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August in Jaipur... It was the beginning of hell. The temperatures weren't so bad yet, hovering in the high 80's (high 20's for you Celsius Folk) but within the next couple of weeks it would be well into the 100's (high 30's). Tasha laid in bed still sleeping, the thin drapes covering her windows were pulled open to let the soft wind blow through and the fan above her bed whirled. She missed the central heating and air of her old apartment in San Francisco but the view outside her window in the mornings couldn't be beat and over the last few months since she moved to India she had been rediscovering who she was without the constant drama of things back home. She no longer felt like she was being pulled apart by everything going on around her and had found a solace she hadn't known before working at Apex. Still, even with everything going well she found her mind wandering from time to time back to the states; usually not in the most pleasant of memories.

The sun had risen though not fully in the sky yet but enough for the red's, orange's and yellows of the dawn to break through her window. Tasha was sprawled out on her bed, the sheet barely covering her as a thin layer of sweat sheen clung to her bare skin. Her morning alarm starting up as the clock turned over to 7A.M.; Madilyn Bailey's cover of Don't You Worry Child playing from her phone as her welcome to the new day anthem. Her eyes fluttering open to the words "My father said, don't you worry, don't worry child see heavens got a plan for you," sung in an angelic voice. She hoped those words were right as she pulled the sheet up to her chest and rolled over to her back.

It was a common song she woke up to and while her windows had no actual glass over them and the song could probably be heard down in the courtyard she didn't care today. The day before she had been swamped at the hospital, it was always swamped and when she got off shift she had ended up just hiding out in her room reading. Today she had no shift and looked forward to a relaxing breakfast and veging out in the courtyard below with her book and headphones. She wasn't about to lose a moment of her precious time off with sleeping in, who cared if she woke up the rest of the patrons of the hotel? Okay, well maybe she cared a little but hey, it was a peaceful song and it wasn't blaring.

Sitting up she yawned softly before wrapping the sheet around her and moving to each of her windows, dropping the thin fabric over them to hide herself visually from the rest of the hotel as she got ready that morning. The third floor was great for the view but if you weren't careful everyone got a view of you in her room. Heading over to the bathroom she tried to start the shower up but it only sputtered. She half chuckled and half groaned as she turned the knobs back to the off position.

"Figures," she muttered to herself. It was not uncommon for the shower pipes not to work but she had hoped today they would. "Oh well," she thought to herself as she grabbed a bottle of water and a wash cloth; cleaning herself as well as she could; singing along with another cover from the Madilyn Bailey album she had on her playlist; Dark Horse. Most of the songs Bailey covered she couldn't stand the originals but Bailey's voice and reworking of the songs made them so much more to her than they had been.

Slipping into some cotton white shorts and a grey tank top she threw her hair up into a messy bun before sliding her feet into her sandals. Grabbing her phone she plugged in her earphones and slipped it into her pocket, only placing one earbud in as she headed out the door of her room and downstairs; singing along softly with the music. "Saturday morning jumped out of bed and put on my best suit. Got in my car and raced like a jet, all the way to you. Knocked on your door with heart in my hand to ask you a question cause I know that you're an old fashioned man yeah yeah."

Skipping past the room doors for the second floor before moving down the stairs to the first floor, still singing along. She was taking her time, dancing along with the music and spinning aimlessly about she did. She had woken that morning in a better mood than she had been found herself in for sometime. Shimmying her hips as she walked across the open courtyard towards the dining room, not really caring if anyone saw her. Tasha really had none of that "Oh god I hope no one is watching" stuff in her head. She worked with her elbows up to blood everyday, being a goofball during her down time was a way to unwind for her.

She didn't sit at a table but instead snuck into the kitchen. For Tasha that meant throwing open the curtains that separated the kitchen from the dining hall and striking a pose as she continued to sing. "Why you gotta be so rude? I hate to do this, you leave no choice. I can't live without her... cornflakes!" she sung before laughing a bit as she darted passed the kitchen staff and grabbed her box of corn flakes and the skim milk. The staff was used to her antics by now and several actually would sing along with her in their thick accents, completely fumbling the words.

Grabbing a bowl and spoon she poured herself a bowl but didn't put the stuff back up once she was done. She just kept bopping around singing as she tucked the box under her arm and awkwardly fumbled the bowl and milk as she slid back out of the kitchen; spooning a mouthful of cereal as she went, a few drops of milk clinging to her chin right then. As goofy as she looked right then, she didn't care and the whole moment was actually rather adorable.

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A gentle beeping from Cera’s bedside woke her from her slumber and she fumbled around, her hand knocked her book onto the floor before it found its mark. Hitting the snooze button, Cera stretched out and threw the thin blanket off of her sticky body. Yuck. She needed a shower. She wandered over to bathroom, stripped and stepped into the shower. A shuddering shake of pipes later and Cera was aware that her day was going to be off to a bad start. Her stomach knotted as she groaned and hit the shower head in frustration.

She jumped out and grabbed one of the emergency bottles of water from under her sink and a washcloth. She stepped back into the shower and began washing herself down as best she could. The cooler water was quite welcome but didn’t quite work at soaking out all of the warm night’s sleep sheen that had settled across her skin. She grabbed her shea butter scented soap and scrubbed in the more problematic areas before rinsing them off again. That’d have to do for the day. Another long, loud yawn escaped her as she stretched out. She opted not to dry herself off before getting dressed, maybe the water would keep her skin feeling a little cooler than usual… The sun here was definitely one of her least favourite parts of living in India.

She’d been up a little later last night, working on language exercises for her beginner level students. They were really simple with little doodles to try and help them learn the more common words. She was happy with her work and gave it another once over in an appraising way as she got dressed. She opted for a black tank top with some beaded decoration around the neckline and a light grey pair of linen shorts that sat just above her knee. Sandals were definitely the way to go in this heat and she didn’t have need to dress up so the accessories were left until later.

Cera sat down on her bedside and began trying to decide what to do with her hair since she knew it would be a mess. A knock sounded at her door and Cera wondered who the heck was visiting at this time of the morning. She wandered over and opened it up to see Marc standing there in nothing but his brown board shorts. He had his cream t-shirt slung over his shoulder and nothing on his feet.

”Mornin’ sunshine. What can I do for ye?” She gave him a broad smile whilst maintaining her look of confusion as her eyes flicked up and down his body subconsciously. Her cheeks reddened a little when she realised what she’d done and hoped he hadn’t noticed. Not that he’d have said anything even if he did, Marc was too nice that way.

”Yo Cookie Monster! Your shower working? Oh…” His voice trailed off as his eyes lingered on her head and he began laughing so much he pretty much doubled over. After a few seconds, and with more than a few tears running down his face, Marc wiped his eyes and caught his breath. Cera simply stood in the doorway, utterly bemused. ”Oh god… your hair. I’m going to assume that your shower is as bust up as Murph’s nose after a bar fight.” He began chuckling again at his own joke and grinned at her.

Her face fell and she ran to her vanity table and groaned. The whole left side of her hair was practically standing on end in a frizzy mess. ”Dang nabbit… The hell am I gonna do? Right, okay, I can fix this! Get in here ‘nd make yerself useful. Grab that brush for me.” Cera pointed at her bedside table nearest the door.

Marc wandered in, closing the door behind himself and sauntered over with the brush in hand. ”Lemme help, Cera. You know I’m good at fixing up my own hair, so doing someone else’s has got to be easier.” He twirled the brush in his fingers and fumbled his grip, the brush bouncing from one hand to the other until he caught it a foot from the floor. ”SUCCESS!” He pulled a Usain Bolt style pose with the brush before he noticed the judging look on Cera’s face.

She could only hold that face for so long before she smiled at his nonsense. ”Yer such a goof. Go on then.” She motioned him forward and shook her head in amusement as Marc set about fixing her hair. After about ten minutes of yelps, groans, hair putty and grunts that most definitely did not sound sexual, Cera admired her surprisingly straight hair. There were only slight kicks at the bottom and considering how horrible it had looked, Cera had to give kudos to Marc for his hair styling skills. Marc was definitely looking like the cat that had got the cream as he admired his skills.

”Wow, nice one Marc. Cheers!” Cera gave him a light slap on the arm as she stood up from her perch.

”No problem. What are friends for if not to laugh at your misfortune and then help you fix it after they’re done having a good time at your expense?” He stuck his tongue out at her and dodged the flick of her fingers that was aimed at his nose. The pair began to laugh together and Cera rolled her eyes at his joking.
”Well now that I’m dressed and m’hair is settled, I’m gonna grab some brekkie. Wanna join me?” Her right hand rested on her hip, creating a teapot handle that she presented to Marc by way of invitation. Marc hooked his arm through hers with his left and waved his right arm forward in an overly embellished way. ”Lead the way, madam!”

The pair of them laughed some more and made left her room arm in arm. The pair of them made small talk, complaining about the broken showers and discussing what they might have for breakfast today as they walked the short distance from Cera’s room to the dining room. Cera smiled a little as she saw Tas already sitting, her box of cereal by her side on the table.

”Morning Tas!” She gave an enthusiastic wave towards the doctor, despite how uncomfortable that she felt doing it. Marc said it was always better to greet people first as it made you appear more open to conversation and friendship. It was a lesson she was trying to take on board and since Marc had put her in such a good mood, it wasn’t too hard to pretend to want company and conversation today. She unhooked her arm from his and walked over to a table beside Tas. She knew that Murphy would probably be down soon to tutor her, so she thought it’d be best to leave her table clear of too many bodies. Plus there was the problem with Marc’s attitude when Tas was around.

Marc didn’t seem quite as pleased when he spotted Tas. He squirmed a little uncomfortably but still managed a polite smile and nod in Tas’s direction. It’s not that he didn’t like her, really he didn’t even know her, but there was just this atmosphere whenever they were in the same room together that made Marc’s smile a little less large. He didn’t like the feeling and had no idea why it was even there but he didn’t want to piss her off and made a point to give her the space that he thought that she needed. When Cera dragged him over to a table beside Tas he almost groaned but managed to hold it in, hiding it behind a smile. Cera poked his side, prompting him to say something before she sat down at the table.

”What about them showers, huh? Such a pain.” Marc over emphasised the pain in his face and held his hands out in front of him, palm up, in a clenching motion. Cera gave a light laugh and Marc realised that he still wasn’t wearing his shirt. He quickly grabbed it and threw it on before he managed to make himself feel any more uncomfortable.

Cera could feel the tension emanating from Marc and decided she’d try and steer the conversation away from whatever this awkward thing actually was. ”So, ye workin’ today Tas?” This social stuff was really going to tire her out soon enough.

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The night before had been like so many others for Murphy; he was out until god only knew when drinking at multiple local watering holes; laughing, singing, dancing, and of course fighting. No cops this time thankfully but that was only because the fight he got into he ended up buying a round of drinks for the entire bar and footing the bill for the guy he beat to hell and back for the entire evening. They're planning on doing it again once he heals. Gotta love Irish Hospitality. He didn't remember what time it was when he finally crawled into bed the night before, only knew that he was waking up way too early this morning. Why was he waking up so early? His alarm hadn't gone off yet.

From above his room there was a bit of a jiggle in the ceiling which made him groan and roll over onto his back; tilting his head to the side a bit with a perplexed look on his face. It wasn't uncommon for the ceiling to move a bit. Tas lived above him and was known for dancing around in the morning plus the place wasn't exactly new in its construction; in fact if someone sneezed hard enough it may just blow a wall out. Seemed Tas was bouncing just hard enough this morning, he could hear the music coming in his window and then suddenly plaster from the ceiling gave way. Rolling quickly he face planted right onto floor.

"Did that just fuckin' happen?" he groaned as he crawled up to his knees and looked at all the ceiling on his bed. "Mother fucker." Grabbing the sheet he went to flip the stucco off and barely dodged as more ceiling gave way and he landed chest first on top of the already fallen plaster as more hit the floor right where he had been kneeling.

"Son of a bitch, it's getting dangerous around here." Shaking his head he heard his alarm going on off and he quickly picked it up and tossed it out of the window, hearing it crash on the tiles in the courtyard below as he flopped back down on the bed and then jumped straight back up as a nail scratched his side.

I'm gonna throttle Desh if this keeps up." Walking over to the bathroom he opted to leave well enough alone for now and just take a shower to try to get the dust off him. Stripping down he tossed his clothes onto the floor and tried to turn on the water. Nothing.

"Bloody hell..." Murphy was starting to get a bit more than aggravated at this point. Grabbing a towel he dusted off as best he could and wrapped it around his waist before heading back into his room to get dressed; opting for the usual Grey T-Shirt, jeans and boots. With that out of the way he went to leave his room only to have the doorknob come out of the door and into his hand as he went to turn it.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," he yelled as his foot came up and he kicked the door open. Nodding to himself he tossed the knob onto the floor and began to walk down the hall and eventually to the stairs where he wore a rather oddly proud smirk on his face. The day might have started out bad but he had won the fight with the door. Murphy 1 Hotel 0 in his book. The sound of broken metal and glass crunched under his boots as he strolled through the courtyard and into the Dining room. His Irish eyes twinkled as he saw that Desh was coming into the Dining room from the other direction.

"Glorious morning to all my esteemed guests of this most excellent hotel. Today is sure to be full of many grand adventures for all those with daring hearts and I am most happy to announce that the hotel pipes are working once again after a brief but most understandable outage last night though from the looks of all your beautiful faces it seems you have already been luxuriating in the refreshing dew drops of our most prized working showers," Desh announced with grand gestures of his hands and a bright goofy smile paying on his lips. He stood there so proudly as he placed his hands on his hips and looked as if he had just conquered the world.

"Like hell they are you asswipe," Murphy interjected as he made a bee line for Desh. Desh's eyes widened, stumbling back against Tas, knocking her face first right into her corn flakes before turning and quickly darting between the tables to try to keep away from Murphy.

"Pardon me miss! My greatest and most humble of apologies I do give you. Please, breakfast is on the house Miss Brinne. I would not have run into you if I did not have the most greatest fear for my life due to the rage I do see in those Irish eyes that seem to be aflame with anger of Shumbh!"

"Me shower don't work, me ceiling about took me bloody head off as it crashed onto me bed, me door knob came clean out of me door and now me door is laying splintered on the floor of the hallway," Murphy bellowed, not about to say he was the reason for the door to be splintered; in his mind the door wouldn't be broken if the doorknob had worked. "And now ya nearly drowned poor Tas in her cereal." Murphy jumped a chair and pinned Desh over the bar of the Dinning Room, Desh bending back as Murphy got in his face.

"I am most certainly sorry you have been tainted with such a bad day so far in my most wonderful and glorious hotel," Desh began and then kept rambling on and on about his hotel before he suddenly stopped. "Wait? The showers are not working? It cannot be, did you turn the knob?"

Murphy nearly decked the man but Desh was quick and slipped out to the side and quickly ran from the dinning hall. Murphy groaned as he rubbed his face and wandered over to Tas's table, sitting down and pulling a piece of cornflake from her cheek, which he promptly ate and started licking his fingers of the milk that dotted them.

"Milk facials are supposed to be good for the skin lass," he said chuckling as he handed her a napkin before looking over at the others. "Top of the mornin' to ya!" he exclaimed happily as if nothing had happened.

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For a girl like Ananya, born and raised as a practising Hindu, it was normal for her to wake up at the crack of dawn to simply pray before going on to study before heading off to the hospital. She wasn't used to sleeping in; time that could be spent on important things was not time wasted. Simple.

At least once a week, Ananya made it a point to travel to the local temple. Sure, she could've prayed in her room like she usually did; but to her it was more fun to involve others that were in the temple. Which was exactly where she was now. Standing in front of the Goddess statue, she brought the thali that was in her hands up to her forehead, muttering her prayers under her breath as two other women beside her did the same. Ananya slipped five-hundred rupees into the thali before handing it over to the pandit. Waiting as the pandit exchanged all the goods that were inside the thali with the prashaad, she took the offered thali and once again brought it up to her forehead before bowing respectfully at the pandit and heading down the steps towards the entrance of the mandir.

While Anya was slipping on her sandals at the bottom of the temple, she heard a shout from behind her. "Arey, Ananya! Ruko toh sahi!" She looked over her shoulder, her dupatta slipping from her hair during the process.

"Radha?" Radha took a few courses at Ananya's hospital, the two often running into each other there and partnering up for projects whenever possible. From what she knew, Radha was anything but religious - not that anything was wrong with it anyway. But to see Radha at the mandir was strange, especially since Ananya tended to visit every week - the exact same day and time. "Tum yahaan...?"

"Maa ka aagrah kiya, toh isalie main yahaan hu. Tum rooj aati ho?" She asked.

"Nahi, har hafta aati hu." Ananya corrected, before checking her watch. It was already seven in the morning; she guessed most of the guests were already awake by now. Meaning that she was needed in the kitchens for the early morning breakfast rush. "Chalo, meriko aab ghaar jana hai, toh main tumse baadmain baat karti huun." Quickly excusing herself from the conversation, Ananya set off back to the hotel with the prashaad still in her hand.

The mandir wasn't too far from the hotel, so it took only ten minutes before Ananya had reached the hotel, slipping inside and heading straight for the dining hall where she noticed a few tenants were already gathered. Smiling warmly, she greeted them all, "good morning," pleasantly. One by one, she approached everyone that was in the room, distributing some of the prashaad to the tenants. It was customary to do so, to share the prashaad with family and friends to share God's blessing. It was something Ananya believed in dearly, and attempted to follow through with each week she visited the mandir.

Location: Best Exotic Hotel, bathroom. Jaipur City Streets. Rajasthan University Swimming Pool.
Interacting with: Himself. Local Children.

He woke up before most everyone else, like usual. Back in the states, it was a chore for Alcander to get up before 11 A.M., but somehow in India, he felt like he met the sunrise every morning expectantly. Even when he spent half the night reading and practicing his indian. Al didn't even use an alarm anymore, and he wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing.

He lay on his small cot, shirtless and exposed from the waist up, his hands above his head and legs spread everywhere. He gave a low, closed mouth groan as he awoke, his body shifting ever so slightly in a weak stretch. Moments later his eyes popped open, and his gaze flickered to the opening in the wall. The night was just barely leaving, it looked. He didn't feel like playing his flute this morning, he decided lazily. He felt like listening to some, though, later.

He procrastinated getting up for a few minutes, until his mind snapped to, realizing he wasn't going back to sleep. He should greet the day in readiness. With a little effort, he sat up and stretched again. The pants he wore underneath the sheets clung to his glistening skin and dragged as his legs moved. He felt his head with both hands, and his hair was everywhere like always. It wasn't generally neat and combed, but he knew there was a big difference between untidy and wild. He needed a shower to calm it down, and one scoot off the cot and a few paces to the bathroom later...

He sniffed and turned knob for the faucet. A burst of brown liquid sputtered out, and then ran dry. The dirty liquid slinked down slowly into the drain, teasingly. He turned the knob again. Nothing else came out. "...Of course." he deadpanned, standing up fully and looking around. "Why would it work? It's not like it was built that way." He found his loose, tanned buttoned shirt and threw it on, hoisting it upon his shoulders. "No, that'd be stupid." His arms slipped into the loose sleeves. He wasn't really mad, he just spoke that way. It gave him an excuse to go out. A sudden noise from above was all the warning he received, and a piece of the ceiling fell right in front of his face, narrowly missing his head. His brows raised, and he looked up to examine what he could. Various vein-like cracks jutted around just above him. "Jesus." he muttered, and then decidedly shrugged. Well he couldn't rightly fix that.

He stepped lightly down the hall, trying his best to put his hair down as he walked. He pulled his MP3 player and earbuds out of his pockets, and flipped it on as he made his way out of the hotel and through the green, stepping onto the street. Even as the sun barely peeked over, as soon as he hit the city there were people all around. Kids ran in large groups together and mothers guided other children towards the markets. Bicycles, Rickshaws, and Motorcycles sped passed him, right next to men guiding donkeys laden with goods. Al felt extremely welcome here. For some reason, he didn't feel out of place where he was in fact, out of place. It was back in the western world he felt a bit odd.

He needed a fast song to get his mind moving, and hitting random on his music player served him well. It was "Uma Thurman" by Fallout boy, followed by "All my Life" from the Foo Fighters. Somehow they worked with this morning, and he turned the street corner into Rajasthan University, making his way towards the swimming pool. The school was huge, but the gate was unlocked like always.

He turned his music off, placing it on the pavement. He then removed his shirt and long pants, using his boxers as a swimsuit. He looked down at his bare abdomen. There was a little definition there, from his constant runs and exploration of the city these past few months. He might need to start working out again to make the best of it. He hadn't done a lot of physical sports in awhile. Al slipped his foot into the water to test it out. It wasn't too terrible, but not nearly comfortable enough. The rising sun couldn't have heated the pool yet, but India was a hot place regardless. He liked it, honestly. He was used to Florida heat. Still, this was going to be unpleasant. He stepped in gingerly, and worked his way in until the water was waist high. He shuddered and hugged his chest, and heard laughing from somewhere to his left. He looked over, and a group of children were watching him through the chain link fence and whispering to each other. Two waved, and another gave a thumbs up.

Just do it, he told himself. With a will, he leaped and dived the rest of his body into the water. He was stricken with cold and froze for a split second, losing a breath from the shock. Alcander burst through the surface and breathed in, shaking his soaking head. The children applauded, and he couldn't help but smile when he regained his composure. He spoke to them a greeting in Indian, but couldn't make out much of they replied with. He recognized a bit of what they said. Something about the marketplace and a restaurant? A minute later he got through to them with gestures that he couldn't understand them fully, and they laughed again. He felt a little mad at himself. He'd been so pre-occupied reading the The Ramayana that he'd been slacking on his language studies. He decided to make the best of his time while he was at the pool once they scattered, and swam a few laps to get his blood flowing.

Around the time everyone else had made it into the dining room, Al was just making his way back onto the garden-like front of the Hotel. He smoothed his hair a bit in the back, shaking his head, and smoothing it again. He stepped into the hallway and began buttoning up his shirt from the bottom up. As he did so, he noticed just how tan India had made him. He almost looked like he was wrought of bronze. As he entered the dining area, he was just buttoning up the last part of his shirt, his thick black hair still glistening lightly with water. He looked around, and realized this was the hard part. Seating was always something that confused him. If he sat in a place where he felt annoying or would get annoyed, they'd always question why he moved. But if he sat away, that didn't look so good either. Cera and Marc sat next to each other, and Murphy and Tas were...he wasn't going to question it. He was curious why her face was covered in milk though. He was right behind Ananya.

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Tasha had wandered through the dining room and had a seat at her usual spot, setting the box of cornflakes and milk down on the table. Spooning some more into her mouth she took a moment to enjoy the peace that was quickly interrupted when Cera and Marc came in. She gave them a half hearted smile, trying to keep her lips pressed together so the oversized mouthful of food she was chewing on didn't dribble down her chin. She was so used to eating in a hurry she usually shoveled it in unless she was at some type of formal meal. Swallowing hard she took a sip of water and tried to give them a bit more of a welcoming greeting. Granted she didn't know either of them overly well but at least today she woke up feeling a little more like her old self and figured might as well run with it.

"Morning Cera, Marc," she said in a cordial a manner as she could muster. Tasha was actually a rather laid back individual but trading small talk with people she wasn't close to wasn't her forte. "And yeah, I am beginning to think I just need to have water delivered daily in those big 20 gallon containers to I can take a bath. Probably be more reliable than our pipes," she added in leaning back and smirking slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Nope, have the day off. Well hopefully. Long as nothing goes overly wrong today I should be okay. But I am on call for the outlaying villages, so who knows," she said shrugging a bit. Hopefully she would get to relax today and just read out in the courtyard but being a doctor meant that you were never fully off duty. Things happened and when they did a doctor was the first person to be called.

As Desh came in Tasha had to roll her eyes. The man was full of it but he could sell a curry popsicle to a woman in white gloves in the middle of an Indian Summer. She just shook her head slightly and then took note as Murphy came into the room and made a beeline for him. She had to laugh, this was a typical morning. Desh going on about things being perfect, Murphy quickly correcting him but it seemed this morning Murphy was a little more agitated than normal. Couldn't exactly blame him though from the sound of things. He was lucky he didn't get hurt this time.

Then she felt it, a jolt in her back and the last thing she saw was the cornflakes before her face was shoved into her bowl. Sitting up quickly she spat the food out of her mouth and coughed as she nearly choked on the milk that went up her nose. She was about to ring Desh's neck herself when he went running from the room. Picking up a napkin she went to clean her face off as Murphy came over. His words only made her smirk.

"Is that so? Then, by all means I should share the beauty tip," she chuckled as she picked up her bowl and turned it upside down, letting the contents pour out all over the top of Murphy's head and leaving the bowl on his crown like some deranged hat. "Top of the morning to you as well."

"Hey Anya," Tasha laughed as she crossed her arms back over her chest and watched Murphy sitting there completely in shock over what Tas had just done.

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It was nice to see Tas seeming a little more open. Cera had worked hard to try and get in her good books so far and didn’t want to fall back out of her graces. She seemed really nice and Cera aimed to make friends in her time here and what better place to start than the people that had been here longest. She still had a way to go before Tas and Cera could class one another as proper friends, but there was plenty time for that hopefully. She gave a chortle at Tas’s joke about the water and her smile widened when she heard that Tas had the day off. ”That’s good! Ye can take some time to yerself then hopefully.”

As Desh walked into the dining room, Cera raised an eyebrow at the nonsense that he was saying but said nothing aloud. Her face showed nothing more than genuine curiosity at the owner of their new home. Desh was a little eccentric and seemed to be able to sell sweets to a diabetic. Her curiosity, however, was quickly replaced by the biggest smile.

Cera’s face lit up as she noticed that had Murphy walked into the room like a man on a mission. He was heading straight for Desh and she had to stifle a small laugh at the enfolding scene. Poor Tas… Cera winced as she was nudged face first into her cornflakes. Yikes. That was going to be uncomfortable. ”Mornin’ to ye too, Murph. Rough start?”

Once Tas was done clearing her face up, Cera gave a genuine laugh as she dumped the bowl of remaining cereal and milk all over Murphy. Cera then smiled warmly as Anya came over and she gave her a happy wave. ”Good mornin'. How was mandir?” She graciously accepted the prashaad and bowed her head a little in respect. A smile played across her lips as she watched Anya give the small little sweets to everyone else that would accept them.

As Anya stepped away she noticed Cander had entered the dining room behind her and she gave a smile his way as well, in manner of greeting before looking to Marc who was accepting the sweet from Anya too. If Cera wasn’t already in a light-headed mess from Murphy being in the room, she was definitely in one now. Owen had walked in and shrugged at the scene of Murphy’s new hat.

Cera barely knew him but she did know he was cute. She couldn’t help herself and had to pinch her thigh a little to take her attention away from staring at either of them although her cheeks were slightly flushed but hopefully people would just assume it was from the heat. She needed something to do to help her focus away.

Someone must have been reading her mind because the kitchen staff then walked in giving everyone a plate of traditional breakfast foods eaten in India. Cera happily tucked into the breakfast and filled her stomach for the morning ahead. As she was in the middle of chewing a rather large mouthful of tomato upma, her work phone began buzzing in her pocket. She hastily swallowed her mouthful and dug the phone out of her pocket. ”Shubh prabhaat. Haan. Theekse sun nahi parahi hu…”

She took the phone away from her ear and smacked it a couple of times in her palm. Stupid unreliable reception. ”Mujhe khed hai! Main abhee vahaan aati hoon!” She quickly grabbed another mouthful and downed a glass of water that had been given to her by Marc. ”Sorry guys! I have t’dash. See ye all at dinner!”

She gave Marc a playful punch on the shoulder and waved to everyone else, only letting her eyes look at Murphy and Owen for half a second before she ran out the dining room and headed to her room to grab her stuff for work. Apparently her classes started today and not next week like she had thought. She wasn’t late yet but they had asked her to call in to confirm the start date which she didn’t do. What a great first impression.

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Marc was glad for once that Tas hadn’t just shut off and moved away or gave a curt response. He felt a little more relaxed by her attitude and opted to stick around for a little longer, at least for as long as Cera was there to act as the buffer. He gave a laugh at Tas’s joke about the water as well, grinning stupidly after it was done. He liked people with a sense of humour, maybe she wasn’t all that bad.

Marc then started grinning even more when he noticed the look on Cera’s face. She was so into Murphy that it was fun to watch her reactions. He hadn’t shared this information with Murphy because he knew Cera would kill him. They may have only known each other for a few weeks but Marc was all too aware that Cera would get physically sick knowing that Marc had told him. He didn’t want to do that to his new little buddy.

He spied Murphy and gave him a dumb salute in greeting. Why did he even do that? Murphy just brought out the dumb side of him it seemed. He watched the whole events unfold, he tried his hardest not to laugh at Tas’s face and Murphy’s head becoming breakfast but he couldn’t help himself. His head fell back as he laughed loudly. ”Well someone must be feeling a little soggy now.” He smiled, showing that it was a joke and hoped to fuck that Tas didn’t get mad at him again. He knew he’d be fine with Murphy though, they were too tight for that.

Marc wiped his eyes and his smile subsided a little when he saw Anya, but it didn’t go away completely. She was another woman in this hotel that he just didn’t get yet. She also seemed to have something against him but he had no idea what it could be. Tas he knew was pretty closed off, so he put that down to her personality when she doesn’t know people but Anya was so nice and friendly with everyone so he wasn’t sure why he got this vibe from her. It was probably all just in his head.

”Morning.” He gave his best, genuine smile and accepted one of the sweets that Anya had given him. He then spotted Alcander and Owen wandering in. He didn’t really know either of them yet so decided to just become absorbed in the foods that were being brought out for them all. He wasn’t sure what he’d like so he followed Cera’s leads on mealtimes and took the same as she did. It was pretty damn good. One day he would choose his own meal here, but today was not that day.

They were missing drinks to Marc wandered up and grabbed a couple glasses and poured some water into them from the jug that the staff had brought out for them. He walked back over and placed them down on the table. As he was eating, Cera’s phone went off and he listened to her speak fluently in Hindi (which he only knew because she’d been trying to teach him some to no avail) to someone on the phone her job had given her.

He figured it must be her work and let her do her thing. He was a little unhappy when she said that she had to go and he pouted his lips out as she bid them all farewell. ”But now who is going to show me around the city and help me find gigs!” He called after her but she just gave him another wave of her hand and called out ”Later tonight!” before heading off for work.

Marc knew Murphy was still around but he didn’t feel like drinking just yet so he decided he’d go for a walk around the city and scout out places that he might get work in. He had only learned one phrase from Cera so far and that was “No, thank you.” Hopefully that would be all he needed to know. He finished up his breakfast and let out a satisfying burp when he was done. ”Oh, oops, excuse me. Well, I’m going to head out too.” He wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular but he figured he’d look Murphy’s way a little more than the others. ”See you for drinks later?” He grinned and made his way out of the dining room and began his wander into the city alone.

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Location: Best Exotic Hotel, dining area.
Interacting with: Himself, fellow hotel residents.

It looked to be just a regular morning. Things were already getting spilled and there was already a commotion. Alcander felt pity for Desh, but the man's antics couldn't help but amuse the him. Tas' revenge against Murphy had Al shaking his head, though he approved. He couldn't suppress his smile as it happened, and he was just about to walk past them to grab some food before he saw Anya approach. His attention was turned to the nice girl who offered him the customary prashaad. He gave her an inviting grin and nodded to her, accepting it as he always did. "Thank you Anya." he replied. The lovely girl always uplifted his mood a bit. He felt like Anya and his mom would get along great, sharing recipes and stories for hours.

Owen had walked in just moments before, the two guys filling in the doorway as they stood side by side. "Oh, good morning." he said to Owen, simply. Alcander always did his best to at least say hi to Owen, out of respect. He was an easy going guy, but he understood his life had been pretty difficult up until now, even if Al didn't entirely know the specifics. Better to be kind at first, he'd learned. Even if his dad wouldn't be proud of him, Al respected guys like Owen.

His gaze switched to a waving Cera, and he smiled and gave an upraised hand in greeting, his other hand still in his pocket casually. He noticed her cheeks. From where she originated from, he guess she really wasn't used to this heat. He kept himself from shrugging, and waded into the cafeteria and found himself a seat near the center. He ate his food slowly, enjoying every bit of it. Indian cuisine agreed with him, he'd discovered. He didn't know where he was going today. He still felt like going out, even after his adventure to the pool.

Alcander overheard Cera's call and felt a bit bad for her that she was late. "Good luck!" he called to her as she hurried off. Marc looked crestfallen that she'd gone, and Al showed a sympathetic look to the guy. He doubted they'd ever be good friends, but Marc seemed to thrive with people around him and needed it. He'd always felt sorry for people like that.

He let his mind wander, as it usually did. He didn't pressure himself too much, but where should he go? Fort Amber was always a neat place, and watching the Elephant rides was something that fascinated him. He knew he wanted to read a bit later, but right now he just couldn't think of where to go with this energy he had. He wiped his mouth with a cloth, and took a big sip of water, patting his chest and keeping his burp quiet in his mouth.

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Tas was the first person Anya had gone to to hand over the sweet prashaad. She noticed the milk dripping from her friend's face, and could only raise both her eyebrows in question. It looked like Murphy had been up to no good, especially after seeing her dump the rest of the contents of her bowl over Murphy's head. And to make matters more confusing... "Hey Anya," the girl was laughing about it. Maybe Tas had snorted a bit too much of the milk... Anya could only laugh, if awkwardly, as she moved closer towards Murphy. She didn't bother to ask - she was sure Murphy had something to do with it. If he had a bowl-hat, surely he did something to anger Tas. For a moment she wondered whether Desh had anything to do with Murphy's bowl hat. As she had been returning from the mandir, she had seen Desh dash out of the hall as if he were escaping his death.

Her cheeks reddened slightly. There was no reason for Anya to be blushing over the excitable hotel manager, but yet here she was. He was the only one she could talk to. Not in Hindi, but in Bengali - her first language. Sure, she was fluent in Hindi and had no problem talking to the guests that knew the language, but nothing made her more comfortable than talking in her mother tongue, especially to someone who could respond in said mother tongue. It dulled her homesickness and definitely helped make her feel more at home at the hotel.

Approaching Cera, Anya couldn't help but smile as she greeted her with ”Good mornin'. How was mandir?” It was something she could understand - especially since the young translator used the term mandir, making it easier for Anya to understand what Cera meant. "Mandir was good. Poochhane ke lie dhanyavaad." Next to be given the prashaad was Marc. Now, Anya didn't dislike Marc persay. It was more like... jealous... of the fact that he was given the freedom by his parents to follow his dreams while she was stuck in her miserable state forced to study medicine.

Stepping right behind Anya was Alcander. She turned around, a smile on her face as she lifted the thali in her hand a bit higher. "Good morning, Alcander." Her accent warped his name into something almost unrecognisable. She winced, apologising immediately afterwards for the mistake. "S-sorry I..." And that was the last of the English she knew. "Mujhe maaf karo, main aapka naam nahi uchchaaran karsakthi." Bowing, she handed him the small piece of the prashaad before moving on towards the next individual in the room; Owen.

Despite being one of the first people that Anya had met during her stay at the hotel, Anya wasn't the most comfortable with Owen. Sure, they were friends and often tutored each other in their languages - Owen teaching English while she taught him Hindi. Yet, she still greeted him with a smile and gently placed the sweet into Owen's hand, before moving back towards Tas. "Aap ko main kuch aur do khane keh liye?" Anya asked, before realising she was speaking in Hindi. Slowly repeating the words in her mind, Anya tried translating "more food you want? I make."

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Murphy just sat there for a moment, in complete shock over the fact that Tasha had poured a bowl of cereal over his head; spatting slightly as he turned his head to look over to her, ribbons of milk streaming down his cheeks, cornflakes stuck to his skin. He just started chuckling as he pulled the bowl off his skull and and set it back down in front of Tasha. Leaning forward he reached for Tasha who quickly leaned back and quickly shot him a look as if to say don't you fucking think about it.

"Come on Lass, give me a milky kiss," he teased, puckering his lips. His lips were met the the flat of her hand as she shoved him back, his chair rocking and nearly toppling over. "Alright, alright," he laughed as he picked up a napkin and started to try to clean up. "Oh well, closest thing I've gotten to a shower so far today."

Reaching over he picked up the prashaad that Ananya had handed out and shoved one into his mouth, smiling broadly towards her. "Sveets Ananya ke lie dhanyavaad, svaadisht!" he said, it sounded both awkward and cute when he spoke. His thick Irish brogue speaking Hindi. He had a ways to go to get his pronunciations full like he had with the other languages he knew but he was doing well for someone who had only started studying it a couple of years ago; thankfully he was a quick study when it came to languages, even if he wasn't when it came to common sense.

His brow arched slightly as Cera went to dart out of the room but he shrugged. "Toodles Cera, don't keep ya nose wedged in a book as much as Tas does!" he exclaimed, to which Tas looked over the top of the book she was reading now, having given up on trying to eat right then. She wasn't about to finish what was now covering the table and floor. Rolling her eyes she before waving over to Cera with smirk and bidding her farewell.

"Ya man, drink tonight, on anyone but me," he chuckled as he shook his hair out like a wet dog, splattering Tasha wish milk. She jumped back a bit and glared at Murphy. "Lass... Lass... Don't.... Tas!" he said as he scooted back in his chair somewhat before her fist connected with his jaw and he tumbled back, the chair going with him as he spilled out onto the stone floor. Tasha smirked slightly as she wiped herself off and went back to her book.

"If he is still alive when you get back that is Marc, have a good one," she said coyly as she eyed Murphy over the top of her book. "Morning Owen, out of your hammock a bit early aren't you?" she asked as she spotted him. Murphy laughed as he tilted his head back and looked up at Owen from the flat of his back.

"My main man, what's going on? Already fightin' with ya bike?" Murphy asked him as he rolled over and stood up, fixing the chair. "Top of the morning to ya Alc and achim Arieum," he added as he took his seat again. He didn't speak much Korean at this point, if any but he knew morning, kind of like people who didn't know Spanish at least knew buenos dias. Reaching over he grabbed his notebook, cleaning off the splattered milk and cereal before getting the rest of the mess he and Tasha had made cleaned up. Once that was done he smiled over to Tasha.

"Ready?"

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The trip was his longest yet; he had no idea how long he would be in India for and he was content with that. Dominic had already been gone there just under three months and was not desperate to return home, he was having too much fun exploring the landscape. He sat the end of the block, admiring his thick reddy-brown beard in a nearby window. He loved going full mountain man on a trip. He had risen early at five am to go for a run and was now only just returning to his new home; The Best Exotic.

Mosying up to the hotel he gazed upon it with his light hazel eyes and a smile on his face. It was a pretty building with a lot of character. Dom loved it, in fact the entire street had very similar architecture and it was all amazing. He had lucked out in finding such a beautiful place to call home for his stay in India. Making his way into the hotel, Dominic luckily didn’t have to go up any stairs to his first floor room, which was a godsend after all the physical exercise his days were filled with. He entered his room and quickly stripped off his sweat stained clothes and headed into the small bathroom.

After a quick shower, Dom opted not to shave. Reaching into the cupboard above the sink, he looked at the array of pills in their assorted containers. He hated this part, he really, truly hated this part. One by one he opened each tub and popped two pills from each. There were green ones and black ones and two tone ones and even some pink ones….all to keep his flawed heart healthy. Exhaling deeply, Dominic stared at his reflection, wiping the condensation from the steamed up mirror. It was hard when looking at himself like this not to see what might have been if he hadn’t been diagnosed with his condition. He was so close, so damn close.

Now it was time to choose some clothes to wear to meet his new found family. Sticking with the simple was Dom’s motto. Some light cargo pants and a thin white v neck t-shirt with his usual walking boots were a good option for this wicked weather. Plus being a big dude, the white shirt brought out his physique and he didn’t mind showing off now and again. He looked into the full length mirror and did his best Nathan Drake impression before heading back out of the room to grab a little grub.

Walking into the Dining Room, his eyes widened as he gazed upon what he had begun to call the Exotic Chaos. Of course, Dominic “Big Mountain” Mason would greet his new friend in the simple and utterly amazing way he always did.

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Tasha groaned slightly as she got another phrasing wrong, Murphy sitting there and repeating himself. It was hard enough to learn a language from a local but Murphy's Irish accent made it even more difficult at times; especially when he would start speaking quickly. Taking a breath she tried again and got an approving nod from the man. Languages were not her forte, she had decided that a while ago but living in the area it was best to learn. Working in the area made it even more important. Working as a medical person in charge of making sure someone didn't die in her hands made it essential. She had wished she had spent more time back in the states trying to get Dr. Joshi to teach her more of his home town language but he was head of cardiology and she was a trauma surgeon; they didn't exactly cross paths much. Only reason they had gotten close is because she had worked with him during her residency rotation on his transplant team; he tried to persuade her to change from trauma to transplant but she was happy where she was. In the end though he had turned into a mentor and was the reason she was there in Jaipur now. She figured she could at least have some conversations with him when she moved back to the States in his native tongue; maybe that would bring a smile to his face. It seemed to even she got a chance to video chat with him and keep him updated on what all was going on there. Granted he seemed to spend more time laughing at her foul ups. One time she had tried to tell him about one of her patients and ended up calling her patient a rainbow goat goalie. She was still trying to figure out how she managed that.

Murphy stretched his arms above his head to ease the tension in his back as Tasha stood up and excused herself for a moment, heading over to the bar area and getting herself a glass of water. All the translations and repetition had more than made her mouth dry and she downed a glass before she even bothered to turn back around; refilling it before she did. Her eyes fell on Dom as he came in and greeted everyone; causing her to smile over at him. That beard of his, he was going full mountain man it seemed. She liked him more clean shaven but she had to admit he looked rather adorable with that bush of a beard on his face.

"Morning Dom," she said as set her glass back down on the table where her and Murphy had been working. Crossing her arms over her chest she smirked as she stepped over to Dom and gave him a once over with her eyes. Shaking her head she reached over and playfully scratched at his beard. "Trying to fill the roll as the local Yeti?" she asked, teasing him a bit about the facial foliage. She wasn't being mean or even really picking on him but she did like giving him a bit of a hard time about it but it was all in good fun. She had met Dom not long after he moved in and she enjoyed hanging out with him; the fact the man didn't mind playing street hockey with her didn't hurt. Tasha wasn't one for colder weather after spending far too many winters in Chicago but she enjoyed the game. Playing here at least meant she wouldn't bust her butt on the ice, granted if it meant he would have to carry her over to a penalty box; who was she to complain?

Hearing her phone vibrate in her pocket stopped her jabs at Dom's beard as she pulled it out and looked down at the screen. Her lips twisted to the side slightly as she wrinkled her nose, it was the hospital. A call only meant one thing, that they needed her and her day off had officially went down the crapper. Sighing she grimaced at Dom. "Sorry, it's the hospital. I have to take this," she said as gave an apologetic look to him before answering it.

"Dr. Brinne," she answered as she turned slightly and ran her fingers through her hair, listening whoever was calling her. "What? You're serious?" she said looking down at the ground and biting her bottom lip lightly. "I could but I have no... wait a minute," she started to say but cut herself off as she slowly looked over towards Dom, her nearly glacier blue eyes shimmering as she looked into his. "You know, I think I may have a solution. Text me the map, I'll be there as soon as I can," she said quickly as she finished up the conversation, finally breaking her gaze to Dom as she looked at her phone and pondered for a moment, tapping her nose with the corner of her phone before looking back over to him.

"Hun.... I have a huge favor to ask," she asked in the sweetest voice she could muster but it came out more timid than anything; timid was not a voice intonation that ever left Tasha's lips. "Ever been spelunking? In a mine shaft?"

Location: Best Exotic Hotel, dining area.
Interacting with: Himself, fellow hotel residents. @Lady Amalthea@Salrynn

Areum popped into the room and Alcander laughed at her arrival and announcement. "Hey Areum!" he chuckled, waving at her as she sat down. He had on an inviting, closed mouth smile after he spoke to her. He didn't feel particularly introverted this morning, and the bouncing energy from Areum was pretty amusing and endearing at the moment.

Al watched Murphy and Tas with barely suppressed amusement, shaking his head as milk flew and Murphy fell on his ass. He really couldn't tell if the irishman was an asshole or not. He was likeable in a funny way, but assholes were usually that way and hid behind their charm. If Alcander had to be honest, his friends back in Tampa were jerks too, but they liked him and he enjoyed them back. Still, he wasn't going to judge Murphy. The guy might be rough, but he didn't seem stupid, or full of bad nature. However, the philosophical voice in the back of his head had to remind him that most people nowadays, or even throughout history, weren't particularly evil. They just had a different view of morality from others. One guy might help his landlady take out the garbage, but stick roofies in the drinks of young girls by night and think he's just playing life the way that suits him. Not that Murphy would do that, he just didn't know the guy so well.

He drew out of his darker musings and cleared his throat, finishing up his meal as the dining area quieted down slightly. Murphy sat down near him, and Al responded back. "Mornin' dude." he said, his voice going a bit deeper like it usually did when talking to other guys he didn't know too well. He let him and Tash do their thing, but he listened. He really needed to go up and check his Hindi to English dictionary and buckle down with learning the language. It felt nice being an oddity in the city, but his mind yearned to learn. Most of it sounded like gibberish as Murph spoke, but he soaked up what he could.

Al turned and saw Dom when he heard the greeting. He simply nodded to the guy as his eyes met Dom's. There was a quiet respect they had for each other. Two calm guys out of their element. One just happened to be southern and the other from up north. His brows rose when he heard about the mine shaft and the...what? He just observed for a bit, kind of curious on what a doctor would have to do with cave diving. He sipped his water and watched them without being shy about it. If they saw his dark eyed gaze they might fill him in. He did give polite glances to Areum, showing he was going to listen to her if she began speaking.

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Murphy couldn't help but chuckle at Tasha repeating some of his translations. He knew his accent could make it a bit more difficult at times but hearing her try to pronounce something with a mix of Hindi, Irish and Midwestern US accent all tossed together was pretty comical.

When she got up and left to get some water he relaxed a bit. She was so uptight when learning this stuff but he understood why. She had a job that the wrong translation could actually kill a patient. Even considering that though, he felt that if she relaxed a bit she would grasp the language much faster but he doubted relaxed was a word that was in her vocabulary; in any language.

Seeing the Dominator stroll in Murphy raised his arms and gave a humorous wave to the mountain of a man. "Mornin' to ya you ol' bushel beard," he joked as Tasha took her phone call. "Seems you get a nicer morning from Doc Glacier than I did. All I got was a hair full of cereal," he laughed as he pushed his chair back.

Strolling over her stopped and gave an odd look as Tasha asked about spelunking in a mine shaft. "What... know what, don't wanna know," he said rubbing the back of his neck. Seemed the tutoring session was going to be cut short today. Well, he did have something else he needed to take care of; might as well do it now that his morning was free. Seeing Owen out of the corner of his eye he grinned and moseied on over to the former military man.

"Hey man, want to take a break from fighting with that p.o.s. bike of yours? Been wanting to go buy one, figured we could hop on over to the dealer and try out a few. Who knows, maybe find a replacement for that headache of yours," Murphy suggested to Owen.

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There was nothing much for Ananya to do by this point. The group was slowly dispersing, some in pairs, some alone to go about their various tasks of the day. She gave a small nod at Murphy's thanks, smiling. She was glad he liked the prashaad, and made a mental note to sneak him some extra the next time she visited the temple. Areum's grand entry to the dining hall didn't help - the poor girl falling flat to the ground with a squeal. Anya resisted the urge to laugh at Areum's antics, and approached her with the thali in her hands.

"Good morning," She greeted her friend, and like the others, handed over a small piece of the prashaad. By this point, there was only a little left and she still hadn't seen Dominic or Tempest anywhere.

Well, the girl thought too soon - either that, or her thoughts were somehow enough to get the Mountain Man to arrive at the dining hall with a small greeting of his own. She looked down at the thali, shrugging before approaching him and handing the last of the prashaad. "I- I hope this is okay for everyone." Anya said, more to the entire group, before bringing the thali back into her chest - mindful of the petals and raw rice grains before stepping into the kitchen. The girl felt bad for not being able to hand out any prashaad to the kitchen staff, but they didn't seem to mind.

She set the thali on the counter after carefully collecting the remaining (non-edible) prashaad, far from the reach of others before turning to the doorway. Ananya knew if she didn't get a move on, she would get late and the last thing in the world she needed was to be late for a practical. She shouldered her bag, hitching it higher up and securing it before wrapping her dupatta around her neck again, in a more casual manner before leaving the kitchen.

"Alvida!" She called out to the remaining people in the dining hall before leaving once more, this time to her college for the day.

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Cera grabbed one of the many rickshaws that trundled down the busy streets of Jaipur. She had her satchel with her teaching materials and other daily essentials. She had hoped to start the day getting to know her neighbours more but duty called and she came running. She was frantic as she had ran around her room grabbing her work stuff, she was so sure it was next week that classes officially started and kicked herself for not being as organised as she usually was.

A deep sigh left her as she sat back and watched everyone going by, just living their lives. She’d need to learn how to live her life one day, but at least she’d made a start. She was living in a different country now, not many people could do that. Maybe she shouldn’t be so hard on herself. Her stomach felt like it was in multiple knots, her anxiety was winning over her sensible thoughts as the rickshaw got closer and closer to her destination.

Her hands slid over her stomach, trying to settle the uncomfortable gurgles that were sounding from it. Her mind wandered and she began to think about what her first class was going to be like. Would the students here be more eager than students back home? She was sure they would be but she wouldn’t know for sure until she entered the classroom.

The rickshaw pulled up and Cera thanked the driver, paying him for his services and giving a little extra for being so careful on the ride up. She had had a few near death experiences in her short two months in the country already, so when she found a driver that didn’t want to kill themselves and their passengers she made a point to give them extra. That way they’d hopefully call out to her when she needed a ride another time. She grabbed her satchel and braced herself for meeting her fellow teachers and students.

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The sun beat down on Marc and he tugged at the neck of his t-shirt. He really wanted to walk around without his shirt on but thought it would be inappropriate when going from place to place, looking for people to hire him as a night act in their establishments. He wasn’t even really sure where or what anything was as he walked around town. He’d need to get Cera to teach him the language. So far all he knew so far was “No, thank you” and even then he was sure he was mispronouncing it and was probably insulting their mothers.

Groaning, his feet continued to carry him deeper into town. Soon he found himself among the stalls of the market square where vendors were touting their wares. A few brightly coloured rolls of fabrics caught Marc’s eye and he wandered forward to examine them. He quickly regretted this decision. The vendor was right beside him, his arm resting on Marc’s back as he began speaking to Marc in, what Marc assumed was, Hindi. “Hailo aagantuk! Mere staal karane ke lie aapaka svaagat hai! Apanee premika ke lie kuchh rangeen kapade ke lie khoj rahe hain? Kapade tvacha par bahut komal hai.”

Marc blinked at the man and looked at him with an open mouth. He wracked his brain, thinking back to the one phrase that Cera had been drilling into him for two weeks. He could remember the breakdown of the words. Two words, that’s all he had to say. “Nahin… dhan ya vaad.” He spaced out the second word as he tried to remember the pronunciation that he had been taught. He really hoped he hadn’t insulted the poor man.

The vendor narrowed his eyes and blinked rapidly, his head cocking to one side as he mouthed what Marc had just said to him. He removed his arm from Marc’s back and placed his hands on his hips, still mouthing away to himself. Marc felt incredibly awkward in that moment and decided to take the opportunity to bow his head, raise his hands in what he hoped was an apologetic manner and took off down the street, back the way he had come. This had not been a good idea.

He’d been walking for about half an hour before finding the market square so he would just head back the way he had come in and go back to the hotel. He vowed never to go anywhere without someone to translate for him in future. He couldn’t handle the pressure of speaking a language he wasn’t familiar with. Maybe he should have just stayed in China with his extended family… Oh yeah, that’s right, they weren’t quite as accepting of his night life as his parents were.

Marc sunk his hands into his pockets and huffed. What was he even doing here? His eyes looked around at the dirty streets and colourful people and chewed on his lip. He wasn’t unhappy to be here, not by any means, he just questioned why he chose a country where he is incapable of communication. Bringing himself back out of this momentary lapse of cheer, Marc began shuffling his feet on the ground, making small circles as he walked. His body swayed from side to side as his feet got him dancing instead of walking. Ten minutes, lots of shuffles, skips and prances later and Marc was back to his usual happy-go-lucky self. He took a deep breath and began to hum to himself as he danced his way back home.

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