My So-Called Bollywood Life(55)

He folded his fingers together and leaned forward on his desk. His voice sounded heavy with sadness. “If either of you interferes in the investigation, or if you ignore my rules about including Dev in the festival, you’ll be stripped of your duties and film-club titles. There will also be a mandatory suspension.”

“This is total—”

“Are. We. Clear?”

Winnie folded her arms across her chest. “Fine.”

“So we aren’t in trouble if we cooperate? We’re excused?” Raj asked.

“For now, unless you did take part in all of this.”

    Raj shook his head.

“Winnie,” Mr. Reece said. “Are you still willing to chair the festival despite Dev?”

Great, now she had to choose between her future and her new boyfriend, something that she hadn’t seen coming.

“I’m still in, but I want to help nail Jenny’s coffin shut. She’s behind this.”

Raj leaned forward and tried to touch her hand. “Winnie, I—”

“Don’t,” she said to Raj as she jerked away. “Just don’t.”

“Okay, enough,” Mr. Reece interjected. “The film-club meeting has been canceled today. I asked Raj to email a notice to the members.”

Winnie got up and stormed from Mr. Reece’s office, banging the door with as much force as possible. She didn’t care if it pissed him off. She had to find Dev and talk to him. She had to know what he was going to do and how they would get him out of this situation. This was all her fault. Dev wouldn’t have been targeted if she’d dealt with Jenny sooner.

She jogged down the hallway and out through the main doors at the other end of the school. She had never cut a class in her entire time at Princeton Academy for the Arts and Sciences, but she was going to do it today. She ran toward her car, parked in the student parking lot, and hesitated when she spotted a familiar black sedan at the end of her row. Winnie slowed until she could read the license plate clearly, and then she sped up again. Dev got out of his car and strode toward her. When they were close, Winnie launched herself at him.

    His arms encircled her and they held on to each other. Winnie felt her grip on her tears slipping. She sniffed as she buried her face in his neck and let out a shuddering breath. How could everything make sense one moment and be in complete chaos the next? She and Dev hadn’t reached their happy ending after all.





19





DOSTANA / FRIENDSHIP





I know this movie did great at the box offices overseas, but I don’t like it. No matter what, lying is always a terrible move. Sorry, hunky hero. Put those pecs away. I want honesty first. You can’t flex your way out of this one.





Winnie thought about the cultural significance of sharing food as she and Dev went out to grab lunch at an Indian restaurant. They stopped at the Dosa Hut in Princeton, where they ordered two large masala dosas. Winnie waited as the two-foot-long paper-thin crepe-like shell stuffed with spicy potato and onions was placed in front of her. She poked at the dosa shell until it cracked and then dug in, dipping occasionally into the sambar and coconut chutney.

After they had eaten in silence, Dev reached across the table and slipped his hand over Winnie’s. “This is an interesting place,” he said, looking around.

“The dosas are really good, though, right?”

He smiled, and Winnie saw the sadness in his face, even though he was trying to do the whole nonchalant look that had fooled her so well for all those years.

    “Dev,” she said, her voice cracking.

“Are we going to talk about what happened today? Because I really don’t want to talk about it. We’ve been good for the last hour or so.”

“Dev…come on. I know we’re, well, new and everything, but you know you can talk to me.”

“I didn’t do it, Winnie. You know I didn’t do it.”

“Of course I know you didn’t take the money.” She gripped his fingers with a bruising force. “Not only do I know that you would never do something like that, but you were also with me the entire night. I told Reece. Did you go to your locker in the morning?”

“No, I didn’t need anything for first period. I was in homeroom when Reece called me. He asked me what I did after the festival and wouldn’t tell me what it was about. I told them exactly what happened and where I was the entire time. They asked me to open my locker. I knew there was nothing in there, but when it opened, the money was sitting there. It wasn’t even hidden or anything. How stupid do they think I am?”

“Raj backed up Jenny’s story. I backed up yours. It’s now a he-said-she-said thing.”

“Reece told me they were suspending me for two days and notifying my mother. He was totally condescending when he spoke to me. Like he was channeling Amitabh Bachchan in Mohabbatein. You know, powerful educator who treats the student as inferior.”

    Winnie smiled. “You made a Bollywood movie reference.”

The corner of Dev’s lip quirked. “I did. I danced for you, too.”

“You did,” Winnie said. She leaned forward and kissed Dev’s cheek. She reached for the check, which had been discreetly left at the edge of their table.