From Twinkle, With Love(36)

“Come with me, quick,” Sahil said, dragging me down the opposite way of my locker.

“Um, I have to get to class. School’s almost out; what’s the rush?” I followed him, but I frowned, just so he’d think I had reservations about going with him. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t. Foolish heart. Desire=DOOM, how hard is it to learn that? It’s even an alliteration.)

“I know, and I do too, but I want to show you this one thing in Ms. Rogers’s room quickly.” His voice was fizzing with excitement, so I figured he was over whatever was going on with him the last time we spoke.

I couldn’t afford to miss anything in calculus so close to the final, but my curiosity got the better of me. “Okay. You’ve piqued my interest, Sahil Roy.”

He chuckled. “Excellent.”

We rounded the corner and he opened the door to Ms. Rogers’s room, which was empty. “She’s grading in the teacher’s lounge,” he explained. Then he began to walk toward a large plank of wood that had been covered with a tarp.

“Oh, is that the cyclorama? When did you get this?” I asked, excited to see it even if it did have an evil moon with fangs. It was still part of our set. Our set. We had a SET.

He ran a hand through his hair, looking away for a second. “I went and picked it up.”

“You skipped school?” I was confused. “I thought they were supposed to deliver it tomorrow.”

He shrugged. “Most of the teachers are just doing review anyway.” Then he smiled at me and put one hand on the tarp. “Close your eyes.”

I rolled my eyes instead. “I know what it looks like, Sahil. Just take the tarp off.”

“Nope.” He thrust out his chin in this stubborn gesture that I loved. Er, I mean liked. A normal amount.

Sighing theatrically, I closed my eyes and put a hand over them for good measure. I heard the tarp rustling. And then Sahil, his voice bubbling with glee, said, “Okay. Open.”

I took my hand off and opened my eyes. And there in front of me was the backdrop. Not the cyclorama Sahil had fallen in love with, but the one I had chosen. The one with the village lights on the hill. I stared at it in complete shock. My voice went AWOL.

“Are—is this okay?” Sahil asked, frowning. “I mean, it’s all paid for and everything. You don’t have to do any—”

I shook my head. “No, it’s not that. It’s …” I swallowed. “How did you—why did you do this?”

He stuck his hands in his pockets and quirked his lips. “The how was easy. It wasn’t anything Agent Sahil couldn’t handle.” He put on his snotty agent accent. “‘This cyclorama simply doesn’t work for Miss Mehra’s vision, darling. We need something else. Something with more je ne sais quoi.’”

I snorted.

“As for the why … I was being a jerk before about it. You were right—I wasn’t listening, and I realized I was being an idiot. The cyclorama wasn’t about the cyclorama. It … Anyway …” Shaking his head, he took a step closer to me. “I heard what you said to me this morning, T. About needing to speak up? I heard you one hundred percent. And I want to give my director what she wants. I trust your vision all the way, and this is me showing you that I do.”

I still had a million questions.

#1: Why did you do such a nice thing for me, Sahil?

#2: Don’t you know how hard it is for me to not hop into your arms and kiss you right now?



Okay, so maybe only two questions.

Sahil had heard me. That was a way bigger gift than this backdrop even was. I just stared at him, rooted to the spot.

His face was anxious as the silence stretched on. “So, do you like it? I wanted it to be a surprise, which is why I didn’t consult you. …”

That broke my paralysis. I stepped even closer to him. Putting my arms around his waist, I laid my head on his chest. I heard his heart beating in there, solid and steady and strong. “This is perfect,” I said, and I wasn’t just talking about the backdrop. “Thank you.”

After a pause, Sahil’s arms wrapped around me, too. My heart thundered at his touch, but I kept my breathing calm. This was a friendly hug. At least, that’s what I wanted him to think. I stepped back. “So. You were saying how the cyclorama wasn’t actually about the cyclorama? I thought that whole conversation we had earlier didn’t seem like you. So what’s going on? What’s the cyclorama about?”

He looked at me, steady. “It’s about … being noticed. Not being the kind of person who’s going to fade into the background, overlooked for someone else.” His phone dinged in his pocket and he pulled it out. I saw NEIL on the screen, and a text message below that. Sahil put the phone back.

I smiled. “Talk about someone who doesn’t ever fade into the background.”

“What?”

“Neil. I saw the text was from him.” I laughed a little. “Ironic. We’re talking about being overlooked, and Neil texts you. I don’t think he’d know the meaning of the word ‘ignored,’ unlike some other people.” I was talking about myself, but Sahil didn’t return my smile.

“Right.”

“Anyway,” I said, studying his expression. He’d said at the cabin he didn’t like to talk about Neil, but I didn’t know something this small counted too. “You were saying?”