Aru Shah and the City of Gold - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,103
matter anymore, though.”
“Really?” asked Aru.
“Really,” said Kara, smiling. “I used to dream about being part of a big family. I wanted to fight over clothes with siblings and argue about who got to watch what…and now I do. So it’s pretty great.”
Barring the stuff out of her control, Aru had found more pockets of happiness than she’d expected to with her mom gone.
Minus the fact that Aru Shah was officially a high schooler.
Thanks to Hira, who posed as her mom, and Urvashi, who used delicate enchantments to sidestep school bureaucracy, Aru and Kara started ninth grade in September. Aru hadn’t been sure how they were going to be able to afford the fancy new school’s tuition, but then, sometime in July, a surprise came in the mail. When Aru opened the box, she found it filled to the brim with rare gems, a golden letter lying on top.
The other day I reminded Biju of how strange you and your mortal sisters are, and being the hilarious person that I am, this caused him to laugh uncontrollably. Or maybe he was choking. I have decided I’d rather not know. Anyway, it only seemed fair to give you what he coughed up, considering you were the ones who had made him laugh. If you call this “generosity,” I will turn everyone you love into a golden statue.
Farewell!
“Thanks, mongoose,” said Aru with a grin.
Ninth grade was predictably awful, and it didn’t help that everyone still thought she had missed part of the last school year because she’d gotten mono from kissing someone. To make everyone stop guessing who it was, Aru eventually wound up telling people she had a boyfriend in Canada named…Bert.
“Bert?” repeated Kara, laughing.
By then, it was the beginning of February.
The world wore a thin coat of frost, and Aru’s fifteenth birthday was two weeks away. The Potatoes had finished their evening training session, and Kara had just informed them about Aru’s Canadian boyfriend.
“It was the only name I could come up with on short notice!” she grumbled.
“You could’ve just said someone coughed on you,” said Mini. “Instead you came up with…Bert.”
“Bert is a gentleman,” said Aru primly.
Kara and Mini had only laughed harder.
“Maybe you should invite Bert to your birthday party,” joked Mini.
Honestly, Aru wasn’t in the mood for a big party this year. It would be the first birthday without her mom. But the Potatoes insisted that she had to take her mind off stuff and had started planning the party for her.
“I have many ideas for your wardrobe,” said Nikita. “I have decided you will have only three outfit changes. That’s all I can manage on such short notice.”
“Only three?” asked Aru, her jaw dropping. “Are you for real?”
Nikita, who was lazily conjuring thorny bloodred roses out of the ground, fixed Aru with a haughty stare. “I realize my fabulousness seems too good to be true, but I am very real and very serious.”
“Your party will be one with unexpected guests,” said Sheela in her singsong voice. Her eyes flashed silver with prophecy.
The Potatoes went still.
“What kind of unexpected guests?” asked Aru, her heart racing. “Like…like my mom?”
“I couldn’t see that clearly,” said Sheela guiltily. “But…I know they will be important guests.”
Guests.
So, more than one, thought Aru.
But who else?
“It’s going to be epic,” said Rudy. “Plus, I’m DJ-ing.”
“I’ve got catering covered,” said Brynne.
“I got the decorations!” said Mini happily.
“Now we just need a photographer,” said Kara, glancing at Aiden.
Aru looked over at him. He was leaning against the wall, fiddling with Shadowfax. With his black hoodie and jeans, he blended into the dark background of the spherical arena. But when he looked up, Aru caught that eerie sparkle in his eyes that reminded her of stars and dusk. Aiden hardly acknowledged her these days, Aru thought, with a stinging feeling. He was fine in groups, but he never spoke to Aru one-on-one. Even when they were around other people, it seemed like he was talking to everyone except her.
“I guess that’ll be me?” he said.
“You’ll be great!” said Kara, beaming. With a blush, she added, “Like always.”
Aiden smiled at her, then went back to his camera. Brynne and Mini snuck a glance at Aru, but she pretended not to notice. Aiden might not talk to Aru anymore, but he had no problem with Kara. Even though Kara had become just as close to her as her other sisters, Aru never brought up how she felt about Aiden.