There's Something About Sweetie(70)

“Do you even have to ask?” Anjali Chechi made a Come on face.

“Thanks.” Sweetie sat up. “And you’re coming to my last meet as usual, right?”

“Again, I repeat: Do you even have to ask?” Anjali Chechi laughed. “You’re going to kick everyone’s butts this time around again, I assume?”

Sweetie raised an eyebrow. “Do you even have to ask?”

They laughed.

“The thing I’m currently nervous about, though, is my big performance next Thursday.”

“Ah. Band Night?” Sweetie had texted Anjali Chechi all about it.

She nodded. “I picked the songs, and they turned out to be … love songs. I wasn’t trying to do it, but it just happened. Do you think that’s too cheesy?”

“Did your band members have a problem with it?”

“No. They said I have the right kind of voice for love songs, so they’re cool with it. But now I’m all embarrassed. Going up onstage in front of all those people …” She surreptitiously wiped her hands on her pajama pants. “What if they laugh at me?”

A small crease popped up between Anjali Chechi’s eyebrows. “So what if they do? You’re getting up there and singing because you have a beautiful voice and you believe in yourself. What are they doing? Sitting in the audience passing judgment? That takes absolutely no courage.”

After a pause Sweetie took a breath. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Besides, you’re going to have friends there too. And people who might judge you at first will totally see what you’re capable of once you begin to sing. Don’t you think they laughed at Adele before they realized she would command their respect?”

“Yeah. I’m still nervous, but you’re right.”

“It’s normal to be nervous.” Anjali Chechi’s face relaxed into a smile. “Remember the story of my first surgery rotation?”

Sweetie snorted. “You bumped the instrument table with your hip and then tripped over your own feet and almost landed facedown on the floor.”

“Exactly. And I was so nervous people would judge me because I was the only fat medical student in that room and that automatically meant I was lazy or a bumbling fool, right? But guess what? I’m an orthopedic surgeon now. And anyone who judged me or laughed at me that day?” She shrugged. “Don’t even remember them. Do your own thing, Sweetie. The rest will fall into place.”

Sweetie relaxed and smiled. “Thanks, Chechi. You’re the best.”

The doorbell sounded, and a few seconds later Amma called her name. Hmm, weird. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Frowning, Sweetie turned back to the screen. “Uh-oh, I’ve been summoned.”

“Go, go,” Anjali Chechi said. “I’ll be seeing you soon, right?”

“Right! And remember the thing for my party?”

“I remember.” Anjali Chechi grinned. “I’m overnighting it tomorrow.”

“Excellent. See you soon!”

Sweetie ended the call, plugged the phone into her charger, and walked out into the living room to see what Amma wanted.

As soon as she rounded the corner into the living room, Sweetie wanted to run back into her bedroom and change. Tina auntie and Sheena sat on the living room couch, dressed absolutely beautifully in what Sweetie was fairly sure were designer clothes. Their hair was perfectly styled, and they each had a faceful of makeup on. Whereas Sweetie’s hair was still wet and hung in limp strands down her back. She adjusted the top of her Hello Kitty pajamas self-consciously, remembering how the buttons gaped.

Tina auntie gave her the once-over, before following it with an icy smile. “Hello, Sweetie. Ready for bed already?”

“No. I just like to change into pj’s after practice.” She went to sit by Amma. “Hi, Sheena.”

Sheena did the chin-thrust/nod thing. “What’s up?”

Amma said, “Tina auntie was wondering if you wanted to share a limo with Sheena to prom, mol. It’s in two weeks, isn’t it?”

“A week from tomorrow,” Sweetie mumbled. She’d been trying hard to forget about it, honestly, and Kayla and Izzy were really good at not bringing it up around her. Suki thought the whole idea was idiotic and was boycotting it on principal. But Sweetie wanted to forget about it for different reasons. Firstly, Amma would never let her wear the dress she wanted. Sweetie would probably have to go in a long-sleeved, high-necked top and a skirt that brushed the floor. And secondly, no one had asked her.

She frowned. Wait. Why hadn’t Ashish asked her? Sure, they went to different schools and had their proms on different days, but why hadn’t he even brought it up? He seemed like the kind of guy who went every year, whether it was his prom or not. This was the first year that Sweetie was really eligible.

“Do you have someone to go with?” Tina auntie asked, and the look on her face very clearly said, Of course you don’t, you poor, sad, fat child.

Sweetie squirmed a little. “Um, not really. I don’t actually want to go at all.”

Like she’d predicted, Tina auntie and Sheena both looked horror-struck.

“Why not?” Sheena asked slowly, like Sweetie was an unpredictable hedgehog who might fling all her quills at her or something.

Sweetie shrugged. “It’s just … it’s not my thing.”