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Milly had a dream about Zahra last night; they were in the pocket in the garden, smiling and talking. She lay in her warm bed, holding onto her dream. She had never felt this way about anyone.
The school day began with a secret. Viraj had big news, and for some reason, he only wanted Milly to know. He was nervous, but Milly couldn't tell if he was happy or sad.
"What's up, Chan-man? A girl on your mind?" Milly said.
"Is it really that obvious?" Viraj said.
"Wait, I was actually right?" Milly said, dumbfounded.
This was top-secret information. Milly guessed this information was about Stevie. Stevie said she liked someone, and that someone could very well be Mr. Viraj Chanda. Maybe Viraj wanted to tell Milly that he was feeling the same way and wanted to confess his love to Stevie. They would be so perfect together. Or maybe they already told each other, and it went terribly wrong...
Milly had never taken anyone to the pocket in the garden before. It was her and Zahra's place to hide from the world, but she felt that this news was important enough. They stepped through the bushes and found the pocket empty - there was nothing but the old cement fountain and a circle of weedy grass. The place had its own charm.
"Neato. How did you find this place?" He asked.
"Found it exploring," Milly said, "no one really comes here."
They sat down at the fountain, and Viraj began to tell her of the events that proceeded.
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The day earlier...
Viraj and Stevie watched as Milly ran off after Zahra. Rosa scoffed and left with her crew.
"What was all that about?" Viraj said.
"I don't know, but there is something about Milly that we don't know," Stevie said.
They followed after Milly, but she had completely vanished; then it began to rain so they took shelter at the bus stop. Viraj hadn't spent much time alone with Stevie since Milly started hanging out with them. It was great having Milly around, but sometimes he missed when it was just Stevie and him.
"Hey Chanda, let's go bowling tonight? I want to kick your butt," Stevie said.
"I don't think you could, Lund," Viraj said, "I am a human bowling ball."
"More like a human bowling pin," Stevie laughed, and she flicked him on the forehead.
"Ow! That's not fair," he laughed.
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Viraj made it to the bowling alley, and he waited twenty minutes before getting a message from Stevie.
"Bryn is puking everywhere and no one else is at home! I can't make it."
"Do you want me to come over and help?"
"Don't worry… I don't want you to get sick."
Viraj sighed. It was like the universe was trying to keep them apart. He had feelings for Stevie, but he was mortally afraid of being rejected. They were best friends, and if she didn't feel the same way, it would ruin everything. They had a good thing going - why try to change it?
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"You!" A voice shot at him like a bullet.
It was Rosa Cristina. She was wearing an XL pink polo shirt with a bowling pin on it, and on the back, it read "Barb's Bowlers." Rosa walked straight up to him and grabbed his hand and pulled him into the bowling alley. She chucked him a pink shirt.
"Change!"
She was usually aggressive, but this was new. Viraj put on the shirt just to go with the flow and then found himself part of the team.
"Barb's has won three Matilda Cups, three years in a row! We are not going home empty-handed just because freaking Matteo got chicken pox," Rosa said.
There were three others on the team, including Rosa. They all kind of looked like her. Beautiful and Italian. They weren't very friendly, but one of them gave a half-smile to Viraj.
Rosa was a natural. She hit pins down like they were grass to be mowed. Strike! Her teammates were almost as good, and whenever they messed up, Rosa showed them no mercy.
Now it was Viraj's turn. The lanes looked longer and wider with all the pressure. He looked over at Rosa, and her eyes said, "if you fail, I will kill you."
"For my next trick, I am going to do the Spinnomatic-400," Viraj said, doing a spin and throwing the ball. It went into the opposite bowling lane and tumbled into the gutter.
"The hell are you doing?!" Rosa said, grabbing his collar.
"Woah! Relax…" Viraj laughed.
"If you try that again, so help me…" she said.
"Okay, okay… relax," he said.
This time he squared his shoulders and closed one eye, bringing the ball to his face, and released. Bam! It was a strike.
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"One thing led to another… and now my girlfriend is Rosa's younger sister, Ludovica," Viraj said.
"Ludo-what?" Milly said.
"Ludo-vica. She prefers to be called Luds," Viraj said.
"Rosa's sister? Are you mad?" Milly said.
Suddenly, her daydream about Viraj and Stevie getting together evaporated. If Ludovica was anything like Rosa, God save them.
There was a rustle of leaves, and they turned to see Zahra come in with her book. She was wearing a nerdy white cardigan. Milly felt a warmth in her chest - Zahra looked so pretty.
"Luds is really nice, but she can be a bit slow," Zahra said.
"Mellow is a better word," Viraj corrected, "she is like a cloud floating wherever the wind blows."
"I am happy for you. Luds is a good girl. She may look like Rosa, but they are nothing alike," Zahra said.
"I can't believe you are dating the enemy's sister," Milly said childishly, "What would Stevie say?"
"I already told her. I'm gonna introduce Luds to all of you tonight at the town fair," Viraj said, "She is my first girlfriend and I don't want to mess it up…"
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Stevie had not come into school today because she caught the stomach bug from her brother, but Milly wondered if it was because of something else.
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