Raised to Be Responsible

The scent of dal and vegetable fry filled the apartment, wrapping around Indira like a familiar embrace as she shut the door behind her. It was the smell of home. The small space—tight and worn but full of warmth—was a world away from where she'd been the night before.

Madison Ashford's house had been massive. Not just big, but excessive in a way Indira had never experienced before. The kind of place where entire rooms sat untouched, where the floors gleamed, and the furniture wasn't just functional—it was meant to be admired. She had been quiet, at least at first, as Madison and Aynsley chattered, trying not to feel small.

But she hadn't felt small. That was the strange part. She hadn't felt like she didn’t belong.

She had been on the same side as them.

Her mother looked up from the stove as Indira stepped into the kitchen, brushing sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

"You’re home," she said, her voice warm but tired.

Indira smiled. "Smells amazing, Maa."

Her mother waved a hand. "Simple, but good."

Indira glanced at her younger brothers, hunched over a shared tablet at the small dining table, deep in whatever game they were playing. She took in the sight of them, of her mother’s tired posture, of the cluttered but familiar kitchen. This was her world. It was just as her mother had said: Simple, but good.

So why suddenly did it feel... different?

She had spent the day focusing on school—working through assignments, organizing yearbook layouts, keeping up appearances—but her mind had wandered again and again to tomorrow night.

To Joey's party.

To the plans she was helping set in motion.

She had made sure word got out, slipping hints into casual conversations, nudging the right people. The yearbook committee, the biggest gossips she knew, took what embers she left and spread them like wildfire. By now the entire student body would know about it. A sense of pride had formed in her chest, knowing that she had kept her promise, supported the team.

She hadn't done it for Joey, of course. She hardly knew Joey Granger.

But she hadn't not done it for him, either.

That was another thing distracting her, another thing she didn't understand.

Her mother turned back to the stove. "Eat before you go out."

Indira hesitated. "Go out?"

Her mother let out a tired laugh. "You are always so careful with your words. But today, you are floating." She tapped a spoon against the pot. "It is a mother's job to notice these things."

"Tomorrow," Indira laughed. Her mother had always been observant, "I'm going out tomorrow. Tonight I'll stay in."

"Then tomorrow," her mother emphasized, "Eat tomorrow."

Floating.

Indira made her way to her room. Five people, three rooms. Indira, being the oldest and the only daughter, was the only one in the family who had her own room. It was an unspoken privilege, one she was appreciative of, but one she knew came with responsibility.

She was a good daughter. A good student. A good person. She had always worked hard to be those things—to make her family proud, to carry the weight of their sacrifices. Indira knew who she was and what was expected of her.

But last night, something had shifted.

She had laughed with Madison and Aynsley like they were old friends. She had slipped so easily into their rhythm. The words had just come to her, playful and eager, like she belonged in their world. She had grinned and teased and thrown herself into their games. And then—

"I’m a dirty girl and I can’t wait to rip your pants off!"

The words had come unexpectedly. Indira's own voice, but not words she would have ever imagined shouting before. With full enthusiasm. Without hesitation.

It had been a game. The girls were one-upping each other. Even in Indira's own friend groups girls acted like that, not to the **** that Madison and Aynsley were, but she knew it for what it was. It was silly. It was all for show. It was just pretending.

It was pretending, wasn't it?

The bedroom door shut behind her with a click. Leaning against it, she let the question settle.

The idea of Joey Granger had never crossed her mind before this week. He had been a presence, sure—a guy in the background of school life. A slacker. A typical guy coasting through life with no familial expectations, nothing to live up to. No drive. Nothing to her.

But now?

Who was Joey Granger to Indira Patel?

What Indira knew for sure was that her relationship to this new group of women, Madison, Aynsley, Donna, Miss Matthews, Bianca, was certain. She supported them. They supported her. She had no doubts. Despite the fact that she barely knew some of them, Indira rested assured that should she be in trouble, should she need help, she could reach out to any of them and they would have her back. They were, after all, on the same side.

But Joey?

Part of her relationship with the women had to do with Joey. Indira didn't know why it had never occurred to her before, but if any of them fall for him, and it seemed that almost all of them had, none of them would fight over him. No, the relationship between the women was far too strong for something so petty as to fight over a man. Already, she could see the women working out their differences, supporting each other as they each grew their individual relationships with him.

But Indira didn't have an individual relationship with Joey.

Should she?

Now, Madison had been completely clear about what her thoughts on Joey were. Joey was the best possible thing for a girl like Madison. Even though Joey was seen as a bit of a loser around school, Madison Ashford, the valedictorian, felt lucky to be with him.

Indira, of course, wasn't a girl like Madison, was she? Madison was rich and popular. She had every advantage handed to her. She moved in a different crowd than Indira. Or at least she used to move in a different crowd than Indira. It seemed that, perhaps, their crowds had become the same. And spending time in Madison's room, helping plan the party, Indira found that she felt connected to Madison in ways that she couldn't quite explain.

Did that mean that she was a girl like Madison?

The thought sent a shiver down her spine. Not fear. Something else.

And Bianca, a woman Indira had never laid eyes on, had a distinctly different view of Joey. Her words from the school, spoken quietly as the two introduced each other, echoed in her mind.

"I hardly know him," Bianca whispered in the few moments before she followed Joey and Donna out the classroom door, "But I need to make sure he's satisfied. Sexually, I mean."

Indira had nodded, as if it had made perfect sense. As if she had understood it. Obviously she didn't. People in Indira's life didn't talk like that. Her family, her friends, were very conservative. Very traditional.

But Indira didn't need to understand it in order to support it.

If Bianca needed to please Joey Granger sexually, then Indira would make sure she did what she could do help. Being on the same side meant supporting one another. She wanted to support Madison. She wanted to support Aynsley. And the same went with Bianca.

Joey had left with Bianca and Donna. The women hadn't been particularly shy about where Joey was going, what he and Bianca would be doing that evening. She ran a hand through her hair, exhaling slowly. Indira had a difficult time imagining herself in Bianca's shoes—laying him down on her bed, ripping his clothes off—just like she'd shouted the night before. She closed her eyes for a moment, recalling the image of Joey Granger. He was short. He was skinny. He wasn't overly attractive. But did being on the same side as Bianca mean making sure Joey’s sexual needs were met? Was that now another responsibility that Indira would have to take on?

In the other room her brothers laughed together, almost in perfect synchronization. The pair were inseparable, playing together, sleeping together, finishing each others sentences. Indira couldn't imagine a world where the boys didn't have each other's backs.

Like Indira and her new friends.

There were big changes coming for Indira's life. No matter what they were, she was sure her life would soon look very different. And at the centre of it, no matter how she felt, Joey Granger seemed to be a fixed point.

If she was being honest with herself, Indira wasn't entirely happy about that fact. It made the future feel more than a little uncertain.

But at least she wouldn't have to face it alone.