PART V
LIFE OF PI
by Yann Martel
Chapter 17
ALEISHA
SHE WAITED FOUR MINUTES for a bus, and a bus never came, so she legged it down the road, stopping at every bus stop on the way to check the waiting time. Still, too long. She kept running. Aidan had called to say he urgently needed to head to work, and it had taken Aleisha so long to pack all her things up at the library and get Kyle to come and cover the rest of her shift, she was going to be an hour late if she didn’t move quickly.
Her shins were tight. Her chest was hurting; she hadn’t done this kind of cardio for years. Every pore was stinging, as sweat tried to seep out from behind her makeup.
As she rounded the corner onto her street, her heart began to buzz with apprehension. The closed windows of home; they were as ominous to her as the gates of Manderley. She spotted Aidan leaning on his convertible BMW, music still blaring, talking to someone whom she recognized immediately. Mia: it was the undercut again. Aleisha stopped, wished she hadn’t run all the way home, now looking like a mess. She pictured mascara trailing down her face.
Aidan waved frantically, his teeth gritted together, but his eyes were pretending to be carefree. ‘Leish,’ he shouted, a smile plastered on his face. Aleisha’s heart started beating double time as she soaked up Aidan’s nervous energy – he kept tapping his feet constantly as though he was trying to hold his energy at bay. ‘It’s Mia! She asked if you want to hang out.’
‘Yeah, nice idea, would love to,’ she gabbled, trying to catch her breath. ‘Although I’ve got to help Mum with some stuff.’
She shot a look at Aidan. His eyes were red-rimmed, as if he hadn’t slept in weeks. They were darting everywhere – at his watch; at his steering wheel; at his sister, her friend; and back up at the house too.
‘Okay, cool, yeah, cool,’ Mia said casually, completely oblivious to the fact that both Aidan and Aleisha had other places to be. She was tilting her hips slightly, probably for Aidan’s benefit. ‘Just I haven’t heard from you since the library day a couple weeks ago and wondered if you wanted to catch up, Leish. You didn’t message again in the group.’
That WhatsApp group.
‘Yeah, I’m so sorry.’ She wasn’t. ‘Really sorry, Mia. I can’t right now but thanks so much for coming by.’
Mia turned on her heel, heading off.
‘We’re doing a barbecue tomorrow in the park. Seven. Come along. Rahul will be there too,’ Mia called back to her.
‘Thanks!’ Aleisha waved at her retreating friend, before turning her eyes on her brother.
‘You’ve been avoiding her,’ Aidan said, when Mia was almost out of sight, jumping back into the car.
‘Yeah, we don’t really talk anyway. You know that day when she saw me in the library? Must’ve reminded her I exist.’
‘You used to be tight though. It’s sad.’
‘Do you like her or something?’ Aleisha let her gaze linger on Aidan, who didn’t return it.
Aidan laughed, his voice heavier than usual. ‘Look, I don’t have time for this. I’ve got to be at work. Go be with Mum.’ He turned away from her, put his key in the ignition, and sped off without a second look.
The house was quiet; Aleisha wanted to call out to her mum, find out where she was, but she didn’t dare make any loud sounds. She peered round the doorway into the living room. There she was, her legs crossed, on the sofa. Aleisha tiptoed in, moving slowly. She sat down on the opposite side of the room, and pulled her next book, Life of Pi, from her bag.
‘Mum?’ Aleisha whispered. ‘Want to hear a story?’
Leilah didn’t look up.
Right now, all Aleisha wanted was to replicate that day she’d read To Kill a Mockingbird out loud to Leilah. Her mother had been fast asleep, but still, that was the most peaceful the house had been in weeks. One wrong move might ruin it all, but she was desperate to avoid an evening of stony silence.
Eventually Leilah nodded; Aleisha allowed herself a deep exhale. Feeling thoroughly exposed, she cleared her throat and began. Leilah didn’t take her eyes off her daughter.
‘Wait,’ Leilah said, after Aleisha had been reading for ten minutes. ‘I’ve missed something. What’s this about?’
Aleisha stopped. She hadn’t expected her mum to follow the story. She’d just been expecting her to listen, letting the words wash over her. ‘Erm … well it’s about this boy, Pi Patel …’ Whenever Aleisha thought of Pi, she imagined a young Mr P, with a thicker head of hair, but the same beaming, smiling face. ‘He’s just escaped a shipwreck that was transporting his whole family and their zoo animals to Canada. Now he’s stuck on a boat with a tiger and some other animals … in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.’