The Best Sister In The World (Maybe?)

Aisha's hair had a sweet citric fragrance. It reminded Sidharth of the shampoo they had bought a week ago.

"Weren't you against me buying that?" He teasingly asked while gently holding the strands of her hair.

"I changed opinions after Ma used it." She shrugged and gave him a wink. "Plus, something like that would be wasted on you; thus, I was against you using it."

"What kind of logic is that Di?" He shook his head as he brought the dryer over her hair, allowing it to do its magic. He felt droplets of water slowly gather around his fingers as the dry wind from the machine slowly dissipated them.

"A sound one." She waved her index finger as she gently tilted her head. "If I had to dub it a name, I would call it the elder sibling logic—Aisha edition."

"Hey! Don't move!" Sidharth complained as he did his best not to pull her hair hard. "It is already hard to dry your hair."

"Sorry~ Sorry~" Aisha clasped her hand and apologized in a sing-a-song voice.

"So as long as you can understand." Sidharth pouted but continued. "Also, that logic makes you sound like a child."

"Between the two of us, you are the younger one." She smirked.

"Metaphor Di."

"And I am saying act your age."

"I am starting to believe Swara's theory of genius scholars being dumb is true."

"Hey!" It was Aisha's turn to pout now, though it was soon changed with a thoughtful expression. "Though, by that logic, I can also assume you called me a genius; thus, it's not really an insult."

"Why do I even keep up with you, Di." Sidharth shook his head but smiled.

"Hehe," She giggled, a silly grin spreading across her face as she gave a little shimmy of her shoulders. "Because I am the best sister in the world."

"Sure."

"And because I am the best sister, you are the best brother."

Sidharth stopped, his cheeks heating up as he gazed below at his sister. He couldn't see her expression but guessed she had a sly smirk.

"I wasn't aware that my baby brother, who was presumably already old enough to one-up his sister, would be embarrassed by my honest compliment."

"Shut up..." Sidharth pushed away the dryer as he buried his face in her hair, hugging her from behind.

"Hey," She giggled. "You will get wet too."

"Thank you..." He replied in a whisper.

"Such a handful you are." Aisha sighed but held his arms and leaned backwards. "Also...happy birthday. I love you."

"Love you too, Di..." He mumbled. Sidharth wasn't the best when it came to expressing emotions, and when it came to that, not even Aisha was the one who could do so. But as his elder sister, she always wanted to shower him with love and praise.

Sidharth stayed in the embrace for a while. After the eerie behaviour of the drone, his father's call and finally, the news, he needed this. It was his birthday, one with all his family present, so he didn't want any externalities to disrupt it. At least not today.

As he slowly pulled away, he felt Aisha's body tense up. He could see her chest rise and fall in rapid succession.

Is she all right? He fell into concern. Did the news really get on her nerves? Or is it Avalon?

"So, how was your day, birthday boy?" Aisha asked, breaking the silence.

"Nothing much really happened," Sidharth replied casually—then stopped; his mind wandered back to class as a memory crept in. It was but a minor incident; still, he debated whether it was even worth mentioning.

"Well..." He hesitated as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Hm.." Aisha gave him a nod as she gestured for him to continue.

Sidharth shook his head before pulling up the dryer again.

"There was this new teacher." He continued. "She was pretty young and happened to be teaching primary class..."

"And?"

"She was brought in as a substitute for the last class." He finished and switched on the dryer, getting back to work.

"Wait, wait, stop!" Aisha jerked upwards as she gave him a side glance. "That's it?"

"Yeah." He chirped, brushing it off. "Oh, but listen to this, Di, the principal. He was so impressed by my performance in the match today that he gifted me the Mayuri edition chocolate bar. It is pretty big!" He used his fingers to emphasize the size. "Which, by the way, I knew you would love. Hence, I didn't eat it and brought it home. All for the sake of sharing it with you...Aren't you impressed, Di? I did the most selfish thing one could have done."

"Nice try, Sid." Aisha sighed, narrowing her eyes. "But who do you think taught you the change-the-topic trick?"

"What happened with the teacher?"

"Nothing." He shrugged a little too quickly. "Honestly, she was on the eccentric side. Had a very interactive way of dealing with students. Made most of the class very talkative too. Usually they aren't."

"Isn't that natural?" Aisha added.

"Hm?"

"Whenever someone new shows up, you are always excited to know them; that makes you more talkative."

"You know, Di, some people call themselves introverts too..."

"I know that..." Aisha sighed. "But that's not what I meant."

"Anyways, it was odd...that's all."

"What did she do?"

Sidharth gave her a confused gaze.

"Are you trying to tell me she did nothing and everyone was into her?"

You are being pushier than usual, Di. Sidharth sighed. I should have never brought her up.

"She asked a question. A very abstract one." Sidharth replied, defeated.

Aisha raised an eyebrow. "And?"

You are being too invasive today, sis!

"It was a question only I couldn't answer." He admitted quietly.

Sidharth hated it. The fact she had asked a silly question and also his incapability to answer it.

'What is freedom?' the young teacher had asked. It was a question that had multiple variables. But even then, Sidhart couldn't come up with anything. The best he could say was, 'There is no answer.' However, his dilemma didn't stop there; if a question had no answer, then he could not answer it. But the teacher wanted an answer. So, did not giving an answer make him less intelligent? Or was it because he lacked the knowledge? or the experience? Or was it because he was insincere?

But others did answer the question. Yes, they were vague, mostly ridiculous, but it was a response. And the teacher happily accepted them, too. So why was it only him who couldn't answer? What was the reason? What should he have told her that would satisfy her?

"I am guessing you will not tell me the question."

"No."

"Fine by me," Aisha replied. "But wipe that 'Oh, I, the greatest minds to ever live, couldn't even answer a puny question' look off your face. It's annoying and disgusting."

"Hey!" Sidharth retorted. "You can't even see my face."

"I know you." She snickered. "Plus, don't go downplaying the sibling mind-reading ability."

"Scary!" He brought his arm over his face in mock fear. "Your eighth-grade syndrome is getting worse."

"Hey! I haven't fantasized about being a delinquent manga protagonist in ages."

"Why did you imagine that in the first place."

"It was cool" Aisha defended herself. "But we are deviating. Anyway, no more sad faces from the birthday boy! I need him to be brimming with happiness to shower him with more love and joy!"

"Fine..." He replied in a whisper, earning a light chuckle from Aisha.

"Either way," Sidharth said, trying to change the topic, "What were you guys up to while I was gone."

"It was a busy day for us...hmm, where should I start," Aisha had a thoughtful look. "There was the logistics for your birthday party, then helping Ma with lunch, also..."

Her voice wavered as Sidharth raised an eyebrow.

"Hm?"

"I accompanied Papa to his eye appointment." Aisha declared after a pause.

Sidharth tensed up, his breathing erratic as he tried to keep his composure. "Any change?"

Aisha shook her head.

"Sid...we have been through this before," She sighed. "He can never recover the parts he lost. The damage is permanent, but we can stop it from spreading."

"Yeah...I know...it's just...you know...wishful thinking." He took a deep breath.

"It's okay, I understand," She continued, her tone laced with softness. "The doctor was happy with the progress. The progression has stopped for now. Although his vision will remain blurry, he can still pilot an Automata if he wears glasses or uses the bio-lens. Other than that, his medications will continue for a lifetime. It has some side-effects, but mostly they are negligible. All in all, he is fine now."

*****
A/N Another day, another chapter! Avalon Chapter V Is up guys! And now we have Aisha and Sidharth Sibling moment lessgoo! Also we have a mini-flashback chapter next.

Happy Reading!