The Other One

by HollyBodger

“That one will give you girls,” Sudasa’s mouth drops open. I cannot believe this setup is a surprise to her. Is she really that naive? The five boys are chosen from the Registry—the same Registry that Nani keeps in her safe in our penthouse. The same one she treats more dearly than her own family. Plus, Sudasa was here in this very box when Mummy realized that Nani had specifically chosen the boys for me. And yet, she still shakes her head and says, “It’s not possible.”

  “Anything is possible,” Nani replies, and she’s right: anything is possible for her. She has this entire country wrapped around her little finger. She gets to choose not only who competes, but also who they compete against. For my Tests, she chose four stupid boys to compete against my Shahid. No doubt she’s done the same here. One of the boys doesn’t look a minute over fifteen, and one of the others cannot even stand straight. He won’t have a chance tomorrow. If he survives at all, that is.

  I turn to look at Mummy, wondering if she will protest again. She was strong enough to confront me on the second day of my Tests, but will she do the same here, especially after what happened to Shahid? Will she tell Sudasa that she must play fair, even when playing fair would mean going against Nani again?

  Apparently not.

  Mummy says nothing. Instead, she sits silently while the Director asks the ten questions about the politics of Koyanagar. Jaldhar knows all the answers but one. He has been well prepared for this day. Or, at least I think he has until they ask the question about the banana and he just stands there with a blank look on his face. How can he not know about the belief that eating certain foods will help conceive a girl? That’s why I haven’t eaten a banana in years. Everything is cream and milk and cheese. I cannot wait until I have my own baby girl. Then, I will never again have to taste another piece of cheese and I will never again have to taste Banevi’s mouth on mine. I’m not sure which is worse. Both make me want to be sick to my stomach.

  Jaldhar finally buzzes in, but it’s too late. The young boy beats him to it for this question and for the four that follow. Jaldhar’s frown grows with each subsequent loss until he finally points at the young contestant and yells, “He’s cheating! Contestant Five’s telling him the answers!” That wakes up the entire theatre. We’ve had a few dissenters in the past twelve years, but I’ve never heard of a boy being accused of cheating. It would be a stupid risk to take, especially during the first Test and with so many people watching every move.

  When the fifth boy says there are no rules preventing him from helping another contestant, I hear Mummy gasp and Papa laugh. Sudasa tries not to smile, but I can see how badly she wants to. This is precisely the kind of thing that makes it ridiculous for her to call herself obedient. She’s the first one to push the boundaries of the rules, the first one to be impressed by someone else who does. If she was asked to pick her husband from that stage right now, I have no doubt she’d go with the fifth boy. No doubt at all.

  The Director consults her rulebook and then announces that the fifth contestant is correct. There really are no rules preventing him from helping another—not for now at least. Nani will surely have that rectified by week’s end.

  Jaldhar’s nostrils flare and he looks like he wants to march over to the other side of the stage and strangle the fifth boy right then and there. He’s tough, but I think he’d be out of his league on that battle. The fifth contestant may not be much taller than Jaldhar, but where Jaldhar is thin and pale, he has muscles that stretch his kurta tight. Whether he’s from a farm or the streets, he probably knows what it means to fight to stay alive. I’d be surprised if Jaldhar knows what it means to fight for his turn with the bathroom mirror.

  The Director moves on to questions about art and poetry. Although Sudasa's face turns red, Jaldhar’s grin returns. Thanks to Nani and her secret favors, the corridors of our penthouse are lined with original Menons. Sudasa is always going on about how much she loves the colors. As for the poems, everyone knows she adores William Blake. His words are the secret language she and Papa share—one they don’t want to allow anyone else to know. We know about it though. We know how it feels to be left out of it.

  Jaldhar practically laughs when the Director asks the final question. She wants the contestants to guess whether Sudasa would prefer riding or cricket. The answer could not be more obvious if Sudasa had ridden her horse into the theater today. She’s obsessed with horses. She and Asha are always at the stables, and Jaldhar knows this. Nani has sent him to ride with her countless times. I’ve heard Sudasa beg Nani to stop. She said Jaldhar was mean to the horses. She even tried to convince her that he’d deliberately maimed one. Nani gave her no mind. As far as Nani is concerned, horses, much like people, were made to be commanded.

  Sudasa writes her answer on the card in front of her. She keeps it facing down so none of us will know what it says before she holds it up for all to see.

  Jaldhar doesn’t bother to buzz in before he says, “I bet she loves riding.” He doesn’t try to cover the fact that he knows her. If anything, he seems to be going out of his way to show it.

  Nani doesn’t seem to care either. She turns to Sudasa with a smug grin. I’ve seen that grin many times before. It’s the one that says a lot more than she knows best. It’s the one that says she will always know best and she will always get what she wants as well. She’s probably right. I proved her wrong once, and I’m still paying the price.

  Shaking her head at the Director, Sudasa holds up her card. Nani takes in a sharp breath, her eyes growing as wide as saucers. Papa starts to cough. It’s probably the only thing he can do to stop himself from yelling, “Well done!”

  I look at Jaldhar. His face is red and his jaw is tight. I can tell he’s going to explode, and even though I don’t like him, I almost wish I could stop him the same way I’d wished I could have stopped Shahid.

  I was too late then as I am now. Jaldhar yells out, “She lies. She hates cricket!”

  Nani refocuses her glare. She may be desperate to repay her sister, but she’s not desperate enough to tolerate a boy who steps out of line. The Director isn’t either. She scolds Jaldhar, threatening to send him to the Wall if he speaks out again. Although Jaldhar lowers his head, it’s obvious he isn’t sorry for what he said. He’s only sorry he got called out on it.

  Sudasa rushes out of the box with the bag of rocks gripped in her hand. She’s probably desperate to get away from Nani, from her rage.

  When she gets to the stage, she stops in front of the fifth contestant. Although it only takes a moment for her to put the single rock on his podium, she remains in front of him for much longer than that. I have to fight the urge to stand up and yell at her. Doesn’t she know what her life would be like with a boy like that? Hasn’t she sat at our table while Banevi shovels food into his mouth with his dirty fingers? Hasn’t she seen the way he sits, heard the way he speaks? Being married to a market boy is like being married to a hungry dog. They never stop begging for more, and we never stop wishing we could put them on a leash and leave them outside.

  When the Director clears her throat, Sudasa moves onto the boy in the middle, placing two rocks on his podium before moving onto Jaldhar. Jaldhar reaches out to take his five rocks and Sudasa immediately snaps her hand away. Stupid girl. She will have to let him touch her soon enough. She might as well get used to it.

  Four

  In the carriage ride home, Mummy tells Sudasa how proud she is that she got through such a difficult day. I clench my teeth. Sudasa can do no wrong in her eyes. Then again, no one would care if she did. I’m the one who’s expected to be perfect in looks, in actions, in beliefs. She gets to just be herself, warts and all.

  Nani is not so complacent. Grabbing Sudasa’s arm, she hisses, “She will not do that again.”

  Sudasa says, “Do what?” as she pulls her arm away.

  I shoot her a warning glare. Did she really just do that? It’s one thing to take her time getting ready for the Tests, and it’s another to lie about her answer in the f
inal question, but to openly question Nani? She has gone too far.

  When Nani accuses Sudasa of lying and embarrassing our family, Sudasa still doesn’t back down. She says, “Do you mean my cousin?”

  Nani still doesn’t concede. Instead, she pretends to be fascinated by some blind beggar on the street. She puts little effort into her counter-argument that Sudasa has no cousins.

  Sudasa practically yells, “Cousin, second cousin. Same thing. I know that’s Mota Masi's grandson, and I know he didn’t get there by coincidence. You can force me to do these Tests. You can even force me to marry the winner. But I will never pick the one you want. Never!”

  Folding her arms across her chest, Nani begins to play with the charms on her bracelet. I hold my breath. Sudasa is in for it now. Nani only plays with her charms when she’s about to play the martyr card, and no card on the planet trumps Nani’s martyr one.

  “I said Never once too,” Nani says before she goes on to remind us of her drunk of a husband, who left her and Mummy to starve to death. I expect her to continue in her usual manner—to make Sudasa feel like it’s her fault that Mummy has scars from where she was attacked by slum rats the size of dogs.

  She doesn’t do this. Instead, she shakes