INT. FRONT YARD – EARLY MORNING
Sunlight spills across the tiled floor. Sparrows chirp. Sambar bubbles faintly in the kitchen.
A dusty Maruti Omni van is parked just outside the gate. Kala's parents have returned.
KALA (slipping on her slippers):
Well... two days of peace. And madness. And biscuit theft.
SAHAJA (sleepy, arms folded):
Mostly biscuit theft.
SAGAR (dry):
Don't act like we fed you emotional nutrition.
NAVYA (wiping fake tears with towel):
Why must the best ones go?
KALA (chuckling):
I'm going. Not dying.
NAVYA (hand to heart):
Same thing.
She steps forward with full farewell energy, gripping Kala's hands like a departing soldier.
NAVYA (dramatically):
You were a good roommate. You laughed. You lied for me. You ate secretly.
But most importantly...
(beat)
RIP the biscuits you devoured. They did nothing to deserve that.
KALA (grinning):
I regret nothing.
AMMA (watching from doorway, muttering):
Give me strength.
SFX: THUNK! – Amma lightly knocks her knuckles against Navya's head.
AMMA (sighing):
No manners. No filter. No clue. Just sound effects and snack mourning.
NAVYA (rubbing head, unfazed):
It's called grief, Amma. Let me feel.
KALA (hugging everyone quick):
Okay bye idiots. Sahaja, text me if anything shady happens.
SAGAR:
Define shady.
KALA (already halfway out):
You'll know.
SFX: Car door shuts. Engine sputters. The van drives off with a mild honk.
The house suddenly feels... a little emptier.
Kala's van is just pulling away. The air is quiet for one second.
And then—
SFX: GATE CREAKS OPEN.
APPA (cheerful, out of nowhere):
Hi darlings!
ALL FOUR KIDS:
(Freeze.)
AMMA (instantly blushing, twisting her pallu):
Chi! ...What's this "darlings" suddenly? Go freshen up first, sweaty Romeo.
APPA (clueless, beaming):
What? I missed you all! Can't a man greet his family warmly?
NAVYA (quietly to Sahaja, already gagging):
He said darlings. Plural. Like he's in a shampoo ad.
SAGAR (elbowing her):
Don't encourage your imagination.
SAHAJA (dead-eyed, staring at nothing):
...He flirted with me by mistake. I'll never emotionally recover.
NAVYA (dramatic whisper):
Rasam bowl flashbacks intensify.
APPA (cheerfully unaware):
So what did I miss, hmm? Any mischief? Fights? Secret phone calls?
YOU ARE READING
Notes from Middle-Class Home
Non-FictionSahaja is our girl. Fifteen-okay, almost sixteen. Living in a house where the walls are thin, emotions thinner, and someone is always yelling "STUDY!" ...while Amma and Appa watch serials in the next room. Privacy? Myth. Microwave? What's that? The...
