Page 109 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
“Just the one,” he said.
She glanced at the jar again and blurted out, “Do you know a cool fact about penguins?”
Vir gave her a blank look.
“They’re monogamous creatures, you see,” she continued, not waiting for him to reply. “When a penguin falls in love, it searches for the prettiest pebble it can find to add to its mate’s nest, and then presents it to them as a declaration of love. If the other penguin accepts, they become a bonded pair for life. Adorable, isn’t it?”
Her gaze moved from the jar to Vir, and she found him pursing his lips as if he were trying not to laugh.
“Don’t laugh! It’s true. Look it up, if you don’t believe me.” While it was a story her grandma used to tell her, it wasalsoa scientific fact. How dare the pseudo-science guy mock a real-science phenomenon?
“I’m not laughing.” He shook his head, then laughed anyway. “Sorry. I know it’s true. And itisadorable.”
“You… know?” She glanced sideways at the jar again, then at him.
There’s no way…
“By any chance, did your ex-girlfriend give you that?” She kept her voice as flat as she could.
Vir nodded.
What a cheesy—
“And she told you the penguin story as well?” She didn’t bother hiding her distaste anymore.
“Yes, she did.” Vir’s mouth widened into a smile, a wistful one. As if he still remembered her fondly.
Of course he did.Why else would he keep that stupid piece of rock in a jar, safely tucked between his favorite books?
Nori’s jaw clenched while she resisted the urge to dramatically roll her eyes at him. She should’ve dropped it sooner, when he wasn’t looking.
Should’ve kicked it straight into Billie’s litter box.
Without another word, she turned on her heels and marched out of the apartment.
Twenty Nine
In Search of Lost Time
January 2023:
Shoja, Himachal Pradesh
Vir
There’s a place that sells reallygood chai over there,” Vir said while loading their groceries into the car. “Would you like some before we leave?”
At Nori’s enthusiastic, “Yes, please,” he took her to the small shack by the cliff that they’d frequented many years ago.
The old man serving tea and snacks was still there. Older, with a lot more white in his hair, but just the same. And so was the panoramic view of the valley below and the cloud-covered, snowcapped mountains in the distance. They took their seats on one of the rickety old benches nearby with their paper cups of hot milk-tea and coffee between them.
“This is so strange,” Nori whispered after a while.
“What is?”
“I haven’t been to this place in… probably a decade. Maybe longer. But that market was so familiar…” She paused.
A pit opened up in Vir’s stomach. He shouldn’t have brought her there. He was afool.
