Raindrops in Autumn

The alarm clock boomed with Kesha’s spunky voice, causing Ariana to break away from her dreamless sleep. Creasing her eyebrows and rubbing her sleepy eyes, she managed to get out of bed somehow and switched off the alarm. 8:15 a.m. This is not fair, she thought. She wasn't supposed to wake up so early. Today was supposed to be a ‘stay-at-home-and-hibernate’ day, not a ‘wake-up-early-and-go-to-college’ day. She didn't want to go, not even a bit. It seemed as if the bed was calling out to her, tempting her to hide herself under the blanket and drift off to a peaceful siesta. But she couldn't give in to the irresistible temptation, because her handful of friends had threatened to murder her if she didn't make it to college for their Fresher’s Day;  and her life was way more dear to her than temporary hibernation. So, mustering all her dormant energy, she started to freshen up and get ready for the very dubious day that lay ahead of her.

Being a swift person had its own advantages, and Ariana was determined to make complete use of it this morning; because she knew that if she took her sweet time to get ready, she would definitely decide to chuck this all and ditch the day. So, she moved as fast as she could. A cool shower, some light breakfast, touch of dryer to calm down her Medusa-like her, dress on, kitten heels to uplift her short height (because stilettos were something she could never manage) and Voila! She was good to go. She checked her reflection in the mirror, and surprisingly, liked what she saw. Had Mom been here, she would have definitely showered me with pictures, Ariana thought with a sad smile. But her mom’s absence was semi-compensated by her very enthusiastic PG auntie, who couldn't stop gushing about how pretty she looked. Ariana was happy. Maybe the day wasn't going to be so bad after all, or at least she hoped so. Outside, the pleasant sky was beginning to be overshadowed by the scorching sun.

Her punctual driver arrived at her doorstep exactly when she’d asked him to. Bidding goodbye to her auntie, she got in the car and soon they were on their way to her college. Just when they’d crossed the first street, her phone beeped with a Whatsapp notification. Ariana checked it, and made her patent ‘you've-got-to-be-kidding-me’ face. Her dear friend Jane announced that she wouldn't be able to make it because apparently her contact lenses had found their way down the sink. Awesome, just awesome, she grumbled under her breath. Fearing the futility of her decision to go today, she called Shiona, just to ensure that she wasn't going to endure the torture alone. To her relief, Shiona was very much pumped up to attend the function, and said she would soon reach college once she was done deciding the colour of her eye shadow. She knew that ‘soon’ was Shiona’s keyword for ‘an hour’. “Women”, Ariana said grumpily, making her driver-uncle chuckle. She spent the rest of the ride admiring the sunlit river on the other side of the window, with her earphones plugged in. As they were about to reach, she checked her watch. 12:20 p.m. Talk about being the opposite of fashionably late, she thought, and sighed.

Ambling down the car and asking her uncle to come pick up her up as soon as he could, Ariana made her way through the palatial ambiance of her University crossing the narrow, red corridor and stepped into her department. As expected, it resembled a barren desert. She’d texted Katy, her neither-best friend-nor-enemy, a few minutes back, suggesting to meet her at the department so that they could walk to the auditorium together where the very famous Freshers was to be held. After having waited for half an hour, while talking to her mom and complaining about how exasperated she was feeling, Ariana called Katy to ask where the hell she was. When Katy told her that she was in the auditorium already, because her “dear friends” were there with her too, Ariana wished she could shoot her right away. But since that wasn't legal, she just took her purse and walked out of the class and headed towards the auditorium. “If you don’t make it here within half an hour, then I’m leaving”, she texted Shiona.

Five minutes and few layers of tanned skin later, she reached the dark, abominably crowded auditorium. Glancing around, her eyes fell onto the people she didn't want to see, but had to, every day. Who needed a blusher when you had such bimbos to make your face flush? She ignored them, and took her seat in the very cold hall. Katy behaved as if she was seeing Ariana for the first time: scornful and snobbish. Ariana could feel every pore in her body boiling with annoyance. Everywhere she looked, she saw girls dressed in short, designer attires, donning exaggerated smiles, fake accents and unnecessary pride. It took every ounce of self-control in her to not create a large scale massacre. By the time lunch was announced, she’d already made up her mind that she couldn't stand this grueling Gossip Girl-like show another minute. Owing to the abhorrent network, neither was she able to call her driver nor Shiona. Just when she was about to leave, she saw Shiona descending down the stairs, looking radiant in a beautiful LBD.

“I’m leaving”, she blurted out.

“What? Why?” Shiona asked with a confused look.

“I can’t endure this shit anymore. You can stay if you like, but I’m done here.”

“Sweetie, please don’t do that to me. Let’s just stay for some time, and then we’ll leave together, okay?” she tried convincing Ariana with her puppy-like expression that was sure to make her melt.

Ariana couldn't help but give in. “Okay, but not more than an hour.”

Shiona smiled and nodded her head, and pulled her friend to the lunch area. Ariana watched Shiona eat to her heart’s content and waited for her to finish, because the heat was getting too much to bear and she wanted to get back inside the hall as soon as possible to avoid looking look like a sweaty pig.

After Shiona was done savouring her meal, they went inside the hall, and the function began.

Ten seconds into the program, and Ariana knew that she was going to suffer from a migraine attack very soon. This wasn't a function; this was an exhibition of hooligans trying to portray the talent they thought they possessed. 2:30 p.m. If she had to witness another person molest Shakira’s Whenever Wherever, or ruin the music of her ever-favourite Keane’s Somewhere Only we Know, then she would probably explode!

As promised, she tolerated the freak-show for whole 3600 torturous seconds. “See you tomorrow”, she hugged Shiona and left, feeling free and relieved. She tried running out of her college as soon as she could, trying to delay her emotionally-wrecked self from making her debut. Never had she been so relieved to see her driver-uncle; she got inside the car, and they sped away.

Ariana couldn't stop regretting her decision of going today. How different the day would have been had she listened to her heart and  stayed at home, reading Gayle Forman’s If I Stay and surfing Booktube videos. Because that’s who she was: an introvert nerd. She didn't like getting dolled up and going to parties, she wasn't used to getting drunk and dancing on the tables of night clubs, she liked neither the odour of smoke nor the attention of perverted jerks. What she liked was the smell of old books, the sound of rain, the taste of black tea and the bliss of solitude.

They reached home, and she rushed out of the car and made her way up the stairs. She rang the bell, and hugged auntie as soon as she opened the door. Auntie knew her enough by now to question her about the day; so she allowed her to walk to her room in quietude, both of them respecting their silent conversation. 

Once inside the room, she dropped her bag, dumped herself on the bed, and cried. Cried because she missed her parents, cried because she wanted to see her friends, cried because she wanted to go back Home, where her heart was, where she belonged.

Auntie lightly knocked on her door, and when Ariana didn't reply, she came in and sat beside her. “Black tea?” she asked, caressing her wet cheeks. Ariana smiled through her foggy eyes, and nodded. Auntie smiled back and walked out of the room towards the kitchen, closing the door behind her.

A little while later, Ariana walked out of bed, freshened up, and changed into her pajamas.

After an hour of refreshing black tea, a comforting Skype session with her mom and a narration of the obnoxious events of the day to her auntie, she grabbed her book and crawled back into bed. I shouldn't have left you in the first place; she smiled at her own joke. She was reminded of the time when she would come back from school after a horrible day, and her mother would hug her tight until she felt better; and later she would make her favourite meal and stay with her while Ariana read Harry Potter and immersed herself in the land of Witches, Wands and Magic.

After reading a couple of pages, when her eyes could no longer hold themselves open, she kept her book down beside the pillow, and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of open fields, rainbows and home.