It was surprisingly easy to get Mr. Kadam to arrange for me to fly to America without Ren knowing. It had been a long week, and no excitement was going on. Ren still moped, but now he did it in human form as well. It was almost worse. He'd drag his feet, not leave the house, and he barely ate.
Mr. Kadam had his nose in books, trying to figure out the next step in Ren and Kelsey's journey. I was still debating if I should go with them or not. Though, if I had been with them the first time, that Kappa wouldn't have gotten to Kelsey...
India was far different from what I grew up in. It was crowded, and I was now 'claustrophobic' thanks to living in the jungle most of my tiger life. I wasn't used to the packed streets and the loud noises after the peaceful quiet of the jungle.
And so, where better to go than America and see Kelsey?
I had grown fond of the girl when I had met her the first time, and that's what essentially convinced me to go to Ren's home. It was nice, like most things in Ren's life, and I had no complaints.
So, now, I was snoozing in tiger form on the plane. Nilima was aboard the plane, and she came and checked on me every so often in the cage.
She put me in a cage.
It was understandable. The pilot would most certainly freak out if a tiger was walking freely on a plane, but that didn't mean I had to like it.
And so, to amuse myself, I gave a half-hearted roar every so then. Nilima would come back, put her hands on her hips, and give me a stern look. I just rolled on my back, batting my paws in the air, and gave her an innocent tiger look. Right when she turned around and walked away I would do it again.
And that would be how I amused myself on the whole flight.
When we landed, I stood up straight. They opened up the back, and I spotted the thick chains that they were holding. I growled in annoyance, and then I spotted the collar. I huffed, sitting down.
Nilima talked to the man briefly, reassuring them I was a 'good tiger.' They approached my cage, and I allowed them to fasten the collar, securing the chains. I jumped out, and they all had a death grip on the chains as they led me to the bulky van, with another cage.
I hopped in obediently, and they unhooked the chains. I growled when the man tugged on it fast and hard when he thought it was free. They all jumped back. Nilima sighed, walking over, unhooked it with ease, giving me a look, and let it drop on the ground and she closed the cage and secured it.
I was plunged into darkness. I heard a door shut, and we drove for about twenty minutes. The car pulled over, and I changed back into a human as the door opened. Nilima opened the cage, and I jumped out. We were in some kind of empty parking lot.
I smiled and winked at Nilima as I walked around to the passengers side. Nilima got into the driver's side and took off as I pulled down the mirror.
I loved mirrors. They were so much better than the reflective surfaces we used to use back when I was younger. I smiled back at myself and folded it back up, and leaned back.
"So, Nilima," I said, grinning. "Are we there yet?"
"Don't even start, Kishan," Nilima said, frowning, not looking away from the road.
"You know, I don't think you're this grumpy with Kelsey around," I said matter-of-factly. She sighed, and took a right.
"Right behind my seat is your bag," she said after a moment. I looked behind her seat, and there it was. Then again, there was no reason to doubt. Nilima, just like her great great great... add a few more great's... grandfather, was always prepared and organized. No wonder he chose her to share our 'family secret' with.
I pulled it out and put it in my lap. I drummed my fingers on the top, looking out the window. After awhile, I leaned my head back and dozed while Nilima drove.
The car jerking to a stop woke me from my doze. I glanced over quickly to see Nilima smirk. I looked up, and spotted what must be the house Ren had purchased for Kelsey.
"This is it," Nilima said, and smiled. "Tell Kelsey I said hello."
"Are you not coming in?" I asked, raising a brow.
She shook her head. "Kelsey should be in class right now. I'm not sure when she will get back. There is an extra key above the door."
"Well, thank you for the ride," I said, getting out and closing the door after me. Nilima watched me until I got to the doorstep, and she turned around and drove off. I reached up, trailing my fingers on the ledge that jutted out from the wall. I found the key, and let myself in.
It was a nice little home, of course. I placed my bag down next to the couch, and then wandered into the kitchen. There was barely anything in the fridge, surprisingly. There were freezer meals, and soda and, of course, lemons. There was a jew other things, but I took a soda.
In the pantry there was soups, stuff called Top Ramen, and other cheep stuff. I raised my brow, and wandered the rest of the house. It was a one bedroom, one bath house it looked like. I couldn't find a guest bedroom or anything.
I finished the soda, put it in the trash can. I had to pause, though, when I did that. There were two trashcans. One had three green arrows pointing to each other in a triangle, and the other blank. I looked in and saw the green arrow one had metal cans. I put my can in there before changing into a tiger. I didn't want to waste hours wandering around here as human, and then be a tiger when Kelsey got back.
It was a cute little house, I decided. I wandered into her bedroom, and stopped in my tracks when I saw the giant stuffed white tiger on one side of her bed. I softly growled to myself, and walked over, putting my front two paws on the bed, and sniffed the thing. It smelt like Kelsey.
I rolled my eyes, stepping down from the bed, and wandered back to the kitchen. It quickly grew boring. At least I didn't have to watch a pitiful looking Ren. The white stuffed tiger in Kelsey's room was better than that.
I was there for about another two hours when I heard a rumble. I raised my head from where I was laying in the center of the living room. I waited, listening. The rumble stopped for a second, and then started again, and I heard a door slam.
I shifted, and walked over and sat on the couch, grinning. I heard the door opened and close behind me, and something dropping and what sounded like books and paper being put down. And then a pause, and then a gasp, "Kishan?"
I turned and looked at the young woman, and smiled. She hadn't changed a bit from when she left. I stood, laughing at her expression. She ran over, and wrapped her arms around my torso while I hugged her around the shoulders.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, pulling back and looking up at me with a smile.
"Well, India is boring without you," I said grinning. "Mr. Kadam working, my brother being... well, you know."
"He'll get over it," she said, rolling her eyes, and started towards the kitchen. I followed her, crossing my arms. "Are you hungry?"
"Starving, actually," I said, and frowned. "I already raided your food. You have nothing, bilauta. Now, I'm sure my brother gave you a credit card."
"He did," she huffed, grabbing a soda for herself. "I hate using his money."
"It's not like you can see an end to it," I said, and sighed. "If I'm going to be here for the next few days, we are going to have to go shopping."
"How long are you staying?" She asked, looking at me, brow raised.
"As long as it takes to sweep you off your feet," I said, dipping my head and grinned at her. She rolled her eyes, and walked to the pantry, grabbed a back of that ramen stuff. Then, she paused, and grabbed another one and walked back.
I watched as she filled up a pot and then placed it on the stove. I watched as she broke open the packs. Dried noodle looking things were in it.
"How's school?" I asked, leaning back against her counter as she made food, hopefully for me.
"Fine," she said, and smiled, looking back at me over her shoulder. "Have a few friends. A boy in one of my classes asked me out to go get dinner."
"Really?" I growled playfully. "What did you say?"
"I told him I..." she trailed off for a moment, biting her lip. "I told him I just got out of a complicated relationship. I actually just didn't want to go out with him. He's like all those other jockey boys."
"Well, I don't think you need to 'go out' with anyone. There's a certain Indian Prince that would take you in a heart beat," I said, and winked at her. She laughed, stirring the noodles in the pan.
"Can you get a bowl?" She said, and pointed to a cupboard. "Get a big one." I did as she asked, and got a large glass bowl and handed it to her. She opened two silver packets and boarded the brown stuff in the bowl. She then dumped the contents of the pan in the bowl. She grabbed a large fork and stirred it.
"You know," I said as she handed me the bowl, I paused, inhaling the scent. Not bad. "Since I am here, we are going to have to go out."
"Like to a club?" She asked, raising a brow.
"Just the same," I said, twirling the ramen, and put it in my mouth. Not bad at all. I swallowed without chewing.
Kelsey rolled her eyes. "Can't you tigers chew your food?"
"I don't think so," I said, smiling, and took another bite.
"Well, I would love to talk with you and everything," she said, shoulder slumping. "But I really have to start on my homework. My professor gave me a load."
"Don't mind me," I said, waving it off, and dug into the ramen. Kelsey went over to the dinning room table, a small four seater, and shuffled through all the papers. I moved to the living room, and grabbed the remote, and shuffled through channels, and settled on the channel Animal Planet.
I sat back, eating the ramen, and watched as they rambled on about one breed of dog. I heard Kelsey gasp behind me, and I jumped, craning my head around to see her walking to the door through her kitchen.
"What's wrong?" I said, getting up. I put the empty bowl in the sink as I followed the girl to the door.
"My friend - my neighbor - she had to go to something after class and she asked me to walk her dog so she can go."
"I'll come with you," I said, and she nodded, and we both walked out to the garage, where Kelsey pushed a button and the garage door rose. We walked around to the other house, and Kelsey got the key from under the rug and opened the door.
We were instantly greeted by a small, multicolored bundle of wiry hair. It looked like a dog that had been pulled by both ends so that it's spine was longer.
"Hi, Vivi," Kelsey said in a higher pitched voice. The dog stood on its back paw and batted its front paws in the air. I raised a brow, and watched as Kelsey took the leash from the side table and hooked it on to the dog's collar.
"That's the dog?" I asked, shutting the door behind us as we walked back out.
"It's a wiener dog," Kelsey said, leading the way down to the grass. I raised my brow at the small dog.
"It resembles a rat-thing," I said. Kelsey snickered, nudging my shoulder. The dog hopped over, and sniffed my clothes. I growled, stepping away. The dog paused, and then started barking at me.
"Why would anyone even want a dog?" I said, wanting to cover my ears at the obnoxious sound.
"Well, not everyone is a cat person," Kelsey said.
"Well, good thing you are," I said, grinning. She laughed. we waited for a few more minutes, and when we were starting back to the door, a silver camero pulled into the drive way.
"Oh, that's Sierra," Kelsey said, and she trotted towards the car. A young woman, about eighteen or nineteen, stepped out, and waved to Kelsey. The dog was yapping excitedly, jumping up and down before her owner. I ventured over slowly, head tilted to the side.
Sierra was surprisingly tall, an inch shorter than I was. Her hair was dark, and when the sun hit it you could tell it was actually a dark brown then black. She had sharp cheek bones, and plush lips. Her nose was slightly tipped, leaning a little up. Her eyes were almond shaped, and a dark green. Her skin was naturally darker, but had a golden bronze in it. She wasn't sickly thin, and had some meat on her bones.
She picked up the dog, thanking Kelsey. "I wouldn't have asked you if I knew I would be back this soon. The library was closed. They're remodeling it or something."
"It's no problem," Kelsey said, and then glanced at me. "Oh, this is Kishan. He's a friend from India."
"Oh, yeah, forgot you spent some time in India," Sierra said, and then smiled at me. She offered her hand, and I took it.
When our hands touched, I felt as if lightning went down my spine. She paused for a second, and I suspected that she might've felt it too. She withdrew her hand.
"It's nice to meet you, Sierra," I said, and smiled.
"Yeah," she agreed, almost sounding breathless. She blinked, and straightened up and looked back to Kelsey. "Thanks again. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"You bet," Kelsey said, nodding. "Bye."
"Bye!" And then she glanced at me and said, "Bye, Kishan."
I nodded my head, and watched as she went back to her house. When the door closed, I felt a poke on my arm. I looked down at Kelsey, and she was looking up at me, a smile slowly spreading across her face and her brow raising.
"Is that what it was like for you and Ren?" I asked bluntly. "Feeling electricity when you touch or see each other?" Her face went blood red, and I couldn't help but laugh. She mumbled something, most likely sarcastic, and led the way back to her door.