Page 16 of You Had Me At Annyeong!
Before they could react, their phones had dinged again.
‘Don’t worry. I won’t stray too far and I’ll stay away from the water. Okay, mumma? Okay, papa?’
Bhaskar laughed but Alice was worried.
‘Should we go back? Will she be okay?’
‘Don’t worry, Ally. She might be a little cuckoo, but she’s one helluva smart egg. Let her be. Maybe she also needs a little space. And, honestly, you and I haven’t really had any time to ourselves since we got here …’
Alice knew Bhaskar was right. Timira was wiser than she let on. And it was true, they could most certainly do with an evening by themselves.
‘You are right, babe. Tim has outdone herself with this surprise. Let’s do it justice and have a ball!’
After dinner, they went to the night market. Alice wanted to buy matching jewellery for herself and Timira. Bhaskar thought it’d be quick. But even after two whole hours of circling the market five times, Alice still hadn’t found anything to her liking. Until she finally did. From a stall they had passed by a dozen times and stopped at at least four times and Alice had rejected every item each time.
It was well past midnight when they returned to their hotel.
Alice’s face wears a pained expression as she now recalls the details and she curses herself for not trusting her instincts.
‘Oi! What’s wrong? Why do you look like someone socked you in the gut?’ Timira snaps her fingers at Alice.
‘No, no, nothing. It’s nothing,’ Alice stammers. ‘Just promise me you’ll stay within my line of sight on this trip!’
‘Aye, captain,’ Timira salutes her and giggles.
‘I am going to the admissions department now and you are coming with me!’
Timira rolls her eyes but stays silent and allows Alice, who’s now holding her by the wrist, to lead the way.
At the admissions department, paperwork is retrieved and details shared.
‘Ma’am, all payments were made in cash. So we don’t have any bank details.’
Timira taps lightly on Alice’s shoulder with her index finger.
‘What?’
‘I want to know what you would have done, suppose they did have the bank details? Are you a detective? Would you ask the police to trace the account?’
Alice knows she is speaking the truth but doesn’t respond. Instead, she keeps up her investigation.
‘Phone number. Do you have a phone number?’
The executive scans the form and replies in the affirmative.
‘Yes, ma’am, there’s a number mentioned here!’
Turning towards Timira with a triumphant smile, Alice lifts her eyebrows, and her eyes look all smug. Timira responds with theatrical applause.
‘Could you please share the number with me?’
‘Yes, of course, ma’am. It’s 91 …’
‘Indian number?’ Both Timira and Alice can’t hide their surprise.
‘98675 …’ the executive, a young man with a unibrow and a head full of shiny, dark hair, continues in his thick Balinese accent.
Alice is mouthing the digits while pressing hard on her phone screen.
