Malayali in London ~ Part-9

Chapter-2:

… House in London …

He nods and continues with his questionnaire, “Your accent seems foreign, you’re not a local, are you?” I shake my head, “No, my father’s British but my mother is an Indian, a Malayali to be exact. I was born in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, and raised there. I learnt the local language, Malayalam, before I learnt English so I picked up their accent.” He seemed impressed, “You’re bilingual, that’s amazing. Can you speak any other language?” I think about that, “well, I know Hindi, the language of the union in India, but I only studied it until eighth grade, so I’m not fluent in it. I have been learning German since fourth grade so I can understand it to an extent.” He is definitely impressed. “Can you speak a different language?” I ask. He nods and says, “I’m from Spain, I can speak Spanish like I can speak English, but I know no other language.” I nod.

The boy then throws the big question my way, “What’s your name?” I blink, not sure whether I should answer, “I know it’s going to be something I can barely pronounce but, just tell me.” “It’s Harvey, Indrakshi Harvey.” He stares at me for a moment, then repeats, “Indrakshi?”

“Yes, that's my name.”

“So? Did I say it right?”

“Yes, you did.”

A smile spreads across his face, and then I throw his big question at him, “What’s yours?” He sighs and says, “Theo Morales.” Then, as if in a desperate attempt to change the subject, he asks another big question, “Why are you out here? No one comes to the park at this time.” I sigh, “To get some peace and quiet, I’m a serious introvert.”

“I’m surprised, you don’t seem the type; you look way too beautiful to be an introvert,” he says, completely out of the blue.

I just stare at him for that comment. I didn’t expect that to come my way. My confusion must be written on my face, because he immediately backs up his point, “By that I mean you have the looks of an extrovert so it seems surprising for you to be an introvert.” He brings his hand to the back of his neck, and I can see that he’s sweating.

I open my mouth to say something but just then my phone suddenly rings, and it’s William. Theo looks over at my screen and sees the contact. “who’s William?” He asks. It makes me want to roll my eyes, “he is my brother.” He nods. Society.

I answer the call, it’s a video chat. I can see that my brother is all sweaty, I think just he finished his interview. I set my phone perched up in my hands on my knees and ask, “So? How did it go?” William turns to face me and nods. I get the hint, “You did it! You got the job!” A smile immediately spreads across his face and says, “Get ready for a celebration, Akshi, I am officially a doctor now!” His voice is so full of excitement, that it sounds like he would dance the minute he got out of the hospital. It’s official now, Dr. Harvey is a professional dermatologist. Great, now we have two doctors in the family.

William ends the call and Theo turns to me, “Congratulations to your brother,” I smile, surprised I could in front of such a stranger, and reply, “Thanks.” Theo gets up and walks a few steps forward before turning to me, “Are you going to college?” I look up at him, of course, I am, “yes.”

“Which one?”

“The one across the neighbourhood, near the hospital.”

“Coincidence, I’m going to start there this fall too.”

He’s right, that is a coincidence. It makes me wonder, “What’s your major?”

“Business, yours?”

“Literature and poetry.”

He’s trying to fight back a smile, I know it. He clears his throat and says, “Then I’ll see you there.” I grin in return and he walks away.