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A Few Hundred Poppies 1. Hershey's
things are as awkward as you make them to be, reallyEdelweiss, EnglandOn the 30th of December that year, I suddenly realised that I couldn't read anything when the letters were brought closer than a foot to my eyes. Dr. Amiruddin announced me blind by +1.75 the next day, and therefore I dramatically slipped a pair of silver-framed reading glasses atop my nose at the ball drop. Ironically, it was also the year I saw more of reality than I had all my life.And that reality has a very mean sense of humour - having spent sixteen years in a town full of generic white boys, I could be found perpetually bored and prone to rejecting the few who asked me out, and when I'd said that I would like it if a transoceanic guy or two joined this school, I meant a Mexican ex-villain's only heir or something, so that I could fall in love, get ignored, get my heart broken and end up writing a good book.Instead, life handed me an arrogant, outrageously handsome Pak-Korean asshole with an acquired taste
A Few Hundred Poppies 2. Brown Privilege
maybe sometimes, things happen just because we believe they will-Sure, at the Fullers' barbecues, we'd sloshed around with half of the town's police force, but I'd never really met the deputies who dosed on the night shift. From up close, the two were depressing as hell. Last night, the drunk teenagers from the college party next door had awoken Mr. Fuller up and he'd called up his pals at the police station. They'd cruised in in the Volvo, insisting on recording our statement. In spite of all the drama, Ma marched into my room at 6:30 sharp, adjusting her dupatta over the royal blue salwar-kameez she loved to wear to work, sporting her finest frown. Our relatives often said that I was the spitting image of her, but my nose was much flatter, and whereas her hair was wild, mine was much more tame, albeit curly like hers. Among the things we had in common, my favourite were a pair of arched eyebrows and curious doe-like eyes, both of which were jet black and occasionally erupted burs
A Few Hundred Poppies 3. Aunts & Guns
it's a bad week to be aliveThe brass nameplate beside the iron-wrought gate had lost its lustre and was scratched in several places, the words 'Professors Afsar & Saroor Rashid, 15 Taylor Avenue, Edelweiss' embossed in Times New Roman on its surface. Taylor Avenue wasn't really an avenue because there weren't any trees lining it, but nobody seemed to care. The pebble muttered a tiny curse as I kicked it away from the sidewalk, swinging the chest-high iron gate open. As I crossed the small but well-kept lawn with heavy steps, the savoury scent of cooking beef made a roar stir up in my stomach.Maybe I'd earned Allah's pity. It was pretty rare for Ma and Bapi to arrive home before me on weekdays, and I could definitely use not having to stick rice from the fridge in the microwave for lunch. Finding the front door open, I trudged across the foyer and gingerly peered into the kitchen, mentally groaning when I realised who it was.It took Poppy Khan exactly 3.78 seconds to notice me, and
A Few Hundred Poppies 4. Drowning
only to realise that it was a fucking mistake _"Why are you hugging the tree, weirdo?" West appeared out of nowhere, a perplex annoyance printed on his features. By the willows behind the greenhouse, the wind was sweet as it blew over the small lake, cooled itself and caressed my cheeks, puffed and red from wrestling with the willow tree that would've told me to fuck off by now if it could speak."I'm. Trying. To climb the damn tree! Aagh!" I shrieked as I fell flat on my rear with a loud thud, making the two finches who'd been tilting their heads and watching my endeavours with interest fly off the branch in alarm. The two-feet fall left me sprawled tiredly on the ground, and I pressed my hands together in a futile attempt to soothe my palms coarse from tugging on the bark. "Why're you here? I thought you hated my face as much as I hate yours," I hissed through gritted teeth, clambering up from the grass. I noticed that West's hair was much messier than yesterday, making him look r
A Few Hundred Poppies 5. Cornered
should've learnt fucking karateThe biggest moral dilemma that I would face if Aladdin's genie decided to show up in my life would be fighting the urge to permanently erase calculus from the face of the Earth instead of pollution. Glancing at the clock, I impatiently clicked my tongue and scratched off the equation I had just written on the worksheet. I was supposed to meet West at the curb ten minutes ago, but this calculus shit was impossibly lengthy. He's waiting...But so what? He's a jerk.With my back to the door, I was busy exerting an immense concentration on exerting concentration on solving the math. Therefore, I noticed neither the creak of the iron gate opening nor that of the front door, and the mischievous footsteps to my door went unheard. Suddenly, a firm hand landed with a thump on my shoulder."Boo!" A familiar voice yelled, making me jump up from my chair with a terrified squeal."AAH THe FuCK?!" I stumbled and not-so-gracefully landed on the floor — with a foot s
A Few Hundred Poppies 6. Dr. Amiruddin
to have a crush, Aditi, is to submit to the truth that man deliberately seeks out sufferance. And, well, sex_Dr. Amiruddin's dusty lawn and bright orange house (less house and more shack, really) stuck out wildly in the row of neat houses with neat picket fences and neatly planted flowerbeds. A pentagon-shaped garage constructed of pine wood and a tin roof stood at an odd angle on one side of the lawn, inside which was a car nobody had ever seen being driven in. Half a helmet and a pile of misshapen wood lay haphazardly on the other side. Beside the house, two ash trees stood forlornly, shrivelled but tall, a hammock dangling between them.Frowning, I halted at the gate, because the gate wasn't there. Immediately afterwards, I noticed it hovering in the air a few metres away. I jumped in surprise. Skeptical, I walked over to it and gingerly poked the rusty gate hovering a foot above my height, but it didn't so much as wobble. I found a thin, horribly uneven translucent stick of glu
A Few Hundred Poppies 7. First Name Basis
you're the Neville_The remnants of summer in Edelweiss were nearly gone now, but some traces still lingered. As I sat cross-legged by myself on the slope leading from the road to the gorgeous poppy fields in full bloom, warm rays from the setting sun cast a mysterious honey glow on the flowers, as if they were sharing an elaborate secret. I smiled.I eyed the pair of birds swooping around playfully in the sky with acute jealousy. Not trapped at all by their own emotions. So free.Hearing rhythmic footsteps approaching, I glanced to the road. Spotting a young man sporting a black tee and black shorts was jogging on with earphones in, I looked back to the fields.When the footsteps stopped right beside me, I cautiously looked up. "Okay, why are you spying on me, West?" I raised my brows and dramatically pursed my lips, making him roll his eyes. He climbed down to sit on the grass beside me."I'm not spying on you. I live here," he breathed, still a smidgen out of breath. A bead of swe
A Few Hundred Poppies 8. Deshi Wedding: Part 1
"Call me West," I mimicked him, feigning a squeaky voice. "Bloody jerk!"Fuming vehemently, I rode DiCaprio home. West had come to school yesterday after skipping the first three days of the week and had asked for permission to sit with us at lunch, from EVER, not from me, as if we didn't have a heart-to-heart a few days before. Proceeding to climb in beside me (which earned me equally suggestive looks from Lee, Art, Troy and Ever), he barely acknowledged my existence and instead blabbered on to Ever about basketball strategies. And then, after school today, even after I'd called after him twice, he'd brushed past me. So it's official: Just West is ignoring me. Sticking the dull key into the doorknob, I kicked my shoes off, leaving them to lie wildly in the foyer. I climbed the steps to my room - two at a time. As I plunged face-first into my bed and clutched the kolbalish tightly in my arms, I felt like crying. Sitting upright, I grimaced at the sight of the gorgeous forest green l
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