of the drama club? They had some fake guns for a play, maybe we can borrow them. And I can pretend to shoot hearts at Abhi." Anu remarked before pretending to shoot at the three.

Anu got beat up that day.