16th August 2017

L U K A

I woke up to the sound of the rain hitting the glass windows. I sat up on my bed and looked to my left to see Juleka-still snoring peacefully-in her bed. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. I walked up to the windows and laid my palm on the cold glass. I always liked the rain. It was like a weather for all moods- happy, sad, romantic. I chuckled to myself at the last thought.

How I wish I found someone who would love me for who I am.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a mouth-watering aroma. I followed the magical aroma and found myself standing at the door of the kitchen where Sushma aunty was busy preparing one of her special Indian delicacies.

"What is it? It smells so good."

"Oh. Good morning Luka. This is called Poori-Bhaji. It's the menu for today's breakfast", Sushma aunty said and gave me a gentle smile.

I licked my lips and said, "Sounds yummy. Can't wait to try it."

"Aye Luka. So early up from bed?", my Mom said and ruffled my hair.

"What time is it?", I asked.

"6 o'clock."

I groaned. God knows why I was up so early in the morning.

"Well Anarka. There has been a change in plans. Since its raining outside we can't go for any sightseeing today. Also, at my friend, Kriti's home there has been an accident and the kitchen tap has just gone haywire so Kriti, her sister and niece will be coming over to my house for dinner. Is that okay with the two of you?"

I was a little disheartened when I heard that we can't go for sightseeing today but, meeting auntie's friends was not a bad idea.

"Oh, it's alright. We'll be glad to meet your friends", Mom said.

"That's good to know. Luka and Juleka can interact with Kriti's niece as they are all the same age."

"What's her name?", I ask out of curiosity.

"Preeti Das Durand. She's half Indian, half French. She lives in this neighbourhood with her Mom. I think they'll be moving to Paris soon. At least that's what I heard from Kriti a few days ago."

I just stood there, shocked. Preeti was coming over tonight for dinner. My brain was not able to process the information that I'll be meeting her again so soon.

"-ka! Luka!", my Mom shouted.

I blinked, twice.

"Uh... sorry Mom."

"What? You know Preeti?", asked Sushma aunty and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Y-yeah. I met her at the fest yesterday. She and her friends gave us a tour of the fest", I said and scratched the back of my head nervously.

"That's good to know. Now out of my kitchen both of you or else I might mess up the recipe", Sushma aunty said and we went out of the kitchen.

I can't wait for dinner!

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"Wait a second. You mean the famous designer, Peter Durand?", Juleka said with a lot of excitement and shock laced in her voice.

"Yeah. And she'll be moving to Paris at the end of this month."

I just told Juleka about Preeti and the conversation we had last night. She was also shocked when I told her about Preeti's father.

"That's awesome! I can't wait for her to come for dinner tonight!"

I rolled my eyes. She was overreacting a bit, not that I blame her. Juleka always admired Gabriel Agreste and Peter Durand's collaboration designs.

"By the way, did you tell Mom about your little runaway last night?", Juleka enquired, air quoting the word "runaway".

"W-W-What? No! of course not! She will give me an hour-long lecture for talking with a stranger in a lonely place, when we are in a city we don't know much about. Not to forget, she will scold me for leaving you alone at the fest", I said in one single breath.

"Woah-woah. Slow down bro. They weren't complete strangers now, where they?"

"Jule... we only knew their names so they were strangers to us."

"Fine. You're right. Mom will make a very big deal out of it. But you gotta warn Preeti to not spill the tea."

"Yeah. I will", I said and sighed.

I got up from the bed and walked into the balcony. The rain had reduced to a slight drizzle now. I leaned onto the cold, damp railing and stared at the sky. My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the caller ID.

Adrien.

I smiled and picked up the call.

"Hey Luka! How's your tour going?", Adrien said from the other line.

"All good. Just a bit of rain washed away our plans for sightseeing."

"Oh. Well maybe tomorrow the weather will be clear."

"I hope so. What about you? How's your day going?"

"Boring as usual. Father won't allow me to leave the house although yesterday he allowed me to go to the movies with my other classmates and it was fun. I never went to the movies with all my friends. Last time I went to the cinemas with a friend was to watch my Mom's movie with Marinette."

Marinette told me about that day. It was a pretty embarrassing day for her although Adrien enjoyed it a lot.

"And I'm guessing you've met Preeti right? I just talked to her before calling you and she told me about how she met you and Juleka."

"Yeah. I met her yesterday at the fair. She told me that the two of you were childhood friends."

"Yup. My father and Mr. Durand were next-door neighbours in their childhood and now they are business partners. Preeti used to come to Paris with her Mom a few times so that's how we became best friends", Adrien said in a joyful tone.

I was glad that he had another friend since childhood other than Chloe. Although, it's weird he never mentioned anything about her before.

"Well I have to go. Another boring photoshoot to go to."

I chuckled and said," Good luck with that. Talk to you later. Bye!"

"Bye!"

He hung up. Adrien and I had become good friends in the past few months. He was a nice guy and a true gentleman. No wonder Marinette likes him.

"Luka. Mom's calling you", Juleka said and I proceeded towards the living room. Sushma aunty was almost running here and there to set things up as it was already time for the guests to arrive. I heard the doorbell ring and Sushma aunty called out to me from the kitchen, "Luka! Can you please open the door for me? I need to put the food in the fridge."

"Sure!", I replied and went to open the front door.

~~~~~~~~~~

So, how's life going?

I'm very busy with these extra projects the teachers are giving us as if we are computers. 😣

I might not be able to update that much from now on. I'll update when I can and the story might go on a hiatus mid-November as I have my selection exams to give.

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