All You Need is a Little Faith

by Vaanya Singh

  ‘Theo! What has the sexiest man in the world been up to?’ Faith replied, picking him up.

  ‘Fay-Fay,’ he replied, hugging her. ‘You know, its bad manners to ignore your favourite person in the world, Cory,’ Alex said, wiggling his eyebrows.

  ‘Alex, I can’t say I’m happy to see you because that would be a lie and my mum taught me not to lie,’ Cory said, hugging Alex.

  ‘Who are you?’ the little kid asked, looking at me. But before I could answer, Faith introduced us.

  ‘Here are Ron and Samrat. They’re my goofy friends,’ she said, pointing at them.

  ‘Hey!’ they protested together. She chuckled and continued, ‘This is Aditya. He’s really cute and like a brother to me.’ Cory hugged them all.

  I coughed in an attempt to remind her of my presence. ‘Oh, this is, well, Vaibhav,’ she said quickly.

  Simply, Vaibhav? Oh, no! But before I could question her, Cory opened her mouth.

  ‘Wait! The I-hate-him-Vaibhav! The he’s-so-annoying-Vaibhav?’

  ‘Yup, that very one. Now why don’t you introduce yourself?’ Faith quickly said.

  ‘Oh, how rude of me! Please come in. I’m Corrianne; everyone calls me Cory. This is my younger brother, Theo. He’s only seven. I have...’ She was interrupted by the sound of her mother calling out to everyone from the kitchen.

  Not just were we treated to a sumptuous spread of snacks and cool drinks, we were also introduced to Cory’s parents, Asher and Casey Woods. It turned out that theirs was quite a love story. Their respective families were rivals in the business world. When they fell in love, naturally, the families were against their relationship. So the two ran away, got married and started a business of their own. They were now living happily with their three children—Damon, Cory and Theo.

  Damon, the reason for our visit, had still not surfaced. So we decided to go up to the second floor, to his room. We found a shirtless guy, wearing a pair of blue denim jeans, speaking to someone on the phone. As soon as he saw us, he hung up the phone and welcomed us warmly with his big grin and even bigger hugs.

  CHAPTER 8

  Men should be like Kleenex:

  soft, strong, disposable.

  FAITH

  The school was buzzing with excitement today. It had almost been two weeks since Damon and Cory had joined our school. Our friend circle kept expanding; we now had to join two tables to accommodate everyone during lunch break.

  In addition to Ron, Samrat, Vaibhav, Alex, Cory, Damon, Luke and me, we now also had Rohan, Faizal and Adil.

  While Rohan was in the football team along with Damon, Faizal was in my English class; we were assigned a project together. As for Adil, he was the student body president.

  As I was trying to figure out what was going on in school, I met Vaibhav near my locker. We weren’t exactly friends but I could have a somewhat civil conversation with him. I still had not forgiven him for disappearing from my life when I needed him the most.

  ‘Any idea what’s all the commotion about?’ I asked Vaibhav.

  ‘You haven’t heard?’ he asked. ‘Heard what?’ I snapped.

  He took a step towards me, and putting both his arms on my either side, he trapped me between him and the locker. Then, leaning forward, he whispered in my ear, ‘You, baby doll, are on auction.’ As soon as he said this, the bell rang. Vaibhav left me alone in the hallway.

  To say that I was angry would be the understatement of the century. My body was fuming with rage. My hands were shaking with anger. Adil had some explaining to do.

  I marched to my class only to see that it had already begun.

  Luckily for me, Adil was in this class. ‘You’re late, Faith,’ he whispered.

  ‘Ya, I know. You know what, I’m just...’ I couldn’t finish the sentence before the teacher asked us both to leave the class. Great!

  ‘What the hell does this mean, Adil?’ I asked, shoving the list under his nose. The school had a tradition of raising money for a cause. This year, we had pledged to donate a certain amount to the Blind School Foundation and for that, a list of the most ‘wanted’ boys and girls from each class had been prepared. The deal was that each student could ‘bid’ on their favourite person and depending on who won the bid, they would get the chance to spend an entire day with the object of their attention.

  ‘Oh! I was meaning to talk to you about it,’ he answered, nervously scratching the back of his neck.

  We stayed in silence for a minute before Adil started ranting.

  ‘Look, Faith, it’s for a good cause. You know that all the money that will be collected, will be donated to a charity and you being one of the hottest girls, I had to nominate you.’

  I sighed, realising that there was no way out of this. ‘Fine, but don’t expect me to dress up!’

  ‘Oh, thank you! Thank you so much! You don’t have to dress up; just show up!’

  Saying this, he walked away.

  The problem was that I wasn’t ready to spend a whole day with a stranger.

  Friday came by faster than I anticipated. The cafeteria was set up for the event. There was much excitement in the air but my mood was the complete opposite.

  ‘So, Faith, how do you feel about being in the auction?’ Cory asked me in the girl’s bathroom.

  ‘I don’t know. I didn’t even want to be a part of it in the first place,’ I shrugged.

  ‘Of course, she wouldn’t want to be part of the auction because no one would bid on her,’ Vidya said, coming out of the stalls.

  ‘You bitch.’ I pulled Cory away before she could do something she would later regret.

  ‘Let her be. Tell me are you too in the auction?’ I asked her.

  ‘Yup!’ ‘Wait! Does Damon know about this? ’Cause he’ll flip otherwise.’

  ‘He doesn’t ... yet.’

  Damon was overprotective of Cory just the way Alex was of me. When Cory had her first kiss, Damon had sent the poor guy back with a black eye and a broken nose.

  Today, I was wearing a cute summer dress. It wasn’t anything fancy but it complimented me.

  When it was time for the auction, I was met backstage with a very stressed out Adil.

  The boys were going on the ramp first and for some reason, Vaibhav, Alex and Damon weren’t participating.

  ‘You’re going on stage wearing that sack?’ Vidya asked me while her minions snickered.

  Vidya was wearing tight booty shorts and a revealing crop tank top. Her face was caked with make-up; the shoes were obnoxious. Honestly, she looked like a hooker.

  ‘Yup! You have any problem?’

  ‘Actually, I do. Maybe I can sex it up for you a bit.’ Saying this, she ripped open the front of my dress, revealing my bra. I went into a tizzy.

  Somewhere in the distance, I heard Adil yell, ‘Girls, you have 15 minutes before you go up.’

  ‘Shit, Faith, what happened to you!’ Cory said, coming in front of me.

  ‘Vidya happened.’

  ‘I should have killed that bitch the minute...’

  ‘Cory, we don’t have time for this. Help me fix it!’

  Both of us rushed to the nearest girls’ bathroom. Cory tried to fix the dress, but in vain.

  ‘What do I do? How can I help?’ Cory cried out.

  ‘It’s okay. I’ll just tell Adil I feel sick,’ I sighed and was about to go out when a new girl entered the bathroom.

  ‘Oh, my God! What happened to you?’ ‘Long story,’ I muttered. ‘Can you fix it?’ Cory asked her with hopeful eyes.

  ‘I can try.’

  The girl examined the rip. Then she took out a little kit from her bag and started working on it. She cut it further in different ways and sewed some parts together. Then she made a few strings out of the threads and tied them together, making a lace-pattern.

  By the end of it, the front part of my dress had a shoe-lace pattern with a bow on top. It looked as good as new.

  And quite lovely!

  ‘Oh, my Lord! How did you do
that?’ a shocked Cory asked the girl. I, too, was shocked at the outcome.

  ‘I’m into fashion designing and dress-making,’ the girl gushed, turning red.

  ‘How come I’ve never seen you before?’ I asked her.

  ‘I’ve been around; and I’ve been seeing you since you joined school.’

  ‘Oh! I’m Faith and that’s Cory,’ I said, introducing us.

  ‘I’m Vanessa.’

  ‘Well, Vanessa, you are officially our new best friend,’ Cory said, looping her hand with Vanessa’s; I did the same.

  We made it just in time for our turn. Vanessa sat at the table with Vaibhav, Damon, Alex and Ron while Samrat, Rohan, Luke and Faizal sat at the next table. When Cory went on stage, I peeked from behind for Damon and Alex’s reaction because neither knew about Cory’s appearance.

  It was priceless! Damon was shocked beyond words; so was Alex but he recovered and started grinning like a maniac.

  ‘₹700,’ some random guy yelled. ‘₹1,000,’ Damon said, through gritted teeth.

  The bid kept rising; somebody yelled out ₹1,200.

  Damon looked defeated. Oddly, Alex hadn’t raised his paddle even once.

  ‘Sold to No. 35 for ₹1,200...’ But before Adil could complete the sentence, Alex cut him short. ‘₹1,500,’ Alex said calmly. No one spoke a single word. Everyone was too shocked.

  ‘Sold to No. 12 for ₹1,500. Going once, twice and sold.’

  Cory went and sat next to Alex with a scowl on her face. Alex whispered something in her ear and the scowl deepened. Vidya went up on the ramp next and someone bought her for ₹2,000. Our school was an International school which meant that most kids came from affluent families. Which is why something like this was possible, since the parents didn’t mind giving their children extra cash for something that sounded so obnoxious yet was meant for a good cause.

  It was my turn. I took a deep breath and walked down the ramp with a big smile on my face. Once I reached the end, I blew a kiss to the audience.

  ‘500.’

  ‘800.’

  ‘1,000.’

  ‘1,400.’

  ‘1,800.’

  ‘2,000.’

  The entire cafeteria started chanting. But once the price reached ₹2,000, only three people were competing: Alex, Damon and Vaibhav.

  ‘₹2,200,’ Damon said, glaring at Alex. ‘₹2,400,’ said Vaibhav, scowling at Damon.

  Alex went next with ‘₹2,500.’ I rolled my eyes. Boys and their stupid egos!

  ‘₹2,600,’ Vaibhav said.

  ‘₹2,700,’ Alex replied. ‘₹3,000,’ Vaibhav said, in a tone that meant he was going to win it.

  ‘₹3,500,’ Alex replied in a tone which meant he’d already won. No one spoke after that.

  ‘Sorry, Alex, but you can’t win Faith because you already have Cory. So, Faith is sold for ₹3,000 to Vaibhav Raina. Faith, please take your seat next to Vaibhav.’

  As I made my way towards Vaibhav, the smirk on his face was enough to tell me that I was in deep trouble.

  CHAPTER 9

  Even when we fight and I

  put up a wall, I want you to

  climb over it and show me

  that you still care.

  FAITH

  It was Friday evening and after an eventful day at school, we—Alex, Vaibhav, Damon, Cory, Vanessa, Ron and I— were at my house. Samrat had a family commitment and Aditya was out with Julie. A light bulb lit up in Cory’s head.

  ‘Faith, didn’t you have a video from your sixteenth birthday?’ she asked.

  I thought for a few seconds before I realised that she was right; I did, indeed, have a pen drive somewhere.

  ‘Wait, I’ll just run and get it. Why don’t one of you get some snacks?’

  I ran to my room and started looking through my drawers. I didn’t even realise when Vaibhav entered my room.

  ‘It will be fun to peek into your private world!’

  ‘Vaibhav, what the hell are you talking about?’ I asked, turning around.

  My mouth dropped open at the sight in front. He was standing in front of my drawer holding my personal diary in his hands. The same diary in which I scribbled my innermost thoughts at the end of each day.

  ‘You pervert!’ I yelled before I started chasing him around my room.

  ‘You can’t catch me, Faith!’ Vaibhav said before jumping on my bed.

  ‘Oh, you don’t know what I’m capable of, Vaibhav Raina!’ I said before jumping on the bed myself.

  We started fighting in a friendly manner and I was actually having fun when I realised it was Vaibhav!

  I was on top of Vaibhav when the laughter died down. I stared into his brown orbs and without realising, I was leaning in. Vaibhav met me halfway. He looked at my lips and I looked at his. I felt the faintest brush of his lips on mine when the door suddenly opened.

  We jumped away from each other in the flicker of a second. Vanessa stood at the door with an amused expression on her face.

  ‘Alex told me to call you downstairs. He found the pen drive in his room.’

  I simply nodded, not trusting my voice. What was I about to do? Kiss the guy I’d spent almost all my life hating! This was wrong.

  I silently made my way downstairs with Vaibhav on my trail. The room was already set up. There were popcorn bowls and Doritos packets kept on the table. Grabbing a seat between Cory and Vanessa, I sat down.

  VAIBHAV

  I watched as Faith made herself comfortable between Cory and Vanessa. Grabbing a bowl of popcorn, I sat next to Damon. He looked at me and asked, ‘Dude, is something wrong?’

  ‘Nah, man.’

  Alex played the video. I stared at the screen as it began. ‘Happy Birthday, Faith!’ the crowd cheered on.

  Faith was descending down a staircase in a long black sleeveless dress. It had a slit that showcased her leg. She was wearing a gold metallic flower crown on her head.

  ‘Thanks to everyone who is here for being with me on my birthday. I’m sixteen!’ she yelled. The crowd cheered on again.

  ‘There’s an endless supply of food and liquor. So eat all you want and drink till the sun comes up! Let the party begin!’ she concluded, throwing her hands in the air to add effect.

  The video was in snippets. People were drinking, dancing and making out in corners. The party was set in a theme of red, black and gold. Faith wasn’t kidding when she said that there was an endless supply of liquor.

  ‘Okay, people, gather around; it’s time for the traditional drink for the birthday girl.’

  ‘Yay!’ the crowd cheered on once again.

  On a table were sixteen shots lined up one after the other. Sam paused the video, turning to Faith.

  ‘You had sixteen shots! You could have got alcohol poisoning!

  Were you out of your mind?’

  ‘Ron, I’m not stupid. Only a handful of them were alcohol shots. Most of them were water,’ Faith replied.

  ‘Oh, okay. That makes sense,’ he said and resumed the video.

  The countdown began as Faith downed each shot. The video changed again and it showed Alex and Faith slow-dancing on the dance floor.

  Faith was standing on Alex’s shoes and they were swaying together. After some dancing, Faith looked up at Alex and spoke.

  ‘I’m glad I found you, Alex. Even though you can be a doofus at times, there’s not a thing I would change about you. You are the best friend I could have asked for. I love you.’

  ‘Faith, there’s nothing I would change about you either. I’ve seen you through the years and you’ve changed into a new person, a better person. I love you, too.’

  The video ended. Cory and Vanessa ‘awwww-ed’ together as I turned my head just in time to see Faith jump on top of Alex for a hug.

  ‘I love you, papa bear.’

  ‘And I love you, kitten.’

  And for some unexplained reason, my heart shattered at the scene in front. Will she feel for me even an iota of the love that she feels for her
brother?!

  CHAPTER 10

  I love you for not only what

  you are, but for what I am

  when I am with you.

  FAITH

  Poke! Poke! Poke!

  I swatted at whatever or whoever was trying to destroy my sleep. For God’s sake, it was a Sunday!

  Poke!

  ‘For the love of ice cream, let met sleep,’ I whined before burying myself underneath the covers. The next thing I knew, the covers were ripped off me.

  ‘Rise and shine, love!’ Vaibhav yelled, jumping on the bed. ‘What are you doing here at 10 AM?’ I yelled, looking at the time.

  ‘Remember, I won you in the auction, so you’re mine for the day,’ he said with a wide grin.

  ‘And what exactly do you want to do at ten in the morning?’

  ‘You and I are going to the library. I’m giving you half an hour to get ready.’ Saying this, he went downstairs.

  I groaned before going for a shower. I washed my hair and shaved my legs, taking my time. Once it was all done, I wrapped myself in a towel and walked to my closet.

  I wore my blue denim shorts and a white crop top which revealed my belly piercing. Slipping in my Converse, I grabbed my leather jacket and headed downstairs.

  ‘Morning,’ Alex said, handing me a plate of pancakes. ‘Morning,’ I replied, giving him a kiss on his cheek. ‘Good morning to me, too,’ Vaibhav exclaimed sarcastically.

  ‘So why are we going to the library?’

  ‘I have a paper to write on the Theory of Relativity and I suck at Physics. A little birdie told me you love Physics,’ he concluded.

  I turned and glared at Alex. That cheeky bastard set me up! Once I was done with breakfast, I told Vaibhav to go on and I would be out in a minute.

  ‘What are you trying to do, Alex?’

  ‘Nothing,’ he replied a little too quickly.

  ‘No? Seriously! What’s your plan?’ I asked, beginning to get a little annoyed.

  ‘Look, Faith, it’s been so long since that time ... I think Vaibhav, too, has changed. I mean, the guy has matured and he has not done anything to harm you in any way.’

  ‘Alex, get to the point.’