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infinite-wanders · 3 years

Text

After the Storm,

Something Was Born...

• Never Have I Ever ... opened a text book •

As told by Devi Vishwakumar.

The final chapter can be found under the cut / Ao3.

CH 5 - HIS GIRL FRIDAY

"Devi, are you almost finished?” Nalini called out from downstairs. “Dinner will be ready soon.”

“Almost done,” she yelled back.

Devi wished she could ask Paxton to stay, but they were both looking at each other knowing what Nalini's answer would be.

“I should go anyway. I told Rebecca I’d drive her home from work,” he said, quickly excusing himself. “Thanks again for today.”

“Of course,” Devi smiled fondly as she led Paxton downstairs.

“Bye,” waved Pati from the kitchen, while Nalini watched them sternly all the way to the front door. He waved back at Pati with a small smile.

“Bye, Dr Vishwakumar,” he nodded seriously towards Nalini. “See you tomorrow, Devi.”

After closing the front door, Devi turned to see her mother looking at her with raised eyebrows, while Pati was grinning like a school girl. Having Pati the past couple weeks as the buffer between her and her mother was a double-edged sword of comfort and a painful reminder that her dad was no longer around to be their peace-maker.

“So - how much longer will you be tutoring, Mr. Community College?”

“You know his name, Mom! I really wish you would be nicer to Paxton. An apology for calling him an idiot would be a start,” Devi defends vehemently.

Nalini doesn’t flinch. “If he’s not an idiot. Then why does he need tutoring?”

“Because, his accident meant he lost his swimming scholarship!”

“You better just be tutoring and not be kissing him again,” warned Nalini.

“Mom! You don’t have to worry about that anymore. We're just friends.”

“What do you mean anymore? I thought you said you were just tutoring him.”

“I can still be friends with people I tutor.”

“That’s not how friends look at each other,” Nalini replies dismissively.

Devi could feel her mom’s eyes burrowing into her soul. She forced her best poker face on and held on tight to her inner truths she had been working hard to hide. If only her mother knew why there was no chance Paxton would be kissing her any time soon. Maybe in seven years when they run in to each other randomly at a Los Angeles bar. Devi quickly brushed aside that hopeful image, and brought herself back to the present.

“You’ve been mean to Paxton ever since you met him. Why, Mom? But you invite Ben over to dinner when I wasn’t even friends with him!”

“Ah yes, Benjamin Gross. Another boy who I caught you kissing,” Nailini scoffs, deflecting her accusations.

Devi reaches for her phone, grasping tight to the device that held her father’s voicemail.

“Why are you the way you are!?” she says frustrated.

“Ooo Devi, you have two boyfriends ha?” coos Nirmala.

“No, I don’t Pati,” Devi replies flatly, trying her best not to snap. I have zero boyfriends.

“Okay, I think we’ve had enough drama for tonight. End of discussion, Devi.”

“Fine. Excuse me a moment. I need the ladies' room,” she said, rushing to the bathroom so she could listen to her dad’s voice again.

---

The next morning, Devi left early so she could meet Paxton for last minute revision.

“Are you okay? You seem … tired,” Paxton asked hesitantly. “Should I have been up studying too? Like I tried to stay up but I fell asleep cause it was so boring without you.”

Why does he make it so hard to not like him?

“I just didn’t sleep the best,” she smiled mid-yawn.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Not this morning. Just stuff with my mom. You don’t have to be nice to me.”

“Sure. Well, if you change your mind.”

Devi gave him a grateful nod, then continued to quiz him.

---

Once the bell rang for first period, they kept practicing as they made their way to Facing History.

“The Warsaw Pact, and that’s a fact. See? I can rap too,” Paxton answers smugly.

“Quality rapping,” she smirked. That was the dorkiest thing he has ever said. Devi was feeling lighter again, the angst of last night’s discussion melting away. “Okay, who was the first American man in space?”

“Wait we had a trick for this one. Uh... space, the moon, counting sheep, shepherd. Alan Shepard!”

Okay two-for-two.

“How long was the Cuban Missile Crisis?”

“Twelve days!" Paxton responded confidently.

So close! Devi pinched his arm instinctively at his incorrect answer. She tried not to feel bad as he cried out in grimace. Overbearing Indian mother time.

“You just brought shame to your whole family. Why can't you be more like your cousin? Hmm? Hmm?” Devi performing a phrase she knew all too well from her mother.

“My cousin works at a weed dispensary?” Paxton replied confused.

“Well, let me just dispense some knowledge into your brain. It was thirteen days,” she replied to which he became deflated.

“Hey, it’s okay. You got this.” Giving him one last reassuring pat on his arm before heading into class.

---

It was nice to have Paxton back sitting in his usual chair in front of her, but Devi couldn’t let her mind wander during any test. She was up to answering the outcome of the Arms Race when a commotion ahead breaks her concentration and she sees Paxton rushing out of his seat into the hallway. Her chest tightens, worrying what went wrong. Finish the test, then you can go find him. She rushed through but was still confident she would get an A. Her focus on finding Paxton meant she barely noticed Ben watching her with an annoyed expression as she hands her test in early to Mr. Shapiro.

Devi heads towards his locker hoping to catch him there, but finds Paxton sitting on the staircase looking miserable. "Hey are you okay? What happened?”

Hearing him describe his racing heart and short breath reminded her that he was not invincible to the woes of high school. Before getting to know Paxton, she had always seen him as this confident God, where everything came easy to him. Seeing him vulnerable and unsure made her feel a mutual kinship she hadn’t expected.

“I think you had a little panic attack,” she explained gently.

“I... I used to get nervous before swim meets, but I mean once I hit the water it went away, because I knew I was good at it.”

“Well, you can be good at school too. You just need to practice. I mean were you good at the butterfly the first time you tried it?”

“Yeah. I set a school record,” he answered. Amazed, she took a moment to absorb this fact.

“Oh. Wow. That’s famously a very hard stroke.”

“Not for me,” Paxton shrugged casually.

“Okay, Michael Phelps, chill.”

Although Paxton was feeling awful about failing the test, Devi explained that it was a good thing and showed that he actually cared. For someone who initially was so apathetic to school, it brought Devi some comfort to know that Paxton was not the complete opposite of her as she initially thought.

“Well, it’s a good thing you have a pushy Indian mother,” Devi grins cheekily. “Get up. Let’s go. I want to talk to your teacher. Are you deaf? Get up! Let's go!”

“Okay. Okay,” Paxton laughs at her playfully barking orders.

Devi always worried she would turn into her mother, but in Paxton’s moment of need, she could see the positive. She knew how to fix this for him.

“Mr. Shapiro,” Devi calls out as they catch him walking out of class. “Paxton would like to retake his test.”

Mr. Shapiro looks at them both uncertainly, “I’m sorry, guys. That wouldn't be fair to the other students.”

Okay, you asked for it Mr. S. Time to channel my inner Eleanor.

“Mr. Shapiro, because you bowed to the establishment, Paxton was besieged by a crisis of self-worth. If you don't give him a second chance, you're teaching him that it is not okay for young men to be vulnerable, and are therefore furthering the agenda of toxic masculinity,” Devi sobs dramatically, choking up towards the end for impact.

“Yeah,” agrees Paxton. Devi has to keep face at his confused expression to her theatrics, which evidently have worked.

“Oh my god. Am I?" gasps Mr. Shapiro. “Thank you for calling me in, Devi.”

Paxtons face lights up at Mr. Shapiro agreeing to give him re-take his test. He turns to Devi in happy disbelief, “Oh, what was that?”

“First rule of being an honors student, you have to learn how to manipulate your teacher. Mrs. Paloma gives me a Christmas gift every year,” Devi smirks proudly, and they both chuckle.

“Okay, so you’ve got a second chance. Don’t worry that it’s not multiple choice. We’ve studied all the answers. If you start to panic again, just breath okay.”

Devi unconsciously had reached for his hand to reassure him. She looked at him in horror and pulled back upon her realisation. To her surprise, Paxton was not mirroring her current expression.

“Thanks, Vishwakumar,” he smiles back.

---

Paxton texted her to come over after school so he could share his test results. He seemed excited so Devi took it as a sign that he hadn’t fail. She was a pro tutor after all.

“What’s poppin’?” she announced, letting herself into his garage.

“Yo!”

“I brought some tarts for my favorite tutee.”

Past Devi would have faltered whenever she complimented him or showed affection. It was nice to be at this comfortable place again after the storms they had been through. Catching the bag, he ripped into them and took a bite.

“Thank you. Mmm... these hit different when you earn them. Check it out,” says Paxton, proudly flashing his AP history test with a red B on top.

“You got a B!" Devi exclaims happily, pulled the test from his grasp.

“I got a B!”

“That’s sick,” Devi beamed with pride. Her heart swells as he thanks her for pushing him. “Of course. I mean, I sort of owe you for the fact that you got hit by a car."

Paxton nodded, his bright smile slowly fading. Why did I bring that up? You got too comfortable, Devi, too comfortable!

Since they were on topic, it felt like her best opportunity to make sure he knew how sorry she was. “And the other thing... ”

“Yeah, the other thing,” he acknowledged sadly. “We really don't need to talk about that.”

Devi could see Paxton's wall coming up. Back to square one, Devi. You had to push.

“We're cool,” says Paxton.

Or maybe she was tearing this wall down!

The weight of her guilt lifted and she was floating again. “Really? Wow. That's a relief.”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s … it’s crazy when you think about it, right? You and me? I mean, there's no way it would've worked out,” he chuckles. “I mean, we just don't make any sense, you know?”

And there it was. In one breath, Paxton Hall-Yoshida had plunged a verbal knife into her heart and with one last twist sealed their romantic fate.

“Uh... right. Right,” she replies in forced agreement. She was crazy to have ever thought he would be her boyfriend. Crazy Devi.

Devi hoped the tightness in her voice wouldn’t give away how shattered she was at hearing him validate all previous doubts. “Tutor and tutee seem like a much more natural relationship between us.”

“Exactly,” he concurred. “So, would you maybe want to sign my cast?”

Devi had grown accustomed to having Paxton in her life. She would respect his decision and treasure his friendship over no relationship.

“It’s kind of crowded. I see Zoe Maytag wasn’t overly concerned with leaving room for others,” she says, shuffling closer and grabbing a marker.

“That’s Zoe,” he laughs.

“I’m not surprised.”

“It’s cool that you’re not afraid to speak your mind,” he smiles fondly.

“Like that’s helped me. I’m sure that’s what every guy ranks as their top quality when looking for a girlfriend,” she laughs sarcastically, as she signs her name.

Devi immediately scolds herself for saying her thoughts out loud. Panicked she grabs her backpack and lamely tried to cover her tracks.

“I mean, I’m joking. I don’t know why I said that. Anyway, I have to get going. So … see you Monday, Paxton!”

She leaves so quickly, she misses Paxton slump back into the lounge.

"See you Monday, Devi," he mumbles sadly at where she left her mark on his cast.

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