186 Bellaire Drive--The Singri Residence

[The Phantom of Paris]

Despite the many historical houses in the Country Club Gardens area, the home of Vikram Singri and his family has been renovated until it is a modern masterpiece, dwarfed only by the Ross residence right next door and looking more like it belongs on an L.A. beach than among the old plantation houses that line the surrounding streets. The house lies so far back from the street that they had to get special permission from the city to place it there, and directly in front of it lies a huge reflecting pool--not for swimming--that is designed to mirror the one at the Taj Mahal. A huge wrought-iron gate separates the ground from the rest of the neighborhood, and the driveway snakes around the reflecting pool and into the garage.

The entryway is the first room one enters when they come into the house, and it is filled with breathtaking art from Mr. and Mrs. Singri's native country of India. One walks directly from the entryway to the living room, past that is the dining room and kitchen. To the left of the front door is a large room that Vikram utilizes as his music room. It contains both a baby-grand piano and two smaller electronic ones, several music stands, a great stereo system, all of Vikram's music books, and several comfortable chairs for long practices. The room has been soundproofed to perfection, and unless there is a "performance" going on, Latika is the only one allowed in there besides Vikram, as she has just recently begun studying the violin. Just past the music room are Mr. and Mrs. Singri's home offices, and a guest room.

To the right of the front door and entryhall, the first room that one comes into is the family temple room, although Vikram's family are not especially religious--they simply have one because it is expected of them. Past that is the "media room", which contains comfortable couches and armchairs, a huge plasma screen TV, video games galore, and the entire family movie collection. A popcorn machine stands at one corner, and a huge closet contains beanbags, extra blankets, and anything else one might need for a night of entertainment. On the rare occasion that Vikram hosts sleepovers at his house, this is where they are held. Past the media room are two more guest rooms.

Up the stairs are the bedrooms for the family, including one more guest room. The first room is the triplets' magnificent playroom, with seemingly more toys than humanly possible crammed into clever storage units that leave no room for clutter. A door stands on each side of the playroom, the one on the left leading to Latika's room and the one on the right leading to Mohin and Nariv's. The boys room is green and contains bunkbeds, and Latika's is an explosion o f pink. Past Latika's room on the left is the final guest room, and Vikram's is just past the boys room. The master bedroom is across the hall from the playroom, just down a little walkway from the stairs.

Vikram's walls are blue, but you wouldn't be able to tell because they are plastered with posters from Broadway musicals and plays. One whole drawer is devoted to playbills and programs from shows he's seen, and on his desk contains a notebook in which he keeps a list of all of his past and future accomplishments. He has a moderate-sized TV across from his bed and a computer, with his school stuff usually scattered haphazardly across the floor. There is always some sort of music playing when he's in his room.

There is a pool--a real one, for swimming--in the back along with a hot tub, but not much else, for the reflecting pool takes up so much room that the Singris' do not have much of a backyard to speak of.

The Singri family has two servants: Asha, the cook, and Kim, the maid. Mrs. Singri is always threatening the children with hiring a nanny, but so far hasn't yet.

[hanashyrexchana]

OOC: I'm just gonna continue posting this in here, okay?~ BIC

Juliet Echo Eco

'Whats this kids problem? Juliet could feel the glares. It was easy to after all those years being the new girl; after all, she couldn't be super special awesome to everyone she met. Still, she never understood why people HAD to act like that. She had barely said five words, for gods sake, and she already felt that if she looked away from Mrs. Singri and towards G.B. she'd be turned to stone or something. So Juliet faced her the whole time as they talked, hoping this tactic would work out fine. Unfortunately, as soon as she set lazers to 'ignore', Mrs. Singri gave Vikram the job of honorary tour guide. 'Fantastic. I guess I'll have to get used to him sooner or later.'

Childish as ever, Vikram slapped on a super phoney smile and adopted a ridiculous voice. "Gee, that sounds super!" Funnily enough, he got scolded by his sister. His LITTLE sister. Maybe you do need a nanny after all, Senior Grouch.

"Well. Why don't we get started? From what I saw from the outside, there's a whole lot to show me."

"Yes, I'm sure it must seem like that." The poor boy gave out an agonizing sigh and Juliet had to refrain from rolling her eyes.'Can we say spoiled?' "Right. Better get this over with. As you can see, this is the entryway." He pointed to his right. "That's the temple room, we're Hindu but not really practicing, you get the point-- That's my music room--completely off-limits, I might add," Juliet wondered if it was worth his wrath to play with the oversize kareoke machine, " unless by special permission. And please, try not to touch or break any of the Indian artwork you see around, it's very old and very valuable, the children have the exact same rules regarding those." That last part really ticked her off. She was going to be the one in charge now, right? Did he think she didnt know how to handle valuable items because she was 'poor' or something? Some of the things in her fathers study were older than these 'antiques'.

Vikram continued the tour, bored as anything, while Juliet marveled at the house. It was to the point of ridiculous, really."Media room," Juliet stared in wonder at the "movies, video games, TV," and "whatever. " Did they really make tvs that big, or were they pulling her leg? "Guest rooms that way, but I don't know which one you'll have." She sort of wished she could have poked her head in those, just to see where she'd be living, but there was plenty of time for that later. Besides, now it was time for the fun part- climbing those super awesome stairs she saw on the way in. She had been waiting for this moment. There really wasn't anything interesting upstairs, though. Just a bunch of bedrooms and toys.

"And that's pretty much it. There's the reflecting pool in the front,'Thank you, captain obvious,' "not for swimming, and the normal one out back, which is." 'Again, you insult my intelligence.' Though she had secretly been hoping the reflection pool was more than just decor. " Oh, and if you're going to be working here, you'll probably meet the rest of the help. There's Asha, she's the cook, and our maid, Kim. Any questions?"

The triplets looked up at her expectantly, so she raised her hand like an elementary student. "Oh, pick me!" Clearing her throat, she dropped the question. " How do you kids feel about charades?"

[The Phantom of Paris]

OOC: For the sake of plottings, I'm going to say that we wrapped up the previous interaction, since Vikram would have just left anyways after that. I can edit on an exit post if you want. But for now...let the drama commence! Hana and I did this on notebook paper as a private RP, so I'll be posting as both of us for a little while. We would have done this in the Unseen Scenes thread, but that's a bit congested at the moment, so this seemed easier. BIC:

Vikram Singri

Vikram usually didn't get nervous.

Scratch that. Vikram never got nervous. So why were his palms so sweaty, his stomach churning so much he could barely breathe? Why did every beat of his heart freeze in his chest, pounding so hard he thought it might jump out of him and fly across the room at any given moment?

How can this be happening to me?

He had been so stupid! He'd acted like a kid, a cocky, arrogant kid once again, never thinking that something like this could happen to him. He was Vikram Singri, talent to the stars, future Broadway sensation, master of accomplishments. He always got what he wanted. He never screwed up. Right?

He thought they'd been doing everything right. He'd been wrong, and now he had to deal with the consequences.

I have to tell them. I have to. Oh God, help me..and Ganesha, Shiva, Vishnu, Saraswati, Lakshmi...Allah, Buddha, and whoever else is up there, too, for good measure. Please. I'm gonna need all the help I can get.

With shaking hands, he pulled out his cell phone and sent a mass text to his family, even inadvertently including Juliet as one of the recipients. Not as if I have much choice, he thought bitterly as he typed, trembling so much that every other key he pressed was the wrong one. She'd show up anyway. She's a leech. Where the kids go, she goes.

Vikram could usually send texts at lightning speed--something he considered an accomplishment. Now, however, it took him five minutes to organize and type what he wanted to say into a coherent message. He sent it to his mother, the triplets, and Juliet, and started pacing.

The calm before the storm.

The children were the first to arrive, chattering excitedly and asking him questions. For once, he ignored them, turning away so he wouldn't have to see their disappointed faces. Then his mother swept into the room, a grin bright on her face.

"What is it, Vikram? What's the news? Did you hear back from that theatre in New York?"

"No, Mom..."

"Is it your scholarship information from that camp? Or it Blue Lake, offering you that counseling position for this summer?"

"No, that's not it."

"Is it--"

"MOM!" he yelled, glaring at her. "I mean it! This is serious!"

All at once, they were silent.

He took a shaky breath. "I need...I need to tell you something. I did something...bad."

--

Juliet Echo Eco

'For goodness sakes, it's my day off' Juliet thought, unbuckling herself from the car she had just climbed into. Pulling her phone out of her pocket again, she checked the text from Vikram (a rarity in itself) to make sure it was urgent enough to give up her smoothie plans for. "Family meeting. Come to the kitchen." Fine. Delicious banana-strawberry goodness would have to wait.

Juliet was the last one to arrive, hearing Mrs. Singri ask excitedly about New York. 'Oh, he WOULD call a meeting 'bout that.' She was ready to turn heel when he insisted it wasn't that. Mrs. Singri went right to listing other accomplishments it could be.

"Is it your scholarship information from that camp? Or it Blue Lake, offering you that counseling position for this summer?"

Again, it was another "No, that's not it."

"Is it--"

"MOM!" Juliet jumped a little, surprised. He would argue with her sometimes, but he never really yelled. "I mean it! This is serious!" His mom didn't ask anymore questions, and the triplets (who had been chattering like happy little squirrels) fell silent.

"I need...I need to tell you something. I did something...bad."

The kitchen echoed his words, even though he wasn't that loud. Finally, Juliet asked, "Well, what didya do?"

--

Vikram Singri

It seemed to take forever for the five of them to arrive, adn Vikram breathed a sigh of relief that his father wasn't there either. Just telling him would be an adventure in itself, one that made his heart begin to race even faster as he thought of it. My life is over, I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead.

He barely heard the triplets idle chatter as they filed in, he was so focused on the monumental task ahead of him. How would they react? Would they ever trust him with anything ever again? Stop his music lessons, throw him in a dungeon? Would he break his parents' heart? His baby sister's? The thought of their shock, their scorn, their disappointment was almost more than he could take.

Juliet and Mrs. Singri appeared, the latter cheerful as usual while the former looking less-than-sunny. Awesome. Angry at me already and I haven't even said anything yet.

His mother immediately launched into a round of 20 Questions, grilling him about the nature of this 'family meeting.' He tried to discourage her peppy interrogation, but only succeeded in peeking her curiosity even more, if possible. No, God, Mom! Just listen to me, to what I have to tell you, for once in your life!

"MOM!"

Well, that did the trick, he thought sullenly, meeting their shocked gazes. "I mean it! This is serious!

"I need..." he began, trying to steady his voice, "I need to tell you something. I did something...bad." He allowed the stunned silence to fill the kitchen as he searched for the right words to say. Dropping a bombshell like this wasn't exactly easy. Not like this, not to his family.

"Well, what didya do?" Juliet finally interjected. Vikram swallowed. "I...remember Into the Woods?" he asked, referring to his play that had just recently opened. "He shook his head. "No, that's not right..." His voice almost broke. "I don't really know how to say this."

--

Juliet Echo Eco

Okay, so the boy was pissed. Well, not exactly angry. More like nervous. But of what? Juliet worked with coming up with a list as the family waited for Vikram to speak again. "I need..." A job? A therapist? A cupcake? "I need to tell you something." 'Very informative. Please, go on.' "I did something...bad." 'Oh, so it's a bad thing! That certainly cleared things up.'

No one spoke for some time, so Juliet took it upon herself to ask. "Well..." she looked Vikram in the eye, lifting an eyebrow. "What didya do?" The poor thing looked like he had something stuck in his throat.

"I...remember Into the Woods?" 'Oh god, was he kicked outof the show or something? No, if that were it he'd probably be sobbing or something.' Vikram shook his head. "No, that's not right..." "Right" came out shaky. 'Maybe he will cry.' "I don't really know how to say this."

Maybe she could help him out. Or lighten the mood. "You...assassinated the President," she stated. "You stole the Declaration of Independence. You stole the Hope Diamond. You stole the Declaration of Independence AND the Hope Diamond, then ran away laughing. You committed arson. Tested out cannibalism. Hijacked a car. Impregnated a girl. Kicked a puppy, stole candy from a baby. Kicked a baby and stole candy from a puppy." By now, the children were cracking up, and Juliet smiled. At least she could manage to lighten the mood. "You--"

--

OOC: I apologize for his language here...BIC:

Vikram Singri

"Well...what didya do?" Juliet asked. God, he wanted to kill her. A million gruesome scenarios ran through his mind, many of them involving some form of brutal torture or decapitation. And yet, his face only grew more agitated at her words, not angry. Vikram felt like a balloon losing air far too quickly, wasting away to nothing as he spun wildly around the room. You have no idea what I have to deal with here, *****. Don't test my patience.

"I...remember Into the Woods? No, that's not right..." How could he tell them in a way where he could be sure they wouldn't hate him, where he'd still have a place to sleep tonight? How could he make them understand? "I don't really know how to say this," he admitted, wanting to crawl under the table and die.

Juliet, on the other hand, seemed focused on making his life even more of a living hell than it already was. "You...assassinated the President," she offered, obviously thinking herself incredibly clever. Vikram shot her a warning glare, but she continued. "You stole the Declaration of Independence." At this, Vikram saw Latika crack a tiny smile. "You stole the Hope Diamond. You stole the Declaration of Independence AND the Hope Diamond, then ran away laughing."

The triplets were giggling now, and Vikram saw his mother relax visibly. They clearly thought this was all a joke, something the two of them had concocted together. No. No!

"You committed arson. Tested out cannibalism. Hijacked a car. Impregnated a girl. Kicked a puppy, stole candy from a baby. Kicked a baby and stole candy from a puppy. You--"

"Actually," Vikram broke in, "you already said it."

He felt like he was choking, but he soldiered on. "Mom, everybody...I know I'm going out with Mia right now. But...we...anyway, remember Izzy? Izzy Westbrook? She plays Cinderella in Into the Woods. You met her on opening night. Anywa, she..we became friends, you know, at rehearsal and stuff, and..."

And he told it. He told them. All of it--skipping over much for the sake of the children. How they'd both stayed late after rehearsal one night, well past midnight, how they'd started talking and hanging out and how one thing had led to another...

"She's pregnant, Mother. Izzy's pregnant," he finished miserably. "I am so, so sorry."

[hanashyrexchana]

Juliet Echo Eco

Poor guy was getting all nervous on them. Whatever he had to say, he should just spit it out. So, to… help him out a little, Juliet started listing off various nephritises. “You… assassinated the President,” She started with a grin, breaking the awkward silence that laced the air. “You stole the Declaration of Independence,” Maybe a National Treasure reference would relax the kids. “You stole the Hope Diamond,” Hey, who knew. The Museum of Natural History and the National Archives building were relatively close. “You stole the Declaration of Independence AND the Hope Diamond, then ran away laughing.” She kept going, listing off whatever crimes that came to mind. “You committed arson. Tested out cannibalism. Hijacked a car. Impregnated a girl. Kicked a puppy, stole candy from a baby. Kicked a baby and stole candy from a puppy. You—“

Vikram interrupted her finally, which was a relief because frankly, Juliet was running out of ideas. ”Actually, you already said it.”

“You kicked a puppy?” She asked incredulously. “For shame.”

At this, Latika broke into a giggle fit. Vikram, however, didn’t seem to find it very funny. "Mom, everybody...” His face was somber, as if he was about to report on the death of John F. Kennedy. ”I know I'm going out with Mia right now. But...we...anyway, remember Izzy?” That ditzy little blond? Don’t tell me…’” Izzy Westbrook? She plays Cinderella in Into the Woods. You met her on opening night. Anyway, she..we became friends, you know, at rehearsal and stuff, and..." ‘No way no way no way. He didn’t. He wouldn’t…. oh but he would.’

No one, not even Juliet, was smiling now. Now that Vikram let it out, how he cheated on poor Mia, how he messed up without even getting drunk. And how, most surprisingly, ”She’s pregnant, Mother.” Juliet felt herself blush and hung her head in shame. She had had no right to tease him in such a hard time, right before letting such a secret slip. ”Izzy’s pregnant,” He said it, almost as if reassuring himself as well, ”I am so, so sorry.”

Silence hung in the air once again, everyone thinking over the situation. Finally, Latika broke it. ” Do you two love each other very, very much?” Juliet assumed she had assumed this via her sex ed talk. Why an eight year old had had a sex ed talk, she could only guess. Almost as soon as she had said ‘much’, Mrs. Singri broke into very loud, very angry Punjabi. Juliet, of course, didn’t understand a lick of it, but she got the gist. The triplets, who were not used to seeing their mother like this at all, scurried to get behind Juliet, like little ducks hiding from a fox. Juliet, in turn, weathered it out. She had done her share of wrong and gotten her share of scolding. She sent Vikram a look that hopefully screamed sympathy.

Finally, Mrs. Singri either ran out of voice or steam, because she shouted one final remark before leaving the kitchen to the pantry, the lock clicking behind her. Rum and Vodka would most likely be gracing next week’s shopping list.

Juliet shooed the young ones out of the kitchen, telling them to pop in a DVD or something. Once they were gone she made her way over to the freezer, grabbing her secretly stashed Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream. Without a word, she leaned over the counter and handed it to Vikram.

[The Phantom of Paris]

Vikram Singri

As painful as it was to lay his emotions out on the table like that and relay his sordid tale to the people he cared most about in the world (and Juliet), Vikram couldn't ignore the slight feeling of glee at watching Juliet's face fall. Guilt clouded her features, and she looked less composed than he thought he'd ever seen her. Serves you right, he thought, almost giddily. Serves you right for doing that to me, you thoughtless cow, you intruder on my perfect life, you...

Still, even his satisfaction at Juliet's embarrassment couldn't take away from the gravity of the situation, the confession he was about to make. ”She’s pregnant, Mother,” he said, his voice full of shame and contrition. ”Izzy’s pregnant,” he repeated, watching Juliet out of the corner of his eye even as he met his mother's gaze, trying to evoke every bit of the respectful child his parents had attempted to raise him to be as he confessed. "I am so, so sorry.”

The entire room went quiet, and Vikram looked at his feet, unwilling to meet any of his family members in the eye. The silence was suffocating, crushing him, and he couldn't have been more grateful to his sister for breaking it. "Do you two love each other very, very much?” she asked, the picture of innocence. At this, Vikram sat down on one of the chairs around the kitchen counter and buried his head in his hands. Thanks, Latika. Thanks a lot. The rule against no censorship of movies of any kind had prompted Latika's sex talk, following a viewing of Titanic when she was six. He sighed heavily.

Before he could even reply, though, his mother exploded, her voice carrying far louder than one would expect of a woman of her tiny frame. She grilled him ruthlessly in Punjabi, their "native language"--even though Mrs. Singri herself had moved to England as a preteen and the entire family, Vikram included, spoke other major languages of India, including Hindi and Bengali, because of Vikram's father's job as a hotel chain owner--screaming at him as if her life depended on it. She spoke so quickly he could only decipher about 75% of what she was saying, but what he could hear wasn't pretty. He was able to catch things like, "Children are a reflection of their parents, what does this say about me? Furthermore, what will this say about YOU to this...this child you've spawned?" and "Your life is over, you realize this?! Your life is over!" as well as several shouted insults that would make a pirate or a Mafia boss blush crimson. Finally, with a shout of "And you, young man, will be telling your father about this, because quite frankly you could not PAY me to right now!" Vikram watched his mother storm off, the click of the lock on the pantry door serving as her farewell. Vikram looked over to his siblings miserably, hiding behind Juliet and looking scared of their mother for the first time in their eight-year-old lives. Sorry, guys. Sorry you had to be there for that.

His blood ran cold at the thought of his mother's last words. I have to tell Dad.

Before he knew it, he and Juliet were the only ones left, the triplets having scurried away at the nanny's orders. He refused to meet her eyes as he heard the door of the freezer open, and suddenly she was pressing something very cold into his hands. He looked down at the carton of ice cream, actually wanting to smile at her for once but finding himself unable to. "You read my mind," he said quietly, reaching for a spoon out of the dishwasher and taking a huge bite.

[hanashyrexchana]

Juliet Echo Eco

Juliet watched as Vikram took the hear from his mother, feeling the embarrassment wash over her. She had no right to be there; she hadn’t even been ‘part of the family’ for a month yet. Vikram wasn’t a close friend, and she was hardly the poor girl he got pregnant, so why should she have the right to see him in his moment of shame? The little Indian boy ( for Juliet was just realizing how small he really was. Juliet herself felt rather small at the moment) hunched over himself, covering his face as Mrs. Singri screamed all sorts of scary foreign words. Even the Triplets were terrified of the mother they usually loved so. Before long, the woman was finished, shouting one last threat or insult or ‘I’m very disappointed at you’ before locking herself away.

The children slumped off, no doubt feeling rather betrayed by both of their role models. Juliet decided that she’d have to stick around to cheer them up; her day off could wait. But for now, she would have to take care of the older child for once. ’Looks like I’ll have to sacrifice my guilty pleasures, too.’ With a grimace she grabbed her favorite icecream out of the freezer and gently shoved it into Vikrams grasp.”You read my mind. Her usual response ‘I’m secretly a psychic,’ didn’t seem appropriate. Neither of them really looked at each other as he grabbed a spoon and dug in.

“It sucks, huh.,” She leaned against the counter, her back turned to him now. “ Thought I was bout a year ago. Wasn’t of course,” Juliet added with a shrug, checking over her shoulder to see how much of the carton he had eaten, “but I don’t think I would’ve been able to tell my parents like you did.” Looking forward, she weaved her fingers together, not used to serious conversation. “Sorry. I was stupid.’ Admitting it was harder than she thought. ’ Maybe he has a normal sized ego, after all,’ She resisted a laugh. Instead a dry chuckle came out. “Sorry.”

[The Phantom of Paris]

Vikram Singri

He kept a perfectly straight face as his mother screamed at him, a tirade filled with scolding and questions and disbelief and shouted obscenities in Punjabi. Despite his submissive expression, Vikram had to admit he was almost scared of his mother. He'd never seen her like this, not even during the overseas shouting matches with his dad by telephone that seemed to happen more and more frequently now. Latika and the boys looked even more frightened than he felt, hiding behind poor Juliet, the witness to this train wreck, and clinging to her like she was their life vest. He wanted to smile at them, give them an encouraging look, but he couldn't face them. Not like this. Not after what was happening.

Will any of them ever look at me the same way again?

"And you, young man, will be telling your father about this, because quite frankly you could not PAY me to right now!" were Shailaja Singri's parting words to her oldest son. Vikram felt his heart skip a beat. His dad was away on business all the time, spending more time at his dozens of hotels in India than he did at home with his family. Although Vikram had pretended as a child that it hadn't bothered him, once the triplets came along things changed. He resented his father for leaving his children alone, without a father figure in their lives most of the time, relying on phone calls and texts to keep the family connected. That wasn't the right way for kids to grow up, and Vikram reminded his dad of that whenever possible. To say their relationship was strained was an understatement. And now he had to tell him? I'm dead where I stand. He's going to kill me from over halfway across the world. I don't know how, but he can manage it.

Vikram watched his siblings leave, wondering absently to himself how much it would hurt to throw himself in front of a train. He didn't even have it in him to glare at Juliet as she handed him a carton of Ben and Jerry's, apparently her idea of cheering him up. He took it anyway, though, reaching for a spoon and shoving it into the carton. ”You read my mind."

“It sucks, huh.,” He looked up to see that she was facing away from him, apparently not able to look him in the eye. What else is new. A soft grunt was his only response as he took another massive bite of ice cream. Don't try to sympathize, you...

“Thought I was bout a year ago. Wasn’t of course, but I don’t think I would’ve been able to tell my parents like you did.”

Under ordinary circumstances, Vikram would have made a biting remark about how such knowledge about Juliet's personal life didn't surprise him in the slightest. Now, though, he only looked up at her, slightly alarmed at how she was opening up to him like this. "Really?"

“Sorry. I was stupid." Juliet gave a weak chuckle. “Sorry.”

"Here," Vikram said, pushing the carton towards her. "You don't have to apologize to me," he told her. "I mean, sure, what you did was kind of low, but I get it. You were trying to cheer up the kids. I get that. Before you got here, that was my job. I'm not always the egotistical diva, you know. When the time calls for it, I can be a pretty good big brother." Vikram gave a heavy sigh. "And it's my own stupid fault, isn't it?"