19
Ananya was sleeping next to me and my head hurt from the beer. Ramanujan
continued to slam the door.
‘What?’ I opened the door.
‘I’ve been knocking for five minutes,’ Ramanujan said. ‘Come out, the landlord
is here.’
‘Landlord?’
‘Yes, be nice to him. It’s the last chummery in Nungambakkam. I don’t want to
be kicked out.’
‘What happened?’ I asked.
‘Come out first.’
I shut the door and wore the rest of my clothes.
‘Ananya,’ I said.
‘Baby, I’m sleepy,’ she said, trying to pull me back into bed.
‘My landlord is here,’ I said. She didn’t respond even though I shook her
maniacally.
‘Your appa is outside,’ I said.
She sprang up on the bed. ‘What?’
‘Come out. My landlord is here,’ I said.
I went to the living room. My flatmates sat on the dining table. Mr Punnu, our
sixty-year old landlord, gravely occupied the largest chair. His face had a
permanently tragic expression.
I sat next to him. No one spoke.
‘Hi guys,’ Ananya came out after five minutes. ‘You want tea? I’ll make some.’
She started to walk towards the kitchen.
‘Ananya, I will see you later,’ I said.