almost immediately. I took her hand. It felt as cold as death. I quickly dropped it. Shushila, who was continuing to gently bathe her, met my eyes and nodded toward the door. There was nothing more I could do. Aamaal lay down and rested her head in Deepa-Auntie’s lap, closing her eyes as Deepa-Auntie stroked her hair. She would soon be asleep as well.
The quietness in the room, rank with the smell of blood, was oppressive. I scooted backwards toward the door and swung my legs out, carefully stepping down onto the footstool and then the floor. I knew Ma’s bed would be empty for at least the next few hours. I wasn’t ready yet to introduce Shami to our life. I wanted some time alone to get to know him, and privacy was scarce. The curtain around Ma’s bed afforded our only hope. One of the aunties made a move to take him from me but I refused to give him up and the aunties seemed to understand. They returned their attention to guarding Ma and passing clean rags in to Shushila.
I was halfway up the ladder to our room, awkwardly holding Shami in one arm, when Sunita-Auntie stopped me with a hand on my thigh. I started and almost fell backwards. I didn’t realize she’d followed me.
“Your ma’s sick,” said Sunita-Auntie.
“Just tired,” I said.
“No,” said Sunita-Auntie, with the certainty of one who had seen much sickness. “She has the virus, and so does the babe. You’d be doing everyone a favor by smothering him now.” She turned away, placing a hand on the wall to steady herself before trudging off down the hall.
I waited until she’d rounded the corner and then looked into the milky, opaque eyes of my brother. “She’s an old fool and a drunkard,” I told him.
Shami didn’t blink.
Grace
One thing I liked about the principal’s office was that all his chairs were lined up in a straight row facing him, like he was about to deliver a speech and you were just there to listen. Most of the time I expect that’s the way things went. He didn’t count on my mom. I don’t think she’d stopped talking in the fifteen minutes since she’d sat down. I felt sorry for him. Every so often he’d start to say something like
If I could interject here
, but she would barrel on. Sooner or later he’d realize she wasn’t going to let him interject here, there or anywhere. I was grateful to be facing him and not her.
I was already in his office when my parents arrived, farthest seat from the door, closest to the open window. Are you having the same thought I was? In fact, I’d been sitting in that same chair for over an hour. I gathered that Mr. Smiley—that’s his name; you can’t make that stuff up—had called my parents even before I showed up. He was surprisingly calm about thewhole thing. Maybe I wasn’t his first student to “disseminate pornographic images to the student body.” Yes, that is what he said. Technically, he didn’t accuse me of disseminating to everyone, only those with a cellphone. Although apparently there were several images posted around the school, in addition to the one on my locker, so presumably the 1.2 percent of kids at Mumbai International without a cellphone were still exposed to my corrupting influence.
As luck would have it, disseminating pornographic images is an expellable offence. Personally, I think accusing a fifteen-year-old of being the likely culprit of her nude photo going viral should be an expellable offence, but that’s just my opinion. Mr. Smiley did let me tell my side of the story, and he took copious notes. Then he had me write everything down and sign it.
I felt both panicked and vindicated when he asked his secretary to make an appointment for him to talk to Todd and Madison. I wasn’t sure whether to bring up Madison’s name. I didn’t accuse her but I did say we’d had a disagreement about Todd the same day he started texting me. I genuinely wanted Mr. Smiley to draw his own conclusions. I didn’t know what to think.
Dad was sitting
The quietness in the room, rank with the smell of blood, was oppressive. I scooted backwards toward the door and swung my legs out, carefully stepping down onto the footstool and then the floor. I knew Ma’s bed would be empty for at least the next few hours. I wasn’t ready yet to introduce Shami to our life. I wanted some time alone to get to know him, and privacy was scarce. The curtain around Ma’s bed afforded our only hope. One of the aunties made a move to take him from me but I refused to give him up and the aunties seemed to understand. They returned their attention to guarding Ma and passing clean rags in to Shushila.
I was halfway up the ladder to our room, awkwardly holding Shami in one arm, when Sunita-Auntie stopped me with a hand on my thigh. I started and almost fell backwards. I didn’t realize she’d followed me.
“Your ma’s sick,” said Sunita-Auntie.
“Just tired,” I said.
“No,” said Sunita-Auntie, with the certainty of one who had seen much sickness. “She has the virus, and so does the babe. You’d be doing everyone a favor by smothering him now.” She turned away, placing a hand on the wall to steady herself before trudging off down the hall.
I waited until she’d rounded the corner and then looked into the milky, opaque eyes of my brother. “She’s an old fool and a drunkard,” I told him.
Shami didn’t blink.
Grace
One thing I liked about the principal’s office was that all his chairs were lined up in a straight row facing him, like he was about to deliver a speech and you were just there to listen. Most of the time I expect that’s the way things went. He didn’t count on my mom. I don’t think she’d stopped talking in the fifteen minutes since she’d sat down. I felt sorry for him. Every so often he’d start to say something like
If I could interject here
, but she would barrel on. Sooner or later he’d realize she wasn’t going to let him interject here, there or anywhere. I was grateful to be facing him and not her.
I was already in his office when my parents arrived, farthest seat from the door, closest to the open window. Are you having the same thought I was? In fact, I’d been sitting in that same chair for over an hour. I gathered that Mr. Smiley—that’s his name; you can’t make that stuff up—had called my parents even before I showed up. He was surprisingly calm about thewhole thing. Maybe I wasn’t his first student to “disseminate pornographic images to the student body.” Yes, that is what he said. Technically, he didn’t accuse me of disseminating to everyone, only those with a cellphone. Although apparently there were several images posted around the school, in addition to the one on my locker, so presumably the 1.2 percent of kids at Mumbai International without a cellphone were still exposed to my corrupting influence.
As luck would have it, disseminating pornographic images is an expellable offence. Personally, I think accusing a fifteen-year-old of being the likely culprit of her nude photo going viral should be an expellable offence, but that’s just my opinion. Mr. Smiley did let me tell my side of the story, and he took copious notes. Then he had me write everything down and sign it.
I felt both panicked and vindicated when he asked his secretary to make an appointment for him to talk to Todd and Madison. I wasn’t sure whether to bring up Madison’s name. I didn’t accuse her but I did say we’d had a disagreement about Todd the same day he started texting me. I genuinely wanted Mr. Smiley to draw his own conclusions. I didn’t know what to think.
Dad was sitting
Similar Books
