Chapter 3:
Scorned, I tell you !
She hadn't even reached the patio when she heard their voices. Kadam, speaking too quickly, with that breathy voice he used when he could finally give someone a lecture about whatever piece of trivia he found fascinating this week, and peals of Kelsey's silvery laugh, always here to interrupt a long-winded sentence a millisecond after she'd stopped listenting.
And Nilima knew, before they were even in sight, that Ren's girlfriend was acting up her sweet summer child routine.
« Oh, Mr Kadam, that's all good and nice, but I'm pretty sure I can't get cancer if I get in the pool real quick ! »
« Miss Kelsey, it is not safe for you to ignore your skin's need for adequate protection. In those latitudes, with such a light complexion, you shouldn't be allowed – »
« Now, Mr. Kadam, wait a little. Don't you think it would be a little bit racist if you could all go in the sun and I couldn't, just because I'm pale ? » Kelsey said slowly, not quite like an innocent joke, as she moved insensibly closer from Mr. Kadam.
« But I don't want to be pale. I want the sun on my skin, untill I can't take it anymore, untill I'm one of the pretty people. Like all your friends. Like you. »
Mr. Kadam looked her in the eyes for a long time, without blinking, and whether it was with attraction or terror, Nilima did not know.
Standing in the shade of a Banyan tree, in comparative darkness but barely a few steps away, she cleared her throat, hoping to warn them of her presence before they did anything that could not be undone – or forgotten.
They didn't hear her, and Kelsey's face travelled two-third of the way between « maybe inappropriate » to « is he swallowing her mouth ? ». She was exactly eighteen centimeters away from enacting the next step of her diabolical plan – step 1 : steal Mr Kadam's virtue, underwater of course, step 2 : ?, step 3 : Profit ! – when he exclaimed in relief :
« But you can go in the sun ! »
Kelsey blinked.
« What ? »
« I'm sorry, I was lost in my thoughts, did you say something ? Ren made me buy for you a most expensive cream, the same one Mrs Veena Malik uses. Surely someone who can boast of using the same beauty cream as someone so famous can call herself one of the pretty people. At least, you will be with your beloved as he treats you with an ongent he thought would suit you as well as one of the most beautiful persons in the world.»
Kelsey remained silent a few seconds.
Then, she lowered her big brown deer eyes and muttered :
« Yes, but you see, he said he would come and – didn't. »
With the dramatic pause and the big ole' batting eyelashes, Kelsey had the charm of an old-timey actress. The sort that knew how to go from a bit part to a scene stealer, and would devour the B-Movie's cardboard scenery like a psychotic termite and still be adorable.
But Mr. Kadam would not have it.
« Would you wish for me to call him ? I will do so immediately. »
And while he was leaving, Kelsey grew redder and redder, untill she hissed :
« Do you think I'm stupid ? I know you know ! »
Tears rolled down her cheeks as he went away. Her voice wasn't loud, but it certainly was clear, and Nilima thought she had seen a slight alteration in her relative's pace as Kelsey sobbed :
« I 'll th-throw away all your little games. Your things, I'll b-burn down – I'll – I'll burn down your books. »
As Nilima turned to see him leave, Kelsey gasped.
She'd seen her. When they faced, they were both several shades lighter.
Nilima looked down in shame, and heard Kelsey run away in the bushes.